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Till Skogen

by Kolonien

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  • Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

    Comes in a beautiful 6-panel softpak with a 16-page booklet. Features lush matte finish and colorful photos, along with complete song lyrics in English.

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1.
They’re pointing my way I wake up like I’ve always done I drink my coffee a day on the run Pulling out money from threads that I’ve spun Follow in the patterns of my mothers and fathers before I run the streets that I know to well, oh Falling apart, I fell This sure looks like a different place I see no trees see no flowers no bees, no All I see is what we left behind running blind Shallow seas on the rise The time will come when the oceans rise The time will come when the children cry out: Who did this? Will I look in their eyes and say It was me point the gun my way They’re pointing my way Don’t know how to wake up Take my coat on and straighten my back cus It might not be my life down the line Is it true when they say there’s no time? No You might think we’re a lifetime apart It could just be that I’m slow in the start Time is now want to make it across Time is now see the dust we do not stand alone And the slow one will later be fast The first one will later be last Pointing my way They’re pointing my way Let me try it, meet me there Help me to find the caves we’ve built Tell me to reach that shore Leave me to burn And I will soon be coming your way Oh, oh, savour the run (2x) I’m coming your way
2.
Drömmen 04:17
ENGLISH TRANSLATION If you dream Then I am dreaming We could almost climb above the clouds If you'll forget again I'll forget myself Let us change it all around Letting go of everything Just one breath See how our words become seeds in the wind Burning like the forest Awoken by your hand Let us change it all around In the morning, lonely No one has seen me yet Thousands all around me On their telephones Take another pill Happiness within reach Another glass to fill The question I was born with Outside the night is silent See a truth flowing through The dream is alive Don't want to flee, I want to fly All that we have gathered All that we never talked about Will fall down upon us Like rain on the forest
3.
Alla Andra 03:17
ENGLISH TRANSLATION Like all the others (2x) Like all the others You stood on the edge Like all others You fell down Like all the others Doubtful and dreaming Like all others You want more The lights they flicker distantly My heart is like a stone in my empty hands Are you seeking, just as I am Fumbling in the darkness outside Like all the others Fight or flight Like all others A lone island Like all the others You could sink to the bottom Like all others Want to escape The lights they flicker distantly My heart is like a stone in my empty hands Are you seeking, just as I am Fumbling in the darkness outside Like soil hoping for the rain I’m longing for place and community But walls will need to fall down So dreams could be freed for both of us Like all the others In the middle of a crowd Like all others The shadow is hidden Like all the others You keep your distance Like all others You are judged Like all the others (4x)
4.
Luftpalats 04:51
ENGLISH TRANSLATION Slowly drained of my strength However I turn, I’m still empty Our future is long ago, a castle built on sand Where I’m searching for a place to plant my roots Give me more, please, give me more I was 23 Was dropped into the middle New framing and new rules Spotting gold on the horizon Grinding down my youth and my thirst Give me more, please, give me more Who could save us then? Hold the shards in your palm And say come, let’s stick together I hear your silent call Who would sing our song?
5.
Springen 03:00
6.
Nattsudd 02:44
7.
Farfars Jord 03:49
Trees that fell to build this house Left a seed to grow again Water longs to dance again In streams that gave us millions of lives ​ Holes that dug prosperity Left me thirsty by the sea Soil broken by my mouth Asks us to unite as friends Through the air Through the air, reaching me Healing words of poetry Trees that fell to build this house Left a seed to grow again Light comes in where cracks where made What you seek is seeking you, too
8.
ENGLISH TRANSLATION Time flies too fast Your eyes, they are the same But your gaze is something new You see your cracks and wounds Oh time flies too fast Your hands, they are the same But markings there are more I am holding your hand, thinking That time flies too fast You have landed, you are home But you dreamt of something different All that never happened Oh time flies too fast Your smile is the same But you smile at something else It is still you when you smile And time flies too fast Your eyes, they are the same But your gaze is something new Your eyes are the same And they can still see
9.
10.
Varandra 04:23
ENGLISH TRANSLATION I can see how it falls apart The color fades I’m all naked and all you do is you flee What I have done, has changed with the tide My thoughts are dusty But what is my part in this? I should speak up I should say no See how the earth trembles When everything is on the verge They want us to blame each other Each other Do you see the smoke rising? The black facades If you close your eyes, they will still hurt Closed eyes have a hard time understanding that Sometimes the sun shines in through the window ​ If you see it, you also see that Everything is on the verge and we will not blame each other Each other We have each other I see the light in the tunnel Wandering beings take the unspoken back now, my friend Many will be more and we will take care for one another We have each other
11.
Morgondag 04:12
ENGLISH TRANSLATION Give me a tomorrow Warm on my skin If you smile, I’ll smile Thought it was just me But through the night The dawn of a new day Give me another hour ​ I want to stay here Dawn breathes The night lets go Promises of something else Promises of a new day Take, you can take what you want There is nothing left here Forgot what I felt, what I want, what I dreamt There are no answers here You can take what you want I’m the one to walk away (The one to walk away) I have given all that was left And a little bit more Under my skin, who am I, not yours I want an answer Gave all that was left But wherever you go, I go Wherever you go, I go You can take what you want There is nothing left here Forgot what I felt, what I want, what I dreamt There are no answers here You can take what you want I’m the one to walk away (The one to walk away)
12.
Till Skogen 03:20
ENGLISH TRANSLATION It's snowing ashes! (3x) It's snowing ashes on the earth without season of winter It's snowing ashes on the earth but no one sees it How hard can it be to understand It must be trees that are burning Otherwise we wouldn't have to see Flying ashes in the air turning But what should we say to our children? (4x) When they wonder?
13.
Hjältesaga 03:53
ENGLISH TRANSLATION This road leads me into debt, weary and tired Losing confidence Will reach out for help, only when the body is breaking The last mile Show me the hero’s journey Tell me the myth of all the self made men My hands up towards the sky That’s where our dreams fly The world will open up So burn of my masks old armor A strange light flickers in the sky That’s where our dreams fly This road leads me into debt, weary and tired Losing confidence Will have to reach for help, to manage this climb The last mile ​ Show me the hero’s journey See how our seeds sprout all around Like wings above Our dreams fly Standing in the shadows Wish I’d dare to step Into the house Can’t wait much longer My body is screaming Give me the light That’s where our dreams fly (4x)
14.
Unlearning 03:22
Get me off the timeline Trying to unlearn Take me to the forest And leave me there All day long I'm yearning Burning candles green Didn’t see my failures Caging me ​ I’m looking for myself Longing for a way One day I will be free Free again It’s dripping from my soul Fill me up again (The) Sacred story let me down Searching for my story Belly of the beast Underground my fear will Turn away Burning through the winter Wrestled with my needs Befriend my empty void And heal that fire I’m looking for myself Longing for a way One day I will be free Free again It’s dripping from my soul Fill me up again (The) Sacred story let me down, oh oh Looking for something changing I will be free again Looking for something lasting Pin me down and swim that sea

