When you are not content to listen to what the great music majors put between your ears all day long but that you make the effort to research by yourself to satisfy your quest for the musical holy grail, the Internet is a magnificent tool to achieve this and in this precise case, that's what happened to me with the last album of 'Vian Fernandes' which does not make the headlines but which releases its third studio recording 'Half Life' after 'Pahadi' in 2016 et 'Alive' in 2017. Of Indian origin, Vian is known in his country to be the bassist of the Indian group 'Thaikkudam Bridge' and made prominent appearances in 'music Mojo' on Indian TV channel 'kappa TV' which highlights young talents (I have listed his videos below). His discography shows a pachtwork of styles with of course, first and foremost his musical roots, but he is also inspired by modern musical trends such as rapping, and his latest album shows a new side of this complete artist with progressive influences that take us on board in a magnificent journey, very rich and varied.
The eponymous track of the album begins with a spoken presentation of the theme of this opus : "Have we all lived our lives to the fullest, or have we left something behind unfinished ? If yes, we will all live a half-life, until we are born again to finish what we left behind and once again live another Half Life". Follows 'Genesis' which begins with sound effects close to the beginning of the 'Floyds', then some vaporous choirs fill all the space to give way to a 'Floydian' melody with the bass of Vian which prints some marked and well-placed hits for finally fall back on the final. 'To be with Me' which follows is one of my favorites of the album, the airy atmosphere of this track bringing a real emotion thanks to the soft voice of 'Vian' which contrasts with more intense riffs, the guitar solo in the second part (certainly from 'Prandeep Pande') being very beautiful. Very nice transition between power and tranquility with 'A World Undone' which welcomes us with some soothing notes of the flute, and which highlights the delicious voice of 'Rahel Dutt' and after three minutes comes a remarkable instrumental section with a break in intensity and leaves for an intense finale. We continue our beautiful journey with a semi-acoustic ballad in which the vocal duo 'Vian Fernades'/'Rahel Dutt' is a pure delight, then the introduction of 'ADHD' sends us a good dose of energy with a muscular rhythmic in which the rhythm section alternates intensities and tempos remarkably livened up by beautiful vocal parts and interventions of the electric guitar and the title softens very strongly and offers us magnificent vocalizations of 'Gazal Mohanty', the instrumental final in crescendo rocking us with a heady melody. The rest of the album further increases the emotional cursor by a few notches with first of all, 'Answers to my Life' which reminds me of the atmospheres of the compositions of the project 'Blackfield' by 'Steven Wilson' and 'Aviv Geffen', then, 'Fireflies' unveils a calm and restful atmosphere in which it is good to let go while being lulled by the sweet song of 'Vian' accompanied by a delicious female singing. The end of the album continues in this delicate and melodious climate with 'My Northern Star' (see video here) in a psychedelic atmosphere and 'The Voyage' offers us a last heady melody that never leaves you with beautiful vocal performances by Vian and Rahel.
In summary, 'Vian Fernandes' releases a magnificent album with compositions filled with a very beautiful poetry that take us on an intense musical journey and, if you like quiet and delicate atmospheres in progressive rock, you should undoubtedly appreciate 'Half Life' which is tasted in a quiet place with the headphones on your ears...
Videos of 'Vian Fernandez' on the show 'music Mojo' :
= When I'm gone
= Baba Naam
= To be with Me | |
