Bjorn Arntsen

Following a long period of writing, re-writing, editing and more editing, my novel is finally out and available for purchase. First off, it’s available for those of you with either a Kindle device or owners of phones or tablets that have the Kindle app installed. The book is a work of fiction, the story of a son and his estranged father and their redemption. Purchase here.

So I ran to work this morning  - a little over 10 miles. It was a beautiful morning and since I missed out on my long weekend run (I volunteered at the NYC Half-Marathon instead), I thought it was a good idea to get a longish run in this Monday morning. I always track my runs using Nike+GPS app on my iPhone, so here is a short little video of the whole experience.

I made this piece based on Philip K Dick’s short story of the same name for a surround sound design project. A rather eerie story of human consumption…Enjoy and download:
Beyond Lies The Wub by Bjorn Arntsen

Been doing some housekeeping…So found this “new” song recorded in New Zealand in June 2010. Last track recorded there. Some New York stuff coming soon.
All The Way Down by Bjorn Arntsen


So this past week, I have been coming down with all sorts of crazy things, and not only am I finding nut traces in pretty much anything apart from fresh fruit – hey you never know – and vegetables. I am totally zapped from all forms of energy and the nausea is killing me. I am now pretty sure that allergy of my teenage years – chocolate- has resurfaced, I was allergic to it from age 13 to 19, and it wasn’t much fun, although I am not a big eater of sweets of any kind.

All is wet. Land and sea, river, marsh, clothes in the dryer and no appetite for redemption. So we, The Arntsen Family, are moving. Enough is more than enough. New York’s loud hum is once again calling us, singing to us, beckoning. I’ve been listening to Apparatjik this week, which reminds me of home – or the home I knew in the 1980′s. It seems strange that now, 30 years later, we are embracing 8-bit drums once again; something we laughed at back in the 1990′s. Anyway you can them out at the rather cryptic website. Stay warm and dry. I looking forward to the oppressing heat and incredibly loud fire engines in old New York.

I have also been wondering about the seasonality of music, and more specifically music releases related to the psychological state of the listener. Having recently purchased the latest release by The National (High Violet) – this album sounds very wintry to me. I have enjoyed it, but it does sit very well with the rainy season here in New Zealand. Obviously the majority the Brooklyn band’s fanbase will be in the summery northern hemisphere, and will connote a bipolar point of difference. Any thoughts?

B

Hamilton Record Club’s second outing, recreating Beck’s 2002 classic “Sea Change” in a mere 12 hours and 3 minutes. This wonderfully melancholic work, documenting the fall-out of the end of  Beck’s relationship to his then long-term girlfriend. Produced by Nigel Godrich and with string arrangements by Beck’s father, David Campbell, “Sea Change” has a wonderful sincerity, rarely heard on the usually eclectic Beck’s songs. Sitting in with the record club in Hamilton, apart from myself on bass, was Dan Edgar Reese on acoustic guitar, LeyRoss Steynway on Fender Rhodes VX1000, synths and vocals, Nick Johnston on upright piano and Emanuel Comer on drums, percussion and lead vocals. Head over to the record club blogsite to have a listen.