about

Kolonien is a four-member family band from Sweden that has been one of the leading voices of the Swedish folk revival for over a decade. With a style that blends acoustic roots music with anthemic, sing-along pop, Kolonien has a fresh, appealing sound that brings multiple musical worlds together. Till Skogen (translation: “To the Forest”) is filled with catchy, appealing songs that tackle challenging issues such as climate change, the pressures of social media, the search for community, aging and the loss of elders with a light-hearted attitude and a contagious sense of joy.

Kolonien's lush vocal harmonies are reminiscent of Fleet Foxes, their Nordic folk-pop sound might remind some listeners of Of Monsters and Men, and their hipsters with strings vibe makes them Sweden's answer to Mumford & Sons. At the same time, Kolonien's music and inspirations are deeply rooted in the Swedish folk tradition as well as the natural environment and progressive philosophies of the alternative-lifestyle community where they were raised.

Kolonien is made up of brothers Erik and Arvid Rask, their cousin Anna Möller and their childhood neighbor, and “brother from another mother,” Mischa Grind. The members of the band were raised in and around Järna, a community south of Stockholm that is known as a back-to-the-land destination for hippies, progressives, and back-to-the-landers. While they had been making music together since childhood, the band formally came together during a music festival in Tanzania in 2010. Since then, they have toured extensively across the world and developed a devoted following at home and abroad. Till Skogen is the band’s third full-length album and its first for the Cumbancha label.

At its heart, Till Skogen tells the story of four friends, a family and a place. It is music dedicated to the band's homeland and the forest outside the farm where the family grew up. It’s about the importance of those places in people’s lives, and how human memories and experiences are stored in our surroundings. Since their previous album Drömmarnas Land was released in 2015, Kolonien’s oldest relatives have passed away, and new lives have been created. The course of life and time has made itself clear. “It can be so damn lonely to leave your childhood and grow up, your worldview becomes more complex, and life suddenly strikes you with both sadness and joy,” notes bandmember Erik Rask.

