Unarmed

UNARMED : SONGS FROM THE POETRY OF KARIN BOYE

Meet celebrated Swedish poet Karin Boye in new English translations of the latest album release "Vapenlös". Poems written nearly a century ago but still strikingly relevant to our lives today. Intimate songs composed by Camilla Åström and Petra Haraldson in perfect tune with the content of each poem.

Karin Boye was active as a writer and poet in the 20th century, during the period of both world wars She was a woman of faith, political, and a seeker, but most importantly she was also a rebel at a time when such convictions went unacknowledged. Boye’s poetry often addresses existential questions about the human condition. They are poems of amazement, fear, longing, courage, and defiance. Timeless in their melancholy, their passion, and their aspirations.

Camilla Åström and Petra Haraldson have been inspired by Boye and her singular talent for expressing thoughts and emotions ever since they were young teens. Their interest in her art brought them together a decade ago, and ever since they have followed in Karin’s footsteps, composing music and touring with their project "Vapenlös". Their debut album was released in 2020 as a tribute to the 120 th anniversary of Boye’s birth. And now the poems on the album have been translated by Linda Schenck, giving them and the songs a much bigger world in which to fly.

Camilla Åström is an accordionist, singer and composer with roots in northern Sweden, currently based in Gothenburg.

Petra Haraldson is a solo artist, singer songwriter and pianist with roots in southern Sweden, currently based on an island off Gothenburg.