Village: Natural Light

"In regards to the album A Village: Natural Light by Christian Kjellvander, I am writing to you as a friend of Christian Kjellvander. I was sitting in Christian's kitchen in Malmö when he picked up a guitar and played the album Faya (2005) in it's entirety. I was sitting in his living room in Rynge when he played me the final mix of I Saw Her From Here/I Saw Here From Her (2007). He was at my house in Denmark when he played me the demos for The Rough and Rynge (2010). When Christian bought an old church in a tiny Swedish village I brought my family. We stayed there right before he started recording The Pitcher (TR 273CD/LP, 2013). Walking around that big beautiful room, hearing how beautiful it sounded and knowing that this sound would be captured on many amazing albums to come was comforting. This new album is the best there is. A Village: Natural Light is an album about living, loving and dying. When I listen to these songs I think about how important it is to really live your life. These songs right here are about staying and riding it out. Create a life of your own, surround yourself with good people, don't let bastards get you down and make the most of what you got. Make sure to love. Christian told me that he had started working part-time in a cemetery in a small Swedish village while writing these songs because he wanted to get the realest job he could and let it bleed into his songs. Make something that truly sounded like where he was - in a village, like a microcosm of the world we live in today facing life and death. This leads me to thinking about the beauty in mourning and how it's an important part of life. I think about how we isolate ourselves from other people and how it takes away our reasons to mourn. A mixture of genuine happiness, sadness and appreciation. The album was recorded at Christian's old church in Österåker by Ruben Engzell. The band really made the most out of that beautiful sounding room. A truly great album by a truly great artist who has been releasing nothing but great albums since the late '90s." - Henry Toft. Mixed by Craig Schumacher. Mastered by JJ Golden at Golden Mastering.