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The Return of a true Norwegian maverick The First St Thomas FILM The Last St Thomas ALBUM Ê For press release on 15th September 2016 Combined Film premier and Album release on the 22nd September 2016 Album release: 22nd September Film premiere: 22nd September. Bergen International Film Festival. R¿keriet USF. 20.30. Norwegian DVD and Digital Film release: 30th September 2016  Why have two Englishmen made a film about a minor Norwegian pop star? Certainly a love of the music but also something elseÉMaybe itÕs easier to see beauty and humanity more clearly in another country when youÕre a foreigner. You donÕt become misdirected by an accent or a location, you donÕt become blinded by familiarity in the way you do when working with things closer to you. Things inherently seem ÔfresherÕ, untainted by your own history. ItÕs of course also easy to bring a foreignerÕs sense of stereotype, to reduce everything down to a clichŽ of how you imagine a countries people to be. ItÕs a daunting and humbling task to present such a film to a people whose language you canÕt even speak. Thomas, of course made this easier, he sang in English and he often spoke in it as well. He perhaps did this so his voice could reach outside of Norway, what weÕve done in many ways is take that voice and echo it back. I never understood, and still donÕt, why a full length Norwegian documentary wasnÕt made about Thomas. ItÕs a story that slowly breaks your heart with the perfect soundtrack to accompany it. Place you Hide A film about St Thomas NATIVE WEAPON FILMS Ê A Mouse in a Crowded House Ð forever unfinished New St Thomas album RACING JUNIOR RECORDS FILM First St Thomas feature documentary: Burn the Place you Hide Ê"I am a dreamer and I sometimes live so much in my dreams that I get very disappointed when I find out which world I am in". Thomas Hansen - 2001 As the line between what 'is' and 'isn't' authentic becomes increasingly difficult to define, the conspicuous absence of filter between the life and music of Thomas Hansen led to both critical acclaim and personal tragedy. Thomas Hansen was one of the most original and painfully honest voices in Norwegian pop music. Haunted by the debilitating effects of mental illness, his music, both joyous and melancholy, was rooted in a place of heartfelt candor, an open invitation to the world of a uniquely talented and often very troubled artist. Filmed with unprecedented access to unreleased archives and interviews with the musicians, friends and family closest to him, Burn The Place You Hide is the first time the extraordinary life of Thomas Hansen has been fully documented. Bringing ThomasÕs life to the big screen has been a slow process, taking nearly 6 years. The film was primarily self-funded by English film makers Richard Knights and Gary Reynolds and made primarily in their spare time. An original release was slated for early 2015. Unfortunately, in the final stages, production was halted for medical reasons. Time went by and there was genuine concern that the film might never be released. However, production slowly resumed and the film was completed in the final week before itÕs BIFF premiere. Ê ALBUM Last St Thomas album release: A Mouse in a Crowded House Ð forever unfinished RACING JUNIOR 2016, RJDIGI045/RJLP045 Ê Shortly before his death,ÊThomas recorded the demos for what was to be his last album. When the originals were eventually rediscovered hisÊparents decided against any form of official release.Ê Ê Listening to these last intimate recordings itÕs easy to understand their decision. Contained within these 10 re-mastered tracks is both an insight into the severity of ThomasÕs illness and a fragile confessional beauty reminding us of his best work. Ê "Maybe É" they said Ò...as time goes by, it will be released.