It's like watching your own little kid grow up. Through the bad, the good, the ugly, and the beautiful, he still keeps on living. We've known cinematic post-rock multi-instrumentalist Christoffer Franzèn since the very early days of his musical existence. Lights & Motion is his artist name, though it is only the yielding moniker from his efforts and passion through soundcraft. Yes, we at EARMILK do love EDM, but little do you know that each one of us here have our own little fire for smaller niches of music, such as cinematic post-rock. We've known about Franzen. We've followed him ever since he was known as Aerials, ever since he was by himself slaving away through the night, ever since Deep Elm Recordings adopted him into their family. We have been watching over him ever since the beginning.
As Franzen and the folks from Deep Elm Recordings sent over a very exclusive first look of Save Your Heart, which is due on November 12, he included a small note describing what this album and music in general means to him.
"…This is me doing the thing I love and this is me sharing the things that I am most afraid of. Save Your Heart is conceptually about not giving up on the things that make you lose track of time, that make you feel something and the things that make you realize that maybe there is something that you are born to do. Music is that way for me, and it has always been. At the same time It´s hard not to give up on your dreams, because dreaming takes courage and a lot of sacrifice. This new album isn't just 11 songs gathered in one place. It is my past and present, my confidence and my insecurities, my bright days and my dark days. And I hope that it manages to break through. Because I don't ever take it for granted. Being able to dream is a human right, and everyday I do my best not to lose sight of that dream that is still so very clear to me…"
His debut album Reanimation, which was released nearly a year ago, was welcomed with open arms from the post-rock world. It seemed like he would only be known in this music scene, but soon enough his work and hype exploded into mass media. What media, you ask? From the trailers to The Lone Survivor and Homefront, and a Google TV commercial during the Oscars, it certainly has paid off as he is closing in on a whopping 777,000 SoundCloud followers. The only time we've seen that many followers for an artists is for high profile musicians and already famous celebrities. The numbers don't lie, much like his work.
Save Your Heart is the official sophomore album for Franzen, though you might it can be an epic expansion of his debut album Reanimation. He himself is a night owl, working feverishly under the stars to compose, to iterate, to define who he is and what he is capable of. Unlike his first album, Save Your Heart is piano driven, taking on a much larger role in his emotional conveyance. With that, comes the epic tale of his latest album. Wordless it may be, but the sheer power and the raw orchestral symphonies layers down upon us with such great force that makes it clear to us words or optional, not a necessity.
If triumph is to Reanimation, then passion is to Save Your Heart. The album appropriately opens with a song titled “Heart Beats”. Calming strings and ambiance lure you into the first seconds of the album. Slowly but surely, the crescendo starts to get heavier and heavier as elements unite into releasing climax. The plateau of the song drops into an airy abyss, sending you well on your way to down a long journey of audio ecstasy.
Play: Lights & Motion – Heartbeats
As you close your eyes and drift into Franzen’s world in the waning seconds of “Heart Beats”, it seamlessly transitions into the following song called “Ultraviolet”. This short two minute song is the rapid explosion of tempo and decibel. The color ultraviolet is invisible to the naked eye, but Franzen has brought it to life for our ears to experience.
“Sparks” is the first time we clearly hear a dominant guitar in the introduction. Love, if you will, seems to be the theme of this particular song. Franzen keeps things mellow overall, excluding crashing rides or overbearing effects. This song is also the first time we get a glimpse of vocals utilized, a precursor to further things to come in the album.
One can say that Franzen isn’t composing or developing albums, but instead pieces of art that emphasize the intangibles. He has a knack for pushing the rights buttons in our souls, and his secret is his heart. Pouring everything into these songs is his claim to fame, and it is surely snowballing with great effect. With a genuine outlook on his musical prowess, he leaves no room for error in his endeavors. “Shimmer” is a mostly ambient tune, focusing on orchestral strings. It’s a relatively slow song, though everything Franzen does is for a reason. The pace of this particular tune has an underlying mood of shining through the tough days and times of your life. As it’s titled, shimmering is the key to pace yourself through the mundane and the grey. To breakthrough, if you will.
Leave it all behind, says the next song “Snow”. Booming toms kicks the medley off to score your adventurous prowess. Distinct vocals are mixed into the layering, giving it a majestic, yet light appeal to the song. However, we are quickly turned around in the latter half of “Snow”. It all breaks loose into a frenzied and explosive climax, much like the snow being picked up by violet winds, tossing it into a harmonic power trip. "Bright Eyes" marks the halfway point in our audio adventure, as well as a turn for the different. Here, we hear he first distinct vocals utilized in any of his songs. Though it does have some lyrics, the same quality of power and emotions ooze from the very bindings.
Play: Lights & Motion – Snow
The latter half of Save Your Heart hosts shorter rounds than compared to the opening half of songs. Tracks like the ambient "Orbit" or the haunting "We Are Ghosts" signify an emotional transition to a bittersweet end. "Save Your Heart" appropriately closes the album out and acts as the accumulation of everything up until that point with one final release. It's not that the album Save Your Heart is a package of songs, but more of an artist rendering of Franzen's emotions and feelings.
Save Your Heart is definitely a worthy sophomore album to follow such a massive debut album. It's a statement of Fraznen's musical ability and passion. It's his love. It's his life. It's him, himself. It's yet another epic score for everything intangible. Love, lust, heartbreak, and passion are painted onto blank airwaves. It's Aa auditory canvas expertly brushed to convey the impossible. Save Your Heart is definitely one for the times and will surely lay the path for Franzen and his ear to new heights and beyond.
