Don't take the shit!

I'm writing this in hope that there's a possibility to make a change for children out there. Children we might encounter by chance, wherever it may occur.

Yesterday I had a very unpleasant experience. I wish I had all the courage speak out earlier, to say more, say all the things that came to my mind later.

But anyway, I did something. Gather strength and tell another grown up, a parent, that I dislikes his behavior.
Three kids, tired from traveling, having some sibling conflicts but so quiet I couldn't hear it. They didn't disturb the other travelers at all. Normal talk, normal conflicts, from well behaved kids I think.
I heard more of the disturbing dad, a cold piercing voice that gave so many negative words to his children I started to feel the pain myself. He was cold, angry, giving nick names to his eldest, telling how bad she was as a person.

Finally I couldn't stand it any longer.

And I made it.

I looked in his eyes and said calmly: It makes me so sad to hear how you treat your eldest daughter.

I can assure you, it wasn't easy for me. After our short conversation, this dad and I, I was shaking. Almost fell in the stairs going down to the luggage acclaim.

Knowing now that this dad truly believes in his way of mirroring mistakes, revenging on his children like bullying in a school yard, and he says he believes in this method, I feel so sad that a young person of only 10 years must endure such bad leadership and parenting. For heavens sake, she's so young and he's old and could know more, give her good self confidence. I wish I could hug her and tell her to grow up as the beautiful person she is, a lovely child, and not listen to voices that only give you shit.


Aunt Molly Jackson, what a powerful person she was! I wish I had only a small part of her courage. Aunt Molly Jackson, a Kentucky Coal Miner Diva. It's said that she was in the height of her glory when she approached people who treated other people bad. it could be the coal mining bosses, it could also be miners who drank and mistreated their families.

I'm just a shivering little person who hardly could fall asleep after the experience yesterday. But I am willing to keep on speaking out when I feel the pain of other people being bullied or mistreated.

Thank goodness there are role models of good leadership, like Aunt Molly Jackson, Mother Jones, (Mary Harris Jones) Gandhi, Mandela and other wise people. Who really fight for the children and the small ones.

Working creatively within culture

This morning in the news flood I found something that catched my eye. It was about when voices around you may say things is not going to work. And the reply to such sayings was: who are they to tell? Do they have the full picture?

I'm agreeing with that. As a musician I often get those questions, how can you make it? And I think it's a lot about what kind of view of life you have. How wide is your horizon? What is your perception of the world around you? Do you see problems or possibilities? As a musician working creative with your own music, not being employed in an orchestra, you increase your ability of always find a solution, see the possibilities, to be flexible and many other values that's often highly rewarded in business. Even if creative art is not comparable to ordinary business.

Art is one of the foundations of human nature, in my believe, something essential and what makes us truly humans. Thousands of investigations can prove that we need culture in its many forms. I'm proud of my work, and I care for it as a treasure, knowing that it will give much to many who listen to my music.

Every morning I go to my job with light steps, eager to start, and hardly able to stop. Today I'm eager to prepare for concert with Annika Dobler on cello, concert is on Sunday in Hochdorf in Switzerland.
I'm eager to keep up the work with my first songbook. It fills me with joy and satisfaction, and sometimes I'm a bit scared too. The kind of thrilling fright to embark on unknown territories.
I'm eager to start

right

now.

E

In the beginning

Yesterday I spoke with a friend that has been part of the very beginning of the whole songbook project. I sang at her wedding 1995, and at the lovely reception, with toasts for the couple, I came into a conversation with other guests. There in this summery day in the garden just outside small village of Sundborn (Carl Larsson the painter, you know….) I first got the idea that my collection of weddingsongs from the folk music field could be shared in a book. The beautiful couple is Björn and Kristina Sjöö, and still today I remember this very special wedding as one of the most free spirited, joyful and creative weddings I've ever been to. Clearly there was something special in the air.

So it's now 17 years I've been working with this songbook. Some things is worth taking time with.

This morning I got a mail from a friend with answers about one of the songs. It's a well known and widely spread song, Fin är du, and the origin has been unclear to me. Now I got great info, thank you Hans Kennemark! It can really fuel the day to get such a nice start.



On facebook I found this, on the topic of love.


Is there someone today you can show some love?

Eva

Collecting and organizing songs

I'm digging deep now into the project of making a book. A songbook with nordic folk songs connected to love, friendship, passion and wedding.
Collecting and organizing the songs, wow, it's really endless, it's days, weeks, month and years of work! And it's to intense when the flow comes, and I only want to sit with this pile of work. Researching, putting the pieces in new order, details that needs to be concidered, overviews and frame work needs to be taken care of...
...going back to my older notes done years ago, nothing can be left aside now.

