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█▒ Artist - Ziemba ▒█
█▒ Title - Unsubtle Magic ▒█
█▒ ▒█
█▒ Genre - Indie Time - 37:20 ▒█
█▒ Label - Sister Polygon Records Size - 80.73 MB ▒█
█▒ ▒█
█▒ Format - Album Bitrate - 320 kbps ▒█
█▒ Year - 2021 Freq - 44.1 kHz ▒█
█▒ Source - MP3 Encoder - Lame 3.99.5 ▒█
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▌░ ▒▒▒│ tracklist │▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ ░▐
▌░ └─────────────┘ ░▐
▌░ ░▐
▌░ 01. Gushing Water 1:24 ░▐
▌░ 02. Only Lonely Christmas 4:41 ░▐
▌░ 03. Will You Haunt Me? 4:13 ░▐
▌░ 04. Fear 4:51 ░▐
▌░ 05. Set In Ice 3:20 ░▐
▌░ 06. A Nightmare 3:05 ░▐
▌░ 07. Sandia Crest 4:25 ░▐
▌░ 08. Time Doesn't Freeze 5:08 ░▐
▌░ 09. I'll Be Home For Christmas 2:37 ░▐
▌░ 10. Unsubtle Magic 3:36 ░▐
▌░ ░▐
▌░ ░▐
▌░ ▄▄▄┌─────────────┐▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄ ░▐
▌░ ▒▒▒│ rip notes │▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ ░▐
▌░ └─────────────┘ ░▐
▌░ ░▐
▌░ The holiday season is a horrible time to be grieving. Family ░▐
▌░ gatherings and omnipresent nostalgia can amplify a loved ░▐
▌░ oneÆs absence, becoming constant reminders of what is lost. ░▐
▌░ RenΘ Kladzyk -- the songwriter, producer, vocalist and ░▐
▌░ pianist behind Ziemba -- is acutely aware of that feeling. ░▐
▌░ After KladzykÆs father suffered a stroke in December 2019 and ░▐
▌░ died on January 2, 2020, Christmas associations were ░▐
▌░ radically and permanently transformed. ZiembaÆs new full ░▐
▌░ length album, Unsubtle Magic, navigates the holiday season ░▐
▌░ through the lens of grief; journeying ôa year and a dayö from ░▐
▌░ the initial loss through the following Christmas, a grim ░▐
▌░ anniversary. ░▐
▌░ ░▐
▌░ ôTime doesnÆt freeze just cuz you want it to,ö Kladzyk sings ░▐
▌░ on the albumÆs third to last track, a soaring winter anthem ░▐
▌░ that doubles as a childlike tantrum, lamenting the ░▐
▌░ irrefutable nature of change. ôI donÆt surrender to this ░▐
▌░ life!ö belts Kladzyk while an insistent chorus counters ôall ░▐
▌░ you love youÆll lose.ö The music gets bigger and bigger, ░▐
▌░ featuring a horn section carving out subterranean tunnels of ░▐
▌░ sound, and then poof! ItÆs all gone. Only the piano remains ░▐
▌░ with a stubbornly melancholic refrain. ░▐
▌░ ░▐
▌░ KladzykÆs piano sits at the beating center of the musically ░▐
▌░ eclectic album, bearing influences ranging from zany New Wave ░▐
▌░ to baroque pop to 1970s art rock. ôIt was my dadÆs piano, and ░▐
▌░ was in my childhood home growing up-- the first piano I ever ░▐
▌░ played on,ö said Kladzyk, describing the process of recording ░▐
▌░ the upright Steinway at her home in El Paso, Texas, with her ░▐
▌░ vocal mic carefully propped above the belly of the piano. ░▐
▌░ Much of the album, like the piano itself, carries traces of ░▐
▌░ the musical legacy of KladzykÆs father, including a cover of ░▐
▌░ one of his songs: Set in Ice, penned in December 1974 while ░▐
▌░ he worked as a touring musician under the moniker Aurel Roy. ░▐
▌░ ôMy dad quit playing music when my mom got pregnant with my ░▐
▌░ older sister, and he really didnÆt talk about that chapter of ░▐
▌░ his life much. But it brought him so much joy when I began ░▐
▌░ pursuing music in earnest,ö Kladzyk said. ôHe was my biggest ░▐
▌░ fan and most trusted advisor, the person I shared demos with ░▐
▌░ for honest, sometimes brutal feedback.ö ░▐
▌░ ░▐
▌░ KladzykÆs dad was ôreally into Christmas -- he thoroughly ░▐
▌░ inhabited Santaness,ö and cultivated a deep love of the ░▐
▌░ holidays and holiday music in Kladzyk, who has released ░▐
▌░ annual Christmas mixes for the past decade, and made a winter ░▐
