When a musical connection is made nothing can destroy it. Having a like-minded artist to share your ideas with is invaluable. This allows music to be free and have multiple ears available to tweak it until it becomes a complete work of art. Our recent find Beatnik Neon is a testament to musical connections being everlasting.
The Los Angeles, California based duo of Nolan Farmer and Chris Greaney met many years ago and have been working on music projects together for the better part of a decade; though have never completed anything. A move by Nolan to Houston, Texas slowed them down but the draw of their musical connection would not die.
In 2015 they decided to dive back into music together as the project Beatnik Neon. Granted they were still many miles apart but the power of the internet made it doable. Nolan and Chris collaborating through emails and phone calls for a year setting up the basis for what would turn into Beatnik Neon’s debut album Atramentous. Chris flew to Texas to begin tracking the EP in April of 2016. After the completion of recording, it was decided to split the album into two separate EPs.
The first EP Atramentous Part I: In Darkness Reeling was released in October. The 7 track record is a concept album. It follows a fictional composer, regarded as one of the greats of his time, whose unwitting symphonies are products of a recurring dream. He awakes in agonizing pain, which will only grow in intensity until he finishes his current symphony. Some truly dark stuff.
The cacophony of sounds on “Mistaking Shapes For Sizes” welcomes the listener into this dark world of odd melodies and exotic noises. You are in for a somewhat psychedelic journey. The beautiful classic instrumental work on “Winter” shows the true talent that Beatnik Neon brings to the table. The song goes from classical to jazz to rock to minimalist genres all while continuing the story effortlessly.
The tempo and emotional energy are turned up on “Anger Lurking Amidst Dim Spaces”. The spoken word style of the vocals adds a new element to the story. The anger is real and passes directly through the speakers. The spacey sound of “Images Of” allow the mind of the listener to catch its breath over a pretty melody while sounds creep in the background ready for another attack on the senses.
Part II to this series will be released on 1/25/2017. Keep a look out for it at http://beatnikneon.com/