To Oslo

​New music In memory of the victims of Oslo and Utøya.
22nd July 2011 the world in Norway was blown away without any warning, we will feel the effects for a long time to come. A tsunami of darkness brought Norway to a sudden standstill, it was inconceivable. A part of Norway has disapeared, and may never be found. How can the architecture of one man cause so much harm? After all this is small country breathing democracy. It still seems unbelievable.

Norway has paid a high price; political fractions, blame, and sometimes a bias political press and turmoil. This has sometimes been unworthy of our society, we must remember there is only one killer. 

With extreme political views ABB has tried to justify what he did. Nobody can justify his vicious act of killing when taking a closer look at his extreme political views, not even himself, and he knows it.

Silence is not the answer to our problem, we need openness and not censorship and oppression.  We do not want political correctness to suffocate a fair debate. We also need to be able to stand up to extreme political views in an open society. This is important, or it could sink deep underground and get hidden in the underworld of internet.

Children are the lifeline to the future, the young victims from Utøya will never be brought back. ABB should not be brought back either, to society. 

We can only imagine the pain of all the young victims that survived this tragic day, they will surely need support for a very long time.

Victims of Oslo can be heard for free on this link, and If you like my blog and music please share it with as many as possible! 

Thanks for reading and listening, and may 2012 be a more peaceful year.

Henning Anundsen: Trumpet
On the music album ¨To Oslo¨ jml music records features Henning Anundsen on solo trumpet. Henning has a great tone and did a excellent jobb  in the studio  recording ¨To Oslo¨. He’s played many concerts including solo concerts on trumpet.

On this record we defenitely benefited from his musical experience in many styles. Henning Anundsen studied music 4 years at The Grieg Academy here in Bergen, Norway. Now he also plays Principal in Eikanger-Bjørsvik Brass Band, wich is one of the foremost brass bands in Europe.

Stian Villanger: Drums
The drummer Stian Villanger is also great to have in studio, he plays and reads well, always with excellent feel. He has played on previously released CDs and film music on jml music as well. Thanks for great playing Stian!

This time he played on 2nd track ¨Promise¨.

Stian Villanger has a BA(hons) degree in Band Musicianship (jazz/pop/rock) from University of Salford. He studied drums with Dave Hassell. At the moment he works at Manger Folkehøgskule as well as working as a freelance drummer in Bergen. He has worked in a wide range of settings, including jazz/rock/pop-bands, studio recordings (cd/film/tv), musicals, military bands and brass bands. «To Oslo» is the third Modahl Leiva record Stian can be heard on. Previously he has contributed on «Dreamworld» and «Mann Kvinne Kaffe».

Johan Modahl Leiva: Guitar
Johan Modahl Leiva is a composer and music producer from Bergen, Norway.
He studied film music at Berklee College of Music, Boston (USA). Leiva has composed music for several films and commercials. He has also written music for orchestra, wind band, big band, brass band and much more.

Johan’s musical style has many references. Finding the meeting point between musical genres is one of his aims, but not the only one.

To Oslo

1. To the Victims 
Featuring Henning Anundsen on trumpet. Guitar: Johan M. Leiva.

2. Promise 
Featuring Henning Anundsen on trumpet and Johan M. Leiva on guitar.

Drums: Stian Villanger 
Bass guitar: Johan M. Leiva

Sound production, music production and all music by Johan M. Leiva