SCREAM | 2019
My second co-operation with my LA-peers, Andrew and Quetzel. Through countless e-mails, Skype-calls, and Facebook-messages the instrumental production was set. Andrew brought his amazing vocal microphone, got on a plane, and we recorded my vocals, this time in my Oslo bedroom. "Scream" is about wanting to let go of all the things you carry inside.
CONTRIBUTORS Writer: Amanda Bäcklin Producers: Quetzel Herzig and Andrew Beeh Mastering engineer: Pedro Regalado Cover photo: Katrine Hem © 2019 Amanda Victoria Bäcklin Hatlevik, Quetzel Lew James, Andrew James Beeh
ADDICTED | 2018
I've been so lucky to have fulfilled several of my bucket-list items in my life so far. One of which was to create a music-video. This song was my first dabble in electro-pop, guided and produced by my two Berklee-peers Quetzel and Andrew out of LA. I'd had a vision of how I wanted this to be portrayed in video and through the amazing talents of Sarjo and Lise, and through the lense and incredible craft of Mira that vision was actualized and made better than I could have ever imagined.
CONTRIBUTORS Video: Mira Wickman Dancers: Sarjo Sankareh and Lise Kristoffersen Location: ©️Dan Graham, Ekeberg Pavilion, Ekebergparken Writer: Amanda Bäcklin Producers: Quetzel Herzig and Andrew Beeh Mastering engineer: Pedro Regalado © 2018 Amanda Victoria Bäcklin Hatlevik, Quetzel Lew James, Andrew James Beeh
ALL I WANTED TO SAY | 2016
“All I Wanted To Say” is a labor of unrequited love, self-discovery, and crossed limits. Over the past four years, after studying songwriting and delving into music theory and performance at Berklee College of Music, this 5-track EP came to life through tough life experiences, hardship, and difficult personal encounters.
Writing has always been an emotional outlet for me, whether it be in music, fiction, prose or diary entries. I am so proud and blessed to be able to share this body of work with you, which, in many ways, combines all of the above-mentioned forms of writing. This is me saying what I wish I'd said; putting words to a feeling I found - and still find sometimes, hard to handle; this is me dealing with the "what if" and "what now", and finally learning to realize that I cannot please everybody, or really anybody, unless I stay true to myself.
The recording is my first all-original album, all songs written, arranged and produced with great love and care. On it you will hear influences from a wide array of musical genres - classical, gospel, pop, contemporary christian, rock, country... you'll get a glimpse into my Nordic roots, my musical explorations, and my personal struggles and victories. I am extremely proud of this body of work and I truly hope it will bring you something, that it may bless you and your journey in one way or another.
CONTRIBUTORS Writer, arranger, Co-producer: Amanda Bäcklin Recording & Mixing engineer, Co-producer: Pietro Milanesi Feat. Peter Eldridge (piano - "We Both Know That") BAND: Guitars: Joshua John Allen Piano: Chris Emkey Bass: Gitai Vinshtok Drums: Christopher R.E.F. Andersen Choir: Chantal Tribble, Linnéa Lundgren, Eli Gauden, Michael Alexander, Matthew Sallee Strings: Violin: Peder Barratt-Due Violin: Paul Cronin Viola: Yueh-Yun ("Sandy") Chen Cello: Bradley Robertson Contrabasso: Victor Gonzalez Quesada Studio Assistant: Eli LaVaude Mastering Engineers: Enrique Gonzalez & Tom Hutton Cover Photo: Amalie Hatlevik Cover edit: Lisbeth Skovgaard-Hansen © 2016 Amanda Victoria Bäcklin Hatlevik
THANK YOU The words "Thank You" do not even begin to cover the gratitude I have for the people who helped me bring this album to life, but they will have to do until we can invent a new, more powerful phrase. First, and foremost - Pietro; my recording and mixing engineer, co-producer, hardworking and patient friend. I have no idea how many e-mails, Skype calls and Facebook messages we've shared across the continents, but I wouldn't be surprised if we are nearing the thousands. Without you, this album and this process would not have been the same. THANK YOU for your unapologetic honesty and for putting up with my perfectionist demeanor to the very end. "Piano-Chris" - classmate, friend, teacher and forever adored piano-accompanist. I love you, friend. Your style and sound shines through in everything you do, and I am so grateful to have it captured in this project. Josh - some people speculate that this project came about as an excuse to see you again... I will neither confirm or deny this, but I will say this: your exceptional talent, fellow perfectionist nature and incredible character was, and is, a beautiful addition I would not do without. I love you. Gitai - you are the friendliest soul and just ridiculously talented on your instrument. I am so blessed to know you and to have been able to share this project with you. "Chrissy-Chris" - roommate, M&M-enthusiast, mood-shifter and drummer extraordinaire. You are ON IT, dearest - always pushing yourself and others to their fullest potential. How different life would have been without you in it. Thank you for putting