her morning

dreamy stop-motion from yuval and merav nathan for oren lavie, featuring: shir shomron. photography: eyal landesman

oren lavie about his music…
“i am not a fashionable man. and my music is, therefore, unfashionable. i would like to think of it as wonderfully unfashionable, but, sticking to the facts, it is unfashionable. my songs don’t have an attitude which you could sell. i don’t have an attitude which i am trying to make you buy, not that i’m aware of. if i am any good, it’s because my songs are good. a good song, to me, is a good melody which surprises you, but pleases you, and which carries a good story told in rhymes. it is a result of talent and personality and technique and a lot of work. a good song is loyal to the artist’s truth of the moment. the song will remain good even when the artist’s truth has changed.” 

the opposite side of the sea…
at the age of 27 oren began the work on ‘the opposite side of the sea’. making sure the recordings remained true to the essence of the songs he decided to produce the album himself. instead of using a band he arranged the songs by building one layer on top of another of vocals and delicate instrumentations, helping flesh out the melodies and extend the harmonies of his piano and guitars with a wider palette of colors.
when the recording stage was completed the album was mixed in kungsten studio in gothenburg, sweden. the organic approach and the vintage, analog equipment helped to bring out the warmth of the recordings and the intimacy of the delivery.

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her morning…
sun been down for days/ a pretty flower in a vase/ a slipper by the fireplace/ a cello lying in its casesoon she’s down the stairs/ her morning elegance she wears
the sound of water makes her dream/ awoken by a cloud of steam/ she pours a daydream in a cup/ a spoon of sugar sweetens up
and she fights for her life/ as she puts on her coat/ and she fights for her life on the train/ she looks at the rain/ as it pours and she fights for her life/ as she goes in a store/ with a thought she has caught/ by a thread/ she pays for the bread/ and she goes…
nobody knows…sun been down for days/ a winter melody she plays/ the thunder makes her contemplate/ she hears a noise behind the gate/ perhaps a letter with a dove/ perhaps a stranger she could love…
and she fights for her life/ as she puts on her coat/ and she fights for her life on the train/ she looks at the rain/ as it pours/ and she fights for her life/ as she goes in a store/ with a thought she has caught/ by a thread/ she pays for the bread/ and she goes…
nobody knows…and she fights for her life/ as she puts on her coat/ and she fights for her life on the train/ she looks at the rain/ as it pours/ and she fights for her life/ where people are pleasently strange/ and counting the change/ and she goes…
nobody knows…

that’s magic!

“only the very young and the very foolish believe in magic”?

a short movie directed and edited by brandon mc cormick.
coproducer: dave ronne. production manager: masi willis.
production designer: bill johnson.
additional cast: mark ashworth, sorrel sanders, thomas hartley, emily barnes.
cinematographers: dan marrero and brandon mc cormick.
lightings: luanne dietz and jake ures.
music by nicholas kirk and billy wilkerson.

enjoy this little short film and some  behind the scenes and photography

soundtrack:  download highest quality sound  

the making-of

[vimeo http://www.vimeo.com/2602739]

in spirit de haiku

rakka eda ni/karem to mireba/ kocho kana! (arakida moritake)

a falling flower i saw/drift back/to his branch/oh, a butterfly! (arakida moritake)

 

inspired by a haiku from the japanese poet arakida moritake, directed by jurrien boogert aka arjuno kecil. sound design by david kamp.

 

masaoka shiki, parintele haiku-ului, definea acest stil de poezie ca ‘un instantaneu al realitatii’, o poezie ce exprima sentimente si stari intr-o forma concisa, si meditatie…

 

cho oite tamashii kiku ni asobu kana/

a butterfly,/having grown old, its soul plays/in the chrysanthemums.

 

*

hana saku mo chireru mo aji no jizai kana
cherries blossoms/and then fall down -/all this is the way of things.

*

yo no naka ya/ chocho tomo are/kaku no are/

life/ is like a butterfly/ whatever it is

 *

inoshishi no odori no ato ya kesa no yuki

tracks in the snow -/a dragon must have danced here/ last night…

 

romanian poets expressed their interest in japanese culture as early as at the very beginning of the 20 century. two classics of romanian literature, alexandru macedonski and vasile alecsandri, were fascinated by the beauty of japanese landscape poems, and wrote several poems inspired by classical japanese literature.

in the ’30s, the poet pillat experimented with one-line poems, many of which resembled haiku. pillat’s book proved to be influential, and nowadays many romanian poets follow this trend. in the ’70s, three anthologies of haiku appeared in romania.

well-known romanian poets nichita stanescu and marin sorescu wrote a few haiku poems each in the ’80s, however they didn’t commit to this genre.

 

the first day

 

directed by john cameron mitchell. the song is from bright eyes‘ album i’m wide awake, it’s morning.

 

 i remember the time you drove all night/ just to meet me in the morning/ and i thought it was strange/ you said everything changed/ you felt as if you’d just woke up/ and you said,/ this is the first day of my life,/ glad i didn’t die before i met you/ but now i don’t care i could go anywhere with you/ and i’d probably be happy./ so if you wanna be with me/ with these things there’s no telling we’ll just have to wait and see/ but i’d rather be working for a paycheck / than waiting to win the lottery/ besides maybe this time it’s different/ i mean i really think you’ll like me…