New ideas come up!

I'm in constant contact with archives now as the book is in the phase of coming into form.

Luckily today I'm not so ill with the flu that came this week. I hate when illness is holding me back from the things I want to do. I'm still coughing and can't sing :-( but probably I'll be able to continue with some reading and writing. No fever today!
Eva

Miner's Hymns Movie, by Bill Morrison

I've seen the movie Miner's Hymns. Mostly attracted about how GIFF wrote about the film in the booklet: it's really worth seeing for the music. I was expecting some folklore mining songs, but oh what a surprice! And a good surprice!

New compsed music by Jóhann Jóhannsson (Iceland) - contemporary music. Powerful, full of dignity, giving the respect to the mining community of Durham who film director Bill Morrison has portrayed so fine. A tribute to the miners union. Black and white documentary film clips are here put together and created a more emotional kind of documentary than a pure historical.



Check this: http://www.dn.se/kultur-noje/skivrecensioner/johann-johannsson-the-miners-hymns

Today I'm a bit ill, just an ordinary cold, but with fever. Ok, I have to let this pass before I work as usual again. But I can't stop it, I'm so busy with gathering, compiling, structuring all songs, info about the songs for my up coming songbook. Some short texts is going to give the frame arund my selection of songs and I re-write, work on the texts almost every day now. I'm just a little slowed down by this cold in the writing flow of this book.
What is the theme of the book?
It's love songs and wedding songs. A great theme, I've been collecting songs for about 15 years.
After my period of miners songs and union songs I now want to do something that has a great deal of party in it. I mean, mining songs will always be with me, but life is full of party also.

Eva

Let's do something!

Today I saw the film "Sing your song", a documentary of Harry Belafonte and his tremendous history in arts, music and social activism. Stunning history! And not always the history told as I learned from his daughter Gina Belafonte, producer of the film. Gina met us the audience here in Göteborg today and after the screening we could ask her questions and she really met us with a warm heart and openess.

It's all really touching. There's pictures in this movie from the most heart aching moments of human despair, from the violent days of racism, apartheid, famine and war. Each time Harry Belafonte heard the cries he acted: Let's do something! He was constantly movement-building and searching for Equal Rights, Equal Opportunities, Freedom for the people who lack this.

He got very close to Martin Luther King and the non violent movement. He met Mandela, who greeted him: "-Ah, there you are Harry-boy!" when Mandela came to the US for the first time after being released from his 27 years in prison.

The story is really long, how he always stood up for human rights. And Harry Belafonte called himself a constant optimist, that's the only way to have hope.

The film is a great portrait of a unique artist who devoted his whole life for the believes he had, to make his country a good place to live for all inhabitants. In his old days he put a lot of focus on children and young voices all around the world. Being a Unicef embassador he really gained a lot achivement.
It's also scary to see how other forces tried to stop him and destroy for all the leaders of the movement, blacklisting them, threatening them. Bravery is what' always been needed if you want to really make a difference. How hard the struggle was at some point.

Harry once asked Martin Luther King if he feared for his life, and the answer was firm: I care mostly for doing a good job. Life is somehow short, and it's not so much about how long you live but what you do with your life.

As always when I see the documentary pictures of killings in Soweto during the 1960th I can hardly breath, I get an immediate pain in my body. But most of all, I feel so uplifted to see the determination and the achievements and how people stood up and joined for freedom and equal rights.

Listen to this interview:



And here's some happy jumping film-festival visitors!
Long live hope!
Eva

Recordingsession NWM at Studio Epidemin

Nordic Wedding Music are just finished for today with recording and Johannes Lundberg, soundengineer of the day, is now mixing while we listen and comment. It's been a good day at work! Playful, sharing of new ideas, trying out a few new arrangements on the songs of Nordic Wedding Music. Studio Epidemin is the place! Inspiring and relaxed, and very very skilled people working here. You definitely relax in their good care. I've also got the chance during sound check to try out mike cable from Intelligent Sound and listen to the difference from a normal cable.
Mats Eriksson (guitar) is sleeping on the couch behind us and we listen to how much reverb that will be suitful. As soon as something is said about the guitar he's immediately alert. Mikael Godée (sopran saxophone) is having a beer and making some documentary photos.
I forgot to bring my camera today, but I have an old photo from another recording session in springtime, same studio:
List of songs today:

Godafton, godafton.
Vár Hárra
Aldrig blir den bruden jungfru mer
I stemmer og sjunge
Bordsvise
Se stjärnorna på himmelen
Flickan står på golvet.

In this moment it's a challenge to keep the ears clear and awake. It can be coming to a point when the ears just have to take a break and have a fresh start in the listening.

Eva