Nils Berg Cinemascope presents
Pashto Love is sung by an afghan boy. The original video has been floating around YouTube since 2011 when I found it, and the pashto lyrics tell a story of love. I want to tell you more about this kid and his voice, but the clip is a bit of a mystery. We wanted to wrap this tune in a disco dress. Follow the link at the bottom of this page to hear the naked version. Zinkensdamms IP let us use the location in return for a bag of apple muffins.
Tensta - Malmö starts out with a women's choir from Malmö, led by Nils's mother Bodil. The framework was filmed in the foyer of our local cinema, Bio Rio. Don't miss their tiny Salong 4, where you can dine on deep fried sushi rolls while watching your movie. I wanted to collide the Malmö choir with some other singers, and found Tensta Gospel in a Stockholm suburb. Me and Miki got invited to a rehearsal, and after some hours in the editing studio, the both choirs built a beautiful bridge from Tensta to Malmö.
Jab Jab Bahaar Aayee is a classic bollywood tune. Abbas Anand, a celebrity of the Baltistan area of northern Pakistan sings to a priviliged audience in a hotel room in Skardu. That ended up in a boat yard barbecue at Gröndals Båtklubb. Summertime this place hosts Café Cul de Sac, with the crunchiest waffles in Stockholm!
Oodhni is another love tune from the far east. "Today my heart became a stranger" is a rough translation of the hindi tagline. Between two houses on Bergsunds Strand there's a tiny pool, where a duck couple hangs out every summer. We borrowed their home for an evening with Hafiz Gul Zaman. This guy went viral on YouTube after an appearance on Pakistan's Got Talent. A man with many voices, and a swinging approach to water bottles.
Mitshe Dina , written by Namgay Jigs, is a bhutanese smash hit. The girl in the window, 12-year-old Kunzang Lhaden, sings in front of a himalayan monastery. When our friend Helena found this video back in 2011, the man holding the camera, Tshering Tobgay, was one of Bhutan's first oppositional political bloggers. Six months after we filmed this tune, he was elected Prime Minister. Piccolo Angolo, across the street from our rehearsal space, has the neighbourhood's biggest pizzas.
Another Side of Irish Music lends the title from the gentleman playing the violin towards the end of this tune. Here's Hafiz Gul Zaman again, this time on tablas, whistling and vocals. We borrowed a tent from a couple of bicycle-repair-guys, and got some audience from stockholmers passing by on their evening jogs. Hafiz gets company from an irish fiddle player that I filmed in Dublin years ago in a Guinness joint.
Furusato means "hometown" in japanese. If you listen closely you might hear the original tune, Home Sweet Home, somewhere. I messed it up with my scissors and wrote a new piece on top of the remains. Nicholas Cossentino, who plays the banjo, hosts a great collection of americana on his YouTube channel. This is a good place for a morning swim. Or a late night concert.
Vocals is a musical journey in seven chapters, recorded and filmed in the neighbourhoods surrounding the Cinemascope studio in Stockholm. Click the numbers in the map above to jump to the different scenes of the movie.
Vocals is available on
Music produced and arranged by Nils Berg Recorded at Stureparken Studio, Stockholm by Andreas Unge and on location by Nils Berg Mixed and mastered by August Wanngren at We Know Music, Copenhagen.
Nils Berg - Bass Clarinet, Flute, Tenor Sax, Violin, Omnichord, Piano, Alto Flute and Backing Vocals Christopher Cantillo - Drums and Omnichord Josef Kallerdahl - Double Bass and Electric Bass
Cinemaphotography by Miki Anagrius, Editing by Erik Barr, B-camera by Tetsu Koyanagi, Graphic Design by Erik Olovsson, Web Design by Per Gantelius / Stuffmatic, Illustrations by Sanna Haverinen, Executive Production by Josef Kallerdahl.
This movie was created around a series of video clips of singers and players found on the internet. Click the song titles above to hear the original recordings of these extraordinary singers and musicians. Nils Berg Cinemascope wish to thank the following artists for their performances. You are the heart of our music!
Abbas Anand (3), Hafiz Gul Zaman (4,6), Bodil Bendixon and Röster Utan Gränser (2), Tensta Gospel (2), Unidentified Afghan boy (1), Kunzang Lhaden (5) - Vocals. Nicholas Cossentino (7) - Banjo. Zackarias Ulvskog (2) - Piano.
Introduction to "Jab Jab Bahaar Aayee" played by Mattias Ståhl - Harmonica, Viktor Skokić - Double Bass, Thomas Backman - Clarinet, Rasmus Borg - Accordeon and Jonathan Gustavsson - Trumpet
Hafiz Gul Zaman, Vocals and Percussion (4,6), filmed in Haripur, Pakistan.
Bodil Bendixon and Röster Utan Gränser, Malmö (2).
Tensta Gospel, filmed by Miki Anagrius, Stockholm (2). Piano chords and gospel direction by Zackarias Ulvskog.
Abbas Anand, Vocals and Percussion (3). Filmed in September, 2011 in Baltistan, Pakistan by Shahid Phaco.
The unidentified boy singing Pashto Love (1) was filmed in Afghanistan.
Nicholas Cossentino played the banjo (7) in Maryland, USA.
Kunzang Lhaden, Vocals (5) was captured by Tshering Tobgay in Talo, Bhutan in 2009.
