Album Launch :: A Universe Made Of Strings

I've heard snippets of the music. Of course we've heard Glaciers that has been floating around for a year. Mostly, I tried to ignore the samplers of the new pieces, turn off Lush 99.5, wanting to save the experience of the full sonic boom for the night of the album launch.

At least, I'm assured of a very tight 'In Each Hand A Cutlass'. No fumbling, not a sign of hesitance, and all confident melodic prog rock. It felt like a movie set, and when the band began, it was as if we're sitting through a movie- your own movie that you could conjure up in the head. Vast soundtracks where the interpretation is only limited by one's imagination.

Soundscapes lit the mind. There could be so many things to think about. Instead of epic dance steps, I kept thinking of zombies, and the killing sequences. You know, like how you don't need to talk when you're shooting, hacking and splattered with blood? You just need that music to feel like a justified killer. Soundtracks. They tend to make you feel invincible.

There was attention paid to the set. Barrels, bottles of rum, the flickering bulbs in the storm lamps, candlesticks, fake skulls, netting, and of course, a pirate ship to put people in the mood! Esplanade Recital Studio is one of the best venues around. Not just in terms of tech support, but in terms of acoustics and sound. It was the ideal venue for IEHAC's genre of music where you need to be blasted with each detail and complexity of all the layers of the pieces. We really wouldn't have minded standing though. It would be quite cool to bob along, lost in our minds for that hour. An Amaranthine Journey indeed.

It was wonderful to see the friends get together for the evening, in support of either the humans or the music. A sold-out gig does wonders for the band's morale. Already intending to give their best, the band went into a total state of exultation and played their hearts out last night. Until they had to sheepishly announce that there would be no encore because they had no more songs!

Yes, those bottles of Angostura rum on the set were real. :)

(Photos courtesy of Leonard Soosay)