She's not exactly a household name but in her native Norway Anja Garbarek is big news, renowned for her avant-garde jazz composer Jan and her own glacial, intricately crafted recordings. Her second album is one of those that needs to be heard in a darkened room to be best appreciated, with sprawling electronic beats, strings and piano merging together to create a distinctive tapestry of Scandinavian melancholy. Garbarek's vocals are beautifully delicate and the presence of other mavericks such as Robert Wyatt and Mark Hollis seems entirely appropriate. This is a lady well worth getting to know, but as with all such leftfield artists, you'll have to make the first move.
