Marjana Semkina, well known in art rock/prog rock spheres as half of award winning duo iamthemorning, has released her debut solo album through KSCOPE records. We are fans of Marjana here at Proglodytes, and we’re very excited to hear what she’s been working on! Press release below:
IAMTHEMORNING SINGER-SONGWRITER – MARJANA SEMKINA PREMIERES NEW TRACK & VIDEO FOR “EVERYTHING BURNS”
TAKEN FROM HER DEBUT SOLO ALBUM – SLEEPWALKING (KSCOPE – 14TH FEBRUARY 2020)
With Marjana Semkina, Iamthemorning’s lyricist, singer and co-songwriter, set to release her spellbinding debut solo album, Sleepwalking on 14th February 2020 through Kscope, she has premiered the video for the track “Everything Burns”.WATCH THE VIDEO FOR “EVERYTHING BURNS” HERE
“The song ‘Everything Burns’ focuses on the demons that you take with you no matter how far you try to go; the fact is you just can’t run away from them. No matter how hard you try to change everything around you, they will stay with you unless you realise that the most important change, the one that is by far the hardest to achieve – the one that happens inside of you” Semkina explains the meaning behind the song.
She continues by reflecting on how the clip, produced together with the long term collaborator of iamthemorning Eggor Kree, refences this side of the struggle “these toxic situations that we find ourselves trapped in seemingly, with no escape, you just have to find strength within yourself to put an end to it, even if this means you have to destroy something familiar & precious that you’ve been building for a while . Stepping into the unknown can be scary, but sometimes it’s (metaphorically) necessary to burn everything to the ground and start anew and work very hard to not fall into the same old patterns in this new life of yours.”
Sleepwalking is a musical blend akin to the darker folk of Aldous Harding, Marissa Nadler, Sumie and Florist. To aid her vision for Sleepwalking, Marjana invited renowned keyboardist, drummer and bassist Jordan Rudess (Dream Theater), Craig Blundell and Nick Beggs (Steven Wilson), as well as the St. Petersburg Orchestra “1703” and frequent collaborator Vlad Avy. With the stunning album artwork referencing Semkina’s love for classical art, blending photography with the 17th-Century Vanitas movement. Characterised by Marjana’s composed and unique voice, complex melodic lines and poetic lyrics with literary references, Sleepwalking draws from the Iamthemorning soundscape but exists fully in her world; a compelling mixture of alternative folk, pop, drama, beauty and emotionally purging lyrics. Marjana explains the motivation behind the solo album “I wanted to use Sleepwalking as a way to translate emotions in the most sincere and unrefined way. No sugarcoating, no filters, just creative, honest thought caught in the moment. Turning those dark times and feelings into pure creative energy, something beautiful, something that has purpose”
Sleepwalkingis available to PRE-ORDER HERE on CD / LP and digitally (with “Everything Burns” available as an instant download on digital pre-orders). Note to fans – Sleepwalking will be released under an alternative spelling – Mariana Semkina.
Sleepwalking will be available on CD / LP and digitally and is available to PRE-ORDER HERE
Sleepwalking tracklisting
- Dark Matter [03:12]
- Am I Sleeping Or Am I Dead [04:27]
- Turn Back Time [04:06]
- Ars Longa Vita Brevis [03:03]
- Invisible [03:07]
- Lost At Sea [04:59]
- Skin [04:52]
- How To Be Alone [02:50]
- Everything Burns [03:14]
- Mermaid Song [04:32]
- Still Life [04:08]
Marjana Semkina is currently performing as Iamthemorning in support to The Flower Kings, in promotion of the band’s recent album The Bell.
10/12 – Columbia Theater, Berlin, Germany11/12 – Amager Bio, Copenhagen, Denmark12/12 – Brewhouse, Gothenburg, Sweden14/12 – Kraken, Stockholm, Sweden
https://marianasemkina.bandcamp.com/
https://www.patreon.com/marjanasemkina
https://www.instagram.com/marjanasemkina
https://www.facebook.com/marjanasemkina/
www.facebook.com/iamthemorningpage/
Proglodytes 