Time again for the continued mix of my new album. As a rule, a little break can be good, then things can settle in right, question marks get straightened and clarity arises.
In addition, Wah wah has now got lyrics! Who could have guessed it would be in Swedish?
It is a love song dedicated to the little grandchild, to be performed jointly with mother Matilda on the naming this week. How marvelous are the ways of life .. lol;-) Now we continue
the mix, after having a short break.
Nov 6-8: MIXING TIME at NILENTO
We get together all these different musical elements, sprawling wildly in all directions. Oh yeah, I'm absolutely suuuure about it. Yiihaaaaa. It's gonna be great!
So it's time to start tying up this bag .. it has had many interruptions, there are many different parts, which are not related (as I see it) but are still in the boiling pot.
And now it's time for some serious mixing (or play maybe ..).
In November, I return to Nilento Studios in Kållered, outside Gothenburg, to mix in 3 days. Lasse prepares so that we can focus on the parts where I have the most opinions;
both my own voice and the choir voices. There are many very voices and harmonies, lots of choruses that go against each other .. I sing harmonies with myself .. on this recording which will be part of a
forthcoming album of The Pleiadian Suite, which is still untitled but with the working title VOICES.
CONCERT WITH MALOU & THE JAZPELS
MALOU & THE JAZPELS' catchy, irresistible music brew 'Old Souls Avenue' mixes old gospel classics, beloved jazztunes, and a combination of both in a delightful musical rejoicing.
Along with Malou joins the 'Den Lilla Kören Som Nästan Ryms I En Bil' and participants from the Music Week's choir workshop gets the whole room rocking!
MALOU SINGS TO THE DOLPHINS
Malou is now singing in Pleiadian to the dolphins in the Kolmården's new and spectacular dolphin show, LIFE. Malou was invited to write a new choir
arrangement for the final song 'Circle of Life' (from the Disney movie The Lion King). The choir sings in Pleiadian. Malou also sings solo. LIFE had its world premiere in the spring
of 2013.
''It was incredibly fun and an true honor to be asked by Lasse Nilsson at Nilento Studios if I wanted to write the choir arrangement for the song 'Circle Of Life'
(and especially, since all the dolphins who would hear it, I wrote it especially for them.) And most especially meaningful for me because the text would be in Pleiadian, my darling
languages. I have written lots of choir arrangments over the years, but always only for my own music, or for my own part, the songs that I myself would preform. So, this was something
totally new.'
'They wanted to have me join as well because of my way of weaving together several different choirs with each other. And so I did on 'Circle Of Life'. I am also singing the song.
It was very touching for me to be working with the 'Circle of Life'. It was meant to be instrumental, but it included a mix where Martin STENMARCK sings the melody.
I am doing some backing vocals there as well hehe;-).'
MALOU RETURNS TO NILENTO
After work on the upcoming album has been down since last spring, has Malou now started again. This is the fifth and final part of her Pleiadian suite.
'It will be fun to work again with Lasse at Nilento Studios in Gothenburg and complete the album. We'll see how these songs evolve, as I have been away from the material for some
time, so as to get my ears refreshed so I can listen much freer.
A 'problem' has been that there is very much material and I've hesitated about which way I should go with everything. What kind of songs should be featured on the album?
They are all fundamentally different .. or aren't they?
Now I have come up with a new, more open perspective. I make everything ready and then crystallize which songs will be featured on the album, or possibly multi-CD albums. Its nice not to
decide until I have everything ready! I am so fortunate to be able to do it like this...
MALOU'S INSPIRING MIDEM!
I am so pleased and inspired by this year's Midem!
As always, it is the meetings, talks, both those that are planned in the past, but perhaps even more so those that happen spontaneously, outside the box, unexpectedly, that gives the most.
I skipped the evening svirr and parties and focused on the people I met and all the excitement and fun that happened during the days.
And with me home, I now have new ideas about how to implement a project I pondered and figured at for a while .. it was something that chafed and did not want to fall into place,
a problem that made me give up the whole idea. But during one of these unexpected meetings, the idea was taken up by someone else, who presented an extraordinarily perfect solution for me.
YES! Of course, this is the way it should be made.
Do things like that make you happy? For sure they do :-). And then I finally had a solution for the online sites, which I have not been on since the CDA went bankrupt.
Feels super good indeed.
Many people ask me; is it really worth all the money to go there? For sure, it's expensive, but worth every penny.
MALOU RECORDS CHRISTMAS ALBUM
Malou records the album BREATHE OUT, which will be release November 11 nov 2011.
We chose songs from the Pleiadian Suite, songs that would fit on (a somewhat different) Christmas album. You could say that it is Remixed & Recycled. :-).
We stripped the arrangements and added the string ensemble from the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, harp, lots of bells and percussion ... and yet more bells .. hihi :-).
In addition, we did a remake of 'Nu faller ljuset in i mig', an old favorite of mine.
It will be a record to exhale, relax and wind down with in the midst of the stressful time of Christmas. All the work on the album was incredibly fun to do. Lasse Nilsson at Nilento
Studios has taken the major part in producing, which has been nice for me.
And being surrounded by strings, for two whole days, was delightful!
How lucky am I :-)
Dec 16-19: CHRISTMAS TOUR FOR ELDERLY
This time guitarist Jörgen Anderstig and I travel (with my beloved little ukulele) and sing for the elderly.
MY MUSIC + VIDEO ARTIST = TRUE
”It was Lasse Nilsson at Nilento Studios that brought us together. He had a strong feeling that the video artist PETRA LINDHOLMS's images and my music would thrive well together.
And that feeling I had as well, as soon as I saw some of her videos. Thankfully, she felt the same! :-) Petra and I hit it off directly and talked we had been friends for ever.
A short preview:
Petra has a personal expression that appeals to me. It's dreamy and very special, unpredictable and interesting to watch. Exciting on a mild and peculiar manner. I suppose you now
all know her style, right?! The idea is that she'll do videos for 5-6 songs from my Pleiadian suite, to be displayed on background screens at concerts to come.
I am very pleased and proud that this collaboration has been born and that she manages to make space for it in her busy work schedule. Petra's first video, which will be for OCEAN, a
song from the forthcoming and final album in The Pleiadian Suite, bodes well for the future
Everything you do creates ripples .. Our regular singing events on Smedbygården has interested the municipalities to engage us to their homes for the elderly.
Dduring the month of October we are doing a tour to homes for elderly around Uppsala to sing along with the residents.
It's not really concerts, but we sing together, the old familiar classics from their childhood and youth. All are welcome to join in the singing. We also have our own song booklets.
I look forward to the tour, singing with the elderly gives so much more than I could have imagined. It's gonna be both interesting and inspiring.
After each singalong I sit with my mom outside the residens. We have coffee and she smokes and eats chocolate.
My Alzheimer's diseased mother moved to Smedbygården outside Åkersberga last summer. She loves to sing and asked me at one point to come and help them sing the old songs.
No one could really remember how the songs went. But it made me happy. And since that time, I, along with guitarist Jörgen Anderstig, am going there almost every week, singing old
songs with the residents.
We have prepared our own songbook and have had plenty of opportunities to test which songs work and which ones do not. Too much text is out of the question, they do not have time
to even read the lyrics (even taking it down in tempo) they dont even seem to have time to breathe .. etc. Many who in the beginning are sitting with the
booklet without opening it, completely enclosed in themselves, eventually start rocking with the beat (waltz is da shit!) or waving their toes.
It's great fun to get to do this, but also exhausting for me. Every time I get there, my mom is a little worse. I am so glad that I can offer the gift I have received. Music is
the universal language of love that goes straight into the heart and soul of us all.
EN LITEN KÖR SOM NÄSTAN FÅR PLATS I EN BIL
I have spent several evenings in the past year with this amazing bunch of happy, singing souls, En Liten Kör Som Nästan Får Plats I En Bil.
I invited a small group to be able to play and have fun on the famous wings of happiness, in my own home stadium, the angelic room. And there we have sung, laughed, meditated,
played and sung to Tibetan bowls, practicing focus and they were all curious, joyful and playful and tried all my follies and fancies.
EN LITEN KÖR SOM NÄSTAN FÅR PLATS I EN BIL was the lynchpin of choir workshop this summer, they spread their ease, positive attitude and vocal energy and usually
had a little more knowledge about the material than those who had not worked with it before. This chorus is pure happy pills for me and it will continue its rampage this autumn.
CHOIR WORKSHOP with Malou 'Gospel & All That Jazz'
Östhammars' Music Week 2013
You, who like to sing in a choir; who like gospel music and jazz, music both swinging and gentle, expressive and introspective, playful and serious - Come and join a different choir workshop!
