Track by track: Satarma - Fuzzorama
If you’ve been following the blog closely over the last few weeks, you would have noticed how much I have been into the music from Satarma. Originally the solo project from Escila Reynard, it transformed into a six-piece band drawing from a range of influences including 60s/70s “flower power” bands up to present day psychedelic rock
In the articles such as One of Each: Reverb Dream, where I named the EP, Kangiten, as the choice for the category or the wine which the band produced in Collecting merch (pt. 1). Since publishing the merch article, I tried the wine and it went well with the second raclette of the season. When ordering the bottles, I also picked up a copy of Kangiten, which also came with the added surprise of the EP, Planuit, also included on the vinyl.
For this new edition of track by track, I am delighted to have Satarma’s latest album, Fuzzorama. I have had the opportunity to hear the album before its release and the first few listens have left me with a really good impression already. The aim of the article is to find out more about the creation process and/or the history about each individual song.
In the build-up to the album, the band also released their first music video for the single, The First (video also embedded below). The album was released on 22nd November and coincided with a release concert on the same day at Caves du Manoir with Doom Noo! Yelbek in Martigny.
Fuzzorama (the story behind the name of the album)
Escila: I’ve always enjoyed coming up with silly wordplays. I was looking for a title for this new album, which was meant to be a playground for experimenting with the fuzz pedal. One day, as I was walking out of our rehearsal room, the idea hit me: what we wanted to create was a panorama of fuzz, a collection of tracks not necessarily linked to each other but united by this common element. “Fuzzorama” was the result of combining the two words. Later on, I discovered that a Swedish label had the same name. We reached out to them, and they kindly agreed to let us use it for our album.
Hopeful Minds On The Run
Alex: The opening track that almost wasn’t! I was writing stuff without any particular goal in mind, and the opening riffs came to me while I was experimenting with a new DIY fuzz pedal. Not sure if it would be appropriate, I asked the rest of the band: “Isn’t it too much space rock for Satarma?” But it seems they liked it well enough.
Escila: It’s one of my favourites. We need more songs from Alex!
Voices In The Sky
Escila: For this track, I wanted to write something more stripped-down. When I’m composing, I tend to pile up layers and layers of instruments, which often makes the songs difficult to mix and even harder to play live. So I forced myself to stick to a single guitar this time. I’m really happy with the result. I should probably try that again. The lyrics are a message I wanted to send to someone close to me who had attempted to take their own life.
The Path
Alex: This track is my favourite one. I wanted to contribute original songs to the album, and I tried to write it as if I were inside Escila’s head. He says it doesn’t sound anything like him, but the thought experiment allowed me to think outside the box, almost literally. In the end, I feel the instrumental sounds like Neil Young on actual acid. The vocals were beautifully added by Mandy, and they brought the whole thing to a new level.
Escila: I wrote the lyrics on New Year’s Eve, in a cabin lost in the mountains. Everyone had gone to sleep except me. I did it while waiting for the sunrise.
As I Really Am
Escila: I came back from Le Coin Vinyles with Woodstock Spirit, a compilation of late-60s music. The last track on the first side was Pictures of Matchstick Men by Status Quo. I instantly fell for it and immediately started composing something in the same spirit. I later added lyrics inspired by a speech from the Indian guru Nisargadatta Maharaj.
Nothing Compares To You
Escila: Originally, this song was a gift for my girlfriend. I wrote the lyrics at work and, as soon as I got home, I gave myself an hour to compose and record the whole thing. It was during a period when I was listening to a lot of Brian Jonestown Massacre, and I think it shows. I believe it’s the best gift I’ve ever made. We later re-recorded it entirely with the band.
Mirror Palace
Escila: This is personally my least favourite track on the album. I didn’t manage to capture the essence of what I wanted. But since we were missing one last song and everyone else liked it, it ended up on the album. Mallory then wrote some wonderfully weird lyrics, inspired by one of her dreams.
A Bond
Alex: There’s quite an obvious inspiration behind the structure and energy of this song (I hope you recognized it), and the number three plays a significant role too, both in the lyrics and in the arrangement. The story was inspired by narrative elements from The Wheel of Time, which I was reading at the time, as well as some personal experiences.
Fun fact: we had to pitch the whole song up to accommodate the vocal range, but we recently found a way to play it at the normal pitch during live shows. Come see us if you want to hear it as it was first meant to be.
For You
Escila: For this one, I wanted to write a song with as few chords as possible. I was heavily influenced by a Moon Duo track I was listening to on repeat. I’m a very positive and cheerful person, and I wanted to write lyrics that might offer a lighter view of life to some people around me.
The First
Escila: A childhood friend passed away, and this song was my way of honouring him. I composed it after spending a lot of time practicing Hendrix licks on guitar. Alex later added the entire solo section at the end. We really worked on this one together, and I’m very happy with how it turned out.
Colour In Fuzz
Escila: Originally, this was a jam we created as an intro for our very first concert. I had always wanted to capture it in a recording. As a guest, we invited Almx on keyboards. He has an incredible touch. He had already played a solo with us on The Eye Who Never Sleeps from our first LP. The lyrics are once again by Mallo, a poem half in English and half in Russian. She spent some time in Russia to study the language.
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