1476
Smoke in the Sky

There is a man walking in his garden, holding a book. The man is blind, and the garden is a labyrinth of paths that divide, branch out, and rejoin. In the garden, there are enormous statues: some say they have seen them move, but if so, it would certainly have been in a very slow, almost imperceptible manner. The book is heavy; a normal person would not be able to carry it.

The path the man is currently following leads him inside his home, a building made of corridors and halls. The paintings in Destiny's hall portray his brothers and sisters with the features they desire to be seen by him (although it must be said that in the realm of the Endless, what one desires and what one obtains are in reality things so close that a thin sharp blade could not pass between them). You too, who are reading, will have spent time in the realm of his brothers and sisters: dreaming, despairing, longing, seeking destruction, pleasure, or even finding death eventually... But your life has never really been yours; you have always been his, from the first page of the book, and only he is able to read your story, of how it was and how it will be, long from now.

Destiny is chained to his book, or perhaps it is the book that is chained to him? It is made up of many pages; it can neither be stolen nor lent. It contains your life, every detail, everything that has happened to you, will happen, or that you have simply forgotten or do not believe in. In fact, it contains everything that has happened and will happen to anyone you have known, met, or never even heard of... Inside it, you find the dreams, the events, the triumphs, the defeats, and the deaths of everyone. In it, the meaning of each of the spots on a leopard's coat is explained, as well as the truth about the shape of clouds, the life of bacteria, and the secrets the wind whispers when no one is there to hear it. It covers everything, from beginning to end.

Destiny did not create the path your life is following, yet in the book, the movements of atoms and galaxies are explained: for him, there is no difference between them; it's all part of the same tome. One day, when the book is finished, he will abandon it, but it is not yet written anywhere what will happen after. In the meantime, a new page turns: Destiny continues to stroll in the garden with a book in hand, in which the entire Universe is contained. (taken from "Endless Nights," Neil Gaiman, free translation).

"Smoke in the Sky" is the first "official" work of 1476, a duo from New England already widely discussed in these pages. It is an EP, reissued by the German label Prophecy with the addition of some live tracks that follow the mood of the main record. It is primarily an acoustic work, heavily drawing from American and European (neo) folk, occasionally adding drones and electronic inserts. The result is smoky, mystical, nostalgic, and thoughtful: the pieces are best enjoyed when listened to with calm, thinking of everything and nothing, walking through woods or cities. Quoting the description made by the group, "Smoke In The Sky places a strong lyrical focus on self-realization and destroying/overcoming obstacles to be reborn as a stronger, healthier self."

Many of the elements that characterize this work will be extensively revisited in the subsequent albums: it goes without saying that it is a must-listen if you have appreciated the rest of 1476's production, but it also deserves attention from those who love to immerse themselves in the magical atmospheres that certain neo-folk productions can offer.