Part 2 of the Untold Story Behind the Song "Shadows of Our Evening Tides"! 🌊
Oct 26, 2020
I hope you are doing well!!! I’m very happy to announce that:
These are the lucky ones who have seen their names being picked by Alex earlier today during a Facebook live session amongst all the people who had a chance to get themselves one of the last copies of the limited and collector edition of the lathe cut vinyl of “Shadows of Our Evening Tides”. Congratulation to you all!
That being said, I know that for every single happy person on that list is about 5 more being greatly disappointed right now, so I want to thank you not only for your participation in that unique project but for making the whole process such a very special moment to be a part of.
And don’t forget, no matter if you were able to get your hands on the “Shadows of Our Evening Tides” lathe cut vinyl edition or not, you’ll have another opportunity real soon as the next limited and collector lathe cut vinyl edition will be for the song “Summertime Departures”, which will be available on November 4!
ABOUT OUR JAPANESE JOURNEY - PART II
As promised, here’s the second part of our Japanese journey:
In order to hold his album pre-release listening moment in Tokyo, Alex wanted to find an independent art gallery or a DIY type of place where art was at the center of their activities, which was quite a challenge considering the fact that we only had 3 weeks to make it happen, and all those singular places are usually booked 6 months in advance. With Alex having a lot of friends in Japan came in as handy as we learned that one of the galleries we had made an inquiry for had its event cancelled on the same dates we were looking to have our listening session, so we truly caught a very welcoming break on that one.
The art gallery was located in the heart of Harajuku, one of the most colorful and animated districts on the planet. Its uniqueness is mostly defined by the collage of avant-guard independent creators and world-renowned artists, who are giving a very fascinating tone to an otherwise already unique place well known for its amazing street art, its incredible vintage clothing stores, out-of-this-world cosplay shops and traditional upmarket Nippon boutiques.
In fact, not only was such an environment the perfect representation of what Alex considers as the real nature of art that comes with diversification rather than nowadays' homogenization, but was also personifying the freedom to “be” whatever you want to be that comes with that vision of art and creativity. So it was perfect in so many ways to hold the pre-release listening event of “Windows in the Sky” in the mist of such a singular place. I understood why Alex insisted to do it there. It was, in my opinion, the album's perfect incarnation.
Once we had the place booked, the tickets went sold out almost immediately after the event was publicly announced, prompting us to book the next early afternoon as well, which went sold out even faster than the initial evening. It was really humbling for everyone of us, as no one knew what to expect. No music had been shared, no promotion was up and going, no details were actually known about the event itself, except for the fact that we would listen to Alex's album before its official release, so such a degree of trust was really touching to be honest.
Alex’s idea was to have an evening where people would be able to immerse themselves into the music and to do so he decided to craft a 1-hour long movie made of different visuals inspired by every songs, like a collage of shorts films, for people to define their own experience. We would bring craft beers from home, would offer different types of sake made by a very good friend of Alex who happens to be a renown master blender, and would end the evening with an interview followed by a Q&A with the audience. It occurred to be very intense for him, as he went from sharing about the process that lead to the album, to the lyrics, the passing of his father, Tangier, and had to answer several questions by the absolutely stunned people who were present.
That whole experience was utterly emotional for everyone involved and I just couldn’t fathom how Alex was able to take it all in like he did that weekend. I was nothing short of being troublingly impressed. I always admired Alex's true punk rock driven spirit, not being afraid to face people and being brutally honest while opening up on very personal subjects, or moments, and about his entire journey seeking for freedom and inner peace. And that weekend was the pinnacle of it all… in a real live set up.
There was such a pure sense of reverence during those events, as people were discovering and hearing not only what Alex was creatively about, but simply who he was, without any kind of filters or artifices. Those two listening sessions were so real, so deep, breathtaking, emotional, personal and communal at the same time, as everyone felt something special, reasons why no one wanted to leave, including myself, as I never encountered something that honestly human.
Even though I probably had a tiny idea of just how difficult it must have been for him to be there, to be back into the lights after years away from being at the centre of people’s attention, after the steep price he had emotionally paid to find some peace for himself. I knew he had always been terribly uncomfortable to be perceived as someone special, he hated every second of that perception that comes with the entertainment world while fronting Your Favorite Enemies, so those family-oriented type of event gatherings were incredibly good for him. I believe it was a necessary step to take for Alex, to be back amongst the people he so dearly loved and to allow himself to “be” no matter what it meant for anyone present that weekend.
I will never forget what Alex said, as all those emotions were still fresh and vividly vibrating deep within, when the first evening was coming to an end:
“I’m still discovering the album’s profound and complex nature. As I’m still discovering myself. Every song is somehow soft, raw, delicate, raging, welcoming, bleak and hopeful, but most of all, profoundly honest, all in their own different shades, tones and layers... Again, they are real, just as I want to experience life. Thank you all for your sincere love and friendship, which gave me the courage to write those songs, and to stand right here with you tonight...”
And those events would become especially significant for Alex as much as for everyone of us, as no one were ready for the perfect storm about to happen back home about a week later when “Windows in the Sky” would officially be released in Canada, reaching number 3 on the top Billboard 200, right behind Muse and Imagine Dragons 'new international releases.
ABOUT “SHADOWS OF OUR EVENING TIDES”
VIDEO SHOOT
Following those two extremely moving and very uplifting moments that had been the album pre-release listening sessions, we all felt incredibly inspired and propelled by the stream of pure and raw emotions we had the blessing to commune all together. We didn’t sleep much afterwards, that kind of experience just can’t be processed later on, it needed to be lived to the extreme, which is probably why we all talked until we could witness the sun rise up, offering that moment an epic dimension that I won’t ever forget for the rest of my life.
So we had a quick breakfast and packed up so Alex could capture some of the images he was looking for in order to visually give life to the official video of “Shadows of our Evening Tides”.
We knew this filming would be quite interesting, as Alex’s vision was as much of an impressionist view as it was founded in the wonders of people's every day lives. It was as spiritually instinctive as it was beautifully tangible. So we walked all day, while constantly asking him what he was looking for. "Life” was Alex’ constant answer, up to the point where we stopped asking and stopped trying to see, and it suddenly became part of the scenery as much as defining it by simply being. It was disconcerting for me at first. I’m a very tangible person and was wondering what we were trying to see, while being intrigued by what the end result would look like. Until I had to let go and trusted the nature of “life” being displayed right before my eyes. And without talking about it, we all knew, deeply within, that this video was a representation of our new journey, of the everyday challenge we are facing, which is embracing the moment for what it is, not for what we would like to force it to be.
Alex would later explain in an interview for the video premiere: “Shadows of our Evening Tides” short movie, as much as the song to a certain extent, represent the ineluctable pursuit of an everlasting happiness within the implacable context of a life hastily passing by. A relentless voyage about finding a personal purpose in our daily humdrum, discovering vivid colors in leaden monochromatic sceneries and uncovering the nature of extraordinary in what is too often considered the essence of ordinary.”
DOWNLOAD THE SONG FOR FREE
In case you haven’t done it already! This version is exclusively available to The Club members! This is one of the amazing perks of being a member! May this song inspire you, move you as it did to us ever since the first notes have been heard while recording it in Tangier, Montreal and Virginia!
More stories to come as we evolve together through this journey...
Stay safe and hopeful! We’ll be in touch again very soon!
Jeff
