'A
Circle of Sorrow' is a
welcome return to what
SOKI2U do best, dark and
mysterious electronic
beats fused together with
the soulful vocals
delivering a haunting
ambience. Rich and
ghostly vocals sit in the
background complimenting
the spirit of the demo.
A
Circle of Sorrow
On
its own, 'Circle of Sorrow' is
hard to understand. The voclas
blend into the background and are
hard to fathom. However, the
beauty of this demo is that it is
not to be reviewed in isolation.
The demo, that appears on their
new album 'Seeing Faces', forms
part of the soundtrack of the
Stephane Floc'hlay film
'Cissenar'
A
seemingly desperate man driving
his car at night on a lonely and
despondent journey through a town
of neon lights finally finds his
wife in what looks like an
exclusive adult club, dressed in
black and engaged in a sex orgy.
The scenes are totally contrasted
with flashbacks of his wife,
gracefully dressed in silky white
as an elegegant and deeply
innocent ballet dancer. The
contrast to me represents good
v's evil, right v's wrong, light
v's dark. The joy of the good
times tainted by the darkness of
deception and the breakdown of a
relationship. The viewer assumes
that the man is an innocent and a
betrayed party, however, this of
course may not be the case.
Perhaps he drove her away? Has
she been the victim of abuse,
turning her from anangelic figure
to a dark and victimised soul or
sucked into a hellish world of
drugs and addiction?
The
words, music and arrangement are
by the talented and charismatic
Derek Schuurman and produced in
partnership with Brendan Lynch.
SOKI2U have always sought to use
new and varied talent, and this
time is no exception featuring
vocals by Haze (Linda Frasso).
Before
'A Circle of Sorrow' was used as
the Film Soundtrack, it was
written to reflect an entirely
different story. The 'offiicial'
interpretation of the demo was
supplied by Derek. A Circle of
Sorrow represents a wedding ring.
It begins and ends with the same
guitar solo making it circular.
'In
the beginning you hear a flock of
swans taking flight, expelling
air (life) from their lungs
as their wings beat rhythmically,
almost like the sound of a
helicopter. Swans are symbolic
of qualities as grace,
balance, loyalty,
fidelity and innocence. But
in the first and last verses, the
eerie screams you hear -
which may sound a bit
like people who have just
inhaled helium from balloons
- are
actually the screams of
swans, which add to the
atmosphere of alarm and
urgency in the
music. The actions and
sounds of the swans in this
song represent chaos and the
departure of peace and
harmony.'
This
is where I unfortunately lose the
thread a little. On listening to
the demo I get little sense of
the original interpretation. To
me, it did not inspire the
imagine of swans in flight. The
problem is that my interpretation
of the world is more traditional
rather than abstract. I find that
open ended abstract pieces are
often too vague to be able to
engage in a meaningful debate
with others.
To
seek a balanced view, I played
the demo last night at one of my
dinner parties with talented
artistic types where the wine,
spirits and cocktails were
flowing. My view was generally
supported. However, clear
connections were made with the
feelings of dispair and sorrow.
Of interest, when the other
terrific demo by SOKI2U 'Madman'
was played, one interpretation
was 'a person killed in a
road accident, still laying in
the vehicle with their phone
ringing and the loved one phoning
them, not aware of the tragedy as
they keep trying to get through.'
The second interpretation was 'a
person who was in an asylum going
mad.' Spot on!!
The
genral concensus was that the
vocals of 'A Circle of Sorrow'
were too distorted. Without the
lyrics, you don't get a sense of
a journey, interpretation or
understanding. I would be
interested on Derek's view on
this.
What
was highly rated was that SOKI2U
come across as much more than
just musicians. There is a real
artistic sense about their work.
They strive for that dark emotive
quality and absolutely succeed.
Their own interpretations remain
deep and personal. However, the
danger of this of course is that
as with all art that relies
heavily on the individual
interpretation of others, it may
not appeal to all and polarises
opinion. Something tell me that
SOKI2U would welcome this as they
strive to form their own unique
individuality.
A CIRCLE OF SORROW - SOKI2U
(Words & music: Derek
Schuurman, copyright 2007)
Don't
go back, into low town
Stay
away from the sorry world
Of
faded whites and shades of brown
Don't
do it for me,
Or
for anyone,
Just
do it for yourself,
(Don't
you think I know?......)
Because
you have someone waiting at
home,
(We
are all born whole....)
Someone
who trusts in you
(Lonely.....)
Someone
who believes in you, yes there's
Someone
who build a life around
you...
Keep
out of the back streets
(Well
I worry about you)...
Because
that bright light,
Will
fade before you know it..
(Oh
I worry about you)...
Yes
its wild out there...
(Don't think
I know?).....
Because
you've someone waiting at home
(We
are all formed whole)....
Someone
who trusts in you (Lonely....)
Someone
who believes in you, yes there's
Someone
who built a life around you...
(You
don't think I know....)
Someone
who believes in you,
But
toy with the viper and you'll end
up Dead and cold inside...
