Entangled Moments
"Entangled Moments is an Album that is intended to work as a complete statement.
Whilst I hope each song stands and falls on its own, The Album also has a beginning, middle and end. It is designed in the same way as Vinyl discs of old: with a Side one and Side two.
Im not really sure why I chose to do that, I thInk perhaps its because the music I most admire is arranged in this way and it just felt right.
Here below I'll take you through each track.
https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/alandweck/entangled-moments
Welcome Rise
https://open.spotify.com/track/1AXioZfMZvM2axE66uosRn?si=GdvXsCdASFmtoa6Tc06_bA
This music was originally written for a short film. The director wanted me to write a piece of music to open the eyes, ears and hearts of the listener.
For this Album I had intended on re-writing it, extending its themes,adding some new sections and rounding it out. However, rather than adding everything I tried subtracted.
So in the end you hear it as it was originally intended.
Before
https://open.spotify.com/track/1eKydqy1K3uQrlFeN6lhua?si=tbzSfW2lQyu7q-cCgQEsIQ
We all need a place to start.
This song tries to pay tribute to some of the great blues and soul songs of the past. Though presented here with a full arrangement, It's also a song I like to sing on just acoustic guitar.
Melting Icicles
https://open.spotify.com/track/1eKydqy1K3uQrlFeN6lhua?si=y_pTz85WRnOUUT9OUjNRJA
I wrote this song just after arriving in Singapore. Probably one of the fastest songs I have ever written. The idea, words, chords and structure just fell out.
It was all I could do to get it all down on paper before going to the wonderful OM bar, sit outside and listen to my friend Hidhir play a fabulous acoustic gig.
Statues in Paris
https://open.spotify.com/track/1OQlwTFvstyozrnwtUFIaT?si=dleI8XY-RGyUAnJ8TDcCMA
This song is dedicated to the memory of Annie Upton.
I was sitting on a long haul flight when the song came to me. Earlier that day, I had met Annie at a bar called Nixons for what we both knew was the last time.
On the plane, my mind was flooded with memories and the main melody of the song came to me, along with the line "Nixon's ain't no way to say goodbye".
The bad news came through a few weeks later, I was on the other side of the world and didn't get to go to the funeral. So I guess "Nixons" became "Now I've found my way to say Goodbye.
Be'elzebub is Dancing
https://open.spotify.com/track/0IPXuGfWWr4waNT0x87W04?si=STMyBx7kR9iaNmGx1JZohg
To date, I have rarely felt inclined to write overtly political songs but this is an exception.
Continued abuse of political systems and social media are driving us to the brink.
Our politicians are now playing some kind of mass manipulation game. They play with impunity whilst furthering their own personal ends and ambition.
Be'elzebub is dancing - our worlds ruled by hate.
Loves Ephemera
https://open.spotify.com/track/0VUMloikW3lDwYoCobJfFr?si=lPkXoDYOQbWsW_8fSeXUZg
Another track originally composed for a short film soundtrack. The film was an expression of a George Meredith poem called Modern Love which was recited over the images and music of the film. The piece was originally written on a Piano for Cello. Unfortunately, the solo cello version was never recorded as the images and music worked well with a more Piano based arrangement (I don't know any cellists anyway), However, being a guitarist at heart, I did start playing around with the themes on my Guitar and came up with this version. It was used in a dinner scene where the poet talk of Loves Ephemera.
Fall Away
https://open.spotify.com/track/0GH7TSnWWR4nVkTDDILZvD?si=-DmRj6EFR6ubk_b626RDSA
Fall Away, is the start of a sequence of 3 songs that are all designed to work together. Fall Away, Something and Time are essentially 3 types of story-telling through music,
Fall away is in many ways a personal favorite. Not least because I get to play some stylized lead guitar for the first chorus.
Something
https://open.spotify.com/track/25J6UsLYhXtkt6CKrEGSYq?si=b_MgrvwUTnWiec6wbPD0IQ
I wanted to paint a picture using sound and textures. The track also attempts to capture, in a succinct way, the feel of old Jam sessions that I used to enjoy with my old band.
The picture is painted as the music morphs and changes with new ideas, themes and instruments thereby adding layers to the painting.
Time
https://open.spotify.com/track/7Cm64b7jEXwzY1ZcKm46ZX?si=MKb6AVMtRJCVDXWtuKmS3Q
Sometimes it takes an event to give you focus.
I have had the basic chords and music kicking around for ages. I just couldn't find what I was trying to say with it.
Then one day it happened. After that, I knew exactly what this song had to say, why I had been living with it for so long and why it had to have a mambo, or should I say the shadow of a mambo, at the end.
So Many Moments
https://open.spotify.com/track/3wiqxLIf31Ii4NBEZ9KhwM?si=_xQj_ErfRqGkLt-z7Nfvhw
There was only one way to wrap up this album: - So Many Moments
2 things worth mentioning here.
One of the themes is taken from a traditional Jewish prayer that asks God to open our lips for us, so that we may speak the truth. I have no interest in peddling religion, but I felt the declaration was independently beautiful, pertinent to the reflective yearning of the song and in the spirit of what I was trying to express.
The other is that I really enjoyed playing the lead guitar break, which I feel expresses more than I could ever put into words.