By Edgärd Reyes
SUBZAR is a band from Cambridge, UK that started making music many years ago as a side project between two friends and at some point not long ago took on a life of its own and evolved into the quartet we know now. Then, they started creating new music and released the I Am Not Yet Here EP in 2012. Now, after a year of perfecting their compositional methods they present PICO, their new EP.
Subzar's music is entirely acoustic and instrumental, fusing influences that fluctuate between Jazz, Post-Rock and Classical. Two guitars are accompanied by violin and cello, instruments that compensate the lack of drums by creating beautiful and calm pseudo-classical atmospheres. And even when the music is enough to understand what they want to comunicate, Subzar uses some sampled voices to guide us through their albums.
Pico is a highly conceptual work that conveys the migratory journey of a flock of birds in a complex and fascinating 21-minute effort. This EP has been divided into four movements, each one chronicles different parts of the journey that is full of triumphs and travails for the birds.
Pico also offers a view from the perspective of those who are always looking for new lands to explore, those who feel the urge to make their own journey through life asking themselves: Shall we seek shelter in the comforts of our nest, or will we spread our wings to places far beyond?
We start the journey with 'Tethered No More, From Shackled To Soar', piece that set the perfect start to this experience, we can feel the excitement that create the idea of an upcoming departure but also how the character feels insecure and worried about the future. The melancholy is an important feeling in this part and is provided by the cello's rawness. In second position we have 'In Ritual's Suspense' segment that is clearly related with the take off, he feels happy to be able to leave that place even when important things may have happened they don't tie him there, he is really ready to fly again.
'Toward New Horizons Yonder, Though, Clouds May Tear Asunder' is in the third position and reflects the magnificent satisfaction that Pico feels while flying, he is free and nothing can stop him now, or thats what he thought until he sees a storm coming his way, in that moment he suffers, he becomes unstable and may think that it would have been better to stay where he was but there is no going back, he has to face his destiny, hoping for the best. 'In Languid Drift Aloft a Looking-Glass Sea' is the final movement, Pico survived and is getting closer to his destiny, he understands now that everything he left behind and all the suffering were necessary to be able to enjoy this new place that will be his home (for now).
I enjoy a lot this music because its composition and execution are fantastic, also the message is clear and really easy to understand. I see in Subzar one of the most innovative projects of the UK and I'm sure that Pico will help them get the attention of a big amount of people.
Pico was recorded at Sunn Hof Studio in Pfarrwerfen, Austria by producer Luca Sammuri and will be available on December 16th as a digital download and as a limited edition CD wich includes a four-panel cardboard packaging with a 12-page booklet.