Ó Ê Now, timed to coincide with the release of the new documentary feature, the world has the opportunity to hear his last heartbreakingly honest recordings. Ê The songs work best as a companion piece to the new feature length documentary on St ThomasÕs life. The film adds a layer of context to this album and others that was previously missed by the casual listener.Ê FILM & ALBUM BIFF Film Premiere and Album launch: Although Thomas was born in Oslo, Bergen was very much his adopted second home. In some ways Bergen is also birthplace of St Thomas Ôthe musicianÕ. ItÕs in this most fitting of locations that the filmÕs international premiere will take place in the year of, what would have been, ThomasÕs 40th birthday. It was always hoped that ThomasÕs last album could be released to coincide with the film and thanks to ThomasÕs family and Racing Junior it will be. An album launch event will be happening on the Wednesday 22nd September alongside the film premiere. The event will feature ThomasÕs friends, family, live music and the film makers. ItÕs going to be a night celebrating ThomasÕs life and art. More details to follow. Ê Ê FILM & ALBUM Interviews & Assets: Both the film makers and the record label are available to help with any questions and are available for interviews upon request. If you have specific requirements regarding media assets (photographs, graphics, clips or audio) please get in contact. Ê Ê Links & Details: Ê FILM Burn the Place you Hide A film about St Thomas Directed by Richard Knights Produced by Gary Reynolds & Richard Knights Ê Native Weapon Films For more information: Richard: (+0044) 07792348090 Gary: (+0044) 07754 409261 Email: info@burntheplaceyouhide.com URL: burntheplaceyouhide.com Facebook: facebook.com/BurnThePlaceYouHide Twitter: twitter.com/st_thomas_film Ê Film trailer: https://vimeo.com/181501598 ALBUM A Mouse in a Crowded House Ð forever unfinished St Thomas album Ê Racing Junior Records For more information: PŒl Klosterman: Email: Klostermann@racingjunior.com URL: www.racingjunior.com Kontakt: PŒl Klostermann Tel: 41566083 Ê St. Thomas A Mouse in a Crowded HouseÊ - Forever Unfinished Release 22.09.16 "La oss lage en spesiell skive med et interessant sound. Ikke sŒ straight." Med disse ordene skulle Thomas Hansen og Even Vaa lage albumet A Mouse in a Crowded House i 2007. Thomas hadde spilt inn lŒter gjennom en lengre periode og det var et hav Œ velge fra. Materialet var riktig nok av varierende kvalitet siden Thomas var veldig sliten pŒ denne tiden. De klarte til slutt Œ plukke ut de 12 perlene som presenteres her. Planen var Œ gj¿re lŒtene storslŒtte med blŒsere og det hele, Even skulle produsere, og de hadde sŒ vidt begynt en grov innspilling av kassegitar pŒ noen av lŒtene. Skjebnen ville det Ð som vi vet Ð annerledes. Det blir altsŒ med disse rustikke demoene.Ê Linear notes: Platen har kommer i stand gjennom gjennom et omfattende unders¿kende arbeid. Selv om det fantes en CD med et cover, en tittel og navnet pŒ 10 av lŒtene, fant vi aldri ut hvem som hadde laget coveret. Vi endte opp i Tyskland, men der stoppet alle spor.Ê Derfor er det kunstneren Andreas Tellefsen som har laget coveret ogsŒ denne gang, slik han gjorde med det ikonisk coveret til debutplaten, Mysterious Walks. Vi f¿lte at det var en slags vakker sirkel som ble sluttet.Ê Albumtittelen har fŒtt tilf¿yelsen Forever Unfinished for Œ markere avstand til den platen som aldri ble laget. Videre var det trykket 10 lŒttitler pŒ baksiden av coveret, men det var 12 sanger pŒ platen. Vi fant ut at Thomas selv hadde skrevet inn titlene, men hva med de to siste lŒtene? Tittelen til lŒt 11, the Trial, ble funnet i gammel epostkorrespondanse. LŒt 12, Up in the Morning High, fant vi ingenting pŒ, men med utgangspunkt i at Thomas ofte gjorde det enkelt og hentet ut lŒttittelen fra refrenget, var det ikke sŒ mange alternativer. Vi tror at Thomas har spilt inn alt alene. Even kan ha v¾rt med litt her og der, det kan ha v¾rt andre. Selv om venner og bekjente var innom leiligheten hans i Oslo er det ingen av de vi har