Concert dates for autunm/winter 2010 and the 2011 seasons are about to fall into place! Booking agent Erik Brenna (ArtistSupport) is laying out plans for touring one week in Denmark in December, and of visiting concert scenes both in Norway and abroad throughout 2011. The package will be neatly sown together with stage design by Jan Erik Smedhaugen (lights and mac-design), sound design and promotion. The artist and the band cannot wait to play the songs to old and new friends in the audience, feeling blessed and grateful to be able to do so. If you are interested in booking Elin Synnøve Bråthen and the band Eliksir for events/concerts, contact Erik at ArtistSupport by posting a mail to: erikbrenna@yahoo.no

When you put your heart into a creative project such as making an album, you don’t mind spending a lot of time, effort and money, and you don’t care if you feel tired. You even take the pains of quarreling with the people around you about details. In the process you dig so deep into the material and you get so absorbed in the work that it grows inseparable from you, and it becomes impossible to take a step back and listen to the songs from a bird’s perspective – objectivity is completely lost. So when you finally decide to wrap up work and ”deliver the CD-baby” you really have no idea how it will be received by your audience, and no clue whatsoever what the critics will say. So, yes, this part is very exciting (and a little bit scary, too).

Upon releasing “The Anchor And The Dream” I was thrilled to be met by overwhelmingly positive feedback and fantastic reviews, starting off with the praise generously handed out by the journalist present at the release concert (live review), and thereafter enjoying acclaiming critiques everywhere I turn. Although these reviews are in Norwegian I would like to include the link to some of them, and offer a handful of short translated quotes.

• Review in Hamar Arbeiderblad
• Review in Troms Folkeblad
• Review in Trønder-Avisa
• Video-review at Norskmusikk.no

… This is an album well worth spending a lot of time on. There is no reason pointing out single tracks on The Anchor and the Dream, listen to the album as a whole and you will find many pearls (Svein Erik Løberg)

… It balances the poetically serious against the playful within its 12 songs, among many highlights you find ”Poetry“, “Lift Your Anchor“ and ”I Stood In Your Courtyard” (Roy-Frode Løvland)

… It is beautiful all the way, the tracks ”Poetry” og ”Ride into dawn” are outstanding pop compositions (Rune Slyngstad)

… The music has an international sound, it is melodious and tasteful and it sounds professional, creative and delicious (Geir Hovensjø)

… I have already picked out several favourites: the beautiful «Poetry», the fantastic «Lift your Anchor» and the gorgeous «I Stood in your Courtyard». Furthermore, I am deeply impressed with Bråthen’s magnificent voice. This is surely a woman to count on in the future (Vigdis Devik)

For the third year in a row my music has given me award nominations in the UK, this year I was nominated in two categories at the Exposure Music Awards: Best Female Artist and Best Easy Song (for the track “Poetry” from the newly released album “The Anchor And The Dream”). I am very happy to receive this kind of positive attention and great exposure from one of the most important exhibitors of new music! My music friends were not surprised “Poetry” gained this nomination as it is one of the most listener-friendly and catchy songs I have ever written. The video for the track is uploaded on Youtube (Poetry). It was also considered for the ESC pickout in Norway this year, which – if nothing else – confirms a distinctive melodic quality.

The new album “The Anchor And The Dream” has been welcomed by great reviews and overwhelmingly positive feedback from music friends and connections in the music business. It goes without saying that I am happy and thankful for this, however, I wish to point much of this praise to my band, Eliksir: Trygve Tambs-Lyche, Haldor Røyne, Glenn Phillip Nilsen and Hilmar Kristoffersen, for all the creativity, playful and constructive rehearsals, musicality, originality and warmhearted support along the way. This also goes for the live performances so far, hopefully the coming year will send us off on many more “concert expeditions”… Although I have changed the artist name to Elin Synnøve Bråthen, my musicians will always remain Eliksir to me (like the magic potion)… A thanks also to all the guest musicians contributing on both albums so far, and great “stand-ins” whenever one or more of the Eliksir-guys have been traveling with other artists. All I can say is: I am learning SO much from you, and I cannot wait to experience and cowrite our next chapters! (Photo: Astrid Lunke, Styling: Cårejånni Enderud, Photo editing: Giert Clausen)

My new CD-baby “The Anchor And The Dream” has received several great reviews already, but I totally fell for this video blog version uploaded to Youtube by Norskmusikk. For those of you who understand Norwegian: DO visit this entry and leave a comment, for those of you who are not: maybe it is worth a couple of minutes anyway.

Link to www.norskmusikk.com: http://www.norskmusikk.org/2010/03/16/elin-synn%C3%B8ve-brathen-the-anchor-and-the-dream/

The newly released album “The Anchor And The Dream” (label: Curling Legs) is now available on iTunes:

http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/lift-your-anchor/id355834298?i=355834312&ign-mpt=uo%3D4

It has received great reviews so far. Two magazines and four newspapers have praised the songs, the originality, the production and even the wrapping (the album design) – among other things it has been nicknamed “a pop delicacy”. Hopefully it will tempt a few people to buy single tracks or the whole album. The singles are “Poetry” and “My Island (No way, Headed Nowhere)”, however there seems to be great variety among people when it comes to choosing the favourite track, some like the a cappella intro track “Early Winter Snow”, others say they love the more rock-flavoured “Shivas Blow In Cages” or the slightly pop progressive “I Stood In Your Courtyard”. Have a listen and make up your own minds! All the songs are written by me (Elin Synnøve Bråthen) except “Red Bean Song”, which is a Chinese folksong, sung in Mandarin… Personally I like “Ride Into Dawn” and also “My Honesty” (the men’s choir here kind of brings out the goosebumps)… but who am I to say anything objective about my own songs?

Playing 5 songs from the new album – and an extra song in Gaelic – in front of an enthusiastic audience, left me with a feeling that “we should do this more often”. Playing live is a good thing, I simpy love the direct buzz, the butterfly-nerves and adrenaline, “the kick inside”. Now is the time to establish a cooperation with the right booking agent; the management and I will certainly make a move shortly, hopefully in time to put together a tour across the country this autumn. On stage with Elin Synnøve Bråthen were the following talented musicians: Torbjørn Kvamme (piano & keyboards), Haldor Røyne (guitars), Glenn Phillip Nilsen (bass), and Trygve Tambs-Lyche (drums)

Here’s the link to a review: http://www.folkebladet.no/fri/article341133.ece

I think the photos are cool too! (Photo: Christine Henriksen)

You are so incredibly welcome to showcase/miniconcert in connection with the release of the album “THE ANCHOR AND THE DREAM” at Herr Nilsen in Oslo, Wed March 10 at 18:30-20:00 (free entry from 6pm/18:00). Elin Synnøve Bråthen and the band: Trygve Tambs-Lyche (drums), Haldor Røyne (guitars), Glenn Phillip Nilsen (bass) and Hilmar Kristoffersen (keyboards). Live performance of a handful songs from the upcoming album, released on Curling Legs, distributed by Musikkoperatørene, and promotion by Atle Bøckmann and Glenn Larsen (Kult AS). Styling: Cårejånni Enderud. Photo: Astrid Lunke. Bring all your friends and a smile. No charge. The album will be for sale at the venue