Pieces of life (2017)

Release date: Sep 28, 2017.
MP3-quality: 320 kBit/s, 44.100 kHz, Stereo
Total playing time: 44:44 minutes

 
The album is available on Spotify, iTunes, Tidal and other major digital music streaming services and online music stores.
You may also click the download icons below to listen to or save the complete album, individual songs and printable album CD cover.

MUSIC VIDEOS
Somebody Precious (Oct 2017)
See You (Apr 2017)

Download FULL ALBUM
All 12 songs + printable CD-cover with lyrics booklet (ZIP-file, 100 MB)

Download / play INDIVIDUAL SONGS
Turn back the pages (4:19)
See you (3:34)
Too many chances (3:47)
Without your love (3:29)
I'm different (3:57)
Faster, faster (3:16)
Inside your head (4:00)
Somebody precious (3:55)
All falls down (4:00)
Side effect of love (3:35)
Sometimes I get nervous (3:37)
No problems (3:15)

Download CD-COVER AND LYRICS
The CD-cover with lyrics booklet and more is included in the full album download above. You may, however, download only the cover package:
Cover with lyrics (PDF-file, 2 MB)

PLEASE NOTE:
When printing the CD cover, set "Scale PDF file", "Page Scaling", "Scale to page" etc. to "None" or "0". If not, your printed CD cover may become too small!

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ABOUT THE ALBUM:
I am becoming more and more aware of my need to leave something behind, to create something to remember me by when I'm gone. It's a challenge that I'm not really ever totally pleased or satisfied with what I do. My concerns aren't really about the songs, and not about the vocals or the music itself. It's nearly always about the production side of things, like the mix and the sound quality. Technical details that most people never notice or even consider thinking about. However, soundwise I think I have moved in the right direction with several of the songs on this album, like "See you" and "Without your love", to mention a couple.

Musicians
As opposed to some of my previous albums, I play and sing every single sound you hear on "Pieces of life". It's a solo project in every sense of the word solo. All 12 songs were written and recorded between January and September 2017, and several of them mean a lot to me personally.

The lyrics
I spend more time on the lyrics now than I used to when I was younger. I'm tired of pop music cliches, and try to express myself in a way that appeals to the listeners' imagination – opening for alternative interpretations that go beyond what I myself originally may have had in mind. If the listener thinks "I'm not 100 % sure what the lyrics are about, but somehow I feel I know what he's saying", I will be more than pleased, especially if the "somehow" leads to different impressions and interpretations for different people.

Song writing
I've written several hundred songs in my life, many of which were never released. About 150 of them are available on my website as mp3 files. 91 of those are from one of my eight albums. When composing, sometimes the songs and lyrics just come to me, apparently out of nowhere. I feel like I'm just receiving something that was served to me on a plate, and my job is just to receive and materialize it. Those times the main idea of a whole song may be ready in 10-15 minutes, including most of the lyrics and the main arrangement. Other times I struggle. Most of those times, I find it's better to move on to the next idea and get back to it later, to avoid losing the spontanity and personal touch by overthinking the song and the arrangement.

Normally, the best songs I've made have been handed to me from the great unknown. You might call it inspiration. Or a fluid, unconscious imagination. The flow. Those are the times when I think, "wow, I never would have thought about that verse or that chorus by myself". It's a strange feeling which I've learned to appreciate over the years. On this album, many of the songs came to me like that, for example "See you", "Without your love" and "No problems".

Music videos
So far, two music videos have been made for this album. They are both available on YouTube. Being able to present and interpret the songs and express myself on film highly broadens the artistic experience of both an artist and a song. It also sets limitations to what and how the audience thinks of it all. By using old horror movie clips for the "Somebody precious" music video, I realize that many people will associate the song with just horror movies. Or, at least it may narrow down the number of alternative interpretations. Or maybe the other way around, who knows? No matter what, to me, the lyrics and the mood and emotions of the movie clips fit the song like a glove. In which way, I prefer not to say, and will simply leave it up to each person watching and listening to figure out the meaning for themselves, filtered through their own experiences and mindsets.

Music video poster for "Somebody precious"

More to come?
For the last 20 years, the same thought and feeling have struck my mind every time I've released an album: "This might be the last time". However, I've felt differently this time. Just a couple of weeks after the release, I already have lots of drafts and numerous new ideas waiting to manifest themselves. Making an album is a tremendeous amount of work to me, especially the recording and mixing process. However, I have a feeling I will have yet another album ready during 2018, which in that case will be my 9th. Time will show.

I'm humbly proud of "Pieces of life". It took a lot of work to get it done, but it was worth it. I hope my grandchildren will listen to these songs, and then their children, too. And whoever else that might find it interesting when that time comes. At the moment, I guess all that matters is now.

Finn Harald Røed, Oct. 8, 2017


Copyright notice:
Music, lyrics and CD cover:
Copyright © Finn Harald Røed 2017.
This CD is free for personal and non-commercial use. However - redistribution, rearranging, sampling, public performance, webhosting, sale, resale or other commercial use is prohibited and illegal.