Yoda of the scythe

It totally made my day, meeting with master Birger.
We sat talking about how to cut the meadow with a scythe. All about technique, weather conditions, general advice, and how to maintain the scythe and make it sharp.

Birger went after his best scythe, the one he used in competitions as well as in daily work on his farm lands.
Carefully cutting the grass, beautiful and neat.
He also let me cut the grass and corrected my technique. The tip of the blade must be more parallell to the ground. He make half moon shaped cuttings but slightly shorter from side to side than I tried to do it before.
It was truly a special feeling to hold on to this scythe that has served so long in his masters hands. As if the iron handles had softened and transformed in the contact with human hand.
Birgers lovely wife Terese came to sit with us too and we all had a good talk in the summer afternoon.

I was suggested to go to Birger if I wanted to know deeply about the traditions. He's the elder, the knowledge holder of the traditions that passed down in generations. He had a lot to tell, I say! This is indigenous knowledge for me, connected to the life in harmony with nature here in the north. Connected to my family roots of farmers in Dalarna.

Birger with his scythe.

Birger gave me this whetstone to sharpen my scythe. An honour to be given such!

A rose that unfolded this morning in my garden.

Summer workshop week with Myst

Music is in the air.
Myst have had a week together in Göteborg. Long time no see, but now we've had full days of digging into our music again.

God is in the small details.....

Three days rehearsals and two days recording. One new song has seen the light, Ahmad wrote the piece and Eva added some lyrics. It's called "A Song I Wrote For You".

Seven songs from our repertoir last year has been recorded for demo, that makes eight songs all in all this week.
Here's some pics from work in the studio:

Martin and his new tattoo.

Youssef Hbeisch, percussion.

Ahmad Al Khatib, oud.

Martin Holmlund, double bas. Sara Nilsson, violin.

Eva Rune, vocals.

Pure love for sounds and voices

The creative has a good soil here.
Key persons make a huge contribution in bringing the good things together. Thank you so much initiative makers, crew and leaders of this lovely voice festival, Naturstimmen - Klangfestival in Alt St. Johann, Toggenburg.
The pure love for sounds and voices made a great impact on me.
For example:
This house with a black smith on the bottom floor, powered by a water wheel. Water and fire energy steaming up in the rest of the house.
On the other floors in the house it was room after room filled with  music of many kind. Music therapy, music exploring, music to touch and be touched by. Instruments with pentatonic scales so beginners can feel the happiness of being creative with tones. And vibrations.
On the top floor Irmelin had our course every morning, sharing the songs of the north. Thank you participants who signed up to spend four whole days with us. We had a lovely time with you!

Here's Bernhard Betschart performing his pure yodel from Muotathal. Irmelin had the pleasure to perform together with him on the night out at the lake Schwendisee in the Alps of Toggenburg. Nature gave us blessings of rain and it was pure life being there listening to Beny's yodel answering in with our shepherd calls from the north.





“Tell me, what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?”
― Mary Oliver

After Toggenburg I continued to Hochdorf to work with cellist Annika Dobler, a long time music partner. We were both members of Rosenbergs Sjua and have several tours together all around in many countries.
The magic linden tree in their garden. Perfect for en evening session with music in the garden.

Last concert was performed in a local church in Hochdorf in the morning, Annika and me singing away in a non-picture-only-colors-and-shapes reformert church. It was a cleansing experince and very etheric.
Then finally, time to just relax!
On my last day in Switzerland I had an afternoon & evening free. We took the train to Luzern. Annika and Alain showed me around to their get-away-places of tranquility in the middle of a city.
Seebad in Luzern.

Seebad in Luzern. My friends grandmother used to come here every day.

My first swim for this summer, in Lake Luzern.

Strolling the streets of Luzern on a summer evening.

Have a beautiful day out there!
Eva

Klangfestival Naturstimmen in Toggenburg, Schweiz, here we come!

