Tuesday 5 March 2013

Stegosaurus on Marshland Acidic Trip

Fru Luna, better known as Kristin Burdal, is a 22-year-old musician/composer from Norway. She composes her music using Mixcraft with plug-ins like East West and Quantum Loop.

Her main project is an electronic project called Stegosaurus on Marshland Acidic Trip. All Stegosaurus albums tell individual stories. My impression of the latest album, "Are You AnyWhere?", is that Stegosaurus is on a quest to find/save the Green Goddess. It seems like it (Stegosaurus) has to get through different obstacles to get to where it needs to be. Stegosaurus seems to be coming very close to the Green Goddess a few times, but then something happens and it has to keep on searching for her. However, I have concluded that Stegosaurus does in fact manage to save the Green Goddess in the end, because the title of the second to last song on the album is simply just "The Green Goddess".

One song that in particular caught my attention was "Calling Upon Ba'al Shamin". The music itself is well orchestrated. We've entered a completely different part of the world now. Because the contrast between the previous song "Spring the Lamb's Bread" and "Calling Upon Ba'al Shamin", is huge. The track starts of quite calm, as if we are getting introduced to a new world. Then it speeds up. It's as if we're running through an adventure. But where/what are we running towards/from? After doing some searching around, it has been brought to my attention that Ba'al Shamin is in fact an ancient Syrian god. I can't figure out what role Ba'al is supposed to play in this matter. Is he supposed to help Stegosaurus find the Green Goddess?

This is what Kristin says about the song: "at one point, Stegosaurus is about to give up. It feels as though it is impossible to find the Green Goddess. For that reason he seeks help from 'the Sky Lord' Ba'al Shamin.This song is connected to the next song, 'The Answer', which is supposed to be Ba'al Shamin's answering to Stegosaurus' prayers. It's important that I mention that this in no way is supposed to be some religious message or anything. Why I chose Ba'al Shamin, is basically because what really happens is that Stegosaurus gets high, and therefore calling upon a 'Sky God' seemed appropriate..."

I could probably analyse all the songs on this album, but this little blog would turn into a book if I did. As for the musical side to it, each individual song tells their own story. They are all very well composed and it seems like nothing is done by random. Kristin has an ear for putting strange notes together, that some people wouldn't necessarily put together. Somehow she makes it work, and that can't be an easy job, not even for the most experienced musician. She is definitely no stranger to the progressive and experimental genre. This album is a work of art, and it certainly is an experience listening through it. This is the future!

Album artwork by Inna Hansen - www.doodlepod.blogspot.no


For your own interpretation of the album, listen to it here - FruLuna-

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