It took me a long time to find the right title for the album.
At one point my producer Bengt said: «I think we should call it ‘WHAT WE GOT’».
Of course.
This simple line, that has been here the whole time, hidden in one of the songs.
A sentence that has occurred to me in various occasions, when meeting people, in our own stories.
Three little words that says something about what have, what we don’t have and what we may lose.
If the songs on this album could unite somewhere, it would be in that line: What we got.
When amazing coincidences – if that’s even what it is – saves you, saves us, them.
Troubled days are not truer than the easiest, they just insist more.
The light from what we had. The light over what we got. Our friendships, voices.
Days, streets, pictures, battles, faces, years. The songs.
When love continues, against all odds.
The longing for order in chaos, no matter the cost.
When your son, your loved one or brother goes out to war to fight for peace.
And the only thing you can do is make lunch, hope, rage, pray.
A son, a sister, a childhood. The paths we choose. The traces we leave.
What we got.
TRACES
You are not one
You are many
You are strand upon strand
on strand
on strand
Of the forgotten and the remembered
Of sadness and of solace
Of those who came before
Of christening gown and mourning veil
Of gladnesses and fears
Through many thousand
years
Lyrics: Kari Bremnes
English translation by Keith and Ingrid Brown
I think the best protest songs are written about vulnerability. The ones that makes us rethink what we got to lose, because almost every one of us have got something we can’t bear to lose, no matter what side we’re on. It is in that realization that we really can connect in the most honest way, in my opinion.
Lars, my brother, sent me this song. It touched something within me. I really believe we should fight for our country, our democracy, the environment and for our values. But at the same time, having to send your own son off to war will never be quite OK. I hope I never have to.We can only hope that the ones making those kind of decisions have a bigger understanding than the rest of us. While we do know that no one can ever predict who’s war it will turn out to be, what that will be done for the service of good, and what will not. And who will return in a coffin.
I will never forget the night I spent nearby Jerusalem, amongst a group of parents that had lost their children in acts of terror or torture. Israelis and Palestinians, they met once every month, their grief just as big as before. They could have stayed home and nurtured the hatred, but they chose to gather in a circle around a bonfire inside a courtyard and talk. They had nothing left to lose.
DET E MIN SØNN
Nu e den dagen her
d ́e nu han skal reis
Han står i khakiuniform
og ny sveis
Folk trilla kofferta, men han har gevær
Det e min sønn som står der
Han har fådd innkalling
og han vil vær med
De sir de treng soldata
førr å få fred
Det blåe blikket, skjortefargen e sand
Det e min sønn
som mann
Gud æ ber om at de
veit ka de gjør
Det e de som e profesjonell
og hjertet mitt e amatør
Han ser på klokka og æ kjenne et sting
så legg han ned nån siste viktige ting
der i den store kassen, proff militær
Det e min sønn som står der
Gud æ ber om at de
veit ka de gjør
Det e de som e profesjonell
Æ ska’kje gråte, ska’kje spelle han svak
men ikkje si at dette e’kje mi sak
Han e den einaste, han e den æ har
Han e ung, han e sterk,
men han e ikkje usårbar
Han tar omkring mæ
og bestille et smil
Så mye tillit og så blotta for tvil
D’e nå som søkk i mæ og nåkka som bær
Det e min sønn som står der
Gud æ ber om at de
veit ka de gjør
Det e de som e profesjonell
og hjertet mitt e amatør
T: Lars Bremnes, Kari Bremnes / M: Lars Bremnes
Producer & recording: Bengt E. Hanssen/ Månestein
KARI BREMNES: Vocal
BENGT E. HANSSEN: Keyboards, vocals & programming
BØRRE FLYEN: Drums
BØRGE PETERSEN-ØVERLEIR: Guitars
HALLGRIM BRATBERG: Guitars
PETTER WALDEMAR NOHR UNSTAD: Bass
(Sondre Meisfjord bass on Det einaste vi ville)
Arrangements: Bengt E. Hanssen & the band
Mix: George Tanderø mix & mastering, Oslo
Mastering: George Tanderø mix & mastering, Oslo
The album is released with support from "Fond for utøvende kunstnere"
The release is supported by "Fond for lyd og bilde"
Illustration & design: Trine + Kim designstudio
Photo: Stian Andersen
© 2017 Månestein
PR: Sesong 1
For Hi-Res download go to "HDtracks"
Physical release in Germany January 19th on StrangeWays/ Indigo