Here, your voice and your personal expression will take center stage, while you learn new choir arrangements, develop your ability to control your vocals and explore it with the idea
(while letting your body do the work). You also train your focus.
We start each day with meditation. And, most importantly, we have alooot of fun. You may be familiar with sheet music or just singing by ear. Everyone is equally welcome. The choir
workshop concludes with a concert together with Malou & The Jazpels. Sheet music and mp3s with the parts will be sent out in advance.
Location: Östhammars' parish, both for the workshop and concert. Date:Date: July 2 - 5. Note: Bring snacks, Concert 6pm. Wooohooo!
MALOU RECORDS AGAIN AT NILENTO
For each new album in 'The Pleiadian Suite' I have said that this is the last part. Now, no more ..
Then new songs started to sing in me, or some tempting idea has taken root in me and not wanted to give up .. They belonged to the suite and I have now recorded and released another
album in the series.
This new oner, which I have just begun the recording of ... I BELIEVE will be the last . (It's best not to be too categorical .. hehe :-)
I returned to the concept we had in Alignment. With Xavier Desandre Navarre on percussion and bowls, Thomas Hellsten, keyboards, and my free song in Pleiadian (of course! )
Songs were created in the same moment as they were recorded. But this time, we said that we would not be so fluent, but work more in tempo, with the pivot.
And so it was. We recorded the foundation, ie my vocals, keyboards and Thomas Xavier's percussion and created a few days over an hour of music. Some portions swing so much I
just can't sit still. It's great !
Here I am together with Xavier, Thomas and Lasse Nilsson, surrounded by my bowls. The big white one is made of pure crystal.
Xavier Desandre Navarre
Thomas Hellsten
Lasse invited Edo Bumba to join one of our sessions. And so we recorded Earth. It was totally amazing. YES!!
MATILDA - NEW EXCITING GUEST
'Mellan skål & tapet' - Sunday July 1
Societetshuset, Öregrund 5pm
Art show 4.30pm
An artistic meeting between the four characters and a choir. Vocalist Malou Berg lets the song float and fill the airwaves, and roll off the energy. The guitarist Jörgen Anderstig
weaves in his playing and his singing into this. And the summer choir sings polyphonic, sweet and powerful.
The poet Johanna Backman have had to cancel. In henners place, we listen to a poet of a different kind: Matilda Brolin, who performs her own songs. The artist Gerd Vading's watercolors
with gentle, touching colors provide the eye with comfort and inspiration. And in addition, som great soup with deliscious bread - a concert for all the senses.
'I really look forward to hearing Matildas touching voice and it will be sooo much fun to sing a duet with her.'
Entrance fee: 180 SEK
Any remaining tickets will be sold at the entrance
Arrangment by: Vaggsångs Friends
MALOU TO HAWAII
Malou has rented a house on the Big Island in order to comspose the music for the album to be recorded this fall.
'It has long been a desire in me to go away and write music, getting time set aside for undisturbed composing, but of course also for the recovery and enjoyment.
'Since my last Hawaii visit, I have been longing back there. Now it will actually happen. I am so happy and filled with anticipation. I'll compose the music for the album to be recorded
this fall.
GREAT SUCCESS IN SOUTH KOREA
'It was an amazing experience just to be in this beautiful, tranquil temple environment in midst of the mountains of South Korea. And everything was so smooth and easy, it just
worked out, no problem, everything was taken care of for me. For me that alone was a rare and wonderful experience! The band was already prepared when I arrived, they had arranged
the songs for their traditional and very beautiful instrument.
We rehearsed in Seoul and it all worked out perfectly. And once in HwaEomsa it all floated as easily as before, I had
Min with me, as an interpreter and guide. I laughed at it at first, but when I met the reality outside Seoul, I realized what a blessing it was to have her with me ..
where no one spoke English (it seemed like they felt they spoke fluent English if they could say Good Morning).
It was an unforgettable experience to be part of this concert, an honor to be their main artist, an honor to finish after the amazing musicians who appeared before me.
I will never forget how the audience reacted, when I started to sing the Korean anthem. They sort of exploded, it was such a powerful shock that went through the crowd that I felt it
physically. As an implosion in my heart. Everything was so nice and the weather was perfect, the birds circled over the scene. It was glittering happiness, YEAH :-).'
