In “Diamond Grid”, IRAH has constructed us a spiritual and dreamy Universe. Their debut album, released in May 2019 via TAMBOURHINOCEROS, sounds like a walk with nature – along with mountains and ocean views. It is the bright and warming campfire at night. It is the moment of euphoria, when you stop to look at birds flying high in the blue sky, still, like finding heaven in the middle of the sun-kissed landscape. It is the feeling of being grounded and connected to nature and reality.
The opening of the album is quiet and sensitive. “Dream Self” and “Sui Hinama” are two melancholic and flowing songs. The atmospheric synthesizers of Adi Zukanović slow down time. “We got all this light/Inside/Stored in our cells” Stine Grøn starts beautifully in “Dream Self”. It is a song about finding the light in you, looking for answers within you. “Diamond Grid”’s lyrics deal with the human and political existential crises. As in “Cinematic” – “Don’t take away their home/You don’t owe it/It’s in his spirit/Don’t take away their dads/So systematic”.
“Worship the sun” is a spiritual love song, one that does not focus on romance but the oneness in spirituality. “Let’s forget the things we’ve been taught/Activate the brain within our heart/Worship the Sun/Worship the Moon/Worship its cosmic influences”. IRAH is seeking oneness throughout “Unity of Gods”. It was the first single the band released before the album release. As Stine explains: “The song is about how you long to stay in touch with both yourself and nature as you feel disconnected to these natural elements because of digital disturbances”.
“Diamond Grid” is an album to blast on a quiet day away from hectic everyday life. It is gentle and coaxing, an exploration of the struggles of human life, and political problems. Nine songs that deserve to be heard. Check it out below.