an EP by Christopher Johnson-Roberson
This EP represents an eclectic mix of synth pop, folk, and rock that defies classification. Reflecting a diverse set of inspirations, this work aspires to blend some of the many styles that have been represented in my prior work (as well as introducing some new elements) with the aim of gradually developing a coherent artistic statement.
The "observatory" of the title does not signify a unifying concept so much as a description of the nature of the album; all of these songs, however abstract and introvert some of them may appear, are based on my experiences and emotions as created by external sources. It is hoped that by the synthesis and conjunction of these ideas, the listener may obtain at least some inkling of the feeling behind this music.
An analogy: imagine yourself, if you will, standing in the center of a vast dome on Pluto, provisioned with a enormous telescope that allows you to peer to the farthest reaches of outer space. Turn it now towards the Earth: witness all the microcosmic activity, the ebb and flow of human interaction, both the solitary individuals and those surrounded by great crowds. All of this is viewed from that distant vantage point, with an inquisitive eye and a gentle sensibility, and suddenly you realize that it's not quite so far away after all; there's coldness, true, but there can be such warmth.
That, precisely, is my intent.
This EP is dedicated to Clare Foran, a great long-term supporter and an excellent friend. As always, love and thanks to all friends and family.
Track list:
- 1. Ever Found (2:50)
- 2. This Life (2:18)
- 3. Reverie (2:36)
- 4. Moving Pictures (2:07)
- 5. Too Late (1:57)
- 6. Where We Are (1:28)
- 7. Memory (3:06)
- 8. Sea (0:51)
- 9. We Become Electric (2:09)
- 10. My Love (1:20)
- 11. Reconciliation (0:43)
1. Ever Found (2:50)
A girl passes ten streetlamps Counts haloes that glow A city lies wistfully covered in snow Never lost is ever found (This song will guide your way) Her hands are brimming with fabric She weaved long ago Recalling how lives fell to tactics, the blood that she knows Never lost is ever found (This song will guide your way) A home at war, its beauty shorn Memory fills with grief already careworn Never lost is ever found (This song will guide your way) Tumekuta dahari (We've always found it)Listen
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2. This Life (2:18)
This life is a patchwork on the mend This life is a coil that never ends Mute eyes abide Wait for what comes next And though we've tried We cannot stop it Cannot stop it now Toss caution to the gleam of the waves The taste of Summer nights revisited All confusion drains away Replaced with this Luminous remembrance What's past is always there Give yourself up Filling in the seams at every tear No one can take it Can take it away Your life coruscatesListen
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3. Reverie (2:36)
Takes some courage to say It doesn't matter at all The sky is a mirror A heavenly sphere (It's blooming stars) Celestial perfection Drawing us near I know that I've been told That this can never be But what becomes of us, if this is but a dream? (It doesn't matter at all) Floating relative Suspended in time Your love was graven there And so was mine So was mine I'll be waiting To meet you on the road, someday We'll walk down misty paths And maybe find a home, someday It doesn't matter at all, at all...Listen
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4. Moving Pictures (2:07)
This is where I get off A train stops in the city Makes a perfect scene If only it had grown a trace of green See what we've been missing In photographs that shift within their frames, That blossom in their frames I saw almost a smile But your dear face was absent Just a cryptic caption A backdrop, with the portrait left undone Your spirit travelled quiet, intangible, In longing for the land In mourning for the land Distant visions of trees A telescopic sighting Of a woman who dreamed In seeing her, I felt at once redeemed Ideas in landscapes; a way of traveling To places yet unknown, To wishes yet unknown Here where nothing is real Imagination reigning We have freedom through sound I wish these concrete walls would tumble down A voice is chanting; it sings in solitude; It bids you, "Look beyond" It begs you, "Look beyond"Listen
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5. Too Late (1:57)
We drew the starting line in a circle 'round ourselves It's not like you to equivocate But I had always known that I would Wait and see the future stretching out If only we could have that courage If only we could have that fate Too late to begin with Too late to begin Too late to -- Too late, too late... We tried to run and saw that nothing ever changed Sifting through the ash and dust that fall like snow Upon this wide and ancient lane I have not yet been blessed to hear The voices singing in the vale As we lie softly underneath And with the earth and stone now meld Too late to begin with Too late to begin Too late to -- Too late, too lateListen
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6. Where We Are (1:28)
I listened carefully To the words you had said So simple in seeming I thought up a scheme In a fitful daydream Hoped I'd remember the way Wondering where we are Just get in the car, We're going nowhere Walk across a broken rhythm Tried to span a chasm Each time there's a new one caving in So why begin? Wondering where we are Just get in the car, We're going nowhere (Where we are nowhere)Listen
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7. Memory (3:06)
Things I cannot imagine Lie seductively in memory Just out of reach Safe in their cocoons of hesitation Why must she so elude me? I can't recall a reason, a face, or a name And thus I am forced, by time, By fate, by weakness, to carry all the blame I see in your eyes that you doubt me I see that you will forget I've been to an alternate realm Where icebergs and oceans hover in midair I saw no people there The alien landscape filled my heart with fear Lying down in nocturnal glare Which somnolently flowed around my head I tried to sink in the ice And join the ranks of other spirits dead Ah, the stars here are broken Ah, the constellations dim (She is rising from the depth)Listen
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8. Sea (0:51)
[instrumental] ListenBack to top
9. We Become Electric (2:09)
Through the window The light is seen as many hues (Refracted) Sweet distraction lends a hand Till you and I lie beneath the sun We become electric See the beauty of a palace on a distant peak (Enchanted) Rejoice in the ascent Like birds above a sparkling sea We become electricListen
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10. My Love (1:20)
My love wears a soft velvet cloak It warms up her shoulders as wind eastward blows But she would swear that nobody knows She would swear that nobody knows My love has a bracelet of oak It gives her some comfort when tears overflow And they do still, wherever she goes They do still, wherever she goes My love peered through billows of smoke The end of all yearning a great peace bestows Now she lies bare, her heart is a rose She lies bare, her heart is a roseListen
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11. Reconciliation (0:43)
[instrumental] ListenBack to top
E-mail: vokuro@adelphia.net