"Dagen Og Natta" finally translated to English

We often get questions concerning the lyrics we use (all written by author Tormod Skagestad, as you may already know), mostly because they're written in a language that not all that many people around the globe are capable of understanding. Norway is a small country after all - at least in terms of human population - and not that many people outside Norway ever bother to study the language. No wonder then that most questions are related to the meaning of these lyrics, or the likes of: "Where can I find an English translation of [insert title here]?"

We have too much respect for Tormod Skagestad's works to attempt to make translations of his works on our own, but we have been trying to encourage the Internet community to come up with good translations. Finally we have one such translation. One that is of such good quality that we just have to share it with the rest of the world. Thank you so much for writing this one! (You know who you are.)

Day And Night

The day; a laughing God,
descends from the mountains.
He is a strong and joyful father
for the forest, skies and fjords.
They laugh and cheer around him.

He turns away, silences them and holds his breath
then leaves for all eternity.
Thoughtfully he lays his golden arms
around the shoulders of the dim mountains
before he leaves.

I am a son of the day.
I trample around with sunrays in my hair
and melodies on my lips.

The night is a veiled Goddess
descending from the mountains.
She is a good, yet tired mother
for the skies, fjords and forests.
They crawl into her embrace. Hide away.

Above them she lifts the starry sky
like a lamplight.
And rocks them to sleep.
The rhythm of sleep is in everything:
In the flowing water
in darkness and growing grass.

I am a son of the night
Night, lay soft and dark hands
over my eyes.

The day returns from its jaunt.
Laughing, he tears the sleeping land
out of their mother’s embrace.
He lifts and severs waving, white sheets of fog.
Breathes on the skies, fjords and forests.

Carries them in his golden arms
shakes the sleep and slumber off them.
The people who work in the fields
by the forest and the rivers,
have sunrays in their hair
and melodies on their lips.

From ashes I have come
unto ashes I shall return.
Days and nights shall come
and go without me.

Reduced price on the Etterlatte album

That's right! We're reducing the price on our most recent album for the remainder of 2013! From now on and through December 31st, you can order your copy for only €9.99, including shipping costs to anywhere on the planet. Head to secretquarters.com or havnatt.com to make your order!

The Etterlatte album has been released!

Our Etterlatte album has now been released and will start appearing on various websites and services all over the world. Sites and services include secretquarters.com, iTunes, CD Baby, Amazon, Google Music, Last.fm, MySpace Music, Rhapsody, Shazam, Emusic, GreatIndieMusic, Spotify, Xbox Music and many others.

Here's the press release from Secret Quarters:

The Etterlatte album builds upon the foundation that Havnatt created with their Havdøgn EP (2012). All lyrics are still the unedited works of Norwegian author Tormod Skagestad. Largely based upon Cecilie Langlie's vocal performances and the acoustic guitar arrangements by Tom Simonsen, the sound is still unique, Havnatt-esque neofolk/dark folk. With Etterlatte the sound is also further expanded through larger musical arrangements that include piano, clarinets, violins and cellos, among others.

Each of the album's 12 tracks seeks to create a musical interpretation of one of Tormod Skagestad's poems, and deals with the unaltered lyrics of one entire poem. One interesting exception is the track Vårnatta Er Ein Lys Felestreng (Del 1). "Del 1" (meaning "Part 1" in Norwegian) indicates that the lyrics of this poem was actually cut in half and that "Del 2" will follow on a later release. Another exception is the addition of the instrumental track Mellom Linjene. Furthermore, the album includes two separate interpretations of the poem entitled Sovande Gard. The first interpretation of this poem makes up the first track of the album. Then the lyrics of this poem return once more on track 11 - with quite different results.

The CD version of the album comes with a beautifully crafted 28 page booklet with hand drawn illustrations for each of the tracks. Tormod Skagestad's original lyrics have also been reprinted in the booklet with permission from the Skagestad family.

Havnatt is
Cecilie Langlie - vocals
Tom Simonsen - guitars, bass, piano, drums

Session musicians
Mira Ursic - violins
Rosamund Brown - cellos
Tiina Granum - clarinets

All tracks composed, arranged and produced by Havnatt.
All lyrics by Tormod Skagestad.

The lyrics used on this album were taken from the following collections of poems:
Om fjellprofilan låg ei gullrand spent (1946)
I natt skal mange våke (1947)
Mørkt vatten glir mot havet (1950)

Recorded, mixed and mastered by Tom Simonsen at the Secret Quarters studios.
© 2013 Havnatt. All rights reserved.

Released by Secret Quarters.
The Secret Quarters logo © 2013 Secret Quarters. All rights reserved.

Album illustrations and design by Robert Høyem.

Etterlatte album iTunes pre-sale now available!

Now, you can also order our brand new Etterlatte album from iTunes! This is an iTunes pre-sale, meaning that you will get to download one of the album's tracks right away. The remaining tracks will then get downloaded automatically on the release date, August 15th.

Click here to get your copy of Etterlatte from iTunes.

Etterlatte album pre-orders are available right now!

Just as promised, you can now pre-order your copy of our brand new Etterlatte album, right this very minute! Head over to our record label's website to make your order right away! Alternatively, you can also make your order by using the "Buy now" button next to the Etterlatte release at havnatt.com.

The Etterlatte album releases worldwide on August 15th. All pre-orders will be sent well ahead of that date.

Etterlatte album and Havnatt Double Pack pre-orders

Our new Etterlatte album will be available for pre-order starting August 1st. (The worldwide release happens on August 15th.) But that's not all! Also possible starting August 1st: The pre-ordering of the Havnatt Double Pack! This will land you the Havndøgn EP and the Etterlatte album as parts of one neat little package.

The Havnatt Double Pack will be available for order and/or pre-order from the Secret Quarters website. Free shipping to every corner of the world, of course.

PS:
The Etterlatte album will also be available for pre-sale on iTunes starting August 1st! So if you prefer a digital download to a CD, why not head over there to get your copy and to be able to download one of the album's tracks right away.

The Etterlatte album releases on August 15th!

All the CD copies of our brand new album entitled Etterlatte just got delivered, and we almost can't wait to start getting them out the door. The release will happen worldwide on August 15th, and we'll be accepting pre-orders starting August 1st! Pre-orders can be made through the Secret Quarters website.

In addition - also starting August 1st - we'll be doing a pre-sale of the Etterlatte album through iTunes. If you pre-order the album through iTunes you'll be able to download one of the album's 12 tracks two weeks ahead of release.

The CD version of the album comes with a beautifully crafted 28 page booklet with hand drawn illustrations for each of the tracks. Tormod Skagestad's original lyrics have also been reprinted in the booklet with permission from the Skagestad family.