It's like watching your own little kid grow up. Through the bad, the good, the ugly, and the beautiful, he still keeps on living. We've known cinematic post-rock multi-instrumentalist Christoffer Franzèn since the very early days of his musical existence. Lights & Motion is his artist name, though it is only the yielding moniker from his efforts and passion through soundcraft. Yes, we at EARMILK do love EDM, but little do you know that each one of us here have our own little fire for smaller niches of music, such as cinematic post-rock. We've known about Franzen. We've followed him ever since he was known as Aerials, ever since he was by himself slaving away through the night, ever since Deep Elm Recordings adopted him into their family. We have been watching over him ever since the beginning.
As Franzen and the folks from Deep Elm Recordings sent over a very exclusive first look of Save Your Heart, which is due on November 12, he included a small note describing what this album and music in general means to him.
"A year in the making and a lot of lonely nights have crystallized itself into my new Lights & Motion album Save Your Heart. In January I gathered the courage to release my debut album Reanimation and I haven´t stopped since. In fact, I have barely left the studio all together. This isn´t just music to me, this IS me. This is me doing the thing I love and this is me sharing the things that I am most afraid of. Save Your Heart is conceptually about not giving up on the things that make you lose track of time, that make you feel something and the things that make you realize that maybe there is something that you are born to do. Music is that way for me, and it has always been. At the same time It´s hard not to give up on your dreams, because dreaming takes courage and a lot of sacrifice. This new album isn't just 11 songs gathered in one place. It is my past and present, my confidence and my insecurities, my bright days and my dark days. And I hope that it manages to break through. Because I don't ever take it for granted. Being able to dream is a human right, and everyday I do my best not to lose sight of that dream that is still so very clear to me…"
His debut album Reanimation, which was released nearly a year ago, was welcomed with open arms from the post-rock world. It seemed like he would only be known in this music scene, but soon enough his work and hype exploded into mass media. What media, you ask? From the trailers to The Lone Survivor and Homefront, and a Google TV commercial during the Oscars, it certainly has paid off as he is closing in on a whopping 777,000 SoundCloud followers. The only time we've seen that many followers for an artist is for high profile musicians and already famous celebrities. The numbers don't lie, much like his work.
Save Your Heart is the official sophomore album for Franzen, though you might it can be an epic expansion of his debut album Reanimation. He himself is a night owl, working feverishly under the stars to compose, to iterate, to define who he is and what he is capable of. Unlike his first album, Save Your Heart is piano driven, taking on a much larger role in his emotional conveyance. With that, comes the epic tale of his latest album. Wordless it may be, but the sheer power and the raw orchestral symphonies layers down upon us with such great force that makes it clear to us words or optional, not a necessity.
If triumph is to Reanimation, then passion is to Save Your Heart. The album appropriately opens with a song titled “Heart Beats”. Calming strings and ambiance lure you into the first seconds of the album. Slowly but surely, the crescendo starts to get heavier and heavier as elements unite into releasing climax. The plateau of the song drops into an airy abyss, sending you well on your way to down a long journey of audio ecstasy.
As you close your eyes and drift into Franzen’s world in the waning seconds of “Heart Beats”, it seamlessly transitions into the following song called “Ultraviolet”. This short two minute song is the rapid explosion of tempo and decibel. The color ultraviolet is invisible to the naked eye, but Franzen has brought it to life for our ears to experience.
“Sparks” is the first time we clearly hear a dominant guitar in the introduction. Love, if you will, seems to be the theme of this particular song. Franzen keeps things mellow overall, excluding crashing rides or overbearing effects. This song is also the first time we get a glimpse of vocals utilized, a precursor to further things to come in the album.
One can say that Franzen isn’t composing or developing albums, but instead pieces of art that emphasize the intangibles. He has a knack for pushing the rights buttons in our souls, and his secret is his heart. Pouring everything into these songs is his claim to fame, and it is surely snowballing with great effect. With a genuine outlook on his musical prowess, he leaves no room for error in his endeavors. “Shimmer” is a mostly ambient tune, focusing on orchestral strings. It’s a relatively slow song, though everything Franzen does is for a reason. The pace of this particular tune has an underlying mood of shining through the tough days and times of your life. As it’s titled, shimmering is the key to pace yourself through the mundane and the grey. To breakthrough, if you will.
Leave it all behind, says the next song “Snow”. Booming toms kicks the medley off to score your adventurous prowess. Distinct vocals are mixed into the layering, giving it a majestic, yet light appeal to the song. However, we are quickly turned around in the latter half of “Snow”. It all breaks loose into a frenzied and explosive climax, much like the snow being picked up by violet winds, tossing it into a harmonic power trip. "Bright Eyes" marks the halfway point in our audio adventure, as well as a turn for the different. Here, we hear he first distinct vocals utilized in any of his songs. Though it does have some lyrics, the same quality of power and emotions ooze from the very bindings.
The latter half of Save Your Heart hosts shorter rounds than compared to the opening half of songs. Tracks like the ambient "Orbit" or the haunting "We Are Ghosts" signify an emotional transition to a bittersweet end. "Save Your Heart" appropriately closes the album out and acts as the accumulation of everything up until that point with one final release. It's not that the album Save Your Heart is a package of songs, but more of an artist rendering of Franzen's emotions and feelings.
"A year in the making and a lot of lonely nights have crystallized itself into my new Lights & Motion album Save Your Heart. In January I gathered the courage to release my debut album Reanimation and I haven´t stopped since. In fact, I have barely left the studio all together. This isn´t just music to me, this IS me."
Save Your Heart is definitely an album of the times. Franzen is still in his musical birth stage, and this album showcases the high potential for him to develop and grow not only as a musician but a master of the arts.
