The snow has gone away, the streets are dry and windy and the sun is making life crawl back into everything; the trees, backyards and people's smiles. Something wonderful happens here in Norway when the winter is over, it feels like everyone comes out of their hives and starts breathing again. People are laughing. Talking to each other. It's fabulous. At night it stays bright for so long, and daytime is going to keep extending until the end of june. MARVELOUS. I spent four hours in the woods yesterday, walking up and down lonesome hills. The forest is a welcoming place during spring. 

I have begun recording my new album, I have written a bunch of new songs, but it is still just the very beginning. My brain is working day and night with lyrics, possible melodies, chords, instruments, string arrangements and so on. It makes me a bit manic and weird, but it is just as it should be. I have already started performing some of the new stuff live, so if you catch an upcoming show there will be new material to hear. 

I guess it's a bit too early to say exactly how things have developed or changed, but I am pretty sure some of you will be surprised. More drums? Well, yes. And more bass. We sound more like a band, sort of. I shouldn't say much more, actually. Let the events unfold. I am building my way back up to feeling excitement about doing it all over again, it's scary and fantastic to know that the process of releasing an album is re-entering my life. It got pretty quiet and dark this winter. I am glad to be back in business. Ah, the drama. 

I hope you all are enjoying your lives, smiling in the sun (or rain!) and generally feeling optimistic and satisfied. Lots of love; Ingrid 

HELLO!
Sorry it took me so long! The festival season is definetely over, I am preparing for winter in my little kitchen here in Oslo. The air is unbeatable in october, so fresh and it smells lovely.
Last week I had the great joy of spending my time in New York City, where I got to play a showcase at CMJ Music Marathon. My venue was a cute little club in the Lower East Side called Cake Shop. Thank you so much to everyone that showed up to my first ever outside scandinavia show. We had great fun. New York was dazzling as ever, and these are a few of my favourite things: (sung like Julie Andrews) 1. The view from the Empire State Building in the dark. 2. The indian restaurant Panna II, "where chilli-lights meets christmas lights". 3. From rice to riches, a restaurant that serves nothing but rice pudding. 4. Running in Central Park. IT'S HUGE! 5. The New Museum and the Elizabeth Peyton exhibit Live Forever. And a lot more. Great city.
First thing I woke up to when I came home was a question if I'd like to go to Stockholm on saturday and do support for british band Keane in a venue called Annex. So now I'm going to Stockholm. 
My plans for the fall also includes a visit to Stavangers Nordic Music Week. And maybe some more.
I am writing a bit again, too. Feels good.
Okey, get the day going now.
Hope everyone is well!
Sincerely; Ingrid   

Å være artist fører til at man innimellom får rare spørsmål.
-Kan du spille en afterski-klassiker på P3s påskespesial, var det noen som spurte.

Jeg går hverken på ski eller afterski, men jeg tenkte Her kommer Vintern kanskje kunne passe, siden jeg elsker låta og er fan av Jokke og Valentinerne.

Etter påske fikk jeg mail av NRK som sa at mange lyttere hadde bedt om å få låta i reprise. Låta ble lagt ut på P3 sine nettsider, hvor den har ligget siden. Mange har vært inne og lytta.
Noe som i utgangspunktet skulle bli et lite innslag i en påskesending, har nå blitt streamet nærmere tretti tusen ganger på p3s nettsider og youtube. Det er overveldende og overraskende og herlig. Mange har også bedt meg legge ut denne låta for nedlasting. Og nå skal det skje!

Det er med stor entusiasme jeg kan tilby denne låta til en pris på kroner 25,-, der alle inntektene skal gå uavkortet til Regnskogfondet. 

Jeg kontaktet Cristopher Nielsen, Joakims bror, og spurte om det fantes et ønske om en god sak inntektene fra denne utgivelsen kunne gå til. Cristopher og andre av Joakim Nielsens nærmeste har allerede støttet Regnskogfondet i forbindelse med inntekter generert av Jokke og Valentinernes musikk, og vi ble enige om å fortsette med det.

Klima er en av vår generasjons viktigste saker, og 20 prosent av verdens klimagassutslipp kommer fra rasering av tropisk skog. Regnskogfondet arbeider for å bevare regnskogen og dens biologiske ressurser. Alle tiltak Regnskogfondet støtter gjennomføres i samarbeid med lokale regnskogsbeboere og idealistiske organisasjoner i regnskogsland. 

