Last time I listened to Victoria Bergsman aka Taken by Trees, she was making acoustic indie folk pop in her native Sweden, sounding not unlike her compatriot El Perro del Mar. East of Eden on the contrary sees a popified breed of Eastern music replacing generic indie folk, So what changed in two years?

Victoria Bergsman wanted to travel to record in a mysterious, relatively uncharted area avoiding the usual clinical studio experience, which she has always disliked and found to be an uncreative environment. She chose Pakistan. The rhythm, drums and flutes of Pakistani music had long captivated Victoria and this, coupled with a deep admiration for her favorite singers Abida Parveen and the legendary Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, helped her choose Pakistan as the place to record her new album. Another attractive factor was her interest in Sufi musicians who play in order to enter a trance like state, using music to transport themselves to another time and place. Bio

Blackratsflood on RYM stated that this is typical orientalism. After reading the press release and seeing the album cover it sure sounds like a legit criticism. I don’t wanna get all intellectual and talk about Lewis and Said’s perspectives on orientalism; it’s so easy to side with Said even if you’ve only seen one ex-yuppie in search of truth in a yoga class.

Yet at the same time, I don’t want to be in this dualist position seeing East and West as two mutually exclusive spheres of thought, whose cultural properties are only reserved for their own members. Why can’t a Swedish girl be inspired by Pakistani culture, take the trouble of going there, have problems with authorities, come up with a solid album? There are already many “plastic east meets west” world music releases by commercial labels and mainstream artists, that I despise, I don’t wanna add East of Eden to this long list just because it’s done by a Swede and not by a Pakistani. Amidst all this orientalism talk, sophomore from Taken by Trees is one of the most engaging and listenable indiepop albums 2009 has yet to offer. 4/5