klart Œ identifisere som kan huske Œ ha bidratt i denne perioden. Alt i alt er det lagt ned et stort arbeid i fors¿ket pŒ Œ gj¿re albumet sŒ autentisk som mulig. Ingen av de estetiske valgene som er foretatt er tilfeldige, og der vi har mŒttet gj¿re selvstendige valg, har det skjedd gjennom diskusjon og dialog med mennesker som kjente og forsto Thomas bŒde som person og som kunstner. Hvorfor nŒ? Racing Junior ¿nsket Œ gi ut deler av dette materialet i 2008 da vi samlet en massiv boks som inneholdt alt fra best of, rariteter, video og biografi i bokform. Det var med dyp forstŒelse for Beth og Terjes situasjon, foreldrene til Thomas, at dette ble utelatt. Som foreldre mŒ det ha v¾rt vanvittig tungt Œ h¿re ham sliten og syk, som han er her.Ê Boksen klarte seg fint uten dette materialet, den samlet inn 3/4 million kr som ble tildelt forskjellige formŒl for Œ bedre forhold for barn og unge med psykiatri- og rusproblematikk ved dav¾rende kulturminister. Den ble ogsŒ kŒret til en av de fineste norske utgivelsene noensinne. Det mŒtte gŒ litt tid...... Da de engelske filmskaperne Richard Knights og Gary Reynolds, som vi ble kjent med da de bidro med videomateriale under lanseringen av boksen, i 2010 bestemte seg for Œ lage en helaftens dokumentarfilm om St. Thomas, ble det en felles forstŒelse av at dette henger sammen og mŒ slippes samtidig.Ê Det er med stor glede, etter en utrolig reise, at albumet utgis samtidig som dokumentaren Burn the Place you Hide har premier under Bergen Internasjonale Filmfestival.Ê Her er en film sŒ storslagen og detaljert, et sŒ n¾rt og godt dokumentert portrett at latter, tŒrer, vemod og gŒsehud best kan beskrive m¿tet vŒrt med dette fantastiske arbeidet. Det blir felles filmpremierefest og plateslipp i Bergen under Biff torsdag 22. september.Ê "Hyllestboksen til St. Thomas er blitt et av de mest forseggjorte plateprosjektene i Norge. Det har han fortjent." (Dagsavisen, terningkast 6)
In loving memory, and in support of the St. Thomas Memorial Trust, we now release a box which celebrates St. Thomas. It compiles both released and unreleased material, 26 artists paying their respects with great cover versions, a DVD with loads of video material, and a biographical book. The St. Thomas Memorial Trust supports better psychiatric health care for young people. The box includes:
Kjøp St. Thomas-boksen her Den kan kun forhåndsbestilles til norsk adresse. Orders from outside Norway will be available in October at www.stthomas-memorialtrust.org. St. Thomas minnefond for bedre psykisk helsetilbud Mange barn og unge sliter med psykiske problemer. Noen bruker rus til å dempe uro, angst, depresjoner eller andre problemer. Andre kan få psykiske problemer som en følge av rusbruk. Artisten Saint Thomas slet med depresjoner. Nå går familien og plateselskapet sammen med Rådet for psykisk helse for å etablere Saint Thomas minnefond for å bidra til bedre psykisk helse for barn og unge. Målsettingen med Saint Thomas Minnefond er å samle inn penger til støtte for:
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Artisten Saint Thomas (Thomas Hansen) døde i september i fjor. Han var hele tiden åpen om at han slet med psykiske problemer. Derfor har hans foreldre og plateselskapet et sterkt ønske om å bidra til å hjelpe barn og ungdom som sliter med rusproblemer eller andre psykiske problemer. Sammen med Rådet for psykisk helse har de stiftet Saint Thomas Minnefond. Rådet for psykisk helse er svært glade for at foreldrene til Saint Thomas og plateselskap ville være med på å opprette minnefondet. - Vi la merke til at Saint Thomas snakket åpen om sine problemer, og synes det var tøft gjort av en profilert musiker. Å være åpen om psykiske helseplager krever mot, fordi det er mye stigma og fordommer knyttet til psykisk helse. Ungdommer forteller meg at skammen med å ha en psykisk lidelser kan være mer smertefull enn de psykiske plagene i seg selv, og derfor er det svært viktig at enkelteperoner, organsiasjoner