More than 30 entries were sent in, and the jury has now chosen the 10 best entries for the contest. First of all, I will present the ones that ended up on places 10-4 (not in order of preference):

Patrick’s Mustach Fredde:

Shaun’s FreddeGredde Animation:

Isabell’s FreddeGredde Bra:

Urskus’s Nintendo FreddeGredde:

Garrett’s The Wayfarer cover:

Teres’s Hama Beads:

MissDomino’s Chatroom Regulars:
This one needs a bit of explanation. Basically, she has drawn all the most active people in the FreddeGredde chatroom, and for us who are there daily, it’s really cute and sweet, so it was almost worthy of a top 3 placement.

And finally, the top 3 entries, who will all get a little something sent to them, with the winner getting a free signed copy of my CD:

#3: Pweet’s FG Couch:
We really fell for this one. With aquarelle colors and gentle shades, she managed to make a fairytale-like version of the album art, and it’s just.. really sweet. Expect something nice in your mailbox soon!

#2: Manu’s Original Thirteen Eight Song:
Creativity and originality were important factors for us, so that’s why this one deserves the second spot on the list! Nice (although typically Finnish moody) melodies, relevant lyrics and a skillfully produced video. I’ll send you something nice!

#1: Josephine’s Solace Distant Illustration:
This one is just great! Clever idea and well crafted!
So congratulations Josephine, I’ll send you a signed copy of the album and some other nice stuff! :)

Also, thank you all for your entries! They were all really nice (and flattering), and it feels great to have such talented fans. :D (I would like to show everything you’ve made, but this post would just get way too long then!)

Today is the day when I will announce and show you the 10 best contest entries that people have sent to me. There are still some entries on the way though, and we haven’t decided the top 3 yet, or who will win my CD, so I will post an update with that info a little later!

For now, here’s a little teaser collage:

A softer piano ballad from Thirteen Eight, including a pretty cool instrumental section at the end.

Alright, so this is track number 2 on the album, called Solace Distant. I usually don’t write lyrics, but I actually wrote this one all on my own, except for a little help from my friend Otto Olivera. I was sort of thinking about a girl one day, and felt I wanted to try to compose a traditional piano ballad about my thoughts. It’s a bit cheesy, but this is what came out.

The video was made by my brother Robin. He has complained for a while about how I should make a GOOD video for once, so this was how he felt that music videos should be like.

I really hope you’ll like it. My favorite part is the proggy instrumental middle section!

I was disappointed with the album mix for a while, but now I think I’m basically happy with it after all. It always takes a while for these things to sink in. It’s not easy being a perfectionist… Just need a few more fixes before I can send it off to the pressing plant!

One song, Solace Distant, is completely finished though! And the video for it, which is directed by my brother Robin, is also finished! So, within 24 hours, I will post it on YouTube and here on my website.

The last few days have been really frustrating, because the final mix for the CD isn’t turning out as I wanted. I guess the sound engineer has had some trouble understanding what I actually wanted with my music.

But we’re going to the studio again tomorrow (even though it’s Sunday), and hopefully we’ll be able to finish everything by then. We have to finish it by then, or no one will get their pre-orders in time for August 13.. Unfortunately though, people on the other side of the world (I’m looking at you, Australians!) will most likely not get it in time, due to the shipping times.
Either way, you’ll still get the CD many weeks before the official release date!

Oh, and remember that I have a little contest going on! The winner will get a free signed copy of my CD, and a signed photo!