Harsh screeches, angelic choirs, mangled noises and soaring strings — Wallgrin creates a contemporary soundtrack for ancient mythologies. The art-pop solo project of composer, vocalist and violinist Tegan Wahlgren, Wallgrin delves into the space between beauty and dissonance through layers of strings and exploratory vocals. Drawing from an array of musical influences — including fiddling and choral singing — Wallgrin melds fragments of myths to form the music of an indistinct and personal folklore.
Wallgrin’s self-produced recorded material incorporates eclectic instrumentation, field recordings and unconventional song structures, while their live performances consist mainly of virtuosic vocal and violin electronic manipulation — all of which is centred around Wallgrin’s powerful voice. Wallgrin has shared stages with Jenny Hval, Flock of Dimes, Nicole Lizée and Holy Hum, and has been a featured performer at Music on Main, Khatsahlano, ArtsWells, Tidal ~ Signal and TEDxVancouver.
Harsh screeches, angelic choirs, mangled noises and soaring strings — Wallgrin creates a contemporary soundtrack for ancient mythologies. The art-pop solo project of composer, vocalist and violinist Tegan Wahlgren, Wallgrin delves into the space between beauty and dissonance through layers of strings and exploratory vocals. Drawing from an array of musical influences — including fiddling and choral singing — Wallgrin melds fragments of myths to form the music of an indistinct and personal folklore.
Wallgrin’s self-produced recorded material incorporates eclectic instrumentation, field recordings and unconventional song structures, while their live performances consist mainly of virtuosic vocal and violin electronic manipulation — all of which is centred around Wallgrin’s powerful voice. Wallgrin has shared stages with Jenny Hval, Flock of Dimes, Nicole Lizée and Holy Hum, and has been a featured performer at Music on Main, Khatsahlano, ArtsWells, Tidal ~ Signal and TEDxVancouver.
Harsh screeches, angelic choirs, mangled noises and soaring strings — Wallgrin creates a contemporary soundtrack for ancient mythologies. The art-pop solo project of composer, vocalist and violinist Tegan Wahlgren, Wallgrin delves into the space between beauty and dissonance through layers of strings and exploratory vocals. Drawing from an array of musical influences — including fiddling and choral singing — Wallgrin melds fragments of myths to form the music of an indistinct and personal folklore.
Wallgrin’s self-produced recorded material incorporates eclectic instrumentation, field recordings and unconventional song structures, while their live performances consist mainly of virtuosic vocal and violin electronic manipulation — all of which is centred around Wallgrin’s powerful voice. Wallgrin has shared stages with Jenny Hval, Flock of Dimes, Nicole Lizée and Holy Hum, and has been a featured performer at Music on Main, Khatsahlano, ArtsWells, Tidal ~ Signal and TEDxVancouver.
Wallgrin
ART-POP / EXPERIMENTAL
Based in Vancouver, BC, Canada.
Listen if you like:
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Björk
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Kate Bush
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Lydia Ainsworth
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Deradoorian
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Julia Holter
BIO
Harsh screeches, angelic choirs, mangled noises and soaring strings — Wallgrin creates a contemporary soundtrack for ancient mythologies. The art-pop solo project of composer, vocalist and violinist Tegan Wahlgren, Wallgrin delves into the space between beauty and dissonance through layers of strings and exploratory vocals. Drawing from an array of musical influences — including fiddling and choral singing — Wallgrin melds fragments of myths to form the music of an indistinct and personal folklore.
Wallgrin’s self-produced recorded material incorporates eclectic instrumentation, field recordings and unconventional song structures, while their live performances consist mainly of virtuosic vocal and violin electronic manipulation — all of which is centred around Wallgrin’s powerful voice. Wallgrin has shared stages with Jenny Hval, Flock of Dimes, Nicole Lizée and Holy Hum, and has been a featured performer at Music on Main, Khatsahlano, ArtsWells, Tidal ~ Signal and TEDxVancouver.
Debut album: BIRD/ALIEN
Released via Heavy Lark Records on July 6th, 2018.
About BIRD/ALIEN
After years of composing, recording and performing, 2018’s Bird/Alien marks Wallgrin’s first full-length release. Moving between pseudo-religious incantations, lush string-based orchestration, beat-driven pop and ornate vocal arrangements, Bird/Alien feels at home next to art-pop albums like Björk’s Vulnicura, Kate Bush’s The Sensual World, and Deradoorian’s The Expanding Flower Planet. It was entirely self-produced and recorded in Vancouver, Berlin and a remote Vancouver Island cabin.
Interweaving legends and folklore amidst intricate harmonies and pop sensibilities, Wallgrin gives voice to the mythological beings that have long occupied the fringes of the cultural imagination. Bird/Alien explores the inner lives of the most sinister creatures of legends, embodying their anger, jubilation, sorrow and tenacity. Banshees scream over the murmurs of forgotten demigods; the cries of harpies cut through rich primeval hymns. The album depicts a deeply intimate look into these imagined lives, all while questioning the symbolism of gender in mythology and the expressions of femininity and masculinity in relation to power. Bird/Alien was released via Heavy Lark Records on July 6, 2018.
Press Quotes
“The vocal equivalent of walking on water, Wallgrin’s spacious, spacey and atmospheric songs are as thoughtful as they are compelling.”
“The album measures up to standards set by art-pop visionaries like Björk and Kate Bush.”
— Rated 9.0 by NORTHERN TRANSMISSIONS
“A powerful exploration of sound that challenges genre.”
“One of the most interesting local releases to come across my desk this year.”