NoFo-Bloggen

The next week or so you will get some blogposts showing pictures from our fantastic stay in Odense. This is the first one and we will start with the beginning, very early in february.

We started off with a full day of planning at Benjamins place.

Food is a very important part of our everyday life, especially when we are making great plans..

Mmm, bacon..

Often we consider wine to be just as important as food when we meet. And who wouldn’t like a box of five liters, and this very nice and big glass to drink it from? Well, we didn’t say no..

We went on a fantastic trip to Fanø, visiting Tove de Fries who lives in Sønderho, and who tried her best to teach us to play “sønderhoning”. She also gave us a tour around the village, and in the evening we had a small concert at Nanas Stue and got to meet some of the locals.

Trying once again to make everything fit into Markus’ car. What would we do without it?

On the Ferry.

Beautiful Fanø..

Stegt flæsk med persillesovs og kartofler

After the exciting day at Fanø, we spent the night driving to Lolland, where we had our very first tour as a band the following week.

We had some workshops.

And we got to be stars in the local newspaper!

And in the evenings we had really nice jam-sessions with Frede and Gerd.

During the daytime we played for lots of kids in different kindergardens.

When we didn’t play music, we played a hell of a lot of cards. Hjerter, Hjertersju, Casino and Poker. I don’t think any of us have played that much cards for years!:)

Thank you so much Gerd and Frede for letting as stay at your place, and for being the best hosts. And Especially thanks to Frede for fixing the tour, we’ll come and visit you again.

This was a visual insight to some moments from our term in Odense. In a couple of days you’ll get the next part.

- Tranotra

It seems like Monday actually is a very bad video-day, because we never remember it anyway. But even if it’s tuesday, you’ll still get a small documentary to start the rest of the week with.

The last year I have of course learned a lot about swedes, first living in Stockholm and then I’ve spent the spring hanging out with Sven and Markus. But before I started Nordic Master I had great use of this documentary made by the very serious journalist Magnus Trygve Olsen Devold. I think it made me understand my neighbours a bit better. This is the first episode of Svensker Er Mennesker, and for those of you who can’t understand norwegian I’m sorry, but I couldn’t find it with subtitles.

- Olaug

So, we recovered from the Celebrations on the 17th of May and this week end we’re enjoying the Odense Folk Festival. On monday we have our term concert (20.00 @ Kulturmaskinen, Odense) and then we’re getting ready to leave Odense. Next week we’ll publish some of the pictures from our escapades on the Draisines and maybe tell you something about our grand plans for the future.
Now it’s time for practicing for the concert. For the geeks out there, I can reveal that among other things it will include some music from the famous Notebook of Rasmus Storm.

/Sven

Today it´s the day where Norway got their own constitution, Sweden took Norway from Denmark and Denmark got over halved. So, today we will celebrate Norway with Nowegian brown cheese, cake, pancakes, salmon, a kind of scrambled eggs and champagne. Have a nice and cosy day everybody

This day is for Norway, but if you see a bit on the Danish history, we didn´t have the best time in history there. In 1801 we lost most of our navy, 1807 the Englishmen bombed Copenhagen, 1813 we were bankrupted and 1814 we “lost” Norway.

But hey. We are always in mood for a celebration

/Benjamin

Addition:
How the Swedes understand the norwegian national anthem

/Sven

So, even if I’m in Finland and monday here has turned into tuesday it’s still time to deliver a monday video here on the blog.
After seeing this video I’ve been thinking that maybe we should find ourselves a bass player for Tranotra. With some ass tight jeans, like they’re painted on. And a big cucumber (in the pocket?).

In Denmark it’s said that you can’t find a place which is over 100 km (maybe actually 70km) from the ocean and we have always have had a special relation to the Sea. Because of the location of Denmark it is also many times really windy out at sea, but that doesn’t always keep us from taking a nice fishing trip and best is when it’s in the early mornings.

Yesterday I went fishing with some of the men in the family. Got up at 5.30 and drove to Øresund which is the water between Denmark and Sweden. The weather was cloudy and most of the time really windy, so when we went out with the boat, we had to take cover from the water which came from the waves and up to the deck. Some people might have stayed at home instead going out in that weather, but somehow there is something therapeutic about standing on a swaying deck, with water in your face and just throw the line out, waiting for a fish to get on your hook. Even though you are not alone on the boat, you don’t have to speak about anything, you can just be or go more into yourself. At same time the sudden excitement when i fish is on your hook, that you share with those who is standig next to you, is something I feel is somehow special.

Compared to the “playing music” and “being present” idea, it is sometimes nice to have opportunity to just let go of the thinking and just be…hmm, well actually, “being present”. I think it is a important thing to remember when working with music, and working in a normal day where you have to plan and think. Think about arrangements, plan gigs, apply money. There I think one easily can start to think in old patterns and just do things in more rational systems. Then it is a good think to get one’s mind blown away of a strong wind and try to see thing in other perspectives, than one maybe have had the possibility to do in a normal agenda. This can lead to new areas in one’s development as in this case as a musician.

When one then gets back from the fishing trip it is alway good to remember to take a good meal.

/Benjamin

It’s May.
About two weeks ago I still believed that May would be a reasonably quiet month, not too busy. I didn’t have very many lessons scheduled, and the calendar looked pretty empty in general. Of course that’s not how it’s turned out. This May is as busy as any other May has been. The diary has just filled up with things from out of the blue.

So I’m looking forward to June. Time for swimming in the sea, barbecues, reading novels, practicing, festivals, friends and madness. Are we nearly there yet?

Well, before that we’ll have our term concert on the 21st of May. We’ll present new music to you and we’ll be better than ever. I just made a list of the gigs we’ve made so far as a band and it all added up to about 20 so far.
We’re also happy to announce that we’ll play at the great Korröfestivalen in Sweden this summer. We hope to see you there.

/Sven

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