Listening to the music of Sumie (Sandra Nagano) is to cast off the stresses of the world and be transported to the most beautiful landscape. For many reasons Stardust In Valleys is quite simply her most exquisite album, replete with delicate touches and a fragility that comes from the fact that Nagano has been facing serious health issues. It was produced by Filip Leyman and recorded at his house in the country, where friends and family gathered for an idyllic week. The recording involved her children Oliver and Naomi singing, as well as her closest musical friends Filip Leyman, Karl Vento and Albert af Ekenstam with Max Lindahl adding trumpet back at Filip’s Gothenburg studio.
Sumie said on her Instagram feed, “One of the greatest joys of making this album was having my children be a part of it. My son Oliver sings with me on “Light Lee” and my daughter Naomi on “Nina”. Both songs were written as a celebration of life and in honour of my best friend Nina, who has been by my side through so many adventures since the 90s. She is family to me and to my children.”
Filip Leyman summed up the countryside recording, “The calm, beautiful surroundings really coloured the process and music. I wanted to capture the warm and organic sound of a untreated living room, not a studio. I think it’s a very familiar sound which makes it easy to connect with the music/sound and feel like you’re there. The birdsong helped too.”
The warmth infused in Stardust In Valleys creates a tranquillity that suspends time. Sumie is the light beam at the centre of everything, and producer Filip Leyman is the prism that refracts the core of her songs into myriad colours. The arrangements never get in the way of the intoxicating melodies. Sumie’s voice may have been preternaturally perfect on her debut album but now it has a golden seam of vulnerability while still radiating inner strength; unadorned by effects and held close to the microphone which brings both intimacy and honesty into focus. There are not many voices that can hold their own without a touch of reverb, but Sumie’s is so good it’s a lily that needs no gilding.
As with previous songs the lyrics are illusory allowing the listener to drift away in the beauty of language but still allow their own interpretation. She says that the song ‘Dahlia’ recalls a love story from her past but reading the opening lines it’s not hard to get swept away in the blissful poetry of her use of language. It harks back to the same gorgeous rolling symmetry of her eponymous debut album but with the delicate touch of Filip Leyman’s production the song unfurls like sails catching the wind.
“Autumn was our never mind / A return to what we left behind / September weighs in sombre grounds / To wake and fool the seasons around / Revive the song below the summer sands / Make them join the falling leaves in hand / I can change to ocean blue for you Dahlia / So we could sail off and save us a new end / I will make you valleys too, only you Dahlia”
The opening shimmer of ‘Gläntan’ is just one of the things that makes guitarist Karl Vento so remarkable and has all the ethereal delight of This Mortal Coil’s version of ‘Song To The Siren’. He wrote ‘Gläntan’ and arranged ‘Island’ and ‘Törnrosa’ and, having seen him accompany Sumie live, I know he can hover over a song like mist or add the perfect melody on electric or classical guitar. Filip Leyman is not only an empathic producer he is a multi-instrumentalist and brings impeccable drums, bass and keyboards when needed. The title track is a wonderful Spanish-tinged duet with Albert af Ekenstam and the mist-like softness of Sumie’s singing blends seamlessly with the deep, sonorous quality of Albert’s voice. The trumpet playing of Max Lindahl that floats through the song is transcendent and the long notes he holds come from years of playing together where he didn’t want to be “an elephant barging into a China store” so developed a way of playing that avoided chords or melodies. A special mention must be made to Emma Strååt’s string arrangements on ‘Nina’, which swoon in halfway through the song to devastating effect.
My journey with Sumie’s music began with that time-slowing debut in 2013, 13-years of evolution from ‘Show Talked Windows’ which stopped me in my tracks, to the intimacy of ‘My Arms’ (the final track on Stardust In Valleys), which needs nothing more than a guitar, the soft pulse of a drum machine, the sound of the forest, and that incredible voice showing a life-lived like counting the rings of a tree. The love of her friends and family shines through this album and it’s the musical pinnacle of an extraordinary artist.
While I was planning to write this review I contacted some of the musicians/friends that have been part of her life to ask them how they met Sandra, what it is like to work with her, and what makes her, and her music, so special. So, I want to thank Karl Vento, Filip Leyman and Max Lindhal for their words below.
Stardust In Valleys is released on Anna Von Hausswolff’s label Pomperipossa Records / Cover art by Hege Wendelbo.
Sumie: Website | Facebook | Instagram | Bandcamp
KARL VENTO
How did you first meet Sandra?
I believe it was back in 2016, Filip suggested to Sandra that I should play guitar on her album Lost in Light, and that’s how we first met. After that, we became friends.
What has it been like working with Sandra over the last few years?
It’s been a nice way to get to hang out with a friend. We share many memories that are dear to me – seeing new places together, meeting new people, and of course, making music.
Sandra has a strong intuition. She is very mindful about what elements belong in her music, but at the same time she is open to letting others contribute with their own musical voice. And since there is a lot of space in her songs, it’s fun to add different nuances and textures.
What was it like working on Stardust In Valleys?