▌░ solstice EP in 2015. ôA lot of my earliest singing memories ░▐
▌░ are singing Christmas carols with my sister year-round when ░▐
▌░ we were little kids ù something that would have been pure ░▐
▌░ torture for anyone other than my Dad. So Christmas music has ░▐
▌░ always occupied a big part of my musical consciousness,ö ░▐
▌░ Kladzyk said. ôAnd as an adult IÆve always been the person ░▐
▌░ making the campaign for Christmas music.ö But although much ░▐
▌░ of Unsubtle Magic takes place in a Christmas-tinged world, ░▐
▌░ the album focuses more on the evolution of grief than it does ░▐
▌░ on the æmost wonderful time of the year.Æ ░▐
▌░ ░▐
▌░ While early songs of Unsubtle Magic are marked with vivid ░▐
▌░ descriptions of the immediate aftermath of KladzykÆs dadÆs ░▐
▌░ death (Gushing Water, Only Lonely Christmas), later songs ░▐
▌░ grapple with depression and the destabilizing nature of ░▐
▌░ losing a parent (Fear, A Nightmare). In what Kladzyk called ░▐
▌░ an ôalmost chronologicalö album sequence, Unsubtle Magic ░▐
▌░ closes with a return to the holiday season via a campy, ░▐
▌░ post-punk rendition of IÆll Be Home for Christmas, and the ░▐
▌░ existential solitude of winter in the albumÆs title track. ░▐
▌░ KladzykÆs writing is immediate and cutting, with musical ░▐
▌░ arrangements that emphasize the volatile emotional minefield ░▐
▌░ of a great loss. Will You Haunt Me pairs tensely staccato ░▐
▌░ synths and lilting vocals with a description of the ░▐
▌░ realization of her fatherÆs imminent death. ôOh holy night oh ░▐
▌░ living hell,ö she sings, narrating a panicked inner monologue ░▐
▌░ at the hospital. ░▐
▌░ ░▐
▌░ In ôunfortunate pandemic style,ö this is the first Ziemba ░▐
▌░ album where Kladzyk never stepped foot in a recording studio: ░▐
▌░ all vocals, synths and piano were recorded at her house in El ░▐
▌░ Paso. Full band tracking happened remotely, with Kladzyk ░▐
▌░ virtually attending sessions. At one point there was ░▐
▌░ concurrent album tracking in three states. Players include ░▐
▌░ many past Ziemba collaborators: Don Godwin (of Too Free, ░▐
▌░ Clear Channel, Gauche, Beauty Pill, Zlatne Uste) who mixed ░▐
▌░ the 2020 Ziemba album True Romantic was ôthe heroö of ░▐
▌░ Unsubtle Magic. He played drums, bass, full horn sections, ░▐
▌░ ample sleigh bells, and mixed and co-produced the record. Jay ░▐
▌░ Heiselmann (of Grooms, Roya) contributed guitars; he plays in ░▐
▌░ KladzykÆs country band Rhinestone and co-produced part of the ░▐
▌░ 2019 Ziemba album ARDIS. Chris Gaskell, who also played on ░▐
▌░ True Romantic, played bass, and longtime collaborator ░▐
▌░ Elizabeth LoPiccolo played flute. Megan Gould (of David ░▐
▌░ Byrne, Philip Glass, Giannis Markopoulos, Lou Reed) and Liam ░▐
▌░ OÆBrien (of Lizzie No) contributed strings. ôEven though itÆs ░▐
▌░ a full band record, itÆs also a very solitary record,ö said ░▐
▌░ Kladzyk, explaining how most of the songs were born out of a ░▐
▌░ year of living alone in the extra-isolating circumstances of ░▐
▌░ the COVID-19 pandemic. ░▐
▌░ ░▐
▌░ Kladzyk, who works as a journalist at an El Paso news outlet, ░▐
▌░ spent much of the past year reporting on the tremendous death ░▐
▌░ toll caused by COVID-19. The scale of human loss in recent ░▐
▌░ years weighs heavily on the record and shaped KladzykÆs ░▐
▌░ intentions for making it. ôI used to think that I only wanted ░▐
▌░ to make music that was uplifting or that had fundamentally ░▐
▌░ positive messages that I was espousing. I donÆt really feel ░▐
▌░ that way anymore,ö she said. ôThere have been times when I've ░▐
