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Rating: He appeared domestic.
Now he gravitates in space.
Roots in the earth: bucolic aromas and hearthside intimacy.
Then oblique flights: new flavors and soft effervescent tenderness.
Adem, after his time with the Fridge, introduced himself with a debut album with a programmatic title (Homesongs - 2004) that captured the attention of the enthusiasts of the bustling nufolk scene.
The present sees him now attempting a less earthly, more ethereal and volatile path.
Like the element around which his new creations gravitate.
A cosmogony sustained by details.
In the structure of songs that reveal an inclination for pop writing, sustained by the small balances put in place by very accurate arrangements, the intimate thriftiness of the folktronica soul survives.
Yet, it is opened wide, as with a deep breath, towards more open spaces.
Illuminated by warm light, crossed by fresh currents.
It starts off well.
The rarefaction of the air is a perfect condition and the fragile sounds of “Warning Call” cross it with a “simplicity” still anchored to the ground, which delivers us a deep but delicate song.
The takeoff phase continues on the arpeggios of an acoustic guitar to lead us towards luminous openings that, in “Something’s Going To Come”, immediately enter the circulation, radiating light melodic gusts.
Then…
Chimes and hand claps.
Fragrant rhythmic carpets crossed by accurate vocal harmonies.
Trembling backgrounds and sighs.
Discreet electronic particles that coexist with guitars and harmonium.
Cello and violin, vibraphone: to steer towards more uncertain areas of space, into sparser and deeper folds.
Because the journey follows a zigzagging route, inside a spacecraft assembled with modest elements, yet surprisingly agile and functional.
And each planet shows a different face of the complicated and contradictory system at the center of which shines the mysterious feeling that is both the propellant and the goal of the journey.
Adem's songs describe it now by resorting to an almost dreamlike atmosphere, relaxed yet punctuated by a stuttering background of voices (X Is For Kisses), now rhythmically hopping on a snapping hand clap among the small sound spheres irradiated by vibraphone and percussion (Launch Yourself). Or they attempt to probe its most hidden areas with the minimal equipment of an intimate approach, aboard the sound of a harmonium (Love And Other Planets).
And the journey continues, retrieving fragments during an exploration that will encounter other spaces, sometimes still echoing restless melancholies (Craschlander) or seeming to reproduce more relaxed surfaces, illuminated by the light of soft guitar arpeggios and whispered choirs (Sea Of Tranquility).
It proceeds through constant changes of course, to discover the changing aspect of this solar system. That goes from the desolate atmosphere of “Last Transmissions From The Lost Missions” to the radiant melodic vitality that crosses “These Lights Are Meaningful”, up to a rarefied yet hospitable planet, where it wouldn’t be too improbable to meet an old friend like Robert Wyatt. Smiling as he listens to the harmonium chords surrounding Adem's voice, so close to his, in “Human Beings Gather ‘Round” that closes the journey.
The spacecraft, upon its return, has delivered to your chronicler some artifacts that you can listen to with a simple click.
For a complete report of the mission you need to contact Domino, which released the 12 songs of Adem in May 2006.
The rating gravitates between 3 and 4, also depending on the mood present in your atmosphere.
C U on another planet.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
01 Warning Call (04:49)
If we received a warning call,
Would we change at all?
Close your eyes and make believe
And tell me what you see.
Will we rise
From our sleep
Like a bolt from the blue?
Will we realise?
If they found a tube in outer space
And no-one knew who put it there.
If they looked inside and
Found out they’d lived lonely lives,
Followed by a lonesome death
They sent it hoping we would learn
They blew it here with their final breath.
They made a list of their mistakes-
It looked a lot like ours.
If it happened, do you think we’d learn?
Do you think we’d learn?
Will we rise
From our sleep
Like a bolt from the blue?
Will we realise?
If they knew how to talk through space,
And we received a warning call
Do you think we’d learn?
Would it be in vain?
Do you think we’d learn?
Let’s not end our days
Like they did on earth.
04 Launch Yourself (03:36)
I’ve been
Trying
Fixing the problem
You pressed
The button
To launch yourself
While I was outside
I heard a spark ignite
I saw a ball of light
I watched you lifting off
There could be no mistake
My hope and faith misplaced
I saw you lifting off
You pressed
The button
To launch yourself
While I was outside
You left me stranded
While you broke through
The atmosphere
I guess you thought you’d start
A new clean sheet and heart
From when you lifted off
I watched you disappear
A ringing in my ear
From when you lifted off
You pressed
The button
To launch yourself
While I was outside
You left me stranded
While you broke through
To other worlds
You left
Me stranded
While you broke through
To other worlds
You pressed
The button
To launch yourself
While I was outside
You left
Me stranded
You launched yourself
While I was outside
You pressed
The button
To launch yourself
While I was outside
You left
Me stranded
You launched yourself
While I was outside
05 Love and Other Planets (03:44)
Come with me
There’s something you should see
In the evening sky
Put on your warmest coat
We’ll be breathing ghosts
And they don’t want us to see
So they join the clouds
Which clot above our heads
But on a clear night,
If you look close enough
You can just make out Love
And other planets
We are not alone
And normally
It’s bright enough to see
With a naked eye
I held you close to me
And I felt you smile
And you whispered in my ear
I know it’s there
Let’s make our own light
But on a clear night
If you look close enough
You can just make out
Love and other planets
We are not alone
And on this clear night
If I hold you close enough
I can feel love.
