Leonov - Wake

Ever since its formation in 2010, Leonov has found inspiration for its Celestial Doom in the existential - the darkness and affliction, as well as the curiosity and hope in things beyond our reach and comprehension. "Wake" is an album that contends with life's great journey in the face of these forces, from cradle to grave. From the childlike and fundamental quest for belonging, acceptance and affirmation - to the mature recognition that we are ever coming up short and are not in control of our existence, and as a summary, the titular song "Wake" conveys the melancholy and nostalgia over what has been found and lost. The song encloses a celebration of life and a grief over the things left behind, a pain that everything ends and at the same time a hope that death is not final. The album was recorded at Taakeheimen Lydrike, with the exception of "Eucharist" recorded at Malabar Studio with Christoffer Gaarder. The album is mixed and co-produced by Morten Oby at Taakeheimen. "It has been wonderful to work with Oby, who has really managed to bring forth a dark and translucent soundscape throughout the album, while crystalizing the nerve from our live performance. He has been open to crazy ideas, filtered out some bad ones, and been imperative to the unity of the album." Simen Sandbæk Skari has made the designs for the release, and has managed to convey the dark themes of the album in a formidable way. "The dark images, with the man at the entrance of the forest, immediately took our minds to the opening of Dante's Inferno. Dante gets lost in a forest that holds the entrance to the underworld. The entering into the forest becomes a picture of moving into the unknown, dark and threatening. A place where control slips and the world inverts." In a modern world, that image might not strike a nerve with everyone, as we have harnessed nature, cut down the forests and constructed parks in its place. In spite of this violent dominance we are experiencing over our external reality, we still feel powerless in face of the paradoxes and dualisms beyond our control ever lurking at the entrance of our own subconsciousness.