Fra torsdag 4. september 2008 er låta tilgjengelig for nedlasting på musikk.telenormobil.no, eller ved å sende "Olava" til 2244.
Det ville også være linker fra www.telenormobil.no, www.online.no, www.nrk.no/p3, www.regnskog.no, www.emi.no og www.myspace.com/ingridolava.

Tusen takk til alle som har vist interesse for denne låta. Håper dere vil støtte en god sak!

Tusen takk til Christopher Nielsen, Regnskogfondet, NRK P3, Telenor, Aspiro og EMI Music Norway for hjelp til å gjennomføre denne ideen.

Hilsen
Ingrid Olava

Everyone! Monday afternoon, finally back in my kitchen, doing tons of laundry after totally neglecting it for weeks. Listening to Judee Sills, beautiful!

Being out travelling is intense and wonderful and leaves me feeling both happy and worn out. I started off a month ago and have been all around the country. My music isn't the easiest kind to place in any kind of setting, I have learned that much. I get a lot of valuable experience while trying different sized stages, indoors, outdoors, daytime, night time, big crowds and small.

The absolute highlight of my summer was playing in a church on the small island of Træna, an island located way out in the sea just on the Arctic Circle. This festival is very dear to my heart and this is the third year I have returned. It is a small festival with very rare and special concerts, and it has no intention of getting bigger. The ocean, the mountains and the people all make me feel refreshed and this year it nearly felt like coming home. And all the fresh fish you can eat, of course. Great!

When this is said, both Hove and Slottsfjell were great fun. I am also looking so much forward to Øya, here in my own backyard in Oslo. I'm sure it will be wonderful.

All this travelling has left me feeling somehow ungrounded, I find myself having trouble planning and knowing exactly what to anticipate when it comes to the future. I miss my friends and I kind of miss my old life where I had so much more time to just hang out with my notebook and my piano. I really love my new life, but it scares me as well. It is no doubt egotistic and fragmental. Hopefully I'll find my way.

The sun is shining today. I have trouble with words, but I am happy to be home. I wish everything good for all of you.

Sincerely; Ingrid

Dear all.

Summer isn't summer anylonger. I started realizing last summer, and this one is even more hectic. But I am not complaining. Being able to play festivals is a great opportunity, I will work hard and try my very best. Nearly every weekend and a couple of full weeks will be dedicated to the road, and I love my band and can't wait-
Just been two weeks out of the country, Denmark and Sweden to release the record and do some promotional work. Except for the fact that the rest of Scandinavia obviously has trouble understanding norwegian, I think it went fairly well. It's more music than words, anyway. Both Copenhagen and Stockholm are great cities, especially the stay in Stockholm was great this time. I lived in a hotel owned by members of ABBA, and actually saw Benny walk through the lobby. Strange. Good hotel, nice pillows and free dvd's to loan. It is strange how these small things like details about your room matter when you are travelling all the time. I am not a snob in any way, I just react very positively whenever I am in a hotel or a restaurant where it's obvious that the people who run it care about their profession and take pride in it and has some mission beoynd just making money. If there's some kind of love of what you are doing to start with, then it rubs off on everything else, I guess, employees, detail, energy. It becomes very apparent when you've been in five diffirent hotels in two weeks. Some hotels will sooner make you lonely. 
The swedish magazine Sonic put me on their sampler cd of the summer issue, and as a longtime reader of the magazine, that of course made me very proud. A part from that, Stockholm is of course a very hip and cool place, and it was kind of scary but very exciting. Oslo felt like a familiar embrace when I finally came home. My kitchen makes me happy.
Why did I call this post A double life? Well, I am getting to it. Yesterday I went back to my rehearsing room and sat alone by the piano for a long time. It felt faboulous. I haven't been able to concentrate for a while, but it is finally coming back now. This summer I will do my shows and stay in the rehearsing room in between. It is a life of pretty strong contrasts, the intensity of audiences and the loneliness of trying to write. But it is a double life I can't wait to lead. Maybe I should get a costume, be a masked revenger with cloak and everything? But who would be the hero, and who would be the normal citizen? Hm. Anyway.
Hope all of you are great wherever you are.

Sincerely; ingrid