- Bryon Harris
Arda & the Stolen Moon - “Signals” Feat. Sarah Fenwick & Nama Dama
Review by Daniel Deprè & Staff
“Signals” is a gentle whisper of a song that has heart and catchy melodies. The performances maintain this soft texture, even when the chorus gets a bit bigger and widens the sound. The result is a very relaxing song that has all kinds of interesting sounds and colors that decorate the soundscape. “Signals” also has a very raw and acoustic vibe, there is little to no electronic elements here. This is so refreshing and really makes the song feel honest and real.
Lyrically, they are singing about the history of communication and how we interact with one another in our modern world. This is such a cool concept for songwriting, and the first few lyrics really bring to light the unique perspective they are singing from. “Well we build a fire and send signals through smoke.” They are truly going back to the start of communication. The chorus then jumps back to the modern day, where the lyrics beautiful express frustration and confusion with how people converse with one another. “Why’s it every time we talk now, I just don’t understand, whether I’m treading on water or walking on dry land, cause anybody can put on an act, I can never be sure unless I look in to your eyes.”
The arrangement is a very laid back and truly organic sounding. The acoustic guitar gets to carry the song with the short and very sweet melodic hook that is repeated several times throughout the song. Another acoustic guitar also adds harmonic value and rhythmic interest, which gels quite nicely with the cajon creating a subtle but buoyant percussion bed for the whole track.
The vocals of “Signals” really bring a lot of variety to the arrangement. The singing style in the verses is soft like a whisper, almost like soft spoken word, like someone telling you an intense story by a campfire. The vocals then open and become very angelic during the choruses. During the outro there is a vocal solo that is truly haunting and beautiful. It calls upon the music stylings of middle eastern music. The acoustic guitar also solos here a little bit, doing variations off of its' main hook that is played throughout the song. “Signals” is a very unique and gentle song that has a really poignant message within its beautiful lyrics and highly memorable performance.
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For more information on Arda & The Stolen Moon, visit their website.
About Arda & the Stolen Moon "I met Arda through a mutual friend sometime in 2014. A gentle, soft-spoken soul, singer-songwriter who performed some in London a few years back, took a hiatus and wanted to get back "in the ring". I have to admit that I'm quite particular with such projects but, the eyes being the window to the soul, i detected desire and determination together with an intriguing restlessness.
She gave me a CD with 10 songs which I began to evaluate. Disappointment crept when one after the other headed to the waste bin of my impression of singer songwriting. I was about to give up when song number 8 tickled my ears. I listened again (and again). "This is a great f*****g" tune I thought to myself. Where did this come from?". Then tracks #9 and #10. Fantastic songwriting with excellent transitions from verse to chorus to bridge.
Turns out these were the most recent songs Arda had written. More mature more introspective more interesting. We discussed the project over lengthy coffee sessions and agreed on the direction we'd follow. And sure enough, Arda started churning out song after song with creative excitement. Every voice has the right to be heard. This one DESERVES to be heard!" - ROBERT CAMASSA - Producer
#ArdaAndTheStolenMoon #Signals #SarahFenwick