A good friend of mine and bassist Mirjam sent me a message to enter Icelandic singer Ásgeir's #PlayWithAsgeir Video Contest. The challenge was to make a video of yourself playing a cover and the winner would win a jam session during the soundcheck with him and VIP tickets to his O2 Shepherd's Bush Empire show in London. 

I never say no to a challenge, especially if it involves social media or getting in touch with an idol through ways it would not usually be possible. So I went onto twitter to let Ásgeir know that I was serious about participating. 

Ásgeir (or the person who was moderating Ásgeir's twitter account that day) actually favorited the tweet! Another girl @aumanine also favorited it the tweet and she seemed like a real fan so I asked her which song she could recommend I cover for the contest. In the end I recorded a video for two songs, and both were the songs she recommended! Higher (Hærra), and Going Home (Heimförin). 

Next was the task to find a place to film. I asked around and one of my good friends Lieke gave me a tip I'll always be thankful for! It was an abandoned factory next to a school. 

The day we planned to film it was pouring with rain, not to mention a real winter temperature. But the songs were kind of emotional so it matched. The only thing we were afraid of was having an accident there like slipping over or having something crash down from the open roof. We snuck in through the side of the fence and found ourselves in an abandoned wonderland. It was actually very beautiful and majestic. There were trees growing, graffiti on the walls, and such strange things left behind, like foot pedals from an organ and a baby chair. It was eerie but as long as there were 2 of us I was not scared. Filming went really smoothly and according to plan. As soon as it was done though, we got out of there, in case we got caught, and to avoid any accidents. We sat at the McDonald's at the train station and ate our fries with satisfaction. 

I didn't end up winning the contest but I am really happy with the videos that we made. We are not professional filmmakers and I'm far from being perfect at the cello so we are just happy that the contest pushed us to make these videos. Once again, a big thanks to Croque-Bulle for all the footage (video and pictures) as I really couldn't have done it without her and look forward to our next project. xx

Ásgeir - Higher - Tiny Desk Concert (with cello)

Ásgeir - Going Home - Toe Rag Session (with cello)