One of the things I've found most difficult with the current (well, it's been a few years now) model of music consumption is to be truly attentive to what I'm listening to, and sometimes to what I'm watching. It's been hard not to jump from one thing to the other. Doom scrolling, song skipping, not letting your mind take the time to wander and lose itself in the music.
And then you have things like “La femme aux yeux de sel” that appear as a little gem, a sea shell pearl, a grain of salt slowly strolling down a woman's cheeks. The technological imprint all our little gadgets have on our lives makes us forget about the natural pace of our heartbeat. And that's where Gabi Hartmann's songwriting, silky voice comes in. It reminds us how deeply we need to be connected to nature, taking a swing at the moon, feeling the sunset, and the salty burn of melancholy seeping through your pores.
That's where Gabi's new album stands, a poetic heartbeat whispered in different languages, a window into your own feelings. I surprised myself mentally going back to my childhood trip to Italy, I still can feel the texture of the olive trees on my hands, the dim quality of the lights and the volatile singing of the language hovering around my ears like a poem that would leave its signature on my current adult self. The announcement at the very beginning of the album didn't lie, Salinda does take you by the hand to go on a journey of treasures, treasures that will remind you of your very own memories, treasures you never thought you'd find again. Treasures of love, of doubts, of opportunities taken and refused.
Oh well. It may seem a bit pompous to speak about an album like that… But it's all perfectly true. In the past, I've expressed my very strong love for nuances, in the way we treat different matters as adults, we're so passionate about things that often require us to slow things down to truly understand the subtleties of people's worries.
“Le lever du soleil" is a magnificent political song if there ever was one. The contrasting mellow tone of Gabi’s voice with the strength of the message makes you listen with an open heart. The song brings you back to the fundamental questioning of “is there really nothing else to do other than to love each other and tear each other apart”. Aside from the political slogans opening the song, it explores a path where political unrest, an eternal life of division and anger can't be a viable solution for the future. Gabi explores that question with elegance and relevance, without sugarcoating the message written in blood, but with a soulful, existential and honest voice.
The sunrise ends on an ode to nature in Portuguese, another reminder of the power of the guidance of nature to a person's soul, lost when the sun sets after hoping for the promise of it rising. Lost in the wish to see another day with a person that we love as Gabi sings in “Lakutshoni’langa”.
The album finishes like it started, marked by the difficulty to cope with life's devouring speed, the speed of the landscapes changing with its buildings towering above the rest of the world, pointing its finger at each and every lost soul's will to survive. It marks the end of Salinda's story, “The Woman With Eyes of Salt", a woman whose eyes have seen more than they should have, the violence of the world and its absolute beauty, each tear slowly transforming the woman's eyes into salt. Leaving her trace in the ocean of life and its imperfect infinity.
When to listen to this album?
It's one of the albums that will accompany your everyday rhythm while bringing that sense of needed “let's settle down for a minute now”. A collection of beautiful compositions with wonderfully performed acoustic textures, without ever being too unsettling or provocative while remaining thought-provoking. That's the power of its poetic identity. Hopefully, it will help you reconnect with listening, to yourself and to music, one note at a time to restore the meaning that it deserves.
No stars, no rating, just a “what are you waiting for?” go listen to it right away :
Listen on all platforms
https://gabihartmann.lnk.to/LaFemmeAuxYeuxDeSel?fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAae5uCISgKlQLI0xhB0xfFc78DXig1rTVI65xzYdw1EqgVrUaR6-QOXbFrTpDA_aem_Mv5FZp4U38Pd1FmfPWQnuw
Listen on Spotify
https://open.spotify.com/intl-fr/album/5PiHQMN9NyN8vIVVMhNj5s?si=ehUlxdXLRheoURfnT-9S-g
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