For the attentive listener, there are some nature sounds and birdsong at the very beginning and at the very end. This element is a mix of a recording I made in Sicily in 2011 and recordings from my own garden in the spring of 2025.
The Sky Above Us has gone through several phases. It was first started in 2020. Back then, it was much shorter and simpler in arrangement than the finished version we can hear today. The original working title was “Lyrical Mood”. It was just a short and simple piano theme.
The song was revisited in 2023 for some further changes, before things really started moving in the spring of 2025 and a release was planned. The initial idea was to keep the production fairly “downscaled,” but I ended up doing the opposite and went for a full production. For the first time in my own work, I brought in live acoustic drums (Vegard Fossum) and electric bass (Rudolf Fredly). Until then, I had mostly relied on programmed/sample-based drums and synth bass.
Guitars were also added, and they turned out to play a central role in the final sound. Guitarist Kjell Harald Litangen (Finn Kalvik, Ole Edvard Antonsen, Maria Mena, Sissel Kyrkjebø, Naomi Scott, among others) has left a strong mark on the result!
What about vocals? Maybe we should have some – I thought. After some Googling and research, I reached out to Kirsten Jørgensen, known from the metal bands Evig Natt and Reism. Kirsten wasn’t given any lyrics but was asked to contribute with wordless vocals, so-called vocalise, partly based on the existing melody and partly improvised.
Josh Plotner (USA), a multi-instrumentalist on woodwinds, had previously contributed soprano sax and alto flute on When Echoes Fade (2019), and he joined in again this time, now on alto saxophone. Josh is based in New York, has played extensively on Broadway, on studio recordings with Jordan Rudess (Dream Theater), and in films/series such as Babylon, Madam Secretary, and Candy.
My own daughter, Cecilie Welde, also contributed – both with French horn and as the photographer for the cover art.
For the attentive listener, there are some nature sounds and birdsong at the very beginning and at the very end. This element is a mix of a recording I made in Sicily in 2011 and recordings from my own garden in the spring of 2025.
Most of my productions I have mixed myself in my own studio. This time, however, I once again chose to go to ABC Studio and Kjetil Ulland in Etne. After working on a project for so long, it’s really refreshing and relieving to bring in new ears to the process. Kjetil is a skilled and experienced sound engineer who landed the project brilliantly, both with mixing and mastering.
Christian Welde 