‘The Big Picture’ by AFFKT | Album Premiere
Exclusive album premiere of ‘The Big Picture’ by AFFKT. Out via Out via Mobilee this July 30th.
Definitely inspiration strikes in a myriad of waves. New AFFKT’s album brings together all the best feelings and elements of the Spanish producer creativity into one cohesive release. New concepts and styles to deliver everyone some of the energy that needs to be released after a forced pause.
“The title ‘The Big Picture’ is about seeing things from a positive perspective, the album wants to be an optimistic pill although a big reflection of what I have been, what I lived and what I have become at this very moment. I feel in an age where I feel fine looking at the past as much as looking forward to the future.” AFFKT
Sonically speaking ‘The Big Picture’ is probably his most expansive and multifaceted electronic-driven album to date. AFFKT’s carefully constructed retro- futuristic electronica definitely suggests the quaint and unique forms of body music bringing ties with rock, pop and certainly more organic sounds. The musician is creating a new path, a new future by travelling to the past. This new LP is redefining its own new genre somewhere between techno, indie dance, industrial and new wave inspirations. He perfectly manages to thrill us –in a very and innate sense- as well as taps into our very core.
Unlike when composing an EP, AFFKT likes to build his albums in a cinematic way. By taking a sonic approach to telling stories. The artist is looking for a deeper, more descriptive way of working and describe feelings, moods, by using a different language. ‘The Big Picture’ can be enjoyed while dancing, as well as serving as emotional therapy.
Track by Track with AFFKT
‘As Far As We Can Go’
‘As Far As We Can Go’ is a colourful and delicate song. I wrote it thinking on my wife. A declaration of intentions that expresses the desire to get back the lost freedom, a lack that I imagine we have all felt at some point, especially in recent times. It has a combination of very rich sound ingredients. And it’s opening the album because no other song better anticipates everything that will come later.
‘Abre los ojos’ feat. e11e
‘Abre los ojos’ it’s an invitation to daydream. It reflects on the concept of reality that each of us have and is inspired by the film ‘Abre los Ojos’ by Alejandro Amenábar. A film that moved an entire generation and that e11e, vocalist of the song, likes it a lot. Together we created a strong creative connection from the very first moment. This song is very cinematic and draws on a lot of influences from the music I listened to in the late 90s. Connecting with the past helps me explain my present and future.
‘Calipso’
Calipso is one of the most energetic and luminous songs on the album and at the same time evocative. It is very connected to early influences like the music my parents might have listened to when I was a kid (80’s Progressive Rock, New Wave). It is also very connected to electronic records that have influenced me over the last few years. It brings back a lot of memories… from my childhood and a strong feeling that nothing can go wrong.
‘Zambomba’ feat. Sutja Gutierrez
I feel ‘Zambomba’ as a story with its own entity inside the whole and bigger album concept. It is a musical journey where many different sensations and memories come together. The production is more Rock/Pop than purely electronic, even though it was recorded from a distance; it was composed as if it were a band. Alex Ross recorded the drums from Munich and Sutja Gutierrez recorded the vocals from home. Finally I put it all together in my studio. In a nod to the past, the song includes recordings I made on my first trip to Cuba 10 years ago, from which my first LP ‘Punto 0’ came out.
‘The Dream is Real’
In general, the album helps me to reflect on the passing of time and our perception of it, but especially in ‘The Dream Is Real’. It’s a look into the past but also into the future, a personal exercise in go deep into the search of who I am and what I want to be. It’s a very cinematic song that condenses probably better than any other many of the feelings I wanted to convey with the album.
‘End of the Road’
The album wants to be an optimistic pill although a big reflection of what I have been, what I lived and what I have become at this very moment. I feel in an age where I feel fine looking at the past as much as looking forward to the future. And this interlude explains this with words, is a text written by me, but read by a robotic voice. It says: “From the top of the mountain you can see the end of the road. Nothing looks the same from this point; the old fears are gone and everything seems to make more sense; the vision and sensations from up here is such it; it has undoubtedly been worthy.”
‘Bloom’
‘Bloom’ was the last song I composed for the album. It was the missing piece of the puzzle to make the story flow the way I intended it to. It has a lot of my background as a drum & bass / breaks maker. The main melody is reminiscent of and inspired in ‘Eye in the Sky’ by The Alan Parsons Project, one of my mother’s favourite songs ever which I listened a hundred times when I was a kid, so I think it arose naturally, almost as if it needed to come out on its own to become part of the album.
‘Jandía’
‘Jandía’ is a wonderful place on the island of Fuerteventura, which I discovered after a necessary and unforgettable trip last summer. The beauty of the place inspired me to write this song which I think is a perfect invitation to fly without leaving the place. To become birds and enjoy the views from up there.
‘Nothing’s Gonna Change My World’
As in the rest of songs, this one also connects me with the past, with travels and adventures I lived. I feel it as a sonic and abstract exploration of the passage of time; it is a song in which I seek a balance between optimism and nostalgia. The sound of thunders serves me to connect the ethereal, with the real world and from there enter into the dream that for me is ‘Nothing’s Gonna Change My World’.
‘Let It Burn’ feat. Sutja Gutierrez
‘Let It Burn’ is one of the first songs that came out of the new album so it is carefully and slow-simmered. A composition where I tried to create a balance of styles and stay halfway through Indie and Eletroclash, music genres that influenced me a lot when I started making music in the mid / late 90s. I feel it as one of the most complete songs I ever did along my good friend and favourite vocalist Sutja Gutiérrez; it is a direct song which seeks simplicity and perfect forms. His lyrics fit perfectly fine with the album concept, they are somewhere between light and dark, but definitely optimistic.
‘Torpedo’
‘Torpedo’ is an explosion of optimism, positive energy and good vibes. It came very quickly and in a moment of great inspiration. I think this sense of immediacy and movement reflects on the song from start to finish. Although it was originally released as part of an EP, this was months ago… when I was making it I felt it should be part of my next album. In this new version I’ve told the story differently, in a more fluid and compact way.
‘Ueli’
‘Ueli’ is undoubtedly the most optimistic song on the album; it is dedicated to my grandmother who passed away just a year ago. This song was born during those days, as if it was a therapy I was working on it until it took shape. My grandmother was a very important person for me, who took care of me and taught me a lot. She is of course part of who I am right now, I think that when you listen to this song you can feel the good vibes she always had.
‘Adiós ayer’ with Piek
To work with Piek is always a pleasure. Once again, destiny made that I am ending the album with collaboration along him. ‘Adiós ayer’ is also a tribute to the great artist and DJ José Padilla, his sessions and music have gone along throughout my entire life, leaving a huge mark on me. I borrowed the name of one of his best tracks to, together with Piek, make my own musical reflection on the passing of time. This cinematic song is a continuous crescendo that ends in a sonic precipice to leave the listener thinking about they have just heard.
‘The Big Picture’ album will be released exactly four years after the previous ground- breaking LP ‘Son of a Thousand Sounds’ on Sincopat. Interestingly, AFFKT’s debut album –‘Punto 0’- was also released with a difference of four years. This must somehow hide some runic secret and mean something. Something good!
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