Norwegian Voice Wandering Through Didymoi
Sidsel Endresen's voice and Stian Westerhus's guitar meet in an unusual, unhurried dialogue.
Didymoi Dreams arrived in 2012, a record from the Norwegian singer Sidsel Endresen, whose solo work has been on ECM since the late 1980s. The personnel on this session are sparse, and the one name I can confirm with the listing available to me is guitarist Stian Westerhus. I do not have verified details about the studio, the exact session dates, or the producer, so I will not reconstruct the room or the decisions made in it.
What I can say is that the record puts Endresen's voice at the center in a way that is typical of her approach: wordless passages, sustained tones, and phrasing that sits somewhere between jazz improvisation and folk-inflected song. Westerhus's guitar works as a counterpart rather than a backing band, adding texture and tension around her lines. If you are used to conventional jazz vocals, expect something looser and stranger, with long stretches where the voice and guitar seem to be feeling their way forward together.
As for placement, this album is the recommended entry point into Endresen's catalogue on this site, and that is a reasonable choice. It gives a clear view of her current direction without requiring familiarity with her earlier collaborations. Listeners who want a more traditional song-based introduction may find the material demanding, but anyone already drawn to the ECM sound will likely find it a natural next step.
Who's playing
Stian Westerhusguitar
