My November thoughts

It's been more than a month since the song book was released, and Irmelin has recorded songs for our new album. It's been phonecalls, emails, new applications, rehersals. I've almost forgot how it is to have free time. So I experience the classical signs of post production stress. I'm finding mysef in a time of emptiness. Too much happened in very short time. My life journey has taken me to some unknown roads. Some days it's a bit hard to navigate forward but it seems like this is what it is to be a person 2012 on earth, I see lot of this around me too.

In the middle of this emptiness I know something new is going to happen. A change of view. An adaption. I already see some of the patters of the old are fading away and leaving me with a new sense of light. Can it be that I became looked in my own old thoughts and ambitions?

Oh, this evening was a pearl, to sing with the children and go in there with the full aim of having a good time together. It's all about sing together and enjoy it. No need to prove anything. No need to worry. It's actually a great gift to see the faces of the children and see their families gathering. Beautiful it is. Simple as that, in a smaller church on the outskirts of Göteborg, on a November dark evening.

I just want to express that in the middle of my tiredness I feel a great thankfulness too. On the bus travelling home from this event I found a poem that spoke to me:

"Gift" by Czeslaw Milosz (1971)

En dag så full av lycka.

Arbetade i trädgården, dimman lyfte tidigt.

Kolibrierna stod stilla över kaprifolens blom.

Det fanns på jorden inte en sak jag ville äga.

Jag visste inte någon värd att avundas.

Vad ont som hänt hade jag glömt.

Skämdes inte för tanken att vara den jag alltid varit.

Kände i kroppen ingen smärta.

När jag rätade på ryggen såg jag blå hav och segel.

A day so happy.

Fog lifted early I worked in the garden.

Hummingbirds were stopping over honeysuckle flowers.

There was no thing on earth I wanted to possess.

I knew no man worth my envying him.

Whatever evil I had suffered, I forgot.

To think that once I was the same man didn’t embarrass me.           

In my body I felt no pain.

On straightening up, I saw the blue sea and sails.

They found a song

It's now happening for the first time after the book of wedding songs was released. I've heard from a couple who are going to marry that they found a song in my book Bröllopssånger och kärleksvisor that they will have in the wedding ceremony.

This makes me so happy to know. The purpose is to share the songs through the book and make them more accessable again.

Now it's a cold and dark season. I have so many memories of light that I can make my day shine.
Here's one of the great memories from the book makeing. Photo session day, Eva Petrén is preparing one of our models.

Today I'm delighted to have an interview about the book for a magazine in Dalarna. We'll meet at Dalarnas Museum. On my way there I plan to see an art exhibition where Emmeli Malmqvist shows her work of kurbits from Dalarna in meeting with Göteborg. Sounds like something for me.

Eva

Pia-påse vill jag önska mig

I år ska jag önska mig en Pia-påse i julklapp. Det är en kasse med hushållsvaror inhandlade hos Handlarn i Övertänger, Pias affär. I påsen kan det till exempel finnas mandel, kryddor, diskborste, tvättmedel, nån god ost från charken, choklad, nötter, olivolja, kaffe. Grejen är att jag högst av allt önskar mig en blomstrande verksamhet för byns hjärta. Utan butiken i Övertänger skulle mycket stanna av och definitivt bli mer komplicerat för mig som inte har bil att åka hit och dit och handla.

Får jag bjuda på ett annat julklappstips?

Ge bort min sångbok "Bröllopssånger och kärleksvisor" till någon du tycker om.
240 kr plus porto 48 kr, allt som allt 288 kr.
Maila mig på info@evarune.se så löser vi det praktiska.

Meningen med denna bok är att den ska lysa upp, värma hjärtan, bjuda på musik och poesi som generationer av människor fört vidare i visor. Därför blev jag så fantastisk glad att läsa bokens recension i Falukuriren förra veckan där Ragna Fahlander skrev "Oj, en hel bok med sånger om lycklig kärlek! Må-bra-potentialen är enorm, och visst blir jag på gott humör när jag bläddrar och nynnar." Då känns det som att formgivaren Gabriella Persson och jag har lyckats med vårt uppsåt. Efter åren med gruvarbetarsångernas allvar, patos, delvis elände, men också massor av kraft, så ville jag göra något om glädje, kärlek, passion och omsorg.

Jag köper julklappar året om. När jag råkar finna något som passar till en person, lika bra att inhandla och lägga i presentskåpet. För det är mindre roligt att stressa fram idéer när tiden börjar bli knapp före jul. Och för den delen, det vore roligt att ge bort några Pia-påsar till släkt och vänner också.

Kram, Eva

Oud is honey for the soul

Preparing for tomorrows rehersal with Martin Holmlund, upright base, and Ahmad Al Khatib, oud. Listening to this fabulous song that is found at the cd Madar, by Jan Garbarek, Anouar Brahem and Shaukat Hussain. This cd was launched in 1994 and I bought it probably the same year. I remember how I was compleetely filled with the music for a week when I was ill with the flu. I read a book, a biography of american painter Georgia O'Keeffe and listens to the cd over and over again. It made me almost hypnotised. I guess it's one of my strongest musical impressions, wich later lead me to form the enseble Alruna years later.
In the youtube clip it's fascinating to see all the images of desert, wich was so much the life and home of Georgia O'Keeffe in New Mexico. Georgia O'Keeffe herself, what a role model as artist, so pure, strong minded and consequent in her believes and life.

Sull lull:



And one more of my top favourites from the same album, Qaws:



Eva

Our totally lovable and crazy little dog

This lovely little Leo, he's so amazing.

I wish you all a very good day out there! Take good care of yourself and remember how a dog is just himself, not thinking about what other people will think or say.

Just be.

Let it be.

Eva

Irmelin recording week is compleeted

Petter and Maria talking in the control room.

Nice sound!

On top the roofs of Göteborg.

Sun flower shining after nights of frost.

Last day, going through all music we recorded in 5 days.

Yay! Saturday morning, I'm having a weekend with my daugther and our friends. Need to contemplate a bit of all the work we achieved this week in the studio. I stood up early, daughter and dog still sleeping. I feel at peace with things, and yet, it's been a rollercoaster sometimes with the intense work in the studio. Just three voices, I thought I knew, it's so unbearable sensitive, naked, no guard. And also powerful, strong! It's a long time ago since I felt so empty, like I've squeezed every bit out of me.

It will be a beautiful day with friends, a special day! I'm so thankful I have friends who accept me even if I'm buried in a studio (or on tour) for a week, neglecting to take phone calls, not answering emails or sms.

I'm very thankful for the week we just had. Thank you Maria, Karin, Petter! It's been wonderful to work with you! Looking forward now to see you again for the mixing of the songs. And I'm so much looking forward to release the cd to all our listeners, oh, that's a thrill!

Eva

Recording next album with Irmelin

Irmelin records this week with sound engineer Petter Ericsson in Studio Epidemin.

I love this moments of full focus, of sparkle and pulling the forces together. 

Karin and Maria had a rough start of the week, because of the train trouble (one other train on fire, thank godness no one got seriously injured) that delayed traffic between Stockholm and Göteborg. They arrived in the early morning hours, at 03! Instead of arriving in the evening and resting at the hotel. I can tell you Karin and Maria are the most professional colleges I know. They performed beautiful even with that short night of sleep. No complaining, and beautiful singing. You rock girls!
We have a tight schedule with a number of 26 different songs to record, some of them will be put together to one track. So far so good, we did a bunch of really good takings yesterday.

Soon time to go to studio.

Have a wonderful week everybody!
Eva