A través de las lentes de ojo de pez de
unos ojos bañados en lágrimas,
Apenas puedo definir la forma
de este momento en el tiempo,
Y lejos de volar alto en cielos claros y azules
Estoy descendiendo en espiral al agujero en el suelo donde me escondo...
Y si yo te muestro mi lado oscuro
¿Me abrazarás esta noche todavía?
Y si te abro mi corazón
Y te enseño mi lado débil...
¿Qué harías tú?
When Drakkar Nowhere rows itself out toward the exploratory sonic sea
upon which their debut album so gracefully sails, it’s not just that
their destination is undefined; it’s that the very concept of a
destination, as reflected in their music, is itself something
indefinable. Drakkar Nowhere capture the wind in their sails with a
sound that’s boundless, expansive and, perhaps, guided only by the light
of the sun and stars.
That Drakkar Nowhere ended up somewhere at all is itself more a result
of circumstance than careful course-charting. The history of the album
traces back to the summer of 2012, when Daniel Collás (Phenomenal
Handclap Band) and Morgan Phalen (Favored Nations, Diamond Nights) found
themselves creating new music in the kitchen of a rented apartment in
Stockholm, Sweden. Their new project caught the ears of nearby
musicians, including members of Dungen and The Amazing, and before long,
this extended family of international musicians were recording the
songs that would firmly put them on the path to nowhere – Drakkar
Nowhere, that is.
Both Collás and Phalen took inspiration from their Swedish surroundings –
in particular, the enchanted forests that surround the neighborhoods of
Bagarmossen and Midsommarkransen. And given the talents and histories
of the collaborating musicians, it’s no surprise that the ever-evolving
shadow of what we might broadly call Swedish psychedelia should perfume
the proceedings as well. Collás and Phelan also took the recordings to
New York and Los Angeles, where new surroundings and influences could
intertwine into the musical flora and fauna. When in LA, the band even
got a hero of theirs, unsung 70s singer-songwriter Ned Doheny, on board
for “Higher Now.” Some light was recently shed on Doheny’s music from
the 70s when Numero Group released the Doheny compilation Separate
Oceans a couple years back. To those who have discovered his fantastic
body of work, his warm, breezy Malibu vocals are instantly recognizable
on “Higher Now.”
One thing is surprising – and what makes the Drakkar Nowhere album one
that benefits from repeat listens – is how unobtrusive all of these
influences are on the album’s ultimate sound. Drakkar Nowhere present a
combination of influences – cosmic jazz, syrupy soul and mutated prog
among them – in such an effortless manner that they don’t really feel
like “influences” at all. As a result, Drakkar Nowhere have built an
album that may have listeners ears recalling the crystalline harmonies
of the Brothers Gibb more often than it does Träd, Gräs and Stenar.
No destination, no influences – just nowhere. And in the hands of Drakkar Nowhere, it’s clearly the place to be. – Ryan Muldoon.
For the present year 2010, especially the latter half, Argentina has been a gentle provider of
great progressive music from outside the European and North American realms, and this
post-rock duo Autumn Moonlight is no exception at all.
AM's debut album has a pre-historic
phase of digital free downloading in 2009 before its official 2010 release: re-recording,
refurbishment and slight modifications in the tracklist determine the reality of "The Sky Over
Your Shoulders" as the world is supposed to know it.
After listening to this album, even if
it's only once, the listener has to ponder and admire the amazing fact that the rhythmic
schemes, orchestral additions, instrumental nuances and varied textures that stand
beyond the guitar/bass guitar inputs have been created via computer tools and programs.
And I'm not saying this as praise for the use of technology in itself but for the use of
technology with such musical depth and such artistic cleverness.
Well, the result is a vividly
embellished sort of post-rock that is patently melodically driven as well as friendly with
some specific patterns of structural pomposity that we usually find connected to the
symphonic prog standard.
Few times like this we find the post-rock pattern so closely
related to the progressive formalities.
Now it's time to focus on the tracklist itself. 'Autumn
Moonlight' gets things started in a most stylish fashion, due to its pristine architecture of
guitar chords and the rhythm duo's controlled dynamics:
while bearing a dominantly
reflective mood, the melodic scheme and the vivid instrumentation bring out a distinctly
optimistic vibe.
The noise of sea waves in the shore paves the way for the second
track, 'Dawn Of Atlantis', whose initial piano motif announces yet another delivery of
crystalline atmospheres and elegantly driven electricity.
The recurrent 7/8 tempo mandates
an effective musical intelligence for the ongoing sense of warmth: this track encapsulates
what I earlier tried to describe as "symphonic-oriented post-rock".