06 Crashlander (03:21)
Crashland
You took your own life in your hands
You had to escape him somehow
Oh you knew
You knew it would hurt
Pull yourself free
With the wreckage at your feet
Feel the relief
All your doubts and wounds will be
Gone
Gone
Crashlander
There’s damage, but at least you’re alive
The hardest thing you could have done, you’ve done now
It gets easy from hear
As you turn your back on
The constellation you flew from
You are hurting, lonely,
Hopeful, happy
Pull yourself free
With the wreckage at your feet
There’s a million worlds to explore
When you’re ready the cosmos is yours
Yours.
07 Sea of Tranquility (03:21)
So here we are
And we’re looking for
A treasure
Take deep breath
And follow me
To the sea
We’re nearly there
Take a deep breath
And follow me
Find what you seek
Let’s dive
‘Cause I’m seasick from this solid ground
We’re so close,
I think we
Have found it here
It’s at the tips of our fingers
Feel it at the tips of our tongues
Let’s dive
‘Cause I’m seasick from the solid ground
Let’s dive
Who knows what we might find around
08 You and Moon (03:42)
Searching
I wore out my telescope
And I nearly gave up hope of finding anything
Discovery
Was an accidental thing
A reflection slipping in
To the corner of my eye
I saw you
And moon
And hope flooded through me
I just needed proof
I saw you and moon
I had to get closer
For a look
Alone and
A universe away
I was drawn to make my way to where the living are
My eyelids
Filled with hypnogogic shapes
And my body wracked with shakes
I travelled light years
In heart beats
I saw you and moon
Dancing together against dark blue
I saw you and moon
I never felt lonely ‘til I saw you
Been making
Music
With instruments
Of science
Distracted
And happy
And so self
Reliant
Then I saw you and moon
And hope flooded through me
And I chased proof
But I left, I left too soon
‘cause light is a liar
And so are you
I saw you and moon
But the image was older
Than the truth
When I arrived
I found only tombs ‘cause light is a liar
Telling old truths
Having had something to aim for
Has left me lost.
09 Last Transmission From the Lost Mission (03:08)
if I wanted to be alone i’d be happy now and if i wanted to hold on to those memories of… if i’d tried harder would i still be here? holding on a while tried harder i might have i might i might have done if i wanted to be alone i’d be happy right now
10 These Lights Are Meaningful (04:03)
I know that I’ve
Not been the same
Since the day we walked around and marvelled at the firmament
Both wrapped up
In a blanket that was handed down
And it struck me like a meteor
It’s hard to explain, so hard to explain how I’m so sure
These lights are meaningful
We’ve got to understand
And work out what they say
These lights are meaningful
They’ll tell what we forgot
We have a mission here
These lights are meaningful
We must translate them now
Else we’ll just float around
We have reason here
Something beyond ourselves
These lights are meaningful
I needed purpose,
I was given one
To find the reasons for life
Etched between the distant suns and
The Zodiac gives clues to the wealth of all that once we knew
It’s hard to explain so hard to explain how I’m so sure
These lights are meaningful
We have forgot ourselves
We drift on oblivious
These lights are meaningful
A message writ out large
Lest we forget ourselves
These lights are meaningful
This is our final chance
We had a mission here once
There not just pretty sparks
They’re more than tiny stars
These lights are meaningful
We have a reason here
We must resolve ourselves
Maybe I got it wrong
Maybe I am just alone
Anything to feel alive
Take my hand and take me home
Make me feel like I’m not alone
It’s what I need
11 Spirals (03:22)
You marked
The back of my hand
You drew a heart
And some tiny dots
And a spiral
Which reminded me
Of the Milky Way
And it made me think
If our galaxy
And Andromeda
Felt like you and me
Were like the way we are
They couldn’t feel as vast
And if they join
At six billion lives per second
And they danced around
Linking spiral arms
As they’d spin
Spin through infinity
They couldn’t feel as vast
As I feel now
Galactic tectonic shifts
In my chest
And behind my eyes
And yet the smallest vibration
Like the touch of your pen
Makes my hair makes my hair stand on end
You marked
The back of my hand
You drew a heart
And some tiny dots
And a spiral
Which together spell
‘I want you’
In electricity
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