Any Druid will love this lovely singer songwriter from the world of the Vikings. Her voice has that gossamer gentleness of mists and the crisp melancholy of the Norwegian landscapes. This video was filmed on locations in Ireland (Connemara area on the west coast) and features Irish actor Seamus Hughes.
About the video:
The song “Higher Than My Stairway” by Elin Synnøve Bråthen is included on the album “The Anchor And The Dream” (label: Curling Legs, Oslo, Norway) – appraised by the public and the critics from A to Z. This dreamy music video was filmed on locations in Ireland (Connemara area on the west coast). Featuring Irish actor Seamus Hughes and includes the signature sound of a men’s choir – a rather unusual flavour for pop music of this kind. Recording producer: Øystein Sevåg, Mixed by Giert Clausen and Elin Synnøve Bråthen
I met Kjell through Paula O’Brien. Though his music is eclectic and gears towards ambient and electronica, his profile posts will reveal to you his enthusiasm for Celtic music. I planned to set up a little Q and A a long time ago but his wedding took place( my big congratulations to him for finding the ONE) and it’s only this month that he was able to do things on the side including this interview.
How do you celebrate Christmas in Norway? Are there common Celtic hints other than the predominant Viking influences?
No Celtic influences are common in Norway. Apart from the pan-european christian Christmas, we have a long tradition of Yule, and the name of the holiday here is Jul (not Christmas).
Most yule music is Christian, though, lots of common ground with the rest of Europe. A few yule songs focus on the folklore surrounding the “nisse” (more a house elf than the modern Santa).
Tell us about your type of music(Christmas) and artists you’d recommend to listeners?
For Norwegian Christmas music sung in Norwegian, I would recommend Sissel Kyrkjebø….
Although she sings in many languages, these two videos are in Irish Gaelic.
Who is your biggest influence that got you into music?
My personal biggest influences to create music are Kraftwerk, Depeche Mode and Pet Shop Boys.
Artists that occupy your collection now?
During Christmas I listen to a lot of Celtic inspired music such as Enya, Moya Brennan, Celtic Woman.
What are the things about these artists (Enya, Moya Brennan and Celtic Woman) that you think inspires the season?
I think Enya, Moya and Loreena (who I also love), combine ancient Celtic vibes with modern elements very well, and each in their own special way. Enya with her warm electronic soundscapes, Loreena with her combination of different world music elements, and Moya with her more minimalist approach.
All three have made very special and fantastic Christmas albums, which I play a lot during the season.
I heard your interesting work with Loreena McKennitt song She Moved Through The Fair. Can you explain this?
My mash up mix of Loreena singing and Mike Oldfield playing She Moved Through the Fair was a fun idea I had when I realised they had their respective versions on CD 🙂
A mix of Loreena McKennitt’s a capella version from her 1985 album Elemental and Mike Oldfield’s instrumental version from his 1996 album Voyager.
Are there Celtic sessions in Norway that you know?
I have no knowledge of specific Celtic music being made here in Norway.
What are the sites that you can recommend listeners regarding your works?
Music business is commercial and awful 🙂 True art and true music is not found in the “least common denominator” of the top 10 charts. The underground and independent music scene is where people with passion for music are.
Why do you think people get into music?
People should get into music to feel alive.
Updates for the coming months?
No concrete plans for the coming months. I’m going on paternity leave in the new year for 10 weeks to stay home with my son. Will upgrade my main music software and get into what is new there while home 🙂
More collaboration with Paula O’Brien are also in the works.
That sounds like a wonderful plan! What’s your message to our readers?
I haven’t tried logging into MIRC for a long time. If you look back to the early days of the Internet , this is the only form of communication locally that’s very popular. But of course these days there are too many.My friend uses SKYPE, I use MSN and Yahoo Messenger,and my other pals are into Twitter. The reason why I have to get back to MIRC is that it is easy to talk to people locally. There’s Bacolod,Silay,Pinoy Chat,Cebu etc.And yeah some weird greetings getting there.
Message of the Day, Trondheim.NO.EU.Undernet.org
Hello there stranger, yup, you guessed it!
– We’re from Norway 🙂
–
– Interesting facts about Norway for you foreigners:
–
– Norway is a constitutional monarchy. Its population is
– 4.681.100 (2007), giving a population density of 12
– per km^2. The capital city of Oslo has 548.000
– inhabitants.
–
– Including Svalbard and Jan Mayen, Norwegian territory
– covers 386,958 square kilometers. The mainland is long
– – 1752 km from the southern to the northernmost tip.
– The coastline itself is 2650 km long, if you were to
– include the length of all the fingers of the fjords it
– would be 10 times longer.
–
– Every day more than 2.1 million of those use the
– Internet and you may very well be chatting with a
– Norwegian right now.
–
Hello there stranger, yup, you guessed it!
– We’re from Norway 🙂
–
– Interesting facts about Norway for you foreigners:
–
– Norway is a constitutional monarchy. Its population is
– 4.681.100 (2007), giving a population density of 12
– per km^2. The capital city of Oslo has 548.000
– inhabitants.
–
– Including Svalbard and Jan Mayen, Norwegian territory
– covers 386,958 square kilometers. The mainland is long
– – 1752 km from the southern to the northernmost tip.
– The coastline itself is 2650 km long, if you were to
– include the length of all the fingers of the fjords it
– would be 10 times longer.
–
– Every day more than 2.1 million of those use the
– Internet and you may very well be chatting with a
– Norwegian right now.
–
Just to note,the duo Secret Garden is half Norwegian and Half Irish. There is always a sense of bright melancholy in Norwegian tunes as opposed to the misty melancholy in Irish music.The thing they call Scandinavian sadness.I don’t know, it’s hard to describe but if you want to know about it, just check the pattern of chords and you’ll know what I mean.
Celtic Music Fan 