A cover of the beautiful tune Fragments of Memories from the video game Final Fantasy VIII. This tune is played in the village of Winhill when you play as Laguna, and it has always been a favourite of mine (as well as Laguna himself, heheh). 
Composer: Nobuo Uematsu.

Fragments Of Memories from Final Fantasy VIII

Copyrights for the lyrics and music belong to Ingrid Windsland.

"In the Halls of Our Fathers", or "Thorin's Farewell" which was it's working title, is a song I wrote shortly after Easter, and I've been editing and revising it ever since. Only now (May 14th 2014) am I happy with how the lyrics turned out. This is actually the very first recording I have ever done of it, done in one take with no editing (which is rather rare for me, as I usually do several takes with a lot of editing before I'm happy with it), so it's practically a live version. I guess I'm just really eager to share it with you all! ^_^

The picture is of two wonderful cosplayers I had the pleasure of meeting at HobbitCon and is taken by Felix (http://revelio.deviantart.com/). You can find the whole photo shoot here:

http://bittersuites.tumblr.com/post/82818914778/the-clouds-burst-the-end-of-durins-line

Thorin: http://a-very-important-dwarf.tumblr.com/  
Bilbo: http://misterbilbo.tumblr.com/

Lyrics

In the Halls of Our Fathers
(Thorin's Farewell)

Lift your gaze
For someone so small
You had a bravery
That baffled us all
And in your reluctance
You found in your heart
The kindness to see through
A rough-cut facade

And the road lay before you
So frightful and new
But you joined our company
As one of a few
To share an adventure
And through the world roam
To the Halls of our Fathers
Our home

Lift you head
For all you have learned
You found your courage
When everything burned
In our darkest hour
To this ragged crew
Your heart remained loyal
And your spirit true

And the road lies behind you
The world lies ahead
Through woodland and mountain
And battle it lead
Together we stand now
Midst pillars of yore
In the Halls of our Fathers
Once more

Lift your hand
And let it clasp mine
I need your forgiveness
Before it is time
Thief I once called you
But you are my friend
And the last to embrace me
Here at the end

For my road has ended
So bid me farewell
And remember me kindly
In stories you'll tell
And lay me to rest
When my last breath has passed
In the Halls of our Fathers 
At last


In The Halls Of Our Fathers

Copyrights for the lyrics and music belong to Ingrid Windsland.

This poured into my notebook while sitting at a café in Dublin today (18th of July 2014) and to make sure I wouldn't lose the melody, I made quick recording on my mobile phone. In spite of it's flaws, I loved how the recording somehow managed to capture the sound of seagulls from outside my window, so I decided to share it in all it's unedited rawness.

Hope you like it!

The Mermaid

Many, many years ago, I made this music for the poem of Nimrodel from Lord of the Rings, and now I've managed to record it all at last.



Photo credits:

Photo and edit: Stig Repstad
Model, make-up and costume: Maria Louise Try (www.facebook.com/wondrousforestcreations)

Lyrics:

Nimrodel 
By J. R. R. Tolkien

An Elven-maid there was of old,
A shining star by day.
Her mantle white was hemmed with gold,
Her shoes of silver-grey.

A star was bound upon her brows,
A light was on her hair
As sun upon the golden boughs
In Lorien the fair.

Her hair was long, her limbs were white,
And fair she was and free;
And in the wind she went as light
As leaf of linden-tree.

Beside the falls of Nimrodel,
By water clear and cool,
Her voice as falling silver fell
Into the shining pool.

Where now she wanders none can tell,
In sunlight or in shade;
For lost of yore was Nimrodel
And in the mountains strayed.

The elven-ships in haven grey
Beneath the mountain-lee
Awaited her for many a day
Beside the roaring sea.

A wind by night in Northern lands
Arose, and loud it cried,
And drove the ship from elven-strands
Across the steaming tide.

When dawn came dim the land was lost,
The mountains sinking grey
Beyond the heaving waves that tossed
Their plumes of blinding spray.

Amroth beheld the fading shore
Now low beyond the swell,
And cursed the faithless ship that bore
Him far from Nimrodel.

Of old he was an Elven-king,
A lord of tree and glen,
When golden were the boughs in spring
In fair Lothlorien.

From helm to sea they saw him leap,
As arrow from the string,
And dive into the water deep,
As mew upon the wing.

The wind was in his flowing hair,
The foam about him shone;
Afar they saw him strong and fair
Go riding like a swan.

But from the West has come no word,
And on the Hither Shore
No tidings Elven-folk have heard
Of Amroth evermore.

Nimrodel

Copyrights for the lyrics and music belong to Rin Windsland.

This song is based off one from Siri Pettersen's book "Odinsbarn". In the book, only two verses were written (in my version, these are set as the first and the penultimate verse), and I was inspired to write the rest of them! :) (This is a raw recording without editing, and I hope to record a better version once I have the time, but right now this will have to do.)

Although it's all in Norwegian, I hope you can still enjoy it. :)

Jenta og Råta

Jenta og Råta ned fra fjell
Elsk meg i kveld, elsk meg i kveld
Råta tryglet så ørene svei
Men jenta sa nei

Jenta og Råta sammen satt
Elsk meg i natt, elsk meg i natt
Råta hvisket «Gi deg til meg!»
Men jenta sa nei

Jenta og Råta vandret fritt
Elsk meg litt, elsk meg litt
Råta klaget «Vær nå litt grei!»
Men jenta sa nei

Jenta og Råta i en lund
Elsk meg en stund, elsk meg en stund
Råta lokket og fristet i vei
Men jenta sa nei

Jenta og Råta skilte lag
Elsk meg i dag, elsk meg i dag
Råta krøp på knærne og ba
Og jenta sa ja

Jenta og Råta sammen lå
Hun elsket ham nå, elsket ham nå
Råta i jentas hjerte lød
Og jenta var død

Jenta og Råta

Copyrights for the lyrics and music belong to Ingrid Windsland.

I wrote this one recently and did a quick recording, so it's not the best audio file.

Last Words

I have "violets" written on my skin
Seven little letters gingerly etched in
And you once trailed their crispy edges
Every swoop and fall
I've had them for as long as I can recall

And each year got better; all the thorns removed
Every day together saw our lives improved

We had whisky laced into our blood
Drunk and high on music, trudging through the mud
Musing over childhood dreams
And things we left behind
You picked all the flowers you could find

And each year got better; all the thorns removed
Every day together saw our lives improved
So, I said "My love for you will never fail"
And you turned in terror, your skin milky pale

When you caught me falling, seven words revealed
Just between your fingers where they'd been concealed
And you whispered "violets" as my vision drowned
In the sea of flowers where you lay me down

We have last words written on our skin
Tiny little letters, gingerly etched in
And once we heard them, we both knew
Our soul had found it's mate
And that it was already too late

Last Words

Copyrights for the lyrics and music belong to Rin Ingrid Windsland.

Although very, very rarely, now and then it does happen; I written another song in Norwegian. Again, this is inspired by the books "Ravneringene" by Siri Pettersen, in particular the second one, "Råta".

Siri, denne er til deg. 

Hirkas Bønn

Det var her jeg falt
Ut fra en verden med grønt overalt
Det var her jeg gråt
Over det tapte mens bakken ble våt
Og jeg trengte aldri deg
Før jeg gikk min egen vei

Jeg var redd og kald
Blandt søyler av glass og stål og metall
Ingen lukt av jord
Men et mylder av menskr og fremmede ord
Og jeg trengte aldri deg
Før jeg gikk min egen vei

Svarte vinger; bær meg frem
Slipp meg aldri ned
Ravneringer; bring meg hjem
Jeg har mistet veien et sted

Det er i min røst
De Glemte slukker til slutt sin tørst
Det er i mitt blod
Sammen med alt som jeg aldri forstod
Og jeg trengte aldri deg
Før jeg gikk min egen vei

Svarte vinger; bær meg frem
Slipp meg aldri ned
Ravneringer; bring meg hjem
Jeg har mistet veien et sted

Alle ting som var
Kritthvite lokker og koia til far
Alt jeg aldri fikk
Og lengselen etter et isgrått blikk
Da jeg sa jeg trengte deg
Før jeg gikk min skjebnesvangre vei

Svarte vinger; bær meg frem
Slipp meg aldri ned
Ravneringer; bring meg hjem
Jeg har mistet veien et sted

Selv om Evna svinner hen
Selv om jeg må dra igjen
Selv om tusen verdener mellom oss står
Hvorhen jeg går

Så vil svarte vinger bære meg frem
Så, slipp meg aldri ned
Ravneringer; bring meg hjem
Jeg har mistet veien et sted
Jeg vil høre til et sted
Ja, jeg vil høre til et sted

Hirkas Bønn

I recently translated my song Hirka's Bønn to English, and because it's Siri Pettersen's Birthday today (she's the wonderful author of the books about Hirka), I recorded it straight away (in spite of having a really bad cold) to give this to her as a birthday present!

Hirka's Prayer

This is where I fell
Out of my green world and into this hell
This is where I wept
Over the cost of the deal I had kept
And I never needed you
Till I left all that I knew

I was cold and scared
Meeting this alien place unprepared
Not a glimpse of earth
But a myriad of humans and foreign words
And I never needed you
Till I left all that I knew

Blackened feathers
Carry me on
Never let me down
Raven rings
Bring me home
I have lost my way somehow

It is in my voice
The balm to soothe a Forgotten choice
It is in my blood
Things I never knew or clearly understood
And I never needed you
Till I left all that I knew

Blackened feathers ...

All the things that were
Father's old shack and locks of frosty white hair
Things I never had
And that cool gaze of gray that I wanted so bad
When I said I needed you
Before fate took everything I knew

Blackened feathers ...

Though the Might may seep away
Though I know I cannot stay
Though a thousand worlds stand 'tween you and me
And where I'll be 
Let the

Blackened feathers
Carry me on
Never let me down
Raven rings
Bring me home
I have lost my way somehow
I need to find my place, somehow
Let me belong somewhere, somehow

Hirka's Prayer

<a href="https://theartistunion.com/tracks/56c472" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Download for free on The Artist Union</a>

A remix I did for a German video games show (Rocket Beans TV).

They asked the community to remix famous video game themes and I've just been told that it won their competition.

Cover art by:
http://mei-xing.deviantart.com/

Me on facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/DrDenSolo


➡ Free Download ⬅︎

Song of Storms (Den Solo Remix) FREE DOWNLOAD

Original song by Linkin Park

Recording & Track by Gen Neo

Check out Gen Neo!
https://soundcloud.com/allaboutthebeat

Should've stayed, were there signs, I ignored?
Can I help you, not to hurt, anymore?
We saw brilliance, when the world, was asleep
There are things that we can have, but can't keep

If they say
Who cares if one more light goes out?
In a sky of a million stars
It flickers, flickers
Who cares when someone's time runs out?
If a moment is all we are
We're quicker, quicker
Who cares if one more light goes out?
Well I do

The reminders pull the floor from your feet
In the kitchen, one more chair than you need oh
And you're angry, and you should be, it's not fair
Just 'cause you can't see it, doesn't mean it, isn't there

If they say
Who cares if one more light goes out?
In a sky of a million stars
It flickers, flickers
Who cares when someone's time runs out?
If a moment is all we are
We're quicker, quicker
Who cares if one more light goes out?
Well I do

Who cares if one more light goes out?
Well I do

One More Light (Linkin Park Cover)- Amber Liu x Gen Neo

Original song by A-mei

Recording & Track by Gen Neo

Check out Gen Neo!
@allaboutthebeat

I Want Happiness 我要快樂 (A-mei Cover) - Amber Liu

Norwegian folk harpist, specializing in video game and movie soundtracks.
*NOTICE* 
Due to dire financial situation, I am no longer able to afford Soundcloud Premium, and can thus no longer offer downloads exceeding 100 times, and will most likely eventually stop using Soundcloud. Please refer to my YouTube channel instead, where I post all of my videos, or check out my Patreon account for info on how you can support me. Links are below. Thank you!

Fragments Of Memories from Final Fantasy VIII

BrannaLaurelin