I've been working on the new album for two months now, kinda racing to get everything done by Christmastime. I think it will happen.
In addition to recording music, I’ve also been organizing a booklet that will include song lyrics and stories from my time in Norway. I’m still messing around with the layout. The cover will look like one of these drafts…
Fortunately, my home studio comes with an in-house design team. Artwork by Malia Chan. Here’s an excerpt from one of the Norway stories:
Most days, I work in the forest at three to four hours at a go. Usually with Erik. In the morning, we bundle around the hearth, shoulder our axes, and commute four minutes up a seventy degree grade. Above Nordre Oppland, twin splitting stations flank a massive woodstack, and the view is unbeatable. All the way to Lillehammer, white parceled farmland unrolls with a detailed stitching of roads and fences. On clear mornings, the sun rises big and red across the valley, about thirty minutes into our effort. The slanting light inflames the countryside. More than once I think to myself that Pieter Bruegel the Elder should eat his heart out. Haha, very clever Jamie. But yes, if you want to comprehend the view from my splitting station, spend some time with Hunters in the Snow.
Geez this Norway project is big, and it has taken over my 2017. (I’m lucky for that.) When I laid it all out in my mind - two EPs, the crowdfunding video, the full length album, the lyric book, and all the custom songs - I wasn’t sure if I would actually get it all done. But now I’m close! Thank you for your support and thanks for tuning in. More coming soon.