Dear folks, Irmelin is on a lovely and powerful journey in Toggenburg, Switzerland. Seeing old friends and making new friends. We have learned how the deep, gritty, real old school yodel goes. Going wild. We have shaken hands with the local people and heard the cow bells from morning to night on the mountain slopes. The real deal.
We have made concert and shared moments of thrill when our calls tear the air, when our soft songs whisperes in your hearts. In the meeting with you lovely audience, we create together. A special song for someone special. It's only happening here and now.

Six brave and skilled students, each one with power in her voice, are in our course of swedish shepherd calls & diddling dance tunes. We are so grateful for being here.

Last night we did our out door concert with voices in shepherd calls, alps, cow horn, natur juuz. Thank you all for coming out there, I think we all felt deep in our hearts how nature and humans and animals are all one together.

A room with a view.

"Disbelief in magic can force a poor soul into believing in government and business.” ― Tom Robbins

This machine cleanse your soul.

Participants and Irmelin in our voice course at Naturstimmen Festival 2014.

Leave to remain. Movie at the local cinema today.

Leave to remain.

Director Bruce Goodison


This is a movie about a group of young people coming on their own to England, each one of them leaving hell behind. Trying to cope, to find a new life, find friends and a sence of family and belonging. The fear is everywhere, but there is also laughter and life. The scenes of how the dance lift them away from their dark memories for some moments are some of my favourite scenes in the film.
Another strong scene is when 15 year old Abdul, played by Zarrien Masieh, get lost in his memories of his home and get lost in the mountains when they all are out for a hike. He is highly traumatized by the violence he has witnessed and the only help he gets is coming from the young friends around him, youth who likewise carry their own heavy stuff.

" Based on real-life stories, Leave to Remain is a coming of age drama that depicts a world hidden from view. Featuring a soundtrack by the award winning band Alt-J, this provocative debut feature from BAFTA winner Bruce Goodison, introduces an ensemble cast of emerging talent, young refugees and acclaimed actor, Toby Jones."



Great story, great acting by the youth in leading roles. I will always remember this film. Also knowing that young people like the ones in the film is right here where I live, right among us, some of them going to the local gymnasium school.

The film today was choosen by a youthgroup in Angered, and my youthgroup in Hjällbo was invited to the show. It's looks promising that we might establish more contact and see if we can have a bigger youth-film-club here. What a dream! Yes, I'm in!
Lets see and talk movie.


Eva

Irmelin goes Finland

Irmelin loves Finland!
We are in Vaasa right now together with hundreds and hundreds of other singers. It's the Vaasa choir Festival. Super nicely organized by the festival crew, many thanks, kiitos kiitos! Your dedication for the vocal music is so uplifting and empowering. Lovely to walk in the center of town and hear choir music in every corner.

Yesterday evening we made a concert at Ritz, a theater-like hall, it's a cinema with totally beautiful original atmospher. Interiors from the time it was built. A special thank you to all who came to listen with so big ears and big hearts. Kiitos to all of you. We allways love to share the stories from the sea, from the travellers, of love, of death, of joy again after the sorrow.

It's always a great pleasure to sing in a hall like this, with good light and sound and a setting that enhance focus and energy for the details in our voices and music.

I wonder if they sometimes dance lindy hop, balboa or boogie woogie here? This is just outside the big cinema hall.

We had a lovely dinner at il Banco, a house built on 1860 for a bank in those days. Today a culinary rich place to go, my dinner was ecellent.

Maria Misgeld at the doors of il Banco.

Today we perform again at Ritz and this time it's a shared concert with the choir Philomela. I'm very much looking forward to sing there. We had super nice sound!

Vaasa train station.

To travel with Karin and Maria, it's my best place to be. Song sisters, you rule!

Eva

To enter another world

The road is leading into new adventures.
Sometimes we open the door and walk into another world. The unknown.
May the journey begin.
May we walk with light steps.
May we meet at the end of the day and share our stories from near and far,
from journeys inwards and outwards.

Baloo Antique

Wreckage from the ocean of time....

....beauty in decay....

......rubbles from the past......

Eva