After not receiving any response in his native country he sent a demo to some of his favourite record labels stateside. Before he knew it, Derrick May released The Art Of Vengeance EP, featuring the track "Groove La' Chord", on his Fragile record label in 1998, and was playing it all around the world. This was followed by the release of the Deeparture In Time album also on Transmat.
His live sets have been highly appreciated all the way from DEMF in Detroit to Fabric in London, with his take on Detroit Techno adding special soul and funk to it.
In 1998 Aril Brikha reacquainted the world with deep techno soul, as his record Groove La Chord crossed generic boundaries. Is it techno? Is it house? Is it deep house? It's everything and nothing. Groove La Chord is simply timeless. No one was more surprised about the success of Groove La Chord than Brikha himself - after all, he'd originally presented it on his demo as a potential B-side. Two years after he recorded Groove La Chord, Brikha heard it in a club for the first time - Derrick May pulled it out in Chicago. Aril then realised it was a good track. The renegade always walks alone. As a cultural exile in Sweden, Aril Brikha has never been one to conform. Born in Iran with Assyrian ancestry, Brikha emigrated to the Scandinavian country at three. Brikha demonstrated his musicality early - with his parents nurturing his talent. At seven, Aril was given a keyboard and his father, a pianist, taught him to play. Before long, Aril was picking up notes by ear. In his early teens he developed an interest in electronic music acts - such as Depeche Mode, Front 242 and Jean Michel Jarre. Brikha obtained an Atari and started to use a sequencer and, after initially emulating the music of others, he began composing his own at 16. Friends who heard his material told him it was 'Detroit techno'. Brikha had no idea what that was - and so they played him records by Robert Hood and Berlin's Basic Channel. At a time when the Swedish techno sound was starting to be identified with minimal, loop-based 'DJ tools', Brikha was creating cerebral, emotional and spiritual electronic music. No one wanted to listen. Brikha disseminated his earliest material on Swedish imprints - Dunkla, Plump, and Placktown - but realizing that his music wasn't what the local labels were seeking, he looked for fresh outlets. Aril, now residing in Stockholm, obtained the addresses of three independent companies - among them Derrick May's Transmat Records - and posted out demos. As it happened, Transmat contacted Brikha and, as a consequence, his Art Of Vengeance EP (with Groove La Chord) was issued on its sister label, Fragile, in 1998. A year on, Aril followed it up with the LP Deeparture In Time, a collection of evocative grooves - like the intricate Embrace, transcendent Otill and the electro-funk Setting Sun - gathered over a six year period and laid down with just one keyboard, a drum machine and an Atari. It drew exultant reviews. Since forging an alliance with Transmat, Brikha, celebrated as the new star of deep techno, has toured solidly with his live show, playing everywhere from the inaugural DEMF (Detroit Electronic Music Festival) to in-vogue clubs like London's Fabric and Tokyo’s Air and Yellow. With a large gap in releases Brikha has recently reemerged from a production hiatus with a few select releases on some of Europe's most forward thinking and popular electronic labels showcasing the width and breadth of his production style; On Belgium's historic Music Man label Aril's sound progressed with a more in your face, harder production but still maintaining that classic Detroit sound. On Germany's trendsetting minimal Kompakt Brikha's 'Winter Ep' took yet another turn with two tracks that were destined for the bigger clubs and much play from Tongy and others making them massive peak time performers. And finally on highly desirable German imprint Poker Flat this time Brikha was again destined to find a new wider audience with the upfront, plastic percussion and gnarly synths - Maximal sounds and Minimal production. Fast forward to summer 2007 and the long time awaited releases on Peacefrog bring both Brikha and Peacefrog back to where they begun with two 12” and then a full length album showcasing Aril’s classic sound of Detroit techno / house with elements of his recent productions. With haunting strings, filtered chords and synth pads adorning the hypnotic beats, Ex Machina transcends dance music’s ever multiplying genre’s and brings back the old feeling of making us just want to dance.
Winter
Aril Brikha Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
酔いや なぜに 無限と美杯
遠くの空 回る花の 円陣の喧しさに
あの日や あの日に 超えてきた分岐が目を覚ます
かげろうに身を借りて 道を指す娘を追い
高台に現れた 名も知らぬ広野は懐かしく
酔いや 飲んで 人類 下戸 美杯
酔いや 飲んで 人類 下戸 美杯
あれが夢で見せた街と 影の声がささやいた
来る日も 来る日も 幾千の分岐を超えた時
暗がりの賢人が 捨てられた日々を集め
海沿いに 海沿いに 見も知らぬ炎を躍らせた
あーマントルが饒舌に火を吹き上げて
捨てられた野に立つ人を祝うよ
あー静かな静かな娘の視野で
あー見知らぬ都に灯が灯りだす
酔いや 飲んで 人類 下戸 美杯
酔いや 飲んで 人類 下戸 美杯
高く空 朱に染め 火の燃えるごときの雲模様
あの日や あの日や あの時に無くした道を見せ
繰り返し夢に吹く 風を追い時が下り
川沿いに 川沿いに 見も知らぬ至福の花を見た
あーマントルが饒舌に火を吹き上げて
捨てられた野に立つ人を祝うよ
あー静かな静かな娘の視野で
あー見知らぬ都に灯が灯りだす
あーマントルが饒舌に火を吹き上げて
捨てられた野に立つ人を祝うよ
あー静かな静