Laik dæt

        

I den første episoden av Hver gang vi møtes var det Ivar «Ravi» Johansen sin dag, og Unni valgte å fremføre Ravis 'Laik dæt', og tok den helt ned til vuggevise til stor begeistring på sosiale medier. Laik dæt er opprinnelig en låt samplet med Karin Krog, og bygd rundt en melodi skrevet av John Surman.

Sekser i VG :

«Endelig noen som tar tak i dypet av teksten, kutter trommer og viser sårbarhet. Unni tryller frem en helt ny og fantastisk versjon av en Ravi-låt som de fleste kanskje ikke har tatt seriøst tidligere. Kanskje nettopp på grunn av originalens alltid tilstedeværende hip hop-komp. En nattasang har det blitt, noe som understrekes følsomt av Unnis alvorlige tilnærming til ordene. Og som Di Derre-gitaristen kan plukke på strengene! Nydelig, helt nydelig fra Norges Joni Mitchell.»

TV2s og Unnis Facebook :

Jeanette Olsen:«Magisk og rørende øyeblikk. Fikk tårekanalene til å åpne seg og huden til å få frysninger»

Evy Steingrimsen: «Nydelig sang, nydelig stemme, utrolig flott artist. Gleder meg til å høre mer fra Unni»

Elin Ihle-Jørgensen: «Nydelig, rett og slett! Vi satt helt stille her når hun sang. Ingen sa noe.»

Arild Myrvang: «Æ vart satt HEILT ut.... Vakkert!»

Roar Simensen: «Ingen tvil - den jenta kan synge skjorta av de fleste - vakkert var det.»

Martin Bowden: «Ahhhhh, ya take ma breath away every time, Lady.»

Foto: vegardphoto.com & videorammer

Unni om sitt valg av låt:

When Ravi was the guest of honor in Norwegian TV-show 'Hver gang vi møtes' very first episode this season (aired Jan. 9th 2016), I had chosen to sing and play a song called 'Laik dæt'. Ravi is known for plenty of skills, but he's also consequently presented the Norwegian language written in a manner that brings him into the curriculum of Norwegian schools. His 'trick' is to write both Norwegian and English foneticly - he writes the words as they sound when spoken. He's a man of language and lyrics, and he has the habit of adding subtitles to his music videoes (foneticly true to his written lyrics, not as a translation to what he sings). For this I smilingly call him a smartass, and for being such an intelligent and well knowledged human being. In addition, he has an unnerving ability to compose small hooklines and melodies that you can't seem to get out of your head once it's there.

In the song 'Laik Dæt', Ravi has sampled and programmed bits of an old tune sung by legendary Karin Krog (with her permission), which was written by John Surman. At first I thought it odd to mix a jazz chorus in English with a Norwegian rap with Ravi's peculiar, rytmical phrasing. I could relate to Karin's melody, but not to the lyrics, and I could relate to Ravi's words, but not his rhythm. I spent some time in a small sailboat this summer, and I remember how windy it was out in the ocean outside of Halden, with huge waves and the calamity of the boat engine. I was sitting below deck, trying to figure out how to arrange this strange song, and somehow make it 'mine'. I do have to connect to the music to be able to cover a song, and I never do anything musicly just because someone else want me to. I struggled, and I let it rest, and the engine made too much noise anyway.

For the first time in my life, I woke up later that week, and I had dreamt how to play and sing the song! never happened before. I remembered exactly how I dreamt it, and I picked up my small, G-sharp guitar designed by Fredrikstad's Øivin Fjeld, and the first two chords I played was exactly what I needed. I had to rearrange and cut a word here and there, but not much. I altered the chorus to make sence to my logic and emotions, and voila - there it was! Unbeknownst to me, Ravi wrote and released this song way before his daughter Else, was born. To me, this was clearly a raffined, wize and heartfelt lullaby to her. But during the TV episode with Ravi, he told us that the song is older than his fatherhood, and was I a bit embarassed by that information. But maybe this now, this song is a song for Else? It is to me.

It turns out the song Karin Krog originally sang, has a long and interesting history, until now this recent developement I've contributet to. Read Tore Johansen's story about this song on Facebook