Crafted in the icy confines of an old fish factory, the single reflects the solitude and grandeur of the Icelandic landscapes. "Astronaut, or Blues Singer" features a collaboration with poet and translator AKaiser (akexperiments.org), fusing poignant verses with Mel·lif·lu·ous's alternative singer-songwriter style. (mel-lif-lu-ous.com)
On a snowy evening in Iceland, I returned home from the studio to find that AK~ had left a copy of her book, glint, on my bed.
I sat on my small bed at midnight, listening to the wind whistling and watching the snow fall, and flipped through the book. I looked for a piece that might work as a song. I landed on a page of words where I could feel Iceland and its loneliness and isolation.
The next day, I started the bones of this song. I got AK~ to listen to ensure the poem's integrity was not altered. Then I realized that I only took the last page of the poem. I missed the first part (that’s what happens when you do things at 2 in the morning). So I decided to layer those extra words into the background as texture in the song.
A collaboration with Poet & Translator AKaiser (akexperiments.org) and her poem, “Astronaut, Or Blues Singer” (glint, Milk & Cake Press).
Special thanks to NES Artist Residency (neslist.is) for their generous support in providing access to their captivating town of Skagatrönd in Iceland and its inspiring creative spaces.
Additionally, heartfelt thanks go out to all the talented artists who are helping me perform this song
Astronaut, or Blues Singer by AKaiser
(“Astronaut, or Blues Singer”, glint, Milk & Cake Press, 2019)
I’ve always wanted to travel 1.28 light seconds
away -
be there to hear where howls originate
my breath an atmosphere
so tenuous, it’s almost a vacuum.
Wear big boots and a big head.
Kick up moon dust (if gravity allows).
Gardened surface, the texture of snow,
the scent of gunpowder, spent.
Swim over worn asphalt grey lunar mare,
reflecting. Trip out of this sphere
into another. Closer the rays of stars,
rivuleting. Ivory, albacore.
Ancient ice needles spiking at the bottom
of a crater iron-clad in endless shadow.
Crunch the gravel of crustal highlands.
A place where falling does
not occur.
Imploding? Yes. Crushing silence.
Touch a still source of tides, the bulging
oceans, our coursing blood.
Translucent veils of constellations, inexplicable
nuclei. Elastic, plasmic sorrow traverses
the ink-dark night, pocketed with fires of light.
---
I’ve always wanted to be a blues singer.
The gravity
of the sink
of a voice a rush a tide
of hot blood breathing.
Quake of diaphragm birthing
waves of sound. Silence
at the end of each song -
suspended.
That loneliness.
Delve into it. Sit with it. Float
it. Sing it.
Split the moon. Hold on
for dear life in rough waters
umbilical cord rooting its way
attaching life
as we know it as
we think we want it.
Fill the body with air. Steal
breaths - release them into
the space
of a dark bar with starlights mirrored
across liquid bottles and
trembling lips.
Rhythm of lift – inertia - descent.
Escape velocity leaves me
heaving volcanic beads on my brow
head spinning from a deep
note from a deep
expanse inside the body
cavern in the universe.
What’s the difference?
The rattle is not the message light years
away –
it’s bone marrow vibrating
vast pools of basaltic lava searching
for shape. Before, the moon directed
boundaries between
mutable and imperishable.
Now, I form my own permanent
asymmetric spectral cloud, my own
halo of icicles orbiting
pillars of eternal light.
credits
from Spákonufell,
released December 7, 2023
MUSIC: Lara Kroeker (AKA Mel·lif·lu·ous)
LYRICS: AKaiser (akexperiments.org)
PRODUCER: Lara Kroeker (AKA mel-lif-lu-ous.com)
CO-PRODUCER Loc Dao
MASTERING: Loc Dao
An artist who defies convention, fusing classical, pop, and electronic influences. With her voice and violin as her primary
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