Water: Ballade
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Multi-faceted, dynamic and emotional music from an otherwise loudly emphatic and colorful rock band showcasing the more sentimental, lyric and melody-driven side of the group with soaring vocals, big drums and raw guitar, featuring impressionistic piano.
The third project from our band, this EP represents another side of our musicality. As we have a very wide range of musical influences and rich background in the arts and culture, we've decided to allow a momentary departure from what we consider to be our heavier music allowing the chance for simplicity; as far as our definition of "simplicity" can go. And as it stands, our namesake never falters: have an open mind - or - expect nothing. Because we've even surprised ourselves with the production and arrangement choices of this project; it being the first featuring the classical piano background of our lead singer.
Following "Not Enough" and "New - EP", "Water - EP" continues the trend of short releases but tells a big story about our band members, the people around us and the world we live in. Water conceptualizes many types of motion, change, growth, discovery and mystery making it the very logical next step as our group prepares to make bigger strides, really departing from our days in higher education under the blanketed protection of our parental guardians. Each track represents a different landscape on the character's journey from somewhere familiar to somewhere serendipitous - the character being just about anybody or anything the listener relates to as per our ideal of leaving some level of self-interpretation to our music.
Represented in the album artwork by long-time artistic collaborator, Naoya Esa, is a room not particularly identified to be on land, at sea or anywhere in particular, with bay windows on either side of the viewer showing: 1. The vast, endless ocean. 2. The land split by a nourishing river and 3. The flourishing thickets of the mangroves. A mirror shows that what's behind does not seem so different as what is ahead by appearance alone, the water clock shows the passing of time, and the map, though laid out on one surface, is replaced by a friendly "sea monster" trying to escape on another.
The music is very largely impressionistic, and though it can be understood as melancholy, it comes from a place of happiness, ambition and excitement. The bittersweet lessons told by the vocals are enriched with the dense sonorous arrangement of piano, a steady and grounded foundation of drums and percussion and a seemingly pulsating drive of guitars. It has been compared to works predominantly lead by singer-songwriters as members of influential and strong bands. Because much like how New - EP showcased drums, Water - EP showcases vocals.
A self-produced group, "Nihil Admirari” of NYC is a culturally aware brotherhood from the US, Japan and The Bahamas with colorfully influenced artistic backgrounds citing everything from graphic novels to clavichord suites since 2016. They boast rock-based multi-genre and emotional music, while sharing a common vision for success, here to tell you about our similarities, to question unspoken truth and to show the industry that having an open mind can result in unexpected discoveries especially when there’s food and anything sugary around." - Nihil Admirari website, July '18
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