Did you know that lentils were the first plant food cultivated by men since prehistory? It is even mentioned in the Bible and some have been found in Egyptians tombs. This starchy plant comes in a large variety of species and colours. Primarily grown in Turkey, red lentils are used a lot in Indian dishes where they are a major source of protein. They also have a high content in minerals (iron, phosphorus, potassium, magnesium), vitamins B, antioxidants, and fibres which provide a low glycemic load, bring a rapid feeling of satiety, and support digestion. Furthermore, unlike other lentils, red lentils have their hulls removed which are usually responsible for bloating. All the opposite of wheat, the cereal most traditional pasta are made with.
Fennel also has a high content of fibres supporting digestion. In addition, its natural diuretic properties help reduce blood pressure. Like red lentils, it also contains a lot of minerals (iron, phosphorus, calcium, magnesium, manganese, zinc), all essential for healthy bones, as well as flavonoids, phytoestrogens and vitamin K.
Last, lacto-fermented soy (the only non-polemical form in Western countries) offers a excellent source of probiotics to promote healthy guts, as well as omega-3 to help the cardiovascular system function properly.
The vegan recipe below contains all three ingredients for a tasty low-cal one-dish meal super fast to make if you cook pasta just like a risotto. It will save you time, energy and water.
Wash fennel in clean water, dry, and slice thinly. Transfer to a large covered pan (or wok) and soften in oil.
Add crushed garlic and pasta. Season with ginger, salt and pepper. Stir well and cover with mineral water.
Put the lid back and cook over low heat just like a risotto until pasta are al dente (less than 10 minutes).
Serve with fermented soy spread and chives.
NOTE: For an even tastier dish, you may replace water with vegetable soup if you have some. Since ginger enhances the aniseed flavour of fennel, it's best not to substitute it with other spices. Unless you don't like it, then you may use curry instead.
This short text is actually part of a literary challenge set up by a French blog where you have to write a short story centered on a given theme. I liked the idea and gave it a shot for the fun of it. I wasn't supposed to write in another language, but I thought it would be interesting to see if I could and how different it would come out from the original in French. Quite challenging because I'm very fond of puns and colourful expressions which often get lost in translation. But I really enjoyed doing it as I had absolutely no idea what I would come up with. Words just flowed out of nowhere. It never was my intention, I could hear the characters talking inside my head and so I felt compelled to follow them. I took some liberties from the given theme though (you had 10 minutes to pack up your bags and run away from whatever danger you were in), but it doesn't really matter, does it? Besides, had the story been any longer, who knows what my nameless character might have done with that briefcase. Maybe take it away with him? It's up to you to imagine what's next and let me know. That was actually the initial purpose: unlock your imagination.
♦ ♦ ♦
Ten minutes. That was the short time left to stick it in the briefcase and clear off. Ten fucking minutes with the furious thumping of his heart pogoing in his mouth and the rhytmical clatter of his trembling knees.
“Ten minutes won't make it. Holy shit, we're dead!”
“No, you are if you don't move your ass and just stand here petrified 'till they bump you off.”
“All the same, it's hot as hell! Hot and cold... funny how we're all going to burn before we end up in the freezer. That's one great equation. To be or not to be...”
“Move it, goddammit! This is not the time to get philosophical about the irony of language.”
“So what? Don't you like Shakespeare?”
“Nah, but you'll end up like Schrödinger's cat if you don't get moving.”
“I'd rather be the Cheshire Cat. Now, where's that bloody case so we can get it over with?”
“Over there, on the desk to your left. You should see it. You unlock the code and insert the device. Careful not to touch the sensors.”
“What if it doesn't work?”
“It has to. It's our unique chance and you know it.”
“Silence is consent.”
“Shut up and do it!”
Ten minutes to be a hero and save humanity from a permanent nightmare. That was all he had left to make a difference. He suddenly felt filled with a new, almost supernatural strength he never suspected he had. He was about to save the world and no one would ever know about it. Yet, it didn't matter because at that moment, he felt he and the world were as one.
