Hateful Chains

 Plunge into the year 2022

Ok, so the start of the year hasn't been that great, pandemic-wise. Cases have been on the rise so badly, that venues have closed and events have been cancelled. Same old, all over again. I don't know what to think anymore. It seems like a never ending cycle. Spring and summer comes and things get eased up again, venues open, people go to gigs like they used to. Come fall and winter, everything escalates into that miserable limbo where nothing happens and you just wait. Like winter wouldn't be like that already, without the pandemic!

This whole thing has had an effect on us as group. It feels like endless waiting. We are working to advance the music, the possibilities and chaces to play live, but it all seems to be happening in a slower pace. We have to work regular jobs, of course, like everyone else. That takes it's toll, now more than usual, because there are no opportunities to play to an audience and wind up and relax. Which is the salt of this occupation. It feels like we are not allowed to be musicians. And it's been like that for all of these years during the pandemic. Performing arts is the field that has been restricted by a heavier hand than most occupations, including bars and restaurants. Why that is, beats me. It must be the easiest way, and culture folk are expendable. They should get a real job anyway. 

Of course, I understand that measures have to be taken and everything must be done to keep the number of cases low in order not to strain the health system to much. The un-fairness of it just bugs me. But there's no other choice really, than to sit it through and hope for better. That's all we can do as a group, for that matter. Even though it seems like we're just floating in limbo and things don't seem to go forward, and we're just waiting for our turn forever, the reality is that we are doing something, all the time. Little advances, a rehearsal, a recording session, a new mix and mastering that needs to be listened to, a video shoot, an interview.  And not all of it has even reached social media yet, because not all of it at that stage yet. So we don't give up hope. We just work, prepare, then let it out, and see what it bcomes.

One of these things I have been pretty silent about recently is the Crimson Sun music video. We meant to shoot the final scenes before the end of the year, but there were curves on that road. The reason was basically the schedules of many different people, which are kind hard to put together. Must be familiar to anyone doing a group project. The scene involved a bath tub, which could be filmed around. Turns out it's not so easy to find. Hardly anyone has a bath tub in Finland anymore. But an acquaintance who lives a bit further happened to have one. And you could move it around! And the bathroom wall was a nice color too! So in order to go there to shoot we had to reschedule to the second weekend of January. 

Unfortunately I have no pictures of the scene or the filming. But there will be nudity. And a heavy chain! Which our drummer found somewhere and which definitely will be used a prop at some point. I hung some white sheets and curtains all over the place to make it look more mystical, or whatever, and put candles everywhere. Hopefully that does the trick. And the rose petals we sprinkled in the bath water. I'm trusting it will look awesome!

After that there's just the editing and some animation on top of that...

Meanwhile we'll be continuing rehearsals and recording, in order to complete album number two.

May your year 2022 be filled with hope and may it be a better than the previous one!

Flora