Marjana Semkina – Sleepwalking
Format: CD – LP
Label: Kscope
Releasedatum: 14 februari 2020
Following the success of four highly praised albums with Iamthemorning, the lyricist, singer and co-songwriter Marjana (Mariana) Semkina’s spellbinding debut solo album, ‘Sleepwalking’ is out now through Kscope. The album will be released under an alternative spelling – Mariana Semkina.
Characterised by her composed and unique voice, complex melodic lines and poetic lyrics with literary references, Semkina has often compared favourably with Kate Bush. The new material draws from the Iamthemorning soundscape but exists fully in Marjana’s world; a compelling mixture of alternative folk, pop, drama, beauty and emotionally purging lyrics.
Marjana explains the motivation behind releasing a solo album “It wasn’t my plan to ascribe any profound meaning or concept to creating Sleepwalking, it’s purpose was more personally therapeutic, it was supposed just to help me get through some dark times, and at the end of that period in my life I found myself, not only renewed but with a collection of songs that were too personal to release under any other name other than my own.”
She continues “I wanted to use ‘Sleepwalking’ as a way to translate emotions in the most sincere and unrefined way. No sugarcoating, no filters, just creative, honest thought caught in the moment. Turning those dark times and feelings into pure creative energy, something beautiful, something that has purpose”
‘Sleepwalking’ is a musical blend akin to the darker folk of Aldous Harding, Marissa Nadler, Sumie and Florist. To aid her vision for ‘Sleepwalking’, Mariana invited renowned keyboardist, drummer and bassist Jordan Rudess (Dream Theater), Craig Blundell and Nick Beggs (Steven Wilson), as well as the St. Petersburg Orchestra “1703” and frequent collaborator Vlad Avy.
Mariana is teasing fans with a glimpse into what to expect with this trailer featuring four songs from Sleepwalking – “Am I Sleeping Or Am I Dead”, “Invisible”, “Turn Back Time”, “Mermaid Song” and “Still Life”.
The stunning album artwork makes reference to Semkina’s love for classical art, unifying photography with the 17th-Century Vanitas movement; “I am a big lover of classical art, and with this cover I wanted to create some sort of a unity between medium of photography and the Vanitas art movement, a genre of still life painting. The paintings of the genre usually contain collections of objects symbolic of the inevitability of death and the transience and vanity of earthly achievements and pleasures; it exhorts the viewer to consider mortality, which is extremely close to where this album came from.”
Tracks:
01. Dark Matter
02. Am I Sleeping Or Am I Dead
03. Turn Back Time
04. Ars Longa Vita Brevis
05. Invisible
06. Lost At Sea
07. Skin
08. How to Be Alone
09. Everything Burns
10. Mermaid Song
11. Still Life
Website: Marjana Semkina