IN THEIR OWN WORDS: Deep Quote Details The Nankeen Nothing
The following is an idea that was thought up by our Editor, TJ Foster. He had the idea of local artists doing a little write-up of their own work, track by track. By doing this, the artist will be able to give their motivation and meaning behind their own songs. They are given very little direction, other than to “write a few sentences about each song on the album (or EP).”
That is it. No specific parameters. No ‘angle’ we want them to focus on. It is simply whatever they choose, as the songwriter, to describe their own work.
Being that the “rules” of this exercise are so simple, I will just let our first musician of this series speak. Here is Deep Quote giving a track-by-track breakdown of their recent release, The Nankeen Nothing.
the nankeen nothing is a concept album based on a poem outlining a series of mysterious experiences with what Deep Quote calls the nankeen nothing, a realm of void where pure consciousness can be experienced directly. Much of the music, lyrics, and concepts arose in dreams or during experiences with the nankeen nothing. It is organized into three triads. Each triad begins with an instrumental track and is followed by two lyrical songs. Each triad represents how one's relationship with the nankeen nothing evolves through repeated contact.
01 - “first contact”: This instrumental track opens the album by conjuring the sense of wonder and vague nostalgia that is experienced in the nankeen nothing. Even though it is the first contact, there is something deeply familiar here, as if evoking a memory of before we were born, but the memory lies just beyond the threshold of one's awareness, somewhat like the feeling when a word is on the tip of one's tongue. Musically, the melodic theme of the nankeen nothing is introduced; this same melodic theme is encountered again in each subsequent contact, albeit in different contexts.
02 - “a lamb's breath”: This track elicits the dark, chaotic energy that is experienced when one is first exposed to the nankeen nothing. This is conveyed not only by the music and chaotic percussion, but by the tone of the track overall; it sounds as if it is coming through a thick fog or murky water. Experiencing nothingness can be uncomfortable at first, as it challenges everything we believe ourselves to be. However, it is ultimately an offer of opening and possibility. The song is brief, as this discomfort, if it is not turned away from, dissipates rather quickly. The track ends with a challenge to the journeyer: "will you swim/ taking tiny sips of awe/ or will you drown?"
03 - “halves and half-knots”: Once the initial discomfort fades, "halves and half-knots" captures the joyous, celebratory experience of wholeness. Ironically, confronting nothingness directly awakens the realization that what we once believed ourselves to be is truly only one half; in the nankeen nothing, we are reunited with our other half. In turn, this frees us of excess baggage; it unties knots we didn't know we had inside us. As the lyrics assert, "halves and half-knots dissolve behind the strings."
04 - “second contact”: In the second contact with the nankeen nothing, one is familiar with it and is not as overwhelmed emotionally as the first time. It is a deepening, freed from the feelings of surprise, fear, and ecstasy that are present upon first contact. We hear the theme repeated, but the harmony is different. We can detect more frequencies and feel their movement on a more profound level. This track was inspired by ambient artists such as Roedelius and utilizes minor microtonal adjustments in the synthesizers to summon unique harmonic interactions.The second contact invites contemplation and self-reflection.
05 - “self-reflective vector garden”: The title of this track appeared in a dream in response to the question, "what is a question?" It is about the process of reflecting on what it means to be human, and how the habits of thought interfere with our experience of reality. This process of self-inquiry is.a natural consequence of experiencing the nankeen nothing, as it reveals that the "I" that one identifies with is merely a construct of thought, and is thus limited, as thought is limited. SImilarly, thought is always seeking, either for an answer, a method, a savior, or whatever else, all of which is believed to take place in the future. This is the trap that thought sets; if one puts it down, even momentarily, one discovers they already have everything they could possibly need.
06 - “know me wholly”: Going deeper into the traps of thought, one finds multiple "I"s within themselves, all vying for control. From the perspective on the nankeen nothing, one can perceive them all and can see them objectively. A process of knowing all of oneself is initiated. The refrain evokes this, with 16 vocal tracks singing, "know me/ wholly/ I'm yours."
07 - “third contact”: The third contact is a blending and reconciling of the nankeen nothing and one's day-to-day life. Again, the melodic theme of the first and second contacts is found, this time superimposed over the chord progression of "know me wholly," performed on guitar instead of vocally. The third contact is full acceptance and assimilation of the mystery.
08 - “sheol”: Sheol is a Hebrew word that translates roughly to "the grave." This song is about making peace with the dying of what was once believed to be the self. In fact, nothing dies, because this "self" never truly existed to begin with. However, as the tangle of thought dissolves, one must be careful to remain detached. As the song urges, "Make peace with the unknown/it's all we ever have/ Make peace so you may eat the world/ without grieving the bones of its story."
09 - “flame eucharist”: The final track on the album, an epic, shoegazey, prog rock opus, conjures the image of cleansing by fire. It is both a summary of the preceding themes as well as a hint of what is to come. The poem, "the nankeen nothing," which is included in the limited edition cassette, contains a refrain at the beginning of several stanzas of, "do you remember the dream?" Here too, this question is posed in similar ways to the poem, but with variations. The journey ends with a call to "lead us by the hand to the abyss."
the nankeen nothing is available now on all streaming services, as well as Bandcamp.
