It has begun quite cold here up North; cold an very beautiful with pure, glimmering snow; pink and frosty sunsets and moonlit, white nights - as you rarely see them anymore. I love a real winter - because it is real, and because its strength gives a wider dimension to things. You can not delete it, or push a button to remove it. King Winter is strong, he’ll just come, as the ambassador of nature itself, to shake us up from our sleepiness, and awaken our presence . It makes the errors of humanity seem smaller. I love it. Come, King Winter, shake the bones of us sleepy Northerners “not to be disturbed”. I think we need it.
Happy Wonderful New Year, folks!
A Dance with the Shadows is now available digitally at CD Baby!
The present issue of the greek music magazine Metronome contains Aleksis Vakis’ interview from the music trip to Athens in December last year. It was also a pleasant surprise to see the portrait of Katerina Papadopoulou in the same magazine, as I find her voice and expression fabulous.
The songs for the Yeats album are taking new shape with the contributions of Johanne Gallagher and her Gaelic “vocal spices” and Nils Einar Vinjor and his eminent guitar work. Demos of this work will be added on MySpace as soon they are presentable. The first song out is The Fisherman/Carolan’s Ramble to Cashel, which is a combination of Yeats’ famous poem about his images of a Connemara fisherman, and the Irish harp player Carolan’s lovely tune. The tune itself is performed by flutist Audun Kjus.
The interview that was recorded in Athens two weeks ago, was broadcasted yesterday afternoon in Greek radio. 1,5 hour with many new songs presented 
I am finally back in Norway, having so many impressions to digest. I really had an enriching time there, in many ways. Hope to be back soon.
Αδέσποτα
This day started with an appointment with the stray dogs in Athens. They seem much healthier and happier than they did just a few years ago, and people seem to care more about them, letting them inside their shops while it is raining; feeding and appreciating them. For the first time I truely enjoyed my walks in Athens.
Κατεύθυνση
I was just a few hundered meters from my destination, a bazaar for stray dogs, when my map suddenly began to look different than my surroundings. I had to ask for help, and it turned out that those couple of hundred meters were not possible to pass by foot (that was not visible on the map). I would have to walk the same distance back again, then take the metro one station, then change, and one station further with another train. Only for 300 meters! I still enjoy my walks in Athens, but the city is far as logic as the greek grammar.
I always thought I had a bad sence of direction. Therefore I must sometimes rely on some help from above when travelling around. After the appointment with the angels of the city, I needed to get to the total opposite of the town. Therefore needed to do some relying. And what happens? A direct bus pops up in front of me, and takes me directly to Vironas, my destionation this afternoon. But why would I want to go there?
To be continued. 
I was happy to finally meet with Aleksis Vakis, composer, arranger and music critic in several Greek music magazines and radio. Luckily my CD ended up with him a few years ago, which lead to the most wonderful reveiw in one of the largest Greek music periodicals ΔΙΦΩΝΟ (Difono). Later on we cathed up on internet, and meeting him here in Athens was truely an enriching experience. We ended up at the local radio station, doing a broadcast on ” A Dance with the Shadows” in Greek
The concert was as wonderful as I dreamed of. The band contained of 10 amazingly steady musicians playing basic instruments as keyboards, bass, drums and guitars, as well as different kinds of wonderfully played flutes and a bagpipe. A psaltery like instrument called κανών (canon) was the ultimate sound spice during the concert, and the steady and expressive violin was in great balance with the extremely attractive λάουτο (laouto). The inevitable τουμπερλέκι (toumperleki) bound it all together and lifted the atmosphere up to beneath the roof. The voice combination Pantelis Thalassinos and Melia Kana was very successful. Kana is a wonderful singer. Pantelis himself is simply an endless source of good energy and wonderful melodies and arrangements, expressed through his wonderful voice and playing. He is a rarely inclusive, warm hearted and vivid musician! The sound was AWESOME!!
I arrived Syntagma yesterday evening. The streets were so empty you would believe they were haunted. Only a few stray dogs and a bunch of police buses and men from the fire department would witness my careful steps towards my hotel in Plaka. They helpfully showed me the way, and ensured me there would be nothing to worry about, for the moment.
Arriving Plaka was another world. I enjoyed this warm December evening walking the narrow streets where the cafe tables are still standing outdoors with candle lights. Akropolis is lightened up at night so that one can enjoy the sight of it at any times.
I have come here to listen to one of my heroes, Pantelis Thalassinos, who is playing tonight and tomorrow evening here in Athens. I am also here because of my own music. And it is like the whole town is whispering “change”, both on behalf of itself and me.
Finally my new web pages have come true! And I am glad you are dropping by to take a look. The site contains info, photos, a video clip, and useful links with possibility to either listen to or buy music. A huge thanks to Trond Thorbjørnsen for creating them!
I hope to see you here from time to time; the diary will be kept posted with small or big news from my musical corner of the world…
So long,
Tirill
