[FAWM]

Spark

by @clioem

Liner Notes

Synthpop meets dark dream indie in the space between stars where a wanderer takes her own path. The lyrics came to me in a tumble after I worked out a structure from an improvised piano melody. I chose to place it in synths and add sweeping arpeggiation under a steady ostinato line, to suggest energy crackling among something very ancient.

1 February 2023, Vienna

'Spark' Copyright © 2023 Clio Montrey (as Clio Em). Lyrics, music, and composition/performance all my own.

IMAGE: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI
IMAGE PROCESSING: Joseph DePasquale (STScI), Naomi Rowe-Gurney (NASA-GSFC)

#ambient #dark #indie #synth #vocals #space #sci_fi #keyboards #firstfruits #odd_time_signature

Lyrics

Spark

Out there
Over the moon
Flight will find me

Out there
Over the moon
Solitary Radio

FM tuning in
Frequency

Short waves
Lengthened now

Can you hear me
Hear me
Hear me?

Exploration is not
For the weak

Spaceship skin is like
Ice to me

Out there over the moon
Flight will find me

I embark.

A universe
In a spark.

Comments

[avatar]
@engebretsen
The ambient influence here is lovely. I think I just close my eyes and enjoy this.
[avatar]
@marvsmooth
Beguilingly beautiful, with a musical track makes me think of Steve Reich in the way that he has that feel going throughout from beginning to end, but there is a build and pull back in there as well at the same time, which gives it a feeling of movement.
[avatar]
@sheamiejay
I like how you made the arpeggios mesh with the rest of the composition. Great use of space, not getting too busy with layers. It takes you out there.
[avatar]
@andrea
I love this! I can feel the vastness of space in the music and vocals. The lyrics are powerful. Haunting and beautiful!
[avatar]
@filipmosz
I especially like these busy synth that starts around 1:30. Also, the vocal melody and the way you deliver it has something touching and unique in it.
I think the vocalizing at the end works really well. It's smoothing the transition between singing and the ending silence, leaving some space for thinking about what you've just heard.
[avatar]
@oswlek
Lovely. The sparse lyric and legato vocal delivery were perfect choices. Cool synth poppish track as well, it makes me feel disoriented in the best way. 🙂

Do you know what a side chain is by any chance? If/when you polish this post-FAWM, it might be worth trying to get a little more of the dry vocal to poke through the reverb.

