Hans Olav Settem is a very active artist from the diverse and colourful Oslo scene. As a songwriter, the Norwegian is the creative force behind a ten-strong band named Benedikt. At the same time, he is also working as a producer on other projects such as Simen Mitlid's dreamy folk albums (such as Birds; or, Stories from Charlie B's Travels From Grønland to the Sun, and Back Again). And here is Balcony Dream, eleven charming tracks that remind us of such artists as José González or Sufjan Stevens, with a similar cinematic quality. Every song by Hans Olav Settem, from Purple and Green to Old Friends and In the Mirror has the feel of a scene or a shot from an imaginary film. Note that the track which gives the album its title, Balcony Dream, one of the finest on the whole record, was not written by Hans Olav alone: he had help from Marit Othilie Thorvik and Sunniva Lillian Shaw of Tordarroch. Hans Olav has described his relationship with his work: "I always find it hard to analyse and explain the music and lyrics afterwards, everything happens so spontaneously. But I guess the lyrics were kind of a mental picture that we came up with together, based on how we’d been feeling lately, books we had been reading, movies, news etc. So just a creative, nervous stream of consciousness, culminating into a weird little indie ballad.” © Yan Céh/Qobuz