As there has been much talk about Earth and vibrations on this blog lately — and since I had not posted anything yet about the Schumann resonance, the current significant increase of which seems to play a major role in our human condition, raising awareness and further increasing, on a daily basis, the contrast between those who are awake and the sleepwalkers —, I'd like to share an article for the general public which, as you will see, tends to dismiss such kind of correlations that, despite its claiming otherwise, have been scientifically proven, yet unacknowledged by the institutional minority.
In this regard, those who wish to further their knowledge would be well advised to check the work of Nassim Haramein who is a researcher at the forefront of quantum physics or books by David Wilcock such as The Source Field Investigations.
The Universe is all about energy, all about vibration from the microcosmos to the macrocosmos…
Albert Einstein
The Schumann resonance is actually the vibration of Gaia whose frequency can be viewed as a tuning fork for life. As a matter of fact, some researchers who took over the work of Schumann, such as Dr. Ludwig, found a connection with Tao that would coincide “with the relatively strong YANG signal of the Schumann frequency which surrounds our planet and with the weaker YIN geomagnetic waves from within the Earth. Chinese wisdom considers that in order to achieve optimal health, there should be a balance between both. Humanity is dependent on these subtle signals from environmental energies, which are the Yin from below and the Yang from above.” (Source)
Remember how last week, when replying to my question regarding the symbol on the cover of his album, Ed O'Brien (yes, him again!) explained that the divine feminine I saw in it was also the sign of Earth which has a YIN vibration. I didn't really make the connection until I began writing these lines and I now realise how the triangular shape is a perfect illustration of the energy flow taking source at the tip and spreading upwards.
Ey@el
The Earth has been the focus of a massive amount of scientific studies over the years. From the shrinking ozone layer to the changes in our planet's magnetic field, there's plenty to keep researchers busy.
One possibly surprising area of research is in the way the Earth acts like a giant electrical circuit. The atmosphere of the Earth is actually a weak conductor. If there was no source of electric charge for the atmosphere, its energy would dissipate in about 10 minutes – but it doesn't.
The ionosphere is the region of the Earth's atmosphere that starts at around 50-100km above the surface and reaches upward for several hundreds of kilometers.
Due to solar radiation, individual electrons are dislodged from otherwise neutral gas atoms in this region, creating positively charged ions. This makes the ionosphere conductive and able to trap electromagnetic waves.
Between the Earth's surface and the ionosphere is a cavity containing a total electrical charge of 500K Coulombs. There is a vertical current flow between the ground and the ionosphere. The atmosphere has a resistance of 200 Ohms and a voltage potential of 200,000 Volts.
Around the Earth, there are roughly two thousand lightning storms at any given period of time, producing around 50 flashes of lightning every second. This accounts for much of the measured flow in this electromagnetic cavity.
In last week's article, I was telling you how I asked Ed O'Brien (from Radiohead) on a chat on Reddit his view on tuning music to 432 Hz (DNA's natural resonance) and he told me that the effects of this frequecy are really profound and that his whole next album will be recorded in 432 and 444 Hz (antistress healing frequency).
I also mentioned reading The Source Field Investigations by David Wilcock because I was under the impression that he had a strong interest in quantum physics. Which he immediately confirmed: “I'm really interested in a lot of this stuff... the place where science meets spirituality. Quantum physics is fascinating. I'm basically interested in anything that tries to explain this extraordinary thing called life and living on a sphere rotating around a central Sun. I mean when you pull out... how extraordinary is this??!!”
About ten days earlier, this time on a Q&A held on Twitter by The Sunday Times, I had asked him if, like Edgar Cayce, he believed that “music will be the medicine of tomorrow”. And he totally agreed with that: “Music is frequency. Look at the physics of it all. Everything operates at a frequential level. All diseases have their frequency. Discover what that frequency is and you then have your way in. Bio resonance does this I believe. Very interesting. My dentist did bio resonance in my mouth after extracting a tooth. No blood and no pain!”
If you didn't know, bioresonance therapy is a quatum medicine which can check health terrains, detect electromagnetic anomalies within organs and correct them in a non invasive way with the use of electromagnetic waves of very low intensity. Consider the irony when Wikipedia (as to be expected from such a disinformation tool) explains that bioresonance is a 'pseudoscientific medical practice' urecognised by mainstream medecine and claims that “scientific research did not show any superior effect than that of a placebo effect”. QED! The placebo effect is simply proving the power of mind over matter. And what does the mind do? It produces thought forms-frequencies. These people feel so superior they're getting bogged down into their own logic!