The week we spent recording is one of those memories that I will carry with me for a long time. Since Sandra had recently received her diagnosis, it was a special time, and there was a sense of immediacy in trying to capture the essence of the songs. But first and foremost, for me, it was a time for Sandra, Filip, and me to connect – both musically and as friends. It was early summer, with Swedish nature at its peak. We were in a beautiful bubble, completely focused on the music while also enjoying each other’s company.
Karl’s album, Rainbow Lights, was one of my favourite albums of 2022 and I said, ‘his sonic empathy can range from swells of layered guitar chords, gentle finger picking to masterful use of an eBow and a loop pedal’.
FILIP LEYMAN
How did you first meet Sandra?
I met Sandra through Albert af Ekenstam. They were doing shows at the time and Sandra was looking for someone to record with. The first time we met in the studio we recorded ’Walk Away’. It was a fantastic session and I think we all felt like home.
What has it been like working with Sandra over the last few years?
Working with Sandra is amazing. She’s such a unique musician. Very ’in the moment’ and she never does the same thing twice. She could play the same song five times in a row, and they will all come out different – but it would be impossible to pick a favourite because they’re all amazing. Her songwriting is so simple in a way, but with all these lite unexpected turns & twists which makes it so interesting, beautiful and exciting. A master of her craft.
What was it like working on Stardust In Valleys?
Stardust In Valleys was a special recording for us. Sandra, Karl Vento and me got to spend a week at my country place out in the woods. The calm, beautiful surroundings really coloured the process and music. I wanted to capture the warm and organic sound of a untreated living room, not a studio. I think it’s a very familiar sound which makes it easy to connect with the music/sound and feel like you’re there. The birdsong also helped.
I reviewed Filip’s gorgeous ambient album Soft Light in 2025, my review here.
MAX LINDAHL
How did you first meet Sandra?
I first met Sandra in, I think, 2009. Back then I was playing in an Americana band called Western, and for the release concert of our EP Sandra did the opening act. We didn’t get to know one another there and then, but after we had run into each other on the street one day, Sandra contacted me and asked me if I wanted to play with her. That was before Sandra did her debut album.
Working with Sandra back then was quite different from how it would be later. Sandra has always given a lot of creative freedom to musicians playing with her, which is flattering and can yield great results, but back then we were still struggling to work out how to do her music justice. Sandra’s guitar playing has always been very minimalistic, and the music centres around her beautiful voice and poetic lyrics. Playing a loud instrument like the trumpet in such a setting, therefore, poses a bit of a challenge. I’ve often felt like an elephant barging into a China store when playing with Sandra. However, when I introduced Sandra to Albert af Ekenstam, and the three of us started playing a lot together (and also becoming very close friends), we found a way to play Sandra’s music that fit her expression, using a more ambient sound where Albert’s electric guitar and my trumpet mostly played long notes, rather than chords or melodies. It was a new way of playing for me, so looking back I realize that working with Sandra has made me evolve as a trumpet player, for which I’m very grateful.
What was it like working on Stardust In Valleys?
As for the recording of the music on Stardust in Valleys, all the groundwork was made by Sandra, Filip Leyman and Karl Vento in Filip’s vacation home. My contributions, on Törnrosa and the title track, were added in Filip’s studio in Gothenburg. I didn’t know beforehand which songs I was going to play or how they went, but when you’re doing an improvisation on a recording that’s almost always a good thing, I think. Since you haven’t had any time to think about what you’re going to play, whatever gets recorded is made in the moment, and with a bit of luck that feeling is then conveyed to the listener.
As for this particular recording, over a year went by after the recording session before I heard the end result. I couldn’t recall then how the song went, but as usual I had a bad feeling about my own performance. When I heard the result though I was taken back of how great that song was, and relieved to hear that the trumpet playing wasn’t dragging it all down. So now I actually feel very proud to be part of that amazing song.
Which brings us to your last question, what it is that makes Sandra’s music so special. I think one of the reasons for that is that Sandra is self-taught and learned to play guitar late in life. She has no knowledge about music theory and doesn’t even know the names of chords or notes. The music she writes, therefore, isn’t made out of any preexisting molds for a standard pop tune, it instead follows her own logic for chord progression and form, etc, which can sometimes be a bit unconventional.
Another important reason for what makes Sandra’s music special is her writing. Her lyrics are also quite unconventional, I think. They are very poetic, and a bit opaque in the sense that their meaning is not always clear at first listen. What the songs are about is then open for interpretation, and more so than with many other artists, I think. Adding to that Sandra’s also has a way of sculpting sentences that out of context would sound quite odd, but in the dreamlike atmosphere of her music works very well.
The final thing that’s so great about Sandra is, of course, her singing. She has an incredibly beautiful voice, but that in itself would only take her half of the way. It’s also the emotional expression in her singing that makes it so striking. Her expression is not overly dramatic, but more subtle, which makes it all the more effective though. At least to me.
To sum up, as someone who’s been alongside Sandra since the start of her career, I couldn’t be prouder of her right now. This latest album is the best work she’s ever done, and I can’t say how many times I’ve listened to it already. I really love it, and I’m so happy for Sandra’s sake.
Review by Paul F Cook
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