Tracklist:
(1) The Neverending Story
(2) Luck Dragon
(3) Auryn
Artwork by Hayley Carloni. Mastering by Psymbionic.
I am always in the mood to be reminded of one of the seminal tales of my life. The Neverending Story, originally a novel written by Michael Ende, worked its way into my very bones. First, in the countless plays of the movie when I was hitting the Capri Suns and Gushers way too hard. And then again, during the apex of my manic raging days, as I had a bootleg VHS stuck inside the TV/VCR combo on situated on the landing outside my bedroom at 20 Pratt st. in Allston. Supersillyus and I even made a sign that read, “Don’t let the story end. Rewind the tape and hit play.” This demand was met, and during every after party or show in the basement, the film could be found playing on repeat. Candyflipping makes for genius ideas sometimes. Lost in Sound contributor, Skytree (Evan Snyder) and I obviously would have had some epic play dates as children. He remains so inspired by the film and the story, that as an established producer he has created an EP of tracks in respect to it. He describes his motivations and inspirations in this message:
“The Neverending Story also still speaks a great deal to me as an adult, especially with respect to having faith in ones self, and keeping our imagination alive. Though these are great lessons as a kid, we don’t know the full depth of the Swamp of Sadness, in the metaphorical sense for instance, until we’re adults. The same can also be said of knowing our true self worth, passing through gateways and staying strong as we endure our trials in life. For a kids film that is cheesy at times, it’s profoundly symbolic and well-executed.
I decided to make this EP as a way of breaking up sessions for the upcoming Cirrus Sapiens album with something more pop cultural, light-hearted, short and simple (as opposed to the album, which is deeply personal, immense and intricate). Though I have always loved the original soundtrack, 80’s synths and all, no samples were used in the making of this EP. It was done all from scratch, save some MIDI files that I found years ago on a fan website. When I found those files I felt like I’d stumbled on data-gold, and knew I’d take on the project when the time was right! My friend Monica (the vocalist on my track “Earth Sing,” and the upcoming “Star Sing”) contributed vocals for the theme song. Everything else was produced by me, with deep respect and due credit to the original writers, Klaus Doldinger and Limahl.” – Skytree
The title track, “The Neverending Story” can be described as atmospheric and slightly manic. This melody was originally weird as fuck, like most pop creations of the 80s, and Skytree’s slowed and glitched version only amplifies it in that regard. Picture the citizens of Fantasia rocking the new chakra Skytree Grassroots fitteds and dancing around The Silver City doing tree poses. I really enjoy sifting through the complexities of this tune, and the vocalist’s singing is pretty much spot on. “Luck Dragon,” his tribute to the almighty Falcor, is a percussion heavy trip-hop ride through clouds of breaks and a digitalized and tuned-up reworking of the films original score. The second half contains some mean and obese bass bombs paired with some blue whale mating songs. “Auryn” is a cacophony of echoing and ambient synths, akin to those moments in the film where Bastian’s mind is blown by something out of this world badass.
I’m still waiting to be given a tour of the void by the empress. I’m still peeing the bed because of that insane wolf head leaping out during that lightning storm. The Neverending Story lives on, it’s always been cool but Skytree’s made it relevant again.
