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See you in Prague :) 6 May 2012

Just got back from the studio… purely a visit to meet the orchestra, the engineers, and the rest of my team for this project, and to check out the room.

It’s at Czech TV, which is the State-run TV station, and it’s FANTASTIC!

The orchestra are all really cool, and I got to hang out for a while with the harpist, Renata, she’s great. She played for the Royal Danish Opera Orchestra for many years, so we had a lot to chat about. In fact, the last time I worked with an orchestra it was in Denmark. Something about Danish harps…

The studio is fabulous, of course, the mics and all the outboard gear is highest quality stuff. Lots of vintage German gadgetry, which always warms the heart.

A composer I truly admire was working there today, Kristian Andersen, who is the guy who did the Wagner arrangements for Melancholia and also worked with Bjork on the soundtrack to Dancer in the Dark, both movies by director Lars von Trier, and I think both were shot here Czech Republic. Not sure about that bit, but anyway, I was a bit starstruck to be honest, which rarely happens, but it did today. I mean, I bloody loved Melancholia, and also I had an intense experience with it up the top of the mountain in Malibu where I was staying around the time that I saw it… in a place that looks not unlike like the set to Melancholia… But I digress!

Back to this morning’s outing to the studio and my report to you. Short version is, the orchestra is great, the studio is top notch, and I’ve got a lot of work to do and a lot of inspiration just seeing the space and meeting the musicians.

Oh, and last night there was a full supermoon in Scorpio, and the most magnificent electric storm I’ve experienced for years and years and years… and in this magical ancient city, the capital of Bohemia and the birthplace of all things Gothic.

MASSIVE thunder! SHOCKING lightning!! TORRENTIAL rain!!! And EPIC, INTENSE, CHARGED STRINGS written by yours truly throughout the night here in my secret Prague hideaway!

Last night’s charts are for a song for an old friend, and the storm was the ultimate occasion to experience his intense vision from the inside. I am so grateful for his beautiful, magical, extraordinary aesthetic, and for the experience of preparing his song for the orchestra.

DON”T MISS IT!!!!!

We will rock this studio, make sure you join us LIVE online…

Date: Saturday May 12th

Time:
8 am Los Angeles
10 a.m. Austin, TX
11 a.m. New York
4 p.m. London
5 p.m. Prague, Paris and Berlin
12 Midnight. Tokyo

Place: http://www.justin.tv/ilovestrings

See you there, and thank you so much for your support!!!

xxx Ysanne

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Love from Prague… xxx 3 May 2012

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The Great Orchestra Adventure is go!!! 28 April 2012

I’m on the road, actually I’m about to take to the sky… yes, Europe, here I come! xxx

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Radio silence 12 April 2012

People, I’m getting ready to retreat up the mountain for the first part of my Great Orchestra Adventure! I shall be writing charts for the orchestra in total solitude at my ‘special place’ from Sunday April 15 until I fly to Europe… and I’ve taken the radical step of deciding to disconnect myself from Facebook / Twitter / Instagram etc from Sunday 4/15 until Saturday 4/28, when I’ll come down the mountain and drive directly to the airport, without passing ‘Go’.

I’ll be available by email for important stuff, but there will be zero texts, tweets, or phone calls during this two week period…. Tally ho! xxx

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Sunday April 8, 2012 8 April 2012

Today I wrote some Super BIG Dramatic string charts reflecting today’s Scorpio moon with added Jupiter… not to mention the Spring Light, Beauty and Fertility festival we’ve enjoyed this weekend in honour of the Anglo-Saxon goddess Oestre.

Oestre was a celebration of growing light and beauty, and a fertility festival throughout ancient Europe, including the country of my birth, England. It’s said that the goddess Oestre found a wounded bird on her travels, and to save it, she turned it into a hare. To this day, female hares lay eggs at this time of year as a symbol of their gratitude to Oestre.

Of course, this time is universally celebrated now as well as in the past as a time of increasing light, fertility, renewal and growing beauty (not to mention, chocolate eggs!!!). This particular Easter weekend we had a Scorpio moon with a strong influence of the planet Jupiter, which is a force for expansion and joy.

I put all of these concepts together this morning and realized today was the ultimate day to write some Grand Dramatic Strings. Super Big. And broken. I created an arrangement that’s as broken as it is whole. You’ll hear what I mean when it’s ready. I broke the art on purpose, it was made for it!

And so, it was with this in mind that I finished a particularly punk rock string arrangement for my song, ‘The Orchard.’ It’s an ambitious arrangement, and will keep the orchestra on its toes. It’s like I caramelized the onions and deglazed the pan too, if you catch my drift…

Happy Oestre!

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