I also intended to post an article about the very controversial research of Dr Royal Rife who knew that everything has its own natural vibrational frequency and believed that in discovering the frequencies of pathogenic microorganisms, he could destroy them using the same vibrational frequency just like opera singers shatter glasses using their voice at the matching frequency. But I still haven't found time to conduct tests and continue my research to have a little bit more than pure theory to write about. In the meantime, until I can report about my spectacular achievements (or failures), you may go and do some digging by yourself. Do avoid pots calling the kettle black who use their officiality to warn you against disinformation. I'm afraid you'll have to use your own discernment there as no one can do that for you.
Ey@el
In the beginning was the word and the word was God. The Hebrew translation for word can also been interpreted as sound. There are ancient mystics and sages who believe that the sound Aum or Om is the sound of creation. So, if the word of God was a sound, could that be the reason for this material creation?
Back in the 1960’s Swiss scientist Dr. Hans Jenny researched the Cymatic frequencies and how they influence physical form. His exploration of the effects of Cymatic frequencies on matter came up with some breathtaking results, and I have included the links at the end of this article. As Cymatics shows us, sound creates form and really does affect our physical condition in many ways. Sound also has the power to heal, and this is what I aim to explore with this article.
Jonathan Reid is another Cymatic researcher, who is a musician and a scientist. Jonathan was researching these Cymatic patterns within the walls of the Kings chamber inside the Great Pyramid. He was experiencing great back pain while conducting the experiments, and later realised that the pain had disappeared and never came back, and it was the culmination of the sound frequencies that healed his back. We do use sound for healing in hospitals today in the form of ultrasound, which is used to heal tissue, can decrease swelling and gives a gentle massage to the affected area. So we already use sound in today’s modern world for healing and health, but all the possibilities have not been explored as yet. Let us go back in history and see where this was used then.
It's not the first time that a theme comes out naturally in my post scheduling and it would appear that this week is dedicated to Gaia, the living entity we call Earth and treat as if she were just a simple rock we're living on. Our beautiful blue planet is waking up. Feel her pulse accelerating (Schumann resonance) et how it's knocking us out. The relevance of this beautiful song by Band Of Horses — a great band from Seattle — that was originally featured on the awesome soundtrack of the third episode of the Twilight saga, came out as an obvious choice. I hope you'll enjoy it as much as I do.
Ey@el
p class="lettrine">Life on Earth is changing Life on Earth is ending And time on Earth is changing And time on Earth is ending
La, la la la la, la la la La, la la la la, la la la
Life on Earth is ending Life on Earth is changing And time on Earth is changing And time on Earth is ending
La, la la la la, la la la La, la la la la, la la la La, la la la la, la la la
It's been a long, long time waiting for it... Waiting for what? The
release of EOB's (aka Ed O'Brien) first solo album, of course! Well, that's me
and a bunch of other people who saw in him more than just a handsome
soundscaper in the greatest band since the Beatles. A comparison could even be
made with George Harrison, but I won't as it would be overly reductive. Also
because, whether famous or not, we are all unique and therefore cannot be
compared, whatever our contribution on Earth is. For some, it's just more
obvious than for others, that's all.
So, after a gestation period
of seven years, with a long interruption for the recording of
A Moon Shaped Pool in Southern France followed by a
world tour, Ed O'Brien (temporarily) steps out at last of Radiohead's shadow
to allow his own light to shine for the benefit of our weary ears, all tired
of the insufferable soulless sonic mush we're overfed with, seemingly serving
the sole purpose of filling the cash drawers of the music industry and,
optionally, dumbing us down with hollow or even creepy (if not satanic)
messages.
For his record, Ed surrounded himself with his friend
Flood (U2, Depeche Mode, Smashing Pumpkins, P.J. Harvey) on production and
prestigious musicians such as David Okumu (Invisibles) and Adrian Utley
(Portishead) on guitar, Glen Kotche (Wilco) and Omar Hakim on drums, Nathan
East and even Colin Greenwood (Radiohead) on bass, and Laura Marling.
