Sissel Vera Pettersen is not a conventional “beautiful voice” singer; she is a sound architect. That is exactly why audiophiles are drawn to her. Her recordings invite the listener into the smallest details of the human voice: breath, grain, whisper, tension, echo, silence and sudden bursts of expression. On a revealing hi-fi system, her music becomes almost physical. You hear not only the note, but the space around the note.
Her official biography describes her as a multifaceted artist: a sound improviser and composer who combines highly creative vocal techniques with live electronic processing, while also being a saxophonist. It also notes that her work appears on more than 35 international CD releases and that she has toured across Europe, the USA, Canada, the Middle East and Africa.
For audiophile listening, start with “By This River,” “Hunting High and Low,” “Body and Soul,” “Floret,” “Aerial,” “Oase,” “November,” “Cathedral,” “Soft Spoken,” “Epiphora,” “Lux Aeterna,” and “Velour.” Deezer’s catalogue shows the breadth of her work across projects such as Mikroskop, Oase, Convocation, Equilibrium, Silence Trio 2 and By This River, with many tracks credited to Pettersen as composer or co-composer.
Short biography
Sissel Vera Pettersen is a Norwegian vocalist, saxophonist, composer and improviser, based between the worlds of jazz, experimental music, vocal improvisation, contemporary composition and live electronics. Her music is often spacious, exploratory and deeply atmospheric, with the voice treated not only as a lyrical instrument, but as a complete sound source.
Important albums and projects include By This River with Nikolaj Hess, A Word, Mikroskop, Oase with Terje Isungset, Equilibrium, Liquid Light, Silence Trio 2, Convocation, Inner Lift with Randi Pontoppidan, and her work with Trondheim Voices. Her official discography lists many of these as leader or co-leader releases.
She is known for pushing the voice far beyond standard jazz singing. Reviews quoted on her website describe her voice as capable of moving from purity to ululation and even sounds “on the edge of a scream,” while her biography also highlights collaborations with artists such as Chick Corea, Marilyn Mazur, Lionel Loueke, Marc Ducret, Jon Balke, John Hollenbeck, Theo Bleckmann, Christian Wallumrød, Terje Isungset, Maja Ratkje and Nikolaj Hess.