▌░ been so overcome with sadness. IÆve really needed music that ░▐
▌░ could commiserate with me and tell me that IÆm not alone in ░▐
▌░ those feelings. And so thatÆs what IÆm trying to do with this ░▐
▌░ -- offer these songs up for other people who need someone to ░▐
▌░ commiserate with them in their pain.ö ░▐
▌░ ░▐
▌░ But like much of KladzykÆs discography, Unsubtle Magic is ░▐
▌░ fundamentally hopeful. ôScared for holidays and the way the ░▐
▌░ present colors the past / I hope someday to love Christmas ░▐
▌░ and believe in magic again,ö Kladzyk sings wistfully on the ░▐
▌░ track Sandia Crest, recounting a starlit walk spent ░▐
▌░ scattering her auntÆs ashes. The songs became their own ░▐
▌░ medicine, a ôChristmas music immersion therapyö for Kladzyk ░▐
▌░ to reframe the anniversary the next time it comes around. ░▐
▌░ ░▐
▌░ ôI remember at one point driving back to the hospital when my ░▐
▌░ Dad was there-- he was still alive but we knew he was going ░▐
▌░ to die -- and I remember hearing a Christmas song on the ░▐
▌░ radio and it triggering this cascade of painful feelings: ░▐
▌░ like nothing would ever be good again, I would never be the ░▐
▌░ same person again, this giant piece of my heart and my ░▐
▌░ childhood and who I was, was now lost forever. And some of ░▐
▌░ thatÆs true. But I remember feeling like, æOh I donÆt want ░▐
▌░ this to be the case and Dad wouldnÆt want this to be the ░▐
▌░ case.Æ So a lot of these songs stem from the desire to come ░▐
▌░ to terms with this new world without my Dad, to still be able ░▐
▌░ to celebrate and experience joy without him.ö ░▐
▌░ credits ░▐
▌░ released December 10, 2021 ░▐
▌░ ░▐
▌░ All songs written by RenΘ Kladzyk with the exception of Set ░▐
▌░ in Ice, written by Frank Kladzyk, and IÆll Be Home for ░▐
▌░ Christmas, written by Kim Gannon and Walter Kent. ░▐
▌░ Produced by Don Godwin and RenΘ Kladzyk ░▐
▌░ Mixed by Don Godwin ░▐
▌░ Mastered by Sarah Register ░▐
▌░ Recorded in El Paso, Texas; Takoma Park, Maryland; Los ░▐
▌░ Angeles, California; and Brooklyn, New York. ░▐
▌░ Released by Sister Polygon Records ░▐
▌░ Cover art by Dian Liang, design by Robert Beatty ░▐
▌░ ░▐
▌░ Vocals, piano, synths: RenΘ Kladzyk ░▐
▌░ Drums, bass, trumpet, tuba, trombone, tons of sleigh bells: ░▐
▌░ Don Godwin ░▐
▌░ Bass: Chris Gaskell ░▐
▌░ Guitar: Jay Heiselmann ░▐
▌░ Flute: Elizabeth LoPiccolo ░▐
▌░ Strings: Megan Gould ░▐
▌░ Strings: Liam OÆBrien ░▐
▌░ Barks, doggie door swings, running across wood floors during ░▐
▌░ very quiet takes: Penny ░▐
▌░ ░▐
▌░ Special thanks to Don Godwin (!!! YouÆre amazing), Daniele ░▐
▌░ Yandel, Anna Kladzyk, Adri Perez, Aidan Wachter for gifting ░▐
▌░ me that magic microphone, and the choir of guardian angels: ░▐
▌░ Frank Kladzyk, Marie Josephine (Ziemba) Kladzyk, Kathryn ░▐
▌░ Brown, Thomas Kladzyk, Joan Lundahl Sr., Anne McCann, and ░▐
▌░ Woody the wonder dog. ░▐
▌░ ░▐
▌░ ░▐
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▌░ ▒▒▒│ marr │▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ ░▐
▌░ └─────────────┘ ░▐
▌░ ░▐
▌░ indie . pop . rock . shoegaze . dream . jangle . twee ░▐
▌░ chamber . noise . c-86 . college . goth . post rock ░▐
▌░ kraut . post punk . darkwave . alternative . lo-fi ░▐
▌░ country . americana . folk . folk/rock . psychedelic rock ░▐
▌░ progressive rock . metal . heavy metal . hair metal ░▐
▌░ hard rock . math rock . grunge . classic rock . aor ░▐
▌░ southern rock . west coast . punk rock . hardcore . garage ░▐
▌░ avantgarde . classical . electronic . new wave . ambient ░▐
▌░ synthpop . leftfield ░▐
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https://www.deezer.com/us/album/271443052