The lighthouse shines through _{by Madelaine Empson}

Wellington Norwegian songwriter Hanne Jøstensen’s sophomore EP Lighthouse is filled with space, beauty, and calm. To unveil the intimate and enchanting new body of work, inspired by the island where she was raised that is home to 50 people and only accessible by boat, Hanne “wanted to put on something really special for the community”. On Sunday the 13^th of September at St Hilda’s Island Bay Anglican Church, Hanne will be joined by “the most amazing musicians” – Simone Vitucci on cello, Paul Mouncey on bass, and Jim Walmsley on electric guitar, whose musical backgrounds cross classical, funk, rock, and Norwegian folk – for the first ever musical event on the South Coast Arts Trail.

“Our concert will bring everybody together to connect and close out a busy and beautiful weekend of arts”, Hanne says. “I want the audience to be swept away by the lighthouse rays, feel the stillness and beauty of vast snowy landscapes, to let go and be moved by the music together.”

I understand your grandfather was a lighthouse keeper. Is that where your love of the lighthouse began?

Yes, my grandfather was the lighthouse keeper on the tiny, remote island where I grew up on the north-west coast of Norway. My dad grew up in the lighthouse keeper’s residence and I grew up just down from it. The island was an important fishing village, located on an elevated seafloor, making the waters around it extra dangerous. Because it’s so remote, you’d expect the sea to be deep around there, but instead there are thousands of little islets and rocks around. So the lighthouse becomes critical, both to guide boats but also symbolically and as a destination and meeting point – be it to watch the weather, the sunset, or just to be in the presence of it. The lighthouse on the EP artwork is the actual lighthouse from my island. It was built in 1909 and is still operational, although it’s automated now and no longer requires a lighthouse keeper.

How have you translated the theme of the lighthouse into song?

From a lyrical perspective, I made the lighthouse the narrator. I gave it the voice. I did that because the story isn’t just mine, it’s bigger than me, and I wanted the lighthouse to tell its story.

Musically, you can hear a lot of interplay between the cello and the electric guitar, where the cello plays the part of the lighthouse with its sweeping movements, like the rays from the lighthouse searching the ocean. At the end of the bridge, after a dramatic clash between the forces of nature, the lighthouse shines through with three gentle, steady, high piano notes.

How does Wellington’s South Coast compare to the island where you grew up?

Both communities are exposed, share a love for the coast, the water, and a respect for the sea. When my mum came out to visit the first time, she could understand why I love it here on the South Coast.