Something Human
So, in his own words, Earth (which happens to be the
anagram of heart) is “an existential dance record” coming from the heart and largely inspired by nature in which he
needed to immerse, first in a Brazilian farm, then in the Welsh mountains, so
as to reconnect as an artist but also (and most importantly) as a human being.
“This is who I am; this is my truth... I don't want to be defined by being
the guy in a successful band. I'm a human being who walks this planet.”
For 'human' is certainly the best suited term for Ed O'Brien, totally outdoing
his 'rock star' label to which he definitely doesn't relate. And having had
the luck and privilege of a brief encounter and a picture with him on a TV set
in Paris after the shooting of Echoes — the new live
and talk show on ARTE channel hosted by Jehnny Beth — just before the
lockdown, I can confirm that it is not an overstatement nor a role play.
There is such an unmistakable genuine humility and authenticity about him. And
he has a way of looking at you atop his 6'5", his big blue eyes oozing of
kindness and unfeigned interest (whether you're a celebrity, a TV host, a
technician, or just a member of the audience) that immediately places you on
the same level as him, which is quite unusual for someone in his position. And
for most people in society in general. I've met a lot of musicians in my life,
all of various fame, but never anyone like him. With possibly the exception of Mike Peters
from The Alarm. And his vibration is so high it literally electrified me as it
took me a week to absorb the shock — I'm more used to get drained by
energy vampires than having my vibes boosted up like this!
Earth is about loneliness and isolation, endings and beginnings.
“That's a kind of a theme,” Ed says. “I feel like that's what's
going on in the bigger picture. That's kind of the end of the system.” The Bigger picture. As intended by the initial working title,
Pale Blue Dot
in reference to the famous photograph of planet Earth taken by Voyager 1 space
probe in 1990 — which was finally dismissed over copyright concerns.
“We've been given this incredible planet and she's such a gift and she's the
most beautiful planet in our solar system. And in terms of life-giving
properties, she's the only one we know of that at the moment. And yet we
seem to go about our business as if we are this mighty species and the
planet owes us a living and she's just to be drawn upon as an endless
resource. The words of Carl Sagan, those were like, they implore us to get
our shit together.”
“[And this pale blue dot]
this is us. This is our home. On this tiny mote of dust, every dictator,
every war that's been fought, every lover that's loved all on this tiny
speck on this photo. And I felt again, you don't know why these things
resonate, like, a lot of these things, but it resonated. I found things like
that. The bigger picture, again, inspiring — so, that informed the
music.”
Take Heart
A direct, open-hearted record in which each song relates to personal
experiences: “It has to be personal. I have to feel it otherwise I can't do it. No role
play,” he says.
“What I was trying to do is get out of my head and into my heart. And you
just intuitively feel your way through it. Coming from Oxford, it's a
very sort of academic, cerebral place. And that's great. But the problem
with that as well [is] you can slightly close your heart. And for me, I
wanted — like, literally. That was a bit of a mantra — 'out of
my head and into my heart'. Just feel your way through. Your head has to
come in. Sometimes you have to edit stuff, etc. And that's my thing now.
Musically, I'm completely guided by my intuition. I'm not forcing things,
there's something, there's a spark. And it's great because it means you're
present.”
“Obviously, we're living in very challenging times and I wanted to make a
record that acknowledged the darkness. But, also, I wanted to make a record
that was hopeful... I think we need new stories at the moment, because a lot
of time in the media, obviously, we're bombarded with how crap we are to one
another. But, also, what's not reported are all the great things we do. I
wanted to acknowledge the darkness, but also focus on the shards of light
that's coming through.”
And in the light of what we're all currently going through, Ed remains
amazingly optimistic: “So, I feel it's... we're in this big moment of change, aren't we? It's
huge.”
Yes, I can feel it too. We can all feel it. Actually, the Schumann resonance
(the Earth's frequency) keeps increasing. But how does he manage to be so
positive coming from a band that owes its fame to a song initially banned from
airplay in the UK for being 'too depressive' ("Creep")?
“I’ve worked hard at being positive!” Ed exclaims.
“Meditation, going alcohol free, eating the right stuff... sorting my
emotional shit out. I had an amazing personal trainer on the journey and he
said to me, you don’t help anyone by being down. And I used to hide
it. I always hid from the band. Finding peace of mind and happiness is as
old as the hills and it’s a journey that has been told for thousands
of years. It’s always internal. Just listen to footage of George
Harrison and John Lennon talk about it.”
