Sacro Bosco is the starting point for Anna Von Hausswolff‘s new album All Thoughts Fly, incoming on Southern Lord on September 25th. Here, in solo instrumental mode, the entire record consists of just one instrument, the pipe organ, and represents absolute liberation of the imagination. All Thoughts Fly radiates a melancholic beauty and is distinguished by fluid transitions of contrasting elements; calmness and drama, harmony and dissonance, much like the place that inspires the music.

Sacro Bosco (“Sacred Grove”) is a garden, based in Bomarzo in the centre of Italy, containing grotesque mythological sculptures and buildings overgrown with vegetation, situated in a wooded valley beneath the castle of Orsini. Created during the sixteenth Century, Sacro Bosco was commissioned by Pier Francesco Orsini, some say to try and cope with his grief following the death of his wife Guilia Farnese, whilst others speculate the purpose was to create art.

Anna Von Hausswolff explains, “There’s a sadness and wilderness that inspired me to write this album, also a timelessness. I believe that this park has survived not only due to its beauty but also because of the iconography, it has been liberated from predictable ideas and ideals. The people who built this park truly set their minds and imagination free. All Thoughts Fly is a homage to this creation, and an effort to articulate the atmosphere and the feelings that this place evokes inside of me. It’s a very personal interpretation of a place that I lack the words to describe. I’d like to believe Orsini built this monumental park out of grief for his dead wife, and in my Sacro Bosco I used this story as a core for my own inspiration: love as a foundation for creation.”

The accompanying video for the first single Sacro Bosco is, just like the music, an interpretation of the park with an imaginary twist. The stunning video, which you can watch below, was directed by Gustaf and Ludvig Holtenäs.

Anna summarises, “Sacro Bosco in Bomarzo is a creation carved out from one man’s head. A frozen thought lasting throughout time and touching people across generations. All thoughts fly, Ogni Pensiero Vola, is about this: the importance of sharing for surviving, creating space and evolving. Once you’ve shared your words, they are not only yours anymore.”

Anna Von Hausswolff’s All Thoughts Fly ultimately embodies the exploration of any and all possibilities, and the audience is invited to listen, liberate the mind and let it wander.

Southern Lord will release All Thoughts Fly on LP and digital formats on September 25th.

Anna Von Hausswolff is a musician and composer exploring the myriad of possibilities and the potential for new expressions on the pipe organ. Anna has performed on pipe organs all over the world, as part of this ongoing quest of discovery. Her polyrhythmic sound is ever-changing and full of contrasts, often distinguished by fluid transitions of calmness and drama, harmony and dissonance, with various overlapping elements. Her imaginative approach is open-minded to sonic possibilities and different perceptions, drawing inspiration from wherever it may appear.

The artist has written and released four full-length albums: Singing From The Grave (2010), Ceremony (2012), The Miraculous (2015), and Dead Magic (2018), often recording with a cast of other musicians. Her forthcoming release, All Thoughts Fly sees her in solo instrumental mode.