Listen | 08. Apr 2020

My Daily Dose Of Karen Elson - When One Simple Song Helps You Get Along

I met Karen Elson for the first time in autumn 1997 during Milan fashion shows - although I had seen her on the runways then already for some time; together with Kate Moss, James Kind, Alek Wek, Erin O´Connor and some others she led the group of new faces within the fashion industry. When I was introduced to her by Francesca Sorrenti during one shooting we did together for German Cosmopolitan I specifically remember her tender spirit, the translucent teint of hers and the natural red hair that surrounded her angelic face.

When meeting her again some weeks later at Francesca´s studio, where we were producing the story, I fell in love with her smile, her eyes narrowing to little blinking stars; she was there to see Mario Sorrenti, one of Francesca´s sons, a up and coming photographer then, like his brother, the late Davide Sorrenti.

Years later Karen started a career as a singer, she was married to musician Jack White, together they founded a family in Nashville, Tennessee, and the native English rose became a quite respected folk singer.

Since we all follow one artist or the other these days during the lockdown - I tried to listen to specific podcasts, life-concerts, readings, I read novels, split up into daily chapters, and tried to follow artists showing just one piece at a time.

Just two of all these offerings stuck with me: every evening, while preparing dinner or having an aperetivo we listen to Igor Levit who plays for ten to fifteen minutes well known pieces of classic concert music, you normally find him performing at Carnegie Hall or Elb-Philharmonie or on other international stages; together with up to thousands of other fans, we join this audible campfire, like a family gathers in times of fear and fury to get comforted not only by his music, but also by the universal get together.

And then there is that very personal song I wake up to every single morning (due to time lag from Europe to Northern America) since some weeks: Karen Elson performs a capella, from her home, accompanied only by her acoustic guitar, one song.

Maybe it is her voice. Maybe it is the personal repertoire. Maybe it is that every song is a motto of the day.

But for one reason or the other, that daily doses of listening to Karen Elson really help me through the day.

Go, check for yourself.