Good stuff!
[avatar]
@arthurrossi
I agree this is a hauntingly gorgeous song... it conveys the feel of "eternity" and endless "space"... Very nicely produced as well...
[avatar]
@belferd_port
such a vibe! i love space themed music so much and this hits the spot, i feel like im floating lost in my dystopian reality that I've created for myself that i call space. super cools stuff. am really digging the arpeggiator usage. brilliant mind yours! keep it up! so excited
[avatar]
@jamesstaubes
I immediately got Cocteau Twins vibes from the piano. I like how the synth apreggiator enters. This line - Exploration is not For the weak - hits me. So very true. Spaceship skin - love that.
[avatar]
@mikeb
Very spacey! Good thing I don't do acid any more!
[avatar]
@corinnecurcio
Feel like I'm floating in space with this. Very nice indeed
[avatar]
@tan482
So otherworldly! I really like all the different layers in this. And your vocals just soar. Very transporting!
[avatar]
@arkka
Dark and beautiful! I really like the piano in this. An interesting combination of sounds, crackling energy is a good description of the synth.
[avatar]
@chipwithrow
So much to appreciate in headphones! Giving a second listen. A piano/vocal song shot into deep space - awesome!
[avatar]
@wolfkier
Really lovely. It just creeps up on you. I'm such a fan of terse lyrics and these melodic utterances only take the song higher. Well done. And thank you so much for your kind words on my first song! Much appreciated. Looking forward to an interesting exchange of listens this month, and beyond, if you're on youtube. Look me up. Hugs.
[avatar]
@katestantonsings
Moody, creative, and hauntingly beautiful!
[avatar]
@sapient
Oh yes. Very yes. All the yes.
There are moment when I think you are secretly writing intros to all my songs ever and then it swoops away like the scene change in a dream and I'm lost in the words and the depths of the vocal melody.
This is really lovely.
And it's about space and loneliness and hope and loss and everything. So much emotion in so few lyrics - I love it...
[avatar]
@scottlake
This juxtaposition of natural voice and piano, against the arpeggiated synths - and your comment on my lyrics only song, you’ve inspired me!! Heading to your soundboard to drop a note…..
[avatar]
@zebraphone
How beautiful… like a siren crying out across an alien desert… I listened to the track first before reading the lyrics, to find it exactly as the lyrics are evoking! A perfect match. The arpeggiated synth is a brilliant addition, it adds a whole layer of imagery and imagination and emotion for me. This feels like a scene-setter…. great FAWM start!
[avatar]
@electrocelte
Thank you for coming back... and yet... I would guess you never really left? ❤️
[avatar]
@wolveerie
Oh yeah this is right up my alley! I love a good vocal drenched in reverb. The synth sounds rad, and that simple repetitive piano really ties everything together. Nice job <3
[avatar]
@sci
a haunting start to my FAWM adventure
[avatar]
@rocketgrrrl
I see the lyrics as folk meets cosmic mysticism meets tech. The song makes me feel like I'm ready to step onboard the mysterious spaceship that just landed in my field.
[avatar]
@nancycunning
Feels like I'm lying in a dark desert staring up as the clouds move across the skies. All that longing to hear and be heard. Feels like a beautiful way to embrace FAWM. Danke!
[avatar]
@sph
With your combination of sounds you create a very original tapestry.
[avatar]
@daveyboy103
Very original song and the vocals are great!
[avatar]
@billwhite51
i didnt notice it until i read the comment from @caseewilson, but the piano at the beginning does set us up for something of a tori amos experience. but instead of worldly grief and ecstasy, you take a sharp turn into the empty loneliness of space. i l;ike the near incomprehensibility of the lyric that firms up with the pleas to be heard.
[avatar]
@esc4p3
I love the contrast here, without the sweeping synth arpeggiation you have a dreamy relaxing lyric/tune/vocal, but the synth adds an urgency and as I said, a contrast, which makes the track all the more interesting (plus I love this kind of 80's synth tone). I've only just learned about ostinato, I must try and work one of those in to my own work. Nice 😎
[avatar]
@caseewilson
Beautiful, just beautiful. There's something reminiscent of Tori Amos in the early piano segments, and then those synths start creeping in - wonderful stuff!
[avatar]
@popmythology
Haunting and lonely... It *does* sound and feel like there are crackling waves/pulses of energy swimming through space, providing this solitary traveler with their only source of companionship.
[avatar]
@enigma4711
That "Can you hear me?"-line almost gave me the creeps (in a good way of course). It gave me a feeling of being totally alone in space and then towards the end of the song during the synth-freakout, almost claustrophobic. Very eerie feeling overall which I enjoyed a lot :)
[avatar]
@miltz
The feel or mood of this is great.
[avatar]
@dukemeyer
Oh, that's wonderful! The far-away-voice has special magic and the synths do their own space journey. It's like a dream (a short one ... ;-)
[avatar]
@philkmills
The opening panning grabs attention. The instrumentation is great; I especially like the sounds coming in "over the moon".
[avatar]
@jtsteam
Sounds lovely and atmospheric and builds nicely with the spacey synths. So much universe to explore, off we go!
[avatar]
@metalfoot
Simply ethereal and delightful. Great stuff Clio!
[avatar]
@wistah
Gorgeously performed and constructed. This evokes dark feelings of vast lonely emptiness and a grandiosity beyond comprehension all at the same time. Superb!
[avatar]
@musicsongwriter
Hauntingly beautiful song. Gives me chills, in a good way. Very interesting sound of both piano and vocals. I like the idea of the title and its realisation. Thank you for your kind comment which helped me find your beautiful song.
[avatar]
@kahlo2013
Wow! I love that atmosphere you create with the interplay of the moody keys, cool energetic arpeggio and the vocal effects. The pacing is perfect and your words draw me into a totally different immersive reality. Very innovative and intriguing! Love it!
[avatar]
@zecoopMod
That balance between the normal-ish piano sound combined with that arpeggio is awesome. The haunting floating melody adds that perfect mysterious edge. Such a sweeping vision in this song, both sonically and lyrically. I loved listening to this. :)
[avatar]
@ductapeguyMod
That is literally a space opera. So expansive and haunting.
[avatar]
@robheron1
Spacey song for a spacey lyric! Like the big reverb on the vocal.
[avatar]
@racheleve
Love the dreaminess and flow of this. Nice work!
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