The three women and two men who make up Dearest Sister form a band in the fullest sense. Their debut album, ‘Collective Heart’, is a prime example of a current musical development: extremely able young musicians with open minds and ears are applying the rigour and the tools from their jazz training to find a sound world that is very distinct from jazz.

The core of Dearest Sister is a very special creative duo: singer / keyboardist Andrea Hatanmaa and pianist Ylva Almcrantz. The two met while studying jazz and popular music at the Malmö Academy of Music in Sweden, the city where the band is based. Raised on rock and pop music, Andrea Hatanmaa’s vocal technique is rock solid, and yet she doesn’t sound anything like a typical jazz singer. She says: “What is important to me is to master my craft, and to learn and assimilate as much as possible from all directions, and then – whether I’m on stage or in the studio – to forget all that and find an individual voice and personal expression.”

It is not only Hatanmaa’s haunting voice, with its kaleidoscope of facets and nuances, that shapes the music, but also the lyrics and concise, refined songwriting. Hatanmaa and Ylva Almcrantz form a songwriting partnership. The singer says: “Ylva is the musical genius in the band. She comes up with the most beautiful arrangements and has an amazing sixth sense for moods, sounds, dynamics, small and big melodies,” adding with a laugh, “I just have to be careful that it doesn’t all get too jazzy.”

‘Collective Heart’ is a fascinating and emotionally affecting album. These are strong musicians who are capable of offering the listener surprising contrasts and great authenticity. This is music in a constant state of evolution and discovery. Dearest Sister know what they are looking for, so if listeners find it on ‘Collective Heart’, it is not going to be by accident: this is a band well aware of what they can bring, and that is something new, special, and very real.