'Marjana Semkina' (or Mariana) is a Russian singer who was known with 'Iamthemorning', the duet she formed with 'Gleb Kolyadin' (see the two chronicles here and here) and after participating in Gleb's first studio album in 2018 (see here), she released her first solo album in 2020 'Sleepwalking' with prestigious guests from the progressive world since we find the keyboardist of 'Dream Theater', 'Jordan Rudess' on the piano (see the last 'Dream Theater' here), drummer 'Craig Blundell' ('Lonely Robot', 'Steven Wilson', 'Kino' or 'Moonparticle') and the bass player 'Nick Beggs' (also 'Lonely Robot' and 'Steven Wilson' but also 'The Mutes Gods'). But the style is far from the progressive metal of ‘Dream Theater’ since we find the soft and airy voice of the Russian in 11 compositions that she has all written and composed. The set is an invitation to travel and apart from 'Turn Back Time' which is the most rock track and 'Skin', also a little more energetic, these are compositions which allow you to get away from it all in calm and serene and although the texts are relatively dark ('Marjana Semkina' wrote them during a difficult period for her), the whole is of a simple and delicate beauty and we can quote for example the very refined 'Lost at Sea' and 'Still Life'. On the instrumental level, remarkable arrangements involve acoustic instruments such as the piano or the guitar which are often accompanied by the strings of the 'St. Petersburg Orchestra "1703" which bring some melancholy as in 'Dark Matter', 'Am I Sleeping Or Am I Dead', 'Everything Burns' or even in 'Mermaid Song' but which also amplifies the gravity of the title as in 'Ars Longa Vita Brevis', 'Invisible' or even in 'How to Be Alone'.
In summary, 'Mariana Semkina' released a very beautiful album highlighting her captivating and airy voice even more than in her collaboration with 'Gleb Kolyadin' and 'Sleepwalking' is the kind of recording to quietly listen to headphones on your ears to share these poetic, delicate and emotion-filled moments... | |
