The Empire Bloom (Live)
from Blow the Brakes Out (EP) by Emily Bezar
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lyrics
In July of 2019, as I gathered the "Four Walls Bending" tapes to be transferred to digital files, I was excited to find that we had actually recorded two full takes of my long-forgotten song, “The Empire Bloom”. But the studio tracks, marred by a wan vocal, constrained by a slow click-track and missing guitar, proved unworthy of resuscitation.
After an exhaustive search of very old hard drives, I finally found a live version of "The Empire Bloom" from the late 1990s that deserves to be unveiled, as I'm sure that this song could have made the cut for "Four Walls Bending" had I ditched the click track and pressed on in the studio through takes 3, 4, 5......
Two decades on, I'm struck by the ominous vibe of the lyrics, which reveal the pre-millennial anxiety I can now clearly read in all my darkest images from "Four Walls Bending" with its falling engines, tumbleweed in flames and underwater cities.
LYRICS:
when steel meets sky
beautiful steam rise on the hill
grace my dark eyes
aluminum and chlorophyll
if everything green grows in pattern
then why do the things we build all scatter?
two grey planes glide
onto this hazy afternoon
I stand bayside
watching the aging Empire bloom
a fisherman craves what he catches
so why do I dream in oil and matches?
I’d follow poison rivers
to the great sea
if you, you would swallow
the open water
I would
flow like
blood through
mercury
hey, an omen of omens
an omen came down
in a honey bee
flash of rain
a storm drain
and as he came down he said
"don’t believe what you can’t see"
over the earth
last coat of glaze is drying
I will return my brushes
when they have stopped
all their crying
I’d follow poison rivers
to the great sea
if you, you would swallow
the open water
I would
flow like
blood through
mercury
Music and Lyrics by Emily Bezar
Copyright 1999 Blue Countess Music, BMI
MUSICIANS:
Emily Bezar
Voice and Keyboards
Morris Acevedo
Guitar
www.morrisacevedo.com
Andrew Higgins
Electric bass
Steve Rossi
Drums
Produced by Emily Bezar
Recorded live in San Francisco, late 1990s
Mixed by Greg Abate
at Neon Audio, Lawrence, MA
www.neonaudio.pro
Mastered by Greg Abate
at Neon Audio, Lawrence, MA
www.neonaudio.pro
After an exhaustive search of very old hard drives, I finally found a live version of "The Empire Bloom" from the late 1990s that deserves to be unveiled, as I'm sure that this song could have made the cut for "Four Walls Bending" had I ditched the click track and pressed on in the studio through takes 3, 4, 5......
Two decades on, I'm struck by the ominous vibe of the lyrics, which reveal the pre-millennial anxiety I can now clearly read in all my darkest images from "Four Walls Bending" with its falling engines, tumbleweed in flames and underwater cities.
LYRICS:
when steel meets sky
beautiful steam rise on the hill
grace my dark eyes
aluminum and chlorophyll
if everything green grows in pattern
then why do the things we build all scatter?
two grey planes glide
onto this hazy afternoon
I stand bayside
watching the aging Empire bloom
a fisherman craves what he catches
so why do I dream in oil and matches?
I’d follow poison rivers
to the great sea
if you, you would swallow
the open water
I would
flow like
blood through
mercury
hey, an omen of omens
an omen came down
in a honey bee
flash of rain
a storm drain
and as he came down he said
"don’t believe what you can’t see"
over the earth
last coat of glaze is drying
I will return my brushes
when they have stopped
all their crying
I’d follow poison rivers
to the great sea
if you, you would swallow
the open water
I would
flow like
blood through
mercury
Music and Lyrics by Emily Bezar
Copyright 1999 Blue Countess Music, BMI
MUSICIANS:
Emily Bezar
Voice and Keyboards
Morris Acevedo
Guitar
www.morrisacevedo.com
Andrew Higgins
Electric bass
Steve Rossi
Drums
Produced by Emily Bezar
Recorded live in San Francisco, late 1990s
Mixed by Greg Abate
at Neon Audio, Lawrence, MA
www.neonaudio.pro
Mastered by Greg Abate
at Neon Audio, Lawrence, MA
www.neonaudio.pro
credits
from Blow the Brakes Out (EP),
released December 20, 2019
license
all rights reserved
tags
about
Emily Bezar
Singer, composer and keyboardist
Emily Bezar creates intricate, uncategorizable music, drawing freely from classical, jazz, rock, pop and electronic genres to create an enchanting, dynamic sound world.
discography
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Jan 2019 -
Dec 2019 -
Nov 2011 -
Jul 2008 -
May 2005 -
Sep 2004 -
Oct 1999 -
Oct 1996 -
Sep 1993
contact / help
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The new live EP by Ryan W. Stevenson's project reminded me, that this debut album must have been gone down the wishlist... If instrumental Canterbury stuff is your thing, this should be a no-brainer. Firmly rooted in the past (late 60s, 70s), nevertheless with a fresh sound. Guests incude The Tangent's Andy Tillison and Soft Machine's Theo Travis.
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got recc'd this on youtube and loved it- reminds me a lot of late 60's and early 70's records i used to hear playing out of my parents' stereo on sweltering summer days.
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Iamthemorning’s keyboardist strikes again. A huge team of geniuses (including Gavin Harrison) cooperating for a thoroughly enjoyable record, regardless of the genre you want to classify it in.
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