Tom & Helena

About the EP “Tom & Helena”

Since the start of his project “Frimangron Tori” in 2019, Emiel Scholsberg has constantly been searching for inspiring stories of everyday people. Stories that, once translated into the universal language of music, could be shared in a way that can make people feel connected again. Thus, he aspires to create music that contributes to feeling connected with our own autonomous core, and also connects our hearts, enabling us to navigate a peaceful pathway through this era of controversy. In the summer of 2020, Emiel Scholsberg and Helena Gwyn happened to stumble upon each other, in the astonishing surroundings of the French Pyrenees, in Cathar country, during a week of retreat and contemplation. When like-minded creatives meet, things happen… Not long before this encounter, Helena had released a poetry bundle called “Onderweg naar mij(n )Zelf”**, a diary-like, personal account of her struggles and victories in parting from the old, and becoming the new. In essence, this work is a journal of sorts, inspiring for all of us that are in the midst of that (sometimes literally) breathtaking process that is called transition. She had a copy with her, and let Emiel read it. As the poems deeply touched Emiel, they immediately inspired him to translate their essences into sound. In Helena’s beautiful and touching work, he found just the story he’d been looking for. So he asked and got Helena’s permission to select five poems out of this bundle that had the strongest resonance with him, to compose a piece of instrumental music for each of these five. So there and then, in beautiful Cathar country, the seed for this co-creation was planted. This very EP is the fruit that has grown out of it.

A word from the composer: “This EP contains my take on the story of Tom and Helena. Yes, it’s a love story, but not like Romeo & Julia. Tom and Helena is not about two hearts wanting to become one, but about one heart, torn apart by two characters. It’s a story of becoming who you essentially are, in spite of whatever seems to be blocking that process of unfolding. A story of the caterpillar. A story of transformation, of transition, of change. It’s a story of courage and despair. A story of what Love can make you see, and can make you live. Even if it’s painful. Even if it’s pitchblack darkness you have to go through. It’s a story of endless vulnerability, going hand in hand with infinite power and potential. It’s a story about freedom. A story I fully relate to. It just might be your story too… “
Emiel Scholsberg

A word from the poet “A few years ago, somewhere 'in the beginning' of a (more) conscious quest to my Self, I felt the calling to share my Road in writing. Initially, I was insecure and searching when I posted this writing on a blog. Then my struggles started to flow poetically as emotional imagery onto digital paper. With an open heart, I met Emiel in the south of France. At the time, I had already physically united these digital soul stirrings in a tangible bundle: a hard copy printed edition of my poetry. As humans he and I rhymed with many aspects of life, and apparently my written words resonated strongly within him. Emiel confessed he would like to do something with these words. The result is beyond my own imagination. As an ‘imagination-translator,’ and as a 'word wizard,' even I cannot find the words to describe how Emiel's creations manage to express the very essence, the soul of my words, of my experiences and emotions. I look forward to the journey, the Pilgrimage on which these sounds will guide everyone as they listen. A true gift!”
Helena Gwyn **Translated freely: “On my way to my Self”