globe thistle & branches. beach find. adornment. [ink]

glass. paper. wood. and the sun. [good things]

to reminisce. more maps & melodies. [memories]

 

 

to reminisce. [memories]

for every journey there are distinct & unforgettable melodies. 

these were the outstanding ones on our roadtrip along the shores of the northern peninsula.

these are our memories. 

this is ours.

herta müller. herztier II. [invented worlds]

"Auch in der Stadt standen Maulbeerbäume. Aber nicht auf den Strassen draussen. Sie standen in den Innenhöfen. Und nicht in vielen. Nur in den Höfen alter Leute standen sie. Und unter den Bäumen stand ein Zimmerstuhl. Sein Sitz war gepolstert und aus Samt. Aber der Samt war fleckig und zerrissen. Und das Loch war von unten zugestopft mit einem Bündel Heu. Das Heu war vom Sitzen zusammengepresst. Unter dem Sitz hing es heraus wie ein Zopf. Wenn man bis zu dem ausgemusterten Zimmerstuhl ging, sah man dem Zopf noch die einzelnen Halme an. Und dass sie einmal grün waren.
In den Höfen mit Maulbeerbäumen fiel der Schatten wie Ruhe auf ein altes Gesicht, das auf dem Stuhl sass. Wie Ruhe, weil ich für mich selber unerwartet in diese Höfe ging und nur selten wiederkam. In dieser Seltenheit zeigte sich ein Lichtfaden, der schnurgerade aus der Baumspitze in das alte Gesicht fiel, eine entfernte Gegend. Ich sah an diesem Faden hinunter und hinauf. Mich fröstelte am Rücken, weil diese Ruhe nicht aus den Maulbeerästen kam, sondern aus der Einsamkeit der Augen im Gesicht. Ich wollte nicht, dass mich in diesen Höfen jemand sieht. Dass mich jemand fragt, was ich hier tu. Ich tat nicht mehr als das, was ich sah. Ich sah die Maulbeerbäume lange an. Und dann, bevor ich wieder ging, noch einmal das Gesicht, das auf dem Stuhl sass. In dem Gesicht war eine Gegend. Ich sah einen jungen Mann oder eine junge Frau diese Gegend verlassen und einen Sack mit einem Maulbeerbaum hinaustragen. Ich sah die vielen mitgebrachten Maulbeerbäume in den Höfen der Stadt. [...] 
Was man aus der Gegend hinausträgt, trägt man hinein in sein Gesicht."

Müller, Herta. Herztier. Frankfurt am Main: Fischer Taschenbuch Verlag, 2007.

anna aaron. labyrinth & stellarling. [songs i love]

fink. looking too closely. [songs]

herta müller. herztier I. [invented worlds]

"Mit den Wörtern im Mund zertreten wir so viel wie mit den Füssen im Gras. Aber auch mit dem Schweigen. [...] Das Gras steht im Kopf. Wenn wir reden wird es gemäht. Aber auch, wenn wir schweigen. Und das zweite, dritte Gras wächst nach, wie es will. Und dennoch haben wir Glück."

Müller, Herta. Herztier. Frankfurt am Main: Fischer Taschenbuch Verlag, 2007.

colours. [good things]

andri peer. un pled. [poems]

i found these sheets covered in braille writing in an alternative art supply store in vancouver and knew that i wanted to do something with it. about a month later, back home, when i came across this poem "un pled" (in german: "ein wort", in english: "a word"), written by andri peer and translated from rätoromanisch into german by herbert meier, in the newspaper i suddenly knew what that something was gonna be.

i was for some reason thrilled by the idea to paint a poem in a language that i do not speak on sheets covered in a script that i cannot read. just think of all the stories that could be mentioned in braille writing underneath the poem, the emerging - or rather hidden- juxtapositions of meanings and the possibilities that open up by not knowing! and most of all the opportunity to let the imagination roam free... rätoromanisch (romansh) is the fourth official language of switzerland, next to italian, french and german. it is a romance language and is spoken only in the southeastern part of the country, mostly in a canton called graubünden (grisons). 

ever since i can remember i wanted to learn this language but each time when the thought came up i was again and again disheartened by the low speaker number and the fact that there are just simply more useful languages to learn - says someone who put in some serious effort to learn icelandic...;) anyway, i will try to give a translation of the german version of the poem but i have to say that although both my german and my english are good enough i am probably the worst translator ever. additionally, as bede already stated in the ecclesiastical history of the english people in the 8th century when he translated caedmon's hymn from old english into latin:

"for it is not possible to translate verse, however well composed, literally from one language to another without some loss of beauty and dignity."

so - keeping that in mind - here goes: 

A word

Written into the white

Of your eyes

And I can't read it

For it becomes invisible during the day

Just to return at night

Word full of mystery

born and died

In a blink of an eye

And glowing 

In the darkness of self

as i said, just to give you a general sense of the words in the poem. i tried.

here is what it looked like in the end:

another beach find. [memories]

a take away show. [acoustic versions]

 

so, this one is definitely going to be the longest post in my series of the best live shows. it also took me the longest to decide which videos to include. reason being: it's my favorite one. it seems as though every band that i like has done at least one take away show. they're presented by la blogotheque and they have recorded the most beautiful shows humanly possible, they have given the artists the space for the most energetic performences, shot their material at the most stunning places and created magical atmospheres. the shows are often a little crazy and there are always some random bystanders, either taking in the scene enchantedly or deciding to participate somehow. the bands interact with their environment, walk around aimlessly in city streets or play in trams or the like. or the artist just happens to be on a roof. well, why not? i could list dozens and dozens of perfect shows but i at least tried to narrow it down somehow.

let's start out with the guy on the roof, mr. sufjan stevens:

but that was a very quiet on, let's move on to something more energetic. 

how about noah and the whale:

or one that i particularly like by alt-j (∆):

and yes the following three are all from the lumineers. 

because the videos are grand.

oops, that was four. oh well. 

oh and these.

kodaline:

and there are hundreds more. check it out.

might make a part two of this... or: go check it out.

secret sessions. [acoustic versions]

aaand here another awesome live show of my acoustic versions series! this youtube channel sure is a good one. one of my favorite video on there is this one:

guitars! and the band's name is pete and the pirates. just saying. 

and another one of their videos that i like:

beach find. [memories]

shape

& structure

a gift i received. [memories]

four and a half years ago.

jose gonzales. every age. [songs]

willow wood music (the screenshot above is taken from their page) is one of my favorite blogs and yesterday when i read lauren's post about jose gonzales' video to his new song "every age" (the album vestiges & claws will be out on the 17th of february!) i was simply glad to be reminded of a musician i appreciate so much whose music i kind of forgot about in the last couple of months. it has been only last february when the meanings his songs carried for me changed significantly and became a kind of silent triumph for me every time i listen to them. i just can't believe that i needed to be reminded of him yet again. i immediately had to do a marathon-listening of his old songs. and i can't wait until it's february and the new album will be released.

here the trailer of the upcoming album.

and the video to the new song "every age".

i especially like the first minute of the video. it is just 

such an unusual shot and i like the - in a way - meditative 

quality it possesses. i could stare at that shot and the slight 

changes due to the increasing distance time and time again.

there is a quietness in the song that is mirrored in this 

beautiful video.

i can't wait.