A day in the life

A Good Girl…

Myrra — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 20:15:42 +0000

Sweet and talented newcomer Rikke Lie’s first single “Good Girl” from her debut album “Short Stories” was released today in Norway. Produced by my Pete. I think it’s really catchy – have a listen over here!

The Polar Music Prize

Myrra — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 08:23:35 +0000

I attended the Polar Music Prize ceremony last night in Stockholm’s blue Concert House. The laureates this year were Björk and Ennio Morricone. I found myself welling up when the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic played some of Maestro Morricone’s material, especially the songs that I have recorded for my coming album. The music gets under your skin when you sing it, and then it has instant access to the heart strings…

Another moving moment was when Maestro Morricone kissed Barbara Hendricks’ hands on stage after she performed “Deborah’s Theme.” Giving tribute where tribute was due.

(I borrowed the photo above from www.andsnes.com and below from www.polarmusicprize.org)

Ennio Morricone © The Polar Music Prize

Björk ©The Polar Music Prize

Someone’s Mom.

Myrra — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 17:00:32 +0000

I did some voice acting this summer, in Toy Story 3. The Swedish version.
Did I get to play a cute doll or a mermaid or a princess like I usually do? No.
Over the past year I’ve often been asked to play Mothers. In the scripts the moms don’t even have names, they are simply referred to as “Mom”. Or in the case of Toy Story 3 as “Andy’s Mom.”

But I guess that it just mirrors real life. I remember that when my daughter first started nursery school it was really quite strange to be referred to not as myself, but as My Daughter’s Mom. I’ve gotten used to it now, but I always make an effort to learn the other parent’s names. So they’re not just Someone’s Mom or Dad, but Themselves.

Having said that – when my daughter calls me Mom I wear the title proudly like an Olympic gold medal or a Nobel prize.

Mothers I have lent my voice to recently:

The Harvest Moon.

Myrra — Sun, 22 Aug 2010 13:19:45 +0000

I was out for my everyday 8,5 k this morning and saw yet another V-shaped ribbon in the air consisting of birds heading South for the winter. The Echinaceas are in full bloom, and the Harvest Moon is just round the corner. It is just under 3 months to my birthday, and the darkest time of the year. I am always filled with a feeling of melancholy come end of August, just as the stores are filling up with wintery wardrobe must haves. I wish I could wear my sandals all year round and never have to wrap up in down-filled clothes ever again.

Crooks Like Us.

Myrra — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 13:59:41 +0000

I got this book today – and I can’t wait to sink my teeth into it. The photos come from the forensic photography archive in Sydney and depict people that were arrested for various crimes in the 1920s. The author, Peter Doyle, has collected their stories along with the portraits, and just flicking through the book earlier I was spellbound.

To borrow a few words from the back cover: “In their richness, the pictures and the text, set against the banality of the circumstances, declare that everyone is interesting and even beautiful, and that every story is worth telling.”

Luc Sante

Letterpress.

Myrra — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 11:59:13 +0000

I’m a sucker for letterpress cards and prints. To me they just have more soul than their digital cousins. And yes, I do much prefer real film as well. (Whaddya mean stone age?)

Check out these great letterpress prints from the Keep Calm Gallery.

Widen our circle of compassion.

Myrra — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 13:16:52 +0000

I have been mulling this over today:

“A human being is part of the whole called by us universe, a part limited in time and space. We experience ourselves, our thoughts and feelings as something separate from the rest. A kind of optical delusion of consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from the prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty. The true value of a human being is determined by the measure and the sense in which they have obtained liberation from the self. We shall require a substantially new manner of thinking if humanity is to survive.”

Albert Einstein, 1954

What’s in this grab bag that I call my mind?

Myrra — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 09:49:22 +0000

I am busy with my new album; these past days I have had fun collecting inspirational photos for the artwork.

Voilá - a snapshot of my mind right now. Or is that my floor?

The Mothering Voice.

Myrra — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 12:55:01 +0000

Since my beloved daughter has come into the world I have found – much to my surprise – new sounds emanating from my vocal chords; comforting, cooing sounds. Mothering sounds.

There are a couple of birds nesting in our back yard. They too have a range of sounds that are reserved for their young and no one else.

It’s a lovely thing.

St Germain.

Myrra — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 10:22:06 +0000

Another film for you, this time made by my darling, Peter Nordahl,
when he was in Paris playing at a jazz club in St Germain: