Narrow Skies’ Beautiful ‘Earth: I’ Album

In light of our recent release featuring half of the duo that is ‘Narrow Skies,’ I’d like to take a moment to talk about their most recent 7 piece album.

I cannot say I was too familiar with Narrow Skies before this album and our Insight Release, but am incredibly happy to have discovered them. After a long and hectic last couple of weeks, Hong Kong based couple Anita & Ben Tatlow have been a blessing through their music.

Concise Review

My first listen through of this album, which released April 22 of this year, has struck me as a blend of alternative, ambient, and pop. Released through Echoes Blue Music, the album is unique and beautiful with plenty of replay value.

Anita is an amazingly talented vocalist, as heard clearly in Insight Music’s recent release. The instrumentals of this album are mostly organic and atmospheric, but now and again in tracks like ‘When It’s Gone,” we’re given a taste of the electronic pop feeling they master in much of their music.

“I Wonder explores the theme of climate change from the perspective of a futuristic storyteller who is imagining more beauty-filled days gone by, When It’s Gone explores the impact of pollution on the planet.” – Anita

Without diving too much into each individual piece as I tend to get carried away with, each track of this album consistently makes you think and wonder, and truly relaxes you. I almost feel inherently grateful for life simply by listening to this duo. Contemplative lyrics accompanied by perfectly composed and produced instrumentals is close to the peak of music. I encourage you to listen, read along with the lyrics, and watch the videos for each piece on BandCamp. Narrow Skies describe themselves as an “Earth-inspired, nature infused…” band, so I think it’s important to watch each video as it adds much to the meaning of the music they are attempting to bring us.

This album, as well as the rest of their music, is such a great blend of the ambient music we love combined with pop and alternative themes. Beyond excited to have discovered these two. Please listen to the album, and give our recent release which features Anita a visit.

A Few Words From Anita

We moved to Hong Kong from Sweden a couple of years ago. At the time we weren’t sure of the impact it would have on our music, especially as our music as Narrow Skies had been so inspired by the changing seasons and landscapes of Scandinavia. One of the things that struck us the most about Hong Kong was the juxtaposition of the city in the midst of nature (around 75% of Hong Kong’s land mass is nature and 40% are country parks), as well as how polluted the skies can become, especially during the drier months, when the air becomes visibly hazy.

The culmination of this, and a change in both continent and surroundings for us, inspired a new overarching theme for us to create to, following our 2018 Season project. Still inspired by the natural world, we wanted to explore more deeply the human impact on our planet. Each song in ‘Earth: I’ takes a different tangent on this theme, with varying musical styles:  ‘I Wonder’ explores the theme of climate change from the perspective of a futuristic storyteller who is imagining more beauty-filled days gone by, ‘When It’s Gone’ explores the impact of pollution on the planet, while ‘With The Earth’ and ‘Winter Of My Heart’ explore more of our human relationship with the earth, and the heart’s desire to work in harmony with the natural world, rather than against it.

‘The Night’, which has probably been the most popular song from this release, can be experienced on many different levels. On the one hand it is a love story, a song of longing and heartbreak, but the lyrics ‘For the night was made to save us’ also speak of climate change; in some parts of the world where the days have become unbearably hot due to global heating, it is the cooler night that has become a saviour – a time when people can safely work in bearable conditions.

Where to Stream/Listen

You can follow the initial imbedded link to Narrow Skies’ SoundCloud page, or you can follow the BandCamp link below to purchase and stream