Damanek – In Flight

As you listen to On Track, the debut album from Damanek, the words and then the sentiment of an arresting lyric jump from the music and instantly capture your attention;

The poignancy of the lyric is astonishing. The unexpected clarity with which the words float to prominence creates a startling emphasis which demands attention. Further, when compared to the beauty of the music against which they are delivered, the contrast punches home just how brutal and uncompromising the message is.

To be fair, this is but one of an avalanche of biting observations and On Track is remarkable for the sheer unrelenting consistency in its powerful statement of environmental, social and personal challenges created by the direction being taken by the human race. We are out of control and, unless urgent steps are taken, on track for a catastrophic future which will spell calamity for the Earth, for nature and for all the species which uneasily co-exist within it.

In Flight is no less compromising and no less direct in continuing the often painful reflections and heartrending observations which arise from daily life. With clear signals to both the past as well as the present, the same array of bewildering concerns continue to cast a haunting presence over the song writing and permeate every layer of the music. This time, however, the manner of the approach has shifted, the angle of attack is tellingly different and the delivery all the more potent as a result.

The first clue comes from the deceptively beguiling cover. A robed, monkish figure looks down on the land from the bow of what we presume, from the title, is some kind of airship. The serene vista stretches to the horizon, the hint of a technological metropolis framed against a foreground of rural beauty and tranquillity. But the echoes of On Track are alive and well: the airship, the figure, the birds are all inexorably moving in one direction. What kind of future awaits?

The second clue links to the message from the cover and is unearthed in lyrics that are simply irresistible. The sheer brilliance of In Flight lies in the triumphant move of putting story-telling centre stage and as a result, inviting imagination, compassion and empathy to spark resonances with our experiences of the world we know.

Looking down on the earth, as we do on the cover image, it is all too easy to see the ‘bigger picture’, the overarching problems and issues – all the things tackled by On Track. What we forget is that it is people, individuals – you and me – who live at the heart of these problems and experience them every day of our lives. How else is it possible to create awareness of and sympathy for the things we go through other than by telling stories?

And that is why In Flight is such a special album. Each track delivers a series of sketches, stories, vignettes which tackle different aspects of our experience. Take a look at the opening of Big Eastern: