Behind The Doors Of Perception

I'll show these people what you don't want them to see.....the mind at large, the world beyond, a world without boundaries, where the only rule is that there are no rules. Welcome to the banal reality of life.  

ACTA , The War is on

Anti- ACTA demo, Copenhagen, Saturday 25th Feb 2012. The Vox Populi has spoken- society does not want to be controlled ! No ACTA and the answer will always be NO ! 

StopActa.Nu from Danni Nielsen on Vimeo.

Blue Horizon

Thanks for surprising me life  ! Beyond any place where the chariots of my vivid dreams could ever carry me. Visceral life, comme il faut.



Blue horizon yonder, fertile and faint
You smile at me, ever so quaint
Far a mile away, a jaded stray
Bemused by the moment, devoid of delay

Momentary bliss, perpetual irrelevance
Symptomatic silence, Evanesced !
Far a tide away, a libertine waylaid
Charmed by simplicity, charred by decay

Kina Grannis in Copenhagen

Singer-Songwriter Darling Steals Quite a Few Hearts at Intimate Show: Here's my article from Kina Grannis' show at Lille Vega on Wednesday night. The original text is from The Copenhagen Post's "In & Out Guide" (click below)

http://cphpost.dk/inout/reviews/concert-review-singer-songwriter-steals-hearts-intimate-show

I turned up at a semi-filled Lille Vega Wednesday night not really knowing what to expect from singer-songwriter Kina Grannis's concert. Two hours later, I – just as the rest of the crowd - left with a smile on my face and searing rays of optimism in my heart.

Grannis's show was preceded by a cheery, imaginative and emotionally charged warm-up performance from acoustic folk pop guitarist and singer, Imaginary Friend, who played several well-crafted opening tunes - interwoven with a series of jokes and impromptu humour that did their bit to lighten the mood.

California-born Kina Grannis, accompanied by her cello player, stepped onto the smoky scene and opened with the adequately placed ‘World In Front of Me’ – featured on her highly revered 2011 albumStairwells. Several songs in and the soft-spoken Grannis had the audience entranced in a spellbinding sequence of well-performed tunes accompanied by lively pauses in which she interacted with the crowd with admirable prowess.

Grannis delivered a mix of solo and cello-accompanied songs that showcased the full depth of her abilities. In fact - apart from a cover of Britney Spears' ‘Oops, I did it again’, that didn't quite tick in the tune of the rest of the songs on the night - Wednesday's concert was as picture perfect as they come. Unsurprisingly, the audience called her back to the stage for a final trio of songs that capped off an epic concert - with a full band cover of Coldplay's ‘Fix You’ rounding things off with flair and sentiment, after her new song ‘Little Warrior’ did its bit to set the tone for a grand finale of mesmerising proportions.

Many of Kina's growing fan base know her from her popular YouTube channel or Facebook and Twitter, on which she readily admits to using a fair bit to express herself in the modern day of limitless technologies. It goes without saying that she's a lot better live than she is on any of the aforementioned platforms, as last night's show proved. With a unique stage presence and a willingness to involve the audience as much as possible in her show, she certainly does stand out from other musicians of her calibre and is definitely a name to look out for in the near future.

Longing

The reflections of Nalla Naidoo

I long for the a society which doesn't love in order to hurt itself, of places faraway from the menaces and perils of the time, of sundowns that need no words to describe them and dreams that seem too good to be true. I want to wake up in the dawn's embrace one morning and look into her eyes and know that every inch of her feels the same way about me as I feel about her. I want to be faraway from this decadence, from the jaded character of the world before me. I want to understand, I want to discern the truth behind the mockery,the savagery, the hatred, the divisions of society. I want to know what the world has done to itself and if we are destined for another place, why are we still here fighting ourselves ? I want to know why the only audience for all these words is a musical instrument and a sheet of paper, why fallen leaves and butterfly wings are the only things that can hear the screams of the world, the pains of the past and the doubts of the present. I long for many things, and many more, but what good is longing when there's 7 Billion more that long for just the same ?  

Wispy dreams

For we have sung and dance and dreamed, higher and further than wispy thoughts could ever have carried us

Beyond the tuft- strewn fabric of soft white clouds in clear, unpolished skies

Far away, hidden in the refinement of a simple, beautiful moment

Alas, the world apart seems a world away, an echo astray

Time is but the now and the news, space, a bendy furl of smoke in the dry air

A toast ! To the twist of fate upon this forgotten road, a path of dance, song and untidy seams that have become our wispy dreams.  

Porto

Minha Oporto querido. My wonderful Porto 

Streets that Speak: Rua Miguel Bombarda, Oporto, Portugal

Porto, the home of Port wine and Porto football club and Francesinha's: I'm amazed by this city time and again. This time round, I came across some stunning grafitti on Rua Bombarda, right in the city centre that really made my day. 

The Tale of A Feather In Full Flight

I want to fly again
Into the wispy winds of time
Beyond the valleys and the seas
Over sandy beaches
And laughing children
Over hands held in love
And friends embracing
I want to fly again
Into dream-carved sunsets
Beyond dancing shadows
Over smokey fires
And smiling octogenerians
Over lovers locked in dance
And flowers in bloom
I want to fly again
I want to fly again

Photo Jamming : Jason's birthday

Pics by my friend Supriya and myself : Check out Supriya's recently launched webpage for more of her amazing pics : 

http://supriyaphotography.dpg.cc/gallery/who_are_we/

Blues Ahoy

(Original article copied from The Copenhagen Post's In & Out Guide )

http://cphpost.dk/inout/reviews/concert-review-blues-ahoy

There are, admittedly, few places to go out on a wintry Monday night in Copenhagen, and fewer still in the midst of the cold spell that’s been gnawing at our fingertips and cracking our lips of late.

Nørrebro’s Kind of Blue is a bar that provides music of a different sort for those lonely Monday evenings when the streets seem darker and colder than usual. Now in its tenth installation, ‘Tangled Up In Blue’ is a singer-songwriter orientated evening that provides Copenhagen’s most talented names within the genre an opportunity to share their powerful, emotionally-charged music.

This particular installation of the event featured German songbird Paula Tebbens accompanied by pianist Edoardo Bottalico (EBDK), Americana rock nomad MC Hansen and folk singer Julie Dybvad, who was backed up by a remarkable array of instrumentalists. Tebbens and Edbk set things in motion, playing songs off Tebbens’ demo album Memory Box alongside other singles. The duo ventured deep into folk territory in a charismatic performance that resonated with echoes of the sort of music played by bands such as the well known Minnesota-based group Dark Dark Dark. The highlight of their set was the seldom played ‘Cotton Candy’, which seemed to ignite a sparkle in the eyes of both musicians as well as the audience.

Next on the stage was wandering MC Hansen (aka Mads Christian Hansen) accompanied by the established Jakob Chano Lundby. Hansen’s set strayed playfully into Americana-meets-folk pastures and shimmered with a blend of melancholic, reflective and playful flickers all at once. 

Both musicians looked at ease and played with a glee that could only have emanated from the fact that they were well and truly enjoying themselves on stage.

Dybvad rounded off the show with a performance that was as dextrous as it was witty. Her hazy vocals were backed up by several outstanding instrumentalists playing the bass, trumpet, piano and guitar, all of whom added depth and dimension to what proved to be the highlight of an evening of quality music.

The next Tangled Up In Blue event is in two weeks time at Kind Of Blue (Ravnsborgade 17 in Nørrebro) and is by far the best bet for a top night out on a Monday evening.

By Allan Mutuku Kortbæk