Surprise, Surprise!! In fact I did manage to do some recordings - and yessss - even "3 Sekunden"!! But I also would like to introduce 2 songs which are going to be on my forthcoming (demo) album. One is "Avec Toi" which I told you about last time, the other one is called "Summer Morning", a song I wrote back in 1996. Gosh, I can't believe it's actually 12 years ago!

I hope you enjoy them and please do feel free to make comments or give me any kind of constructive feedback! Thank You!

Dear friends,

I hope you are all well. The anticipation of Francis Cabrel's new album is rising constantly these days! I can't wait!

Anyway, I thought it was time to update my blog - I know I'm lazy when it comes to blog writing. Anyway I have not yet recorded "Drei Sekunden", in fact I'm still learning how to sing it properly. ;-)

But I am seriously working on my first (demo) album. Luckily, all the technical issues have now been sorted out. I will no longer record my guitar with the pickup but with a contact mike which produces an amazing sound on the recordings, very warm and natural. My Korg D888 is working properly again and I can now start whenever I feel ready!

In fact I have chosen the songs which are to go on it. It will mainly be songs I wrote between 1992 and 1998. There'll be 11 songs in English and 2 in French. As for the French songs, at first there was just "En Silence", but after a while I realized that I really wanted to go at least 2 French songs on the album. So I digged out this old song I wrote back in 1995 called "Avec Toi". Back then the lyrics were just total crap. Yes, yes, they were! But the melody was really too beautiful to throw it away, so I wrote some new lyrics and I am really happy with the outcome! In fact I did a lot of revising of these old songs over the past years. It did them some good!

I am now singing them again and again, thinking of possible arrangements. I don't think I will start recording until August. But I'll sing and train my voice and articulation. So - in case I don't update my blog until then (which is to be expected...) I wish you all a good summer holiday! ;-)

Cheers,
Annika

Well, well, I finally did it! I finished my first song in German!! Now I have to learn singing in German - I am not at all used to it, it feels very akward because you have to move your mouth quite differently...I probably have an English accent!!! Anyway, once I am there I'll record it and present it here.
The song is called "Drei Sekunden" ("Three Seconds") and it deals with the present which is supposedly 3 seconds in our perception. I once read that in a paper. However I deny that and say the present is a lot more than just 3 seconds in time but also that it is hardly visible/perceptible anymore since life has become so fast.

Well, I'll let you know once the song is up! ;-)

FRANCAIS AU-DESSOUS


Hi all,

I have had a very successful year - many gigs, much attention, much support from everybody. Thank you so much!

However for now I need to rest. I would like to find myself again without rushing from one place to another. Instead I need to find peace, calmness and regain strength. I would like to write some new songs – I have plenty of ideas but I never find the time to elaborate them. I also would like to record my first album, which is one of my New Year's Resolutions.

Despite of all the success I felt like I am running out of energy – not out of willpower, there just was this lack of energy to actually go on, which was quite frustrating really.

But then I found the prayer of Jabez in a book:

"Jabez cried out to the God of Israel,
'Oh, that you would bless me and
enlarge my territory!
Let your hand be with me, and
keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain.'
And God granted his request."
1Cronicles 4:10

I am not really religious, but I do have some kind of faith in God. I wouldn't characterize it as Christian, since I guess it is a bit of everything. And anyway, I do pray a lot for others and sometimes for myself.

At first this prayer may seem a little bold, but it is not really. Why not pray for one-self more often? After all – if you are well you will be able to help others a lot more. So far, so good. I read through the prayer again and again. When reading the line "enlarge my territory" I knew it didn't mean God was going to sail down from a cloud and present it to me on a silver tray. It rather should help you to become less passive, less frustrated and finally start doing things. Then I thought: O.k. - but I still lack the energy to do all that but it's not explicitly in the prayer. So well, I simply added a line for me:

Bless, yes, bless me
Enlarge my Territory
Give me Energy and Strength and Faith
Let your hand be with me
And keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain

Well, it already started to make a difference. Whether it comes from God or whether the prayer just makes me change my attitude towards things, I cannot say. But it helps me. Maybe it can help you, too!

I wish you a wonderful Christmas, Yule, Winter Solstice – whatever you celebrate, embrace the light!

Much love,
Annika

Salut tout le monde,

Cette année a été très réussie - beaucoup de concerts, beaucoup d'attention, beaucoup de soutien de votre part. Merci beaucoup !

Pourtant je dois me reposer maintenant. J'aimerais bien retrouver moi-même sans faire les cent pas entre de lieux. J'aimerais plutôt retrouver de la tranquillité et récupérer l'énergie.

J'aimerais bien écrire des nouvelles chansons. J'ai pleines d'idées mais je n'ai pas assez de temps afin de les élaborer. J'aimerais bien enrégistrer mon premier album – une de mes résolutions pour la nouvelle année.

Malgré le succès je me sentais très fatiguée tout le temps, sans énergie. Il me ne manquait pas de volonté, mais plutôt l'énergie pour continuer, ce qui était frustrant.

Mais puis j'ai trouvé la prière de Jabez dans un livre :

« Et Jabez cria à Dieu :
'Oh, que vous me bénissiez en effet et
agrandissiez mon territoire et
que votre main soyez avec moi,
et que vous me garderiez de mal, que je serai sans douleur.'
Et Dieu exauça sa prière. »
1Chroniques 4:10

Je ne suis pas vraiment religieuse, mais je suis croyante. Je ne considère pas ma foi chrétienne, car c'est plutôt un beau mélange de tout. Et c'est vrai que je prie souvent pour les autres et parfois pour moi-même.

Cette prière semble audacieuse au début, mais ce n'est pas le cas. Pourquoi pas prier plus souvent pour soi-même ? Après tout on peu aider les autres plus si on va bien. Bon sur ce. Je lisais la prière plusieurs fois. En lisant « que vous agrandissiez mon territoire » je savais que cela ne voulait pas dire que Dieu le présentera sur un tableau. Il s'agit plutôt d'un aide de devenir moins passif, moins frustrant. Finalement il faut commencer à changer les choses. Puis je pensai, bon, mais il me manque toujours l'énergie afin de faire tout ca mais ce n'est pas dans la prière. Alors, j'ai ajouté une demande :

Que vou me bénissez
agrandissiez mon territoire
Que vois me donniez l'énergie et la force et la confidence en moi-même
que votre main soyez avec moi,
et que vous me garderiez de mal, que je serai sans douleur.

Ben, je peux sentir déjà une différence. Je ne sais pas s'il vient de Dieu ou si la prière me fait changer mon attitude, en tout cas elle m'aide. Peut-être elle peut vous aider aussi !

Je vous souhaite joyeux Noël ou un joyeux solstice d'hiver. Quoi que vous fêtiez, il faut embrasser la lumière !

Chaleureusement,
Annika