The predominant lyricism
continues to assert itself for track # 3, 'Letters To God', and not only that, it also becomes
increasingly epic: at this point, the band's framework draws a bit closer to the power-ballad
standard that one can expect from a regular prog metal album.
Once the main body's has
been emphasized enough, the basic sonority becomes calmer, which makes the whole
thing turn more ceremonious and introverted.
Now that I casually mentioned the prog-metal
thing, it is fair to say that 'The Outsider' is the track that works on this area more
meticulously: there are also hints to space-rock in its development, but the ballsy nature of
the main riffs and the well-constructed guitar solo leaves no room for confusion regarding
the presence of prog-metal as the central ingredient for this specific track.
Between these
two pieces, 'T.O.R.' delivers a sort of midway between the introspective languidness of the
second half of 'Letters To God' and the opener's colorful lyricism. 'Lost Paradise' is
another example of AM's introspective side, but this time there is nothing about that can
properly be described as languid:
there is an explicit sense of energy and power that is
inevitably instilled in this track's compositional framework, and so the namesake piece is
ready to enter and settle a typical post-rock atmosphere, eerie and subtly adorned. Well, the
album's last 5 minutes are occupied by 'Autumn Moonlight Part II', which deepens the
introspective side that had been reinforced throughout the previous two pieces in order to
generate an amazing crescendo and a subsequent epic climax. This display of bombastic
exquisiteness is followed by a lovely coda that features soft piano and bass guitar
interplaying.
"The Sky Over Your Shoulders" is, first and most of all, a beautiful piece of
artistic rock, and as such, it must serve as a motivator for all prog collectors everywhere to
pay due attention to Autumn Moonlight.
He's seen too much of life
And there's no going back
The loneliness calls him
And the edge which must be sharpened
He's losing it. And he knows.
But there's a fighter in his mind and his body's tough
The years have been unkind but kind enough
The smell of the earth
It's his favourite smell
But he's somehow compelled to the stinging salt hell
To the place where he hurts and he's scared
And there's no one to tell
And no one who doesn't listen
"You can take all the boys and the girls in the world
And I'll trade them this morning for my sweet Ocean Cloud
I've seen too much of life
So the sea is my wife and a sweet Ocean Cloud is a mistress I'm allowed
for now."
"You can take all the boys and the girls in the world
I wouldn't trade them this morning for my sweet Ocean Cloud
I've seen too much of life
So the sea is my wife and a sweet ocean cloud is a mistress I'm allowed
for now."
"Only me and the sea
We will do as we please."
He remembers the day he was marched to the front
By the physical knuckle head teacher of games
"Look lads" he declared, "This boy's a cream puff
No guts and no muscles
No spine and no stuffing"
The whole schoolroom sniggered
And silently thanked God it wasn't them..
But time is revenge. All the bullies grow weak
And must live with faithless women who despise them
I'll be in Barbados in a couple of weeks
With a rum on the table and yarns by the yard
A story to tell and a story to save
..unless she changes her mind
I'll trade them this morning for my sweet Ocean Cloud
I've seen to much of life so the sea is my wife
And the sweet ocean clouds will look down on my boat tonight
The wind changed
I felt it run beneath my ear
Like silk drawn across my neck
A dream of your legs
Defying gravity in love
The medium wave
Brought signals here from far away
Your tender voice riding on the sea spray
Something in the air
For those who know the signs
Something in the air
A storm..
When I was alive
When I was alive
Don't wanna remember
When I was alive
Watch me watch me
Paint this picture
Stretchin Hurtin Cursin
Watch me
Takin it Takin it Takin it Takin it....
Watch me. Watch me. God above..
Between two planets
In between the points of light
Between two distant shorelines
Here am I
Between two planets
In the black daylight of space
Between two heavenly bodies
The invisible man.
Ripping out the radio
I want to be alone
"You can take all the boys and the girls in the world
I wouldn't trade them this morning for my sweet Ocean Cloud
I've seen too much of life
So the sea is my wife and a sweet Ocean Cloud is a mistress I'm allowed
I've seen too much of life
So the sea is my wife
And the sweet ocean clouds will look down on my bones tonight..
When I was 13 I had a sister for 6 months.
She arrived one February morning, pale and shellshocked,
from past lives I could not imagine.
She was 3 years older than me,
but in no time we became friends.
We’d listen to her mix tapes;
Dead Can Dance, Felt, This Mortal Coil…
She introduced me to her favourite books,
gave me clothes, and my first cigarette.
Sometimes we would head down to Blackbirds moor
to watch the barges on Grand Union in the twilight.
She said “The water has no memory.”
For a few months everything about our lives was perfect.
It was only us, we were inseparable.
But gradually, she passed into another distant part of my memory,
until I could no longer remember her face, her voice, even her name.
We have got
We have got the perfect life...