The Inner Light
Ed says that, for a long time, he never felt the urge to embark into a solo
project, his creativity within Radiohead and being a dad were enough to
content him. But his kids grew up and so did he. From within. And so, as we go
along our journey to self-development, our basic needs do change. He suddenly
felt utterly compelled to write songs. In the early stages, he totally lacked
confidence and felt confused about how to proceed, but he eventually gave into
his unfulfilled desire without worrying about the rest. And the songs began to
emerge. Naturally. It actually took him by surprise because it was not
something he could imagine.
He confesses his inability to multitask and that in order to be creative, he
needs to get totally immersed in what he's doing, which partially explains why
it took him so long to turn his dream into reality. But it's also been a long
process of learning. A sort of coming out. Of his comfort zone. And that to
find inspiration, he absolutely had to be in nature. So he rented a small
isolated cottage in Mid-Wales which was actually very close to where Robert
Plant and Jimmy Page wrote Led Zeppelin III et
Led Zeppelin IV (my favourite album).
“You hear like "The Battle Of Evermore" in that land. It's very, very
fertile. It's an amazing place,” he says.
And there's a discipline to it, a kind of ritual at the start of the
day where he'd walk up to the top of the mountain, then down the river with
some poetry by Blake or Whitman to charge up before getting back home where
the music would sort of flow out naturally.
Some kind of inherent inspiration. A bit like Aretha Franklin who claimed to
be channelling God.
“If you ask me how I wrote the songs, I can't tell you either. I feel like I
didn't write the songs. I've been reluctant to say, 'Well, I started writing
these songs.' It's like these songs started to come out. That's what a lot
of people say. That's what a lot of the writers say. It's not about them.
It's about something you're channelling.”
Mon cœur s'ouvre à ta voix
But the main uncertainty lied with his voice. A major challenge for him as
transiting from backing vocals to lead vocals makes a whole world of
difference and it was a huge step for him to take. As he puts it, the voice is
the most important thing in a song as it carries all the emotion and
intention. The voice can't lie, it's the soul's frequency. A good song can be
ruined if the voice is not right (and Auto-tune won't be of much help as
regards emotion). And if its vibe does resonate with yours... bam! You've got
a love at first sight artistic experience.
Ed was fully aware of that and for a long time, he had even thought of using
someone else to sing his songs. We should be grateful that Flood eventually
persuaded him to get at it. It would have been such a shame as his voice turns
out to be so warm and pleasant, with a surprising extended singing range,
gliding smoothly and with natural ease from the highest to the lowest tones.
Listen again to early Radiohead stuff and you'll realise that Thom Yorke's
voice hasn't always matched his actual standard of excellence. And Ed does
acknowledge the fact.
“I’m in the early days of my voice. We’re going to be touring
this year and the voice is like a muscle and I need to use it more and sing
more and it’ll get stronger and I’ll have more control. But with
this record, I got to a stage where I could hear myself back through the
speakers and I wasn’t wincing uncontrollably or flinching every time I
heard a syllable sung by myself. I’ve been out of my comfort zone
supremely. And it’s a good place to be.”
Around The Earth In 9 Songs
1. Shangri-La
In order to be able to hear all tracks in full, you need to create a
free account on Spotify. To listen/buy EARTH online:
eob.lnk.to/EarthIB
With its funky syncopated mantric chorus, "Shangri-La" — named after an
artistic event
at Glastonbury Festival in South-Eastern England where Ed turns up every year
as a member of the audience (that is when he's not performing on the main
stage with Radiohead) — was written in 2014 upon returning from his
annual pilgrimage of reconnection to his 'tribe'.
Super moon lighting up the sky, All of the swans Spread their
wings and fly Again, again, again...
“You feel so happy and at peace at Glastonbury, so the song was about that
as well as the journey of trying to find peace of mind in your own life and
coming together to celebrate that.”
Celebration is gratitude.
Glastonbury is also a special place notable for its myths and legends. During
ancient times, its lowlands were covered by the sea, turning it into some sort
of an island as shown by remains from this period. The site is famous for its
hill (tor) assumed to be the location of the mythic Avalon in King Arthur's
legend.
