A Dream Destination
Let’s go on an expedition. A journey of sorts. Let your shackles go. You don’t have to be prepared. It doesn’t matter if the purpose eludes you. It’s okay if you don’t know why you’re here, but make something, go somewhere, do whatever makes you feel. Allow the relevance of your surroundings to permeate into the soil of your wellbeing, and most importantly, be honest with yourself. If you fear change, say it. Acknowledge the uncharted. Bring the tides to fruition. Let wave pummel over wave like a rising current of innovation.
Embers as an EP shifts from concern to surrender. A reflection on the inevitability of change versus the quicksand of stagnation. A sense of acceptance becomes the overriding theme – an ascension into the seasons flow. The essence of the earth plays a prominent role. A dreamland of mountains, sea, and sky. A threefold concession of Man’s mortality projected in the folds of Mother Nature.
Dangerfields have produced a powerful Post Punk debut, rendering a sound inventive enough to occupy the role of outsider, as well as insider – in terms of the music industry. This four piece have their roots in Cape Town and consist of Lucas Swart (Guitar, Vocals, Keyboard), Calvin Siderfin (Bass), Joshua Van Zyl (Guitar), and Nicolaas Rossouw (Drums). Embers was recorded by Warren Fisher and Yan Sanchez at Cape Audio College, mixed by Warren Fisher at Outer Space, and mastered by Tim Lengfeld at TL Mastering.
The cover artwork, at its core, condenses the role of identity. Memories smoulder like wood or coal left over from a fire. As with the lyrics, the three prominent forces of nature are in context again. A dreamland of mountains, sea, and sky, smoke and flames rising higher and higher, clouding the summit. Vernon Swart is the artist and also the father of front man, Lucas Swart. The original is called Cliff House Fire and is available as a high quality print.
‘Bombs’ is the most memorable track on Embers. The song courses with sonorous pride, strobe lights searching the sky to announce the end of the world, and the melodies form as intangible as air, keeping the guise of a divination. You woke up to my golden voice | I gave you the illusion of choice. ‘Bombs’ builds into a chorus that is memorable and unforgettable, stringing aspirations along as it grows into a voice that shouts without screaming. Bombs are falling from the sky | and we’re invited | Bombs are falling from the sky | and we’re in hiding | in hiding.
‘Burn’ moves like an elegy, a mournful poem, a lament for a life that reeks fulfilment without cause, condition without destiny, and conduct without being. The wounds never heal because aggravation makes for a shameful cure. The image of fire comes again, burning at the foundation, begging for new life, a different beginning, a new way of being. Easier to stop, but difficult to start. And I need inspiration | A dream destination. Let go of control. Surrender to the inevitability of change. But I need motivation | A dream destination.