After many years of diligent and arduous touring, which probably eroded both friendships and desire, Kolonien felt a strong need to return to its roots. To the place where it all began. “We decided to return to our old log cabin back home where everything started ten years ago. There we built a recording studio to unconditionally start playing music again, quite unsure of what would come out. Slowly, new music began to creep in and now, almost five years and a pandemic later, the record is finally finished.”

Kolonien started just over ten years ago as a Dylan-inspired progressive folk band in the Swedish environmental movement. The ideological dimension has always taken a large place in the music. Like the progressive music of the 70s, Kolonien’s music is used as a carrier of both personal and ideological messages. Overt political stances have, however, been set aside for a more complex worldview, but on this album the environmental perspective is again strong.

Till Skogen is a tribute to nature as a being in itself. The human exploitation of forests and land has become a literal burning political issue, which also takes its natural place in Kolonien’s music. What happens when our physical roots are cut down and burned? “Today’s forest policy has enormous shortcomings and puts short-term profit ahead of long-term sustainability. Our natural heritage disappears in every moment and it’s enormously frightening. It is a mistake that younger generations will blame us for.”

For Kolonien, the forest at home has also always had a highly personal essence, with trees that have stood for generations and branched out through time. “It is as if the forest has always symbolized our own family tree in some way, from the root and stem to the leaves at the far end of the thinnest branch.”

And the family tree is also artistically represented on the album: “We gathered our extended family, which partly forms the album’s wind section, but above all the large family choir with children, grandchildren, siblings, and parents that form the album’s musical thread. Even the dog Alfons sang along to a song. The music deals in different ways with a person’s relationship to their homeland, family roots, and place on earth. To then be able to gather our own human family tree and collective of friends felt super nice.”

The result of their efforts is an album that wanders from the catchy, sing-along folk pop of opening track “Time Will Tell” to the mesmerizing, nearly a capella title song, whose heart-wrenching lyrics cry out for the burning forests, asking “But what should we say to our children?” Kolonien also looks beyond their borders for influences, using inspirations from African guitar lines on “Alla Andra” (All the Others), Afro-Brazilian percussion on “Varandra” (Each Other) and Irish/Celtic fiddle riffs on the upbeat instrumental “Springen” (Jump), which features the talents of violinist Anna Möller.

Anna, whose father Ale Möller is one of Sweden’s most famous musical innovators, also wrote the lyrics to “Morgondag” (Tomorrow), a buoyant tribute to the possibilities of change. “There is something magical about the very moment of change,” comments Anna, “The shift, the breaking point, the minutes just before dawn. The limbo between darkness and light, being lost and having a purpose. That moment when both darkness and light co-exist is what we tried to capture in this song; the feeling when you reach the top of the hill, let go and can suddenly breathe again. There is always a breaking point. “Genom natten gryr det en ny dag” - “Through the night a new day is borne.”


The album’s final song, the English-language “Unlearning,” was inspired by the work of author Charles Eisenstein, who posits that humanity should leave behind “the story of separation” and enter into a new story - “the story of interbeing.” Explains Arvid, “I had always thought of the challenges of the world as various concrete facts that required concrete solutions: taxes, rules, laws, etc. But can it be that phenomena such as climate change and deforestation are symptoms of a deeper story we create together every day? And that, as long as this story continues, the symptoms continue? And if so, how could one behave to seek another story, to learn about? This song tries to fumble after these answers.” Its heady stuff, yet the song’s sweet melody and universal lyrics closes the album on an endearing and hopeful note: “I’m looking for myself / Longing for a way / One day I will be free / Free again.” Free like the birds that sing along to the song, ending the album, fittingly, with the sounds of nature.

Kolonien doesn’t just sing about environmental issues, they are demonstrating their commitment by donating 10% of their income from Till Skogen to the Swedish organization Skydda Skogen (skyddaskogen.se), a Swedish non-governmental organization that is devoted to saving forests and maintaining biodiversity by lobbying for more sustainable practices in Sweden’s forestry industry.

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released April 22, 2022

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Kolonien Sweden

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Kolonien is a four-member family band from Sweden that has been one of the leading voices of the Swedish folk revival for over a decade. With a sound that blends acoustic roots music with anthemic, sing-along pop, Kolonien has a fresh, appealing sound that brings multiple musical worlds together. ... more

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