2. Brasil
As the key title (and first single) of the album, "Brasil" starts as a
melancholic folk song and suddenly turns into some kind of electronic rave
banger led by the pulsating bass work of Colin Greenwood and is truly the
heart and soul of the record.
It's inspired by Primal Scream's "Movin' On Up" which created a sort of eureka moment for him while he was living in Brazil
and put on Screamadelica. “I got a spine tingle. And I thought, 'This is the kind of music I want to
make.' So if that’s what you’re feeling coming through…
That song is essentially gospel music with a dance groove. And that’s
what I was drawing upon for my record, that moving from the darkness to the
light.
As above and so below, Falling like... I'm falling like... How
much more of this to take To see you smile and laugh again?
“As above and so below” is a reference to the
Emerald Tablet
(one of the most famous texts of alchemic and hermetic philosophy) about the
correlation between the macrocosm and the microcosm. Ed says he's fascinated
by this old knowledge and Manly P. Hall's
The Secret Teachings Of All Ages. “There's magic out there” he says.
3. Deep Days
A very sensual Latino track where Ed O'Brien turns into a soulman with a
little something in his voice that gives you shivers. But it goes much deeper.
Steaming hot, take the fans out!
“Deep down I’ve always felt there was a soul singer within me. I know,
big statement, but I’m just being honest.”
We are the people on the edge of the night Drawn in together now and
hold the light. We start this dance tonight, never to drop. Moving
together now, we won't ever stop...
4. Long Time Coming
An acoustic folk song I'm particularly fond of as it deeply resonates with me,
capturing the essence of what my own life has been so far. One long solitary
waiting for something/someone that would come and shake up your life and put
you back on tracks. That feeling of alienation in the midst of a crowd that
never occurs in the wilderness.
And all we ever needed Is someone who says "I believe in you"
5. Mass
What are we in the cosmic vastness, if only stardust?
I'm nothing... I'm nothing...
An ethereal track referring to space, which Ed dedicated on stage to his
friend, the astronaut Michael Massimino, who helped fix the space Hubble
telescope on the Space Shuttle's last voyage. It is inspired by the famous
'Pale Blue Dot' mentioned earlier on and maybe also by his favourite movie,
Interstellar.
6. Banksters
Another favourite of mine as posted earlier on in its live version. The use of
the F word has owned it an 'explicit' tag on streaming platforms which won't
shock anyone here, in France, in a country governed by a one time bankster and
his gang of f... how do you say, Ed? :D
Where has all the money gone, you fuck?
Incidentally, Ed recently told us (on the chat of a last-minute listening
session on Spotify) that he struggled a lot with this track. Could be because
of the anger in it which no longer resonates with his actual mindset and
vibration? Or because he's not fully satisfied with the way the song sounds
like?
“When I play that song on an acoustic guitar, it sounds like a bossa nova
song. With the chorus, I was trying to create a White Stripes vs. Led
Zeppelin meets Latin hybrid.”
7. Sail On
Ed recalls how he really decided to learn how to play guitar after hearing the
sound produced by Andy Summers on "Walking On The Moon" to convey sonic pictures of a lunar landscape. That's what happens with
this song: every time I picture myself alone on a small boat in the midst of a
calm sea under the open starry skies, rocked by the gentle lapping of the
waves and a breeze barely felt. As a rule, I tend to imagine sounds and smells
more easily than images. Which says a lot about the evocative power of his
music. At least, it does it for me.
"Sail On" is a heartfelt tribute to a cousin who passed away while the album
was recorded. It is about life and what happens after the physical body dies:
“Our soul lives on. So we do. It's just that our physical body dies.”
Well, it's time for me to say goodbye to everything I know,
Just one more voyage we all must undergo.
See the light reaching out to me,
No question now, all that is will be.
“I was reading a lot about near-death experiences and what happens when
people talk about going to the light. When people have drowned and come
back to life, they leave their body. But it's not the fear and terror. It
seems like this warmth and this love and it sort of corresponds with a lot
of the things that resonate with me like reincarnation
and Buddhist philosophy. I'm not a Buddhist, but a lot of the
philosophy makes a lot of sense to me.”
