If it's not the story itself, then it's some feeling from a particular dream.Īre there any other methods you use to connect with the dream world?ĮB: There is one tea, Calea zacatechichi, which helps me lucid dream. In the album, every song is related to dreams. Sometimes it's actual music that I hear from time to time. Sometimes it's just lyrics, sometimes it's a visual thing that inspires me from the dreams. It’s better to work immediately after the dream, so I can recall what I was dreaming of. When I have something very vivid in my dream, or when I hear music, I hum something in my phone, or write it down. How do you extract music from your dreams?ĮB: I always have a notebook next to my bed, or a phone. Then with a sound engineer here in Riga, I put the best bits in. He rented a studio in London and sent me a bunch of tracks. He said, “Wow, it's called ‘Narcissism Purgatory’! I want to play drums on that.” Because he has one song which is called something similar – ‘Narcissism Party', or something like that. My album was nearly finished, and there was this one song left, and I sent it to him. I thought he could play something for my album as well. How did you manage to get James Acaster to play drums for you?ĮB: After he talked about my album, he invited me to play flute on his album, which should come out next year. It wasn’t like I was sitting down and thinking, ‘what should the next album be about?’ It wasn’t planned at all, it was just what happened. That's the way I was living since the previous album. But I have some new things: the saxophone, and the guest drummer, James Acaster.īut yeah, it was really natural.
Most of the instruments I was playing on the previous album I'm still playing in this album. I feel like I'm continuing what I started with the previous album I also drew inspiration from my dreams. Hotel Universe by Elizabete BalčusĬould you talk me through how you made the transition from Conarium to Hotel Universe?Įlizabete Balčus: Actually, I don't think there's a big difference. She chats to The Quietus about lucid dreaming, bad trips, and the recuring characters that inform much of her musical work. Today, Balčus looks otherworldly, with her long, bright-blue hair and graphic eyeshadow. Those sounds are flutes which Balčus has layered and filtered to the point of abstraction, creating an impressive symphony from humble beginnings.
#Two worlds lyrics free#
You’ll hear free jazz improvisation and classical flourishes from the flute, but Balčus’ vocals that roam in the synthwork is more reminiscent of the avant-garde. Much like Conarium, Hotel Universe is genreless, created through a process of intuition that uses Balčus as a vessel for other-dimensional expression. I went inside that hotel and found I could be everyone – in one second, I was another person, in another, I was a table, in another second, a plant.” It’s an exploration of connection, whether human or non-human: “Hotel Universe is the place where people can feel connected and be themselves.
Her lyrics range from tales of bodily disassociation (“My body is my house, but I’m not always at home”) to her more playful connection with nature (“I’m a flower on a rock!”). Her upcoming album, Hotel Universe, is another collection of tracks that take inspiration from her dreams. “I ask promoters to bring fruits and vegetables as well so I don’t have to carry them.” Her stage performances are as surrealist as her albums – she’s often draped in avant-garde fashion, with a looper that allows her to sing, play flute, and use synths hooked up to fruits and vegetables. Speaking from her hotel room in Montreal, Balčus is on tour, having recently performed at FME Festival with Animal Collective. So far, she’s released Conarium in 2016, which was picked up by comedian James Acaster’s podcast Perfect Sounds - and has now led to his drumming on her upcoming album, Hotel Universe. With the use of her flute, Balčus creates amorphous, neo-psychedelic soundscapes born from snatches of her visions. Though it’s common for most musicians to claim their journey began with a dream, for Latvia’s Elizabete Balčus that is literally true.
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