For this year’s Spil Dansk Dagen, Good because Danish teamed up with a bunch of young artists and prepared a little series with beautiful songs in Danish, including some translated lyrics and the background of their stories. Since today, 30. October 2014, is the actual Spil Dansk Dag: Happy Danish Music Day to all of you! To celebrate in an appropriate way, we are happy to share the origin of uber-talented Danish quintet Navneløs‘ latest single “Stille” (engl. “Silent”) with you.
Check out below how “a sudden, fragile moment of inspiration” turned into this wonderful song!
As you walk,
as you move,
we let go.I know you,
but not at all.
Like the man in the shadows,
only a silhouette.Who can really tell,
tell who you are?Sometimes the word falls apart.
Loses its sense
just like me.
My voice.Sometimes the word falls apart.
Begins to glow
just like me.
Takes on another voice
as you walk.
On a day where most of the band members had other things to do, the two guitarists Johan Kruse and Andreas Ledet spent the day in the studio experimenting with the grand piano along with engineer Asger Christensen. The piano was recorded into two seperate tape-echo machines, and Johan and Andreas recorded various chord progressions, trying to compose a track for the album.
Stuck with a progression sounding not-quite-right, they sat in the control room when Asger pressed the magic “reverse” button. Suddenly, everything sounded much more interesting, and the progression came to life. The chords were then turned around and recorded again on top of the reversed track, making a unique soundscape.
The next day, the other band members listened to the recording, and singer Lin Rosenbeck wrote the lyrics and melody in no time. Jazzy drums and a pulsing bass was added along with a synth solo improvised by Johan, and “Stille” had exploded into a powerful, atmospheric track from a sudden, fragile moment of inspiration. If you listen closely, you can hear Lin going through the door of the vocal booth on the very end of the song – a detail the band decided to keep for its fitting effect.
“Stille” was the original working title, but when the entire album was done, the band decided that the working title was the perfect match for the music and lyrics of the second-to-last track on “Værk”.
Stream “Stille” on Spotify or via Bandcamp and definitely watch the incredibly beautiful video to it on YouTube! And don’t forget to give Navneløs your Like on Facebook.