og samfunnet som helhet jobber for åpenhet og toleranse, sier generalsekretær i Rådet for psykisk helse Sunniva Ørstavik. - Saint Thomas åpenhet, og nå minnefondet, håper jeg vil bidra til å snu negative holdninger. Inntektene øremerkes i sin helhet Rådet for psykisk helses arbeid relatert til arbeid for barn og unge. Fondet administreres og forvaltes av Rådet for psykisk helse. Innsamling til fondet vil foregå på ulike måter, blant annet gjennom en støttekonsert, cd-utgivelse og sponsoravtaler med næringslivet. Enkeltpersoner og bedrifter kan også gi sin støtte gjennom å sette inn penger på kontoen for Saint Thomas minnefond: 1503.01.67837 The 10th of September this year, we learned that the artist, and dear friend, Thomas Hansen had passed away. Family, friends, the record label Racing Junior and The Norwegian Council for Mental Health have created a memorial trust in his name. The aim of The Saint Thomas Memorial Trust is to raise money for:
· improved mental health care amongst children and youth In order to make this work possible, a charitable release of a CD box set will be made, and a memorial concert held in October 2008. More info on the Trust coming. Thomas Hansen 1976-2007 Last night, on Monday September 10th 2007, we learned that our dear friend, Thomas Hansen aka Saint/St. Thomas, had passed away. He was 31 years old. Our thoughts and deepest sympathy goes to his dear family and many friends. The family wishes, in accordance with Thomas' public openness and honesty, to be open about his death. A temporary report says that it was not a suicice, but an unfortunate combination of prescribed drugs. His mental problems has been well-known for several years, something of which he has openly expressed both from stage and in interviews. He died at a point where he was very productive, and he was working on two new albums. The material for these albums was selected from more than 100 demo songs he had made since March this year. He also recently started studying for a degree in audio engineering. We're still waiting for the medico-legal report, but the family tells us that his last day started as a ussual morning, with today's paper and a cup of coffee. We, the Racing Junior crew, wish to remember Thomas as we knew him. Thomas was the whole spectrum of feelings from top to bottom, completly honest, and with an extreme sense of justice (take how unfair it was that the warming-up act at the Royal Albert Hall only got a couple of beers), but most of all he was a vulnerable and warm boy. That we had our battles was never a secret, but the good times outweights the bad ones. We celebrate the incredible songwriter that he was. We still have the first demo we got with songs like Born Again, Mysterious Walks, and Surfer's Morning. We loved it imidiately, and we still do. The daring and intense singing, combined with the fantastic melodies and unique lyrics. Here's the first lines of the first song on his debut album:
Come on, get along The family has expressed the need for peace and quiet, and do not want to be contacted. They would prefer that people in stead support and contribute to psychiatric treatment and organisations. Other inquiries should be made to Racing Junior. Oslo, September 11, 2007.
Racing Junior;
On the behalf of the family. Posted May 30: After finishing his American tour in April, he remained in California to shoot the video to his next single "Morning Dancer", soon available on Morning Dancer EP. The video was shot on many locations including Death Valley, Mulholland Drive, and the place where Gram Parson's ashes was spread. It also includes Thomas riding a bicycle to the Hollywood sign wearing a Mickey Mouse sweater and pink sunglasses. We expect something slightly farout, as ussual! The editing will be finished in the beginning of June.
Posted May 27:
Thomas Hansen has announced that his artist name from now on will be Saint Thomas, in favour of the old St. Thomas.
He has been addressed as Saint Thomas frequently in the international press, and to avoid any confusion he
has decided to go with this new spelling, and we think it looks pretty good on the "Morning Dancer" EP cover (release June 13).
Posted April 21: "Morning Dancer" is the first single from St. Thomas' next album "Children of the New Brigade", which will be released in 23 countries on August 20th. "Morning Dancer EP" will be released on June 13th, and a video for this song will be filmed in California in May. The new recordings were done at Kai Andersen's Athletic Sound in Halden, Norway. This time he brought with him his live backing band, as well as his favorite band Herman Düne in the studio. St. Thomas now confirmed to 3 festivals this summer: Dour festival (Belgium), Haldern Festival (Germany) and Storås-festivalen (Norway). Posted April 17: New festival date confirmed at Haldern Pop Festival in Germany on August 5th or 6th. St. Thomas is one of six confirmed artists so far, two of the others include Nada Surf and Franz Ferdinand.
His next album
"The Children of the New Brigade" is finished, and you'll just have to wait until August to hear what he's come up with. An EP
from the same recording sessions will be releases in the summer, so you'll have you chance to have a taste of what's to come...
A detailed journal from the recordings is available at this site
Posted March 30: New American tour dates in April-May. He will tour with Of Montreal
Posted December 06: New dates in Greece and UK in January. Check dates Posted October 13: The recording of his next album has been postponed to january '05, but will not affect the release plan. Posted July 26: Updates in the events section. St. Thomas will appear at Øyafestivalen in Oslo on August 12 at the Nachspiel at Cosmopolite, a double bill with Ricochets. US dates this autumn have unfortunately been postponed to early next year. He will start recording his next album in September, with expected release in summer/fall 2005. Posted April 15: St. Thomas will be playing 4 shows in New York in May. Check out the events section, which is updated regularly. Some more American dates may appear shortly. Soon upcoming dates also include UK, Iceland and Norway. Posted April 6: You may see St. Thomas at Track and Field's annual Easter outlet "POW To The People" at the Monarch in London on April 11th. Also on the bill are artists like Herman Düne, The Loves, and many others.
Posted March 9: St. Thomas will play it this year's SXSW in Austin, Texas. His performance may be experienced Saturday, March 20 at 11:00 p.m.
at The Hideout (617 Congress Ave.). You can read more about this at Posted Feb 12: St. Thomas' fantastic performance at Rockefeller, Oslo on February 4th was both recorded and filmed. What will come out of this, is not decided, but there are possibilities for both a live cd, and/or a DVD. St. Thomas finished his Norwegian tour on February 9th in Lillehammer, which concluded one of his best tours to date... Upcoming European and American concert dates are announced in the Events section. Posted Jan 28: The reviews for "Let's Grow Together" in Norway have been very good, with the remarkable exception of Norway's two biggest tabloids, who didn't understand this record at all. It's been rated 5 out of 6 in most reviews (you can read them in the media section if you understand Norwegian), and several considers Let's Grow Together his best so far. What seems to be the case, is that those who take the time to get into this album, really loves it, and those who only hear it once or twice (the tabloids and other superficial listeners) don't quite seem to get it... That's the sign of a great record, music that will last for many years! And we believe that this is his best and most complete album so far. For the first time since Mysterious Walks, he is again playing most instruments, making it both more intense and personal. International release date has been set to April.
Read the Norwegian reviews here |
"You May Find A Treasure Everywhere" (2CD) 
"Walk With Me" (2CD) 
"Movie Star" (DVD) 
"Kåntri & Western" (Book) 
Posted August 17:
New release on Monday: "Children of the New Brigade" is Saint Thomas' fantastic new album, and it will be released world-wide these days.
The album features a confident and relaxed saint, this time also backed by his favorite band Herman Düne...
August-September-October is filled with Norwegian and European dates, see events for updated tour schedule.
