Glenn Meling, 44,is an independent artist, songwriter and producer from Oslo. He has lived in Australia, United Kingdom and Norway, making music from an early age.
Whilst living in London studying and performing solo gigs, he met sound engineer Steve Honest and made the album ‘Sometimes a Bigger Heart’ (2009). He had previously made the album ‘Melingrad’ (2007) in a Norwegian boathouse in one of the fjords near Bergen. ‘Minnesota’ will be his third album.
Glenn became interested in the journeys of his countrymen after travelling extensively in the States where the influence of the Norwegian settlers continues to this day. In the 1800s the American midwest became a popular destination for the settlers and today you’ll find collages like St. Olaf in Minnesota which is an institution that studies Norwegian heritage and immigration. Also, the famous Joel and Ethan Cohen-film Fargo, has been inspirational and something that sparked an interest in the subject.
Lead single “Brother Jonathan” is about migration to America in the 19th century, when Brother Jonathan was a term used by immigrants to refer to the USA. Brother Jonathan, which predates the more widely known phrase Uncle Sam, personifies the spirit of the new nation in the eyes of the Europeans who left their homelands behind for a fresh start across the Atlantic.
About the album Minnesota
Between 1825 and 1925, 800,000 Norwegians left their homeland for the shores of North America. A third of Norway’s population made the journey across the Atlantic to forge a new life in the New World. They found their promised land in the Midwest, where 55% of Norwegian Americans now live, and especially in the state of Minnesota, which is home to 868,000 people of Norwegian descent. But those early days were a leap into the unknown. People choosing to abandon a Europe that bore little relation to the largely free, tolerant and liberal continent of today, were gambling with their lives.The ocean crossing was perilous and meant leaving behind friends and family for an uncertain future.
Where to find Glenn Meling
glennmeling.co.uk
