Life is an intertwining of dreams, emotions, feelings and behaviours. How do you chop up the pie?
Mulubinba/Newcastle artist Romy Church, aka e4444e, has described his fourth full-length record as an ode to the traditions developed as he’s matured as an artist and person. Across Authentic Natural Tradition, Church draws on his songwriting to create a sonic love story for the messiness of life. It captures the importance that our hopes, dreams, and subconscious play in shaping our lives. And Church has a knack for complementing lyricism with production that paints expansive soundscapes.
‘Meaning’ captures that insecurity we all experience when we have to confront something about who we are, “One day I will take it in / Give my life some meaning / Stop all the bleeding, pass it on.” It’s a recognisable frame of mind, “I try to back it up… but then I fall for you,” ringing out while synths drone underneath. Like shifts in weather, watching “clouds, sunlight trying to burst through,” we hear both e4444e and the world telling us to take a chance, turn a page, do something different, “stop all the bleeding.”
‘1135’ is another standout, eerily describing someone getting lost at sea, a bedroom filled with seaweed. AM or PM? Church tells us to embrace and confront our dreams, even if we aren't sleeping. Or maybe we’ve overslept our alarm, and the telly is blasting some slapstick movie playing on free-to-air in the middle of the day; just like it sounds on closing track ‘Over’. Alright phone away, lights off.
Words by Alex Haigh