Same here.
Just for the record, Ed recently confirmed on another chat online (yep, he's
everywhere and I make the most of the opportunity to get as many questions
answered) that "Sail On" had been recorded in 432 Hz: “It's really profound... The whole next album will be in 432 and 444.”
I didn't know about 444 Hz, but I incidentally found out that John Lennon's
wonderful "Imagine"
has been recorded in 444.
8. Olympik
"Olympik" is, in Ed's own words, the song that most represents who he is.
“It's the mother song on the record” he says.
And it truly delivers. Especially on stage where the sound is less compressed,
allowing more space for the guitars. “I wanted a big Earth, Wind & Fire moment,” he explains. To me it actually sounds more like U2, but oh well.
Give me your wine, give me your fire, And lift us up on the highest
high. A love supreme is all I need To be waking up from the deepest
sleep.
No chance that anyone might fall asleep listening to this kaleidoscope of
sounds, rhythms, lights, and colours. It's just like Rio Carnival it's
inspired from. But there's more.
“I called it Olympik with a K after 808 State’s "808 State". It’s an homage to that. That’s the last song that was
written for the album. It’s like, the rave: that’s what
I’m after. That feeling. That’s what I want for the live
gigs. I don’t know how it’s gonna go, but that’s what
I’m aiming for.”
And given how the audience reacted to it during his
private gig at the Palais de Tokyo in Paris, earlier in March, I'd say it's
shaping up. You got the groove, baby!
9. Under The Cloak Of The Night
Last but not least, the album ends up with this little gem of perfect vocal
harmonies with Laura Marling of whom he claims to be a huge fan: “A female voice is very important I think. She came to the studio for an
afternoon, it was fantastic. We sang together on ‘Cloak of the
Night’, which was an extraordinary privilege, but I was nervous as
hell. Uncertain of my ability. I actually wish I’d been more relaxed,
maybe laughed a little bit more. Oh well.”
This is an acoustic folk song (also recorded in 432 Hz), so successful at
conveying vivid pictures of the misty atmosphere of the Welsh sceneries it
drew upon that it wouldn't go amiss on the original soundtrack for a screen
adaptation of an Emily Brontë novel.
In this night as the North wind blows. Trees crack, the earth does
howl, Everything is falling away. And I know that this time
entails No fear let love prevail.
“'Cloak Of The Night' is a song about love. Love in a storm whether it's a meteorological storm
or whether it's the storm of life outside or the storm of life within, but
it's holding with that person, with those people.”
Such an understatement.
Hail To The Minstrel
I shall give him the last word on this as, in my opinion, it captures well the
whole beauty and wisdom of the person he is. Which shows that all great wise
men are not necessarily fat, bold and cross-eyed, neither are all rock
musicians stupid, arrogant, and self-centred.
“I’m like any other human being — I don’t think there are
any writers that have anything totally new to say. It’s just the way
you frame it. There is a universality to human experiences... If you decide
that you have to make music or art, then you’re looking for the truth,
not perfection.”
“I think the role of musicians is of service. We're serving people. I've
always said that and when people say 'Oh guys, you're amazing' or' YOU are
amazing', I say this: '100 or well 200 years ago, if I were a musician, I'd
be travelling on donkey or horseback from town to town. It's only because of
modern culture that there's a spotlight and we can be sort of be teleported
into people's home or into their lives. Music is a really important part of
people's lives. We're not frontline workers, it's not life and death, but we
can help elevate people. Music can help people process stuff. Melancholic
music allows you to be melancholic, allows you to be tearful, to cry —
but that helps you to process. My initial role when writing and recording is
to be of service to the song. And then when the music is done, it's of
service to those people who want to hear it.”
P.S.: This article had already been online for hours when Ed
joined a Q&A held by Fender on Twitter. On this occasion, I was able to
ask him whether the inverted triangle on the cover of his album, which happens
to be the symbol of the divine feminine, had been chosen on purpose and he did
confirm that it was intentional indeed. He also added: “And that sign is also the sign for Earth.” (Well, it is actually the symbol of the earth element, the
symbol of planet Earth is a totally different one, but there's no point
quibbling over details!)
NOTE: All the interview excerpts in this
article come from various sources listed below.
FR
