Hilma Nikolaisen - Heritage (Track by track guide)

Maybe Today (Satan)

The chords and melodies of Maybe Today (Satan) came very instinctively to me, quite immediately after buying my first nylon string guitar in 2020. I grew up with my father's nylon string guitars, but as a kid fingerstyle was banned and we pretty much wrecked the guitars with picks in our young punk attitude. So, playing this nylon string instrument now felt nostalgic, yet very different, I must say. Bringing in the flute also felt perfectly right for this, and I approached the instrument with a very different kind of mindset than the oppositional kid I was the last time I played it. I can't say I've kept playing the flute after the recordings, but still, a lovely revisit!

Seven

I wrote Seven during Covid quarantine, missing my sisters and brothers, my six partners in crime, badly. To my surprise I managed to gather all of my siblings' voices on this one, memorable recording sessions ensued. Amazed to have this one documented for life.

You Pt. II

I am a fan of long lines running through my work, continuations and follow-ups along the way. There's a track named You on my previous album Mjusic. I figured this simple love song should have chapters, so here goes a blue phase of the story. To be continued!

Untitled (Where Are You Now)/Heritage

Some of the songs on this album are a bit uneasy to talk about. The songs are very personal and thereby important and sacred to me, but I guess it's not necessary to communicate it as something else than... beautiful, simple songs. Untitled and Heritage were rather tricky to record and mix, in terms of keeping it all simplistic enough. I guess removing instead of adding has been a main focus throughout the album recording and mixing process. Keeping it clean. In the end I think the songs came out right.

Season Blue

Season Blue is a remake of a song I made for the christmas/winter season 2019. Like numerous times before, writing songs and recording in the winter season has kickstarted a new album process. It felt natural to include this song on the album, as it fits the narrative well, but it needed to be reworked to make it fit the album's framework. This recording took place at my brother Emil's studio Malabar just before it was closed down. I am very glad we got to have that last Malabar experience together and have it documented on my Heritage album.

New Kids

New Kids was written in protest against the demolition of Oslo landmark the Y-block in the spring of 2020. It wasn't originally planned to be a part of an album. Yet, as the Heritage theme came about, the song suddenly found its natural thematic place on Heritage: «Show me re-remembered treasures, sand blasted love in concrete».

Time-Out

I got myself a norwegian Harpeleik, some sort of a harp instrument built in a beautiful suitcase. Tuning this instrument was extremely frustrating, but I managed to tune enough strings or chords to write some sort of a lullaby interlude for my nephew Gustav. This little track is intended as a mindful time-out before the last track of the album sets in. In december I made an extended version of it, to fit the winter season. The extended version will eventually be a part of a future winter album, when the time is right!

All In (Into The Outset)

This was the last track I wrote for the album. It was important for me to wrap things up in an optimistic and playful sense, but still relate to the narrative of the Heritage album. In the extended album version of the song I allowed myself to play around with a few more elements, distorted guitars, drum machine and even drums. Sort of a meditative, patient and cheerful release. My dear choir girls are with me on this postlude tune, close and dear friends who usually join in when I play live shows. Both the recordings and the mixing (Mattias Glavå) were smooth and easy-going. A delightful way to round up the project and look forward to whatever comes next!