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1. |
The Azdinist // Den of Dawns
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2. |
Fym
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3. |
Mount, Mettle, and Key
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4. |
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SKY SAILING
The Lavender Fox descends, and scampers beside me
A pouch of petals fastened under its throat
And I understand
The wind’s riddle resolved, our flightpath revealed
As passenger, I hurl a handful
And we greet the air!
At the whim of the wind
Lashing and pulling
Maneuevring, eye on our shepherd, our petals of pink
Hoping they’re helping and
Trust me, new friend
My heart rests on your wings now
We left the nest with a chasm beneath
Still I trust you, new friend
In our first elevation
For a moment, our course holds steady
And then we’re
High again
We’re sky sailing
Winding in turbulence
Found in friendship
BEYOND THE BLOOM
In awe, we land before the fragrant veil
Our first steps treading technicolour
So far beyond the pale
Though I could cast a fire
T’would be a pity to destroy
When we’ve no shortage of time
What lies here, beyond Umbra’s bloom?
Though I could burn away
I would much rather preserve this
Such pleasant distortion
I sheathe my blade
We push into the bouquet
Stumble into
Rapturous blackness
Since we play the fool of the flowers
This prison beyond them is nothing
But death-grey decay
All that we touch turns to soot
And we trample on
Yes! We must wander on!
The murk of the gravewood
It vastly encumbers my senses
And yet, I feel sure of a presence that mirrors our stride
The Lavender Fox, it whips around
As if to accuse a wilting shrub
But there is nothing there
Naught but the shade
Lustre illuminates
As soon as I brandish, it is gleaming
I am led by the blade
Deep in the false night,
Tendrils of ghost-wood start clinging
Every step forward, the bracken resisting our stride
I feel it crawling my shin, cut it back - it coils again
Why must you persecute
Wraith of the glade?
Do we approach the core?
Or do we die here in the strangle
As the plantlife contorts?
The smother continues, but still I slice against its grasp
I strain ‘til my eyes sting - ahead I see the source!
Just a little more! This web will not be my grave!
Just as we reach the core,
I turn to see the Lavender Fox
Poor thing, ensnared by its wing…
How much will be severed
By this blade if I…?!
My one-winged companion,
Abandons, in gruesome mistrust
And I’m left alone with my deed
With eyes too inflamed to be fuddled by glamour
I sink my friend-stained blade into the palun
And it sings, as it siphons
The bloom above begins to die
WILT
Petal on fox-blood, my new sheath
As all around me
Colour rains, the sun prevails
Yet harm is all I care to deal and dwell on
If I had thought that it would end this way
That every bloom was due its wilt
I would have scorched the opulence
No flower should be worth more than a wing
How could I have known
I lie alone, entombed
In what remains of something beautiful
This shedding, never ending
Keep me buried
Help obscure my crime
And as the essence of the palun
Sinks from forest to the blade
I sense its burden, feel its venomous
Reminder of the choices that I’ve made
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5. |
Weight of the Blade
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6. |
Kingdom of Ice and Light
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7. |
The Lavender Fox
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8. |
Agentic State
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9. |
Doppelgänger
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10. |
The Portent
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11. |
Trench of Nalu
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12. |
Moonrise
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releases May 23, 2024
Chris Sampson – Vocals, Electric Guitar, Mandolin
Galen Stapley – Electric Guitar, Nylon String, Theremin
Alex Miles – Bass
Shaz D – Keyboards, Grand Piano
Andrew Scott – Drums
Adam Hayes – Bongos, Congas, Fish Guiro on tracks 1, 7, and 11
Nina Doornenstroom – Trumpets on track 3
Camille De Carvalho – Oboe D’amore, Clarinet, and Basson on tracks 4 and 6
Felix La Mer – (
www.instagram.com/felix.la.mer) Cover Artwork, Photography, Graphic Design
Alex CF (
www.artofalexcf.com) – Additional Artwork
Joshua Hoskins (
www.instagram.com/noctua_cartography) - Map Artwork
Produced by Chris Sampson
Bass and Drums mixed by Jack Davenport at Owl Shed Studios
Mastered by Jack Davenport at Owl Shed Studios
Drums engineered by Andrew Scott at Owl Shed Studios
Grand Piano engineered by David Beebee at Beeboss Studios
Concept by Chris Sampson and Galen Stapley
Azure’s special thanks: Felix La Mer, Dan ‘Slappy’ Haysom, Ben Winter-leinweber, Tucker Drew, Ryoma Yahagi, John Sprich, Eden Kupermintz.