up with my crazy adventures and escapades, and for gracing this album with your great talent. Peter; because of you and your class I found the motivation to pick up the pen and start writing again - it was the spark that started this whole process. Through your class I wrote, among other songs, "Drained" and "We Both Know That", and to have you play on the latter is such an incredible honor. Thank you! Peder, Paul, Sandy, Bradley and Victor; who needs an orchestra when you can have a quintet as talented as you?! Thank you for being part of this project and for lending me your time and talent to take the song "We Both Know That" to a whole new level. Chantal, Linnéa, Eli, Michael and Matt - it was midnight, I could barely see straight and I would probably be a great fit for the Snickers commercials "you're not yourself...", when your smiling, cheerful, brilliant selves entered the studio and shone a light that had left the building about an hour and a half earlier. Thank you for turning my night upside down, and sharing your angelic voices on "All I Wanted To Say" and the final chorus of "Over It". Thank you to Eli and the assistants at the Record Company, Boston who helped out during our two very long recording sessions. What a relief to have you there! Enrique Gonzalez Muller - you are probably one of the most inspiring and hardworking role-models and teachers I have ever had the pleasure of getting to know. When most people stop and say "that's good enough", you go back and say " I can do better". I cannot tell you how much I appreciate and have been inspired by this approach. I am so thankful that you and Tom wanted to be part of this project - thank you! To Neil Diercks, who helped me take my writing even further through the classes I took on the excellent Berklee Online platform. Through your class, the songs "Over It" and "Please You" (among several others) came to life, and a renewed passion for writing, now with a whole new toolset, was born. To my alma mater, Berklee College of Music - my teachers, fellow students, co-workers and leaders: these past four years have been some of the most rewarding, difficult, happiest, scariest, most beautiful years of my life and I am just so grateful and blessed to have been allowed to attend this incredible institution. Thank you for your guidance, your lessons and your encouragement. Esse Quam Videri. To my incredible friends, "framily", siblings and extended family (you know who you are) - to those of you who never doubted I could do it, and for those of you who did doubt it - thank you! Because of your doubt I pushed myself even harder to prove you wrong - "klare selv"; and because of your faith you helped me go for the impossible. And last, but not least; to my mom and dad. Without you - your faith in me, your support, your contributions and investments in me over the years I would never have been able to do this - any of it. This album is the culmination of a 25 year long process, and I would like to dedicate it to you. Jeg elsker dere og jeg er så enormt takknemlig for at nettopp dere er mine foreldre. THANK YOU
THAT I CAN DO (JOSHUA'S THEME) | 2015
This is a song I wrote inspired by a good friend of mine. This demo was recorded and produced in my bedroom in Boston.
HAVE YOURSELF A MERRY LITTLE CHRISTMAS | 2013
This is one of my all-time favorite Christmas-songs. It is such a beautifully melancholic tune. I recorded this in my bedroom in Boston one year when I couldn't afford to go back home for Christmas.
MERRY CHRISTMAS WITH LOVE | 2012
I didn't think I would be able to afford to come back to Berklee after my first semester, so I decided from the very first moment to make the most out of it. I inhaled all the knowledge and lessons during my classes and with my conversations with my peers. The Berklee studios are world-renowned and before I left for Christmas break I mustered up the bravery to ask some of the most talented people I'd met so far to record with me - thankfully they said yes, and I got to bring home the two-track EP "Merry Christmas, with love" as a Christmas present for my parents, and as a cherished memory. As luck would have it, though, it was not my final semester at Berklee, and I did get to return and eventually graduate!
THANK YOU Keith Ong – the best peer advisor, engineer and producer a girl could ever ask for; Hakyung Chung, Holim Baek and Juan Pablo Berreondo for co-engineering; my incredible band: Lluis Perez Cansell on piano, John Eun on guitar, Elin Sandberg on double bass and Dag Hanken on drums; Sam Fischer for lending his amazing voice to this record.
BREATHE (EP) | 2010
This EP was my first time solo in a real studio. My friend and co-worker, Kenneth Eknes, who also happened to be a great musician, took me to his friend's studio about an hour's drive away from Oslo, and I got to record the vocals onto my instrumentals I had made in Logic Pro at home. Straight out of high school, secretly applying to Berklee College of Music - this record was completed in the nick of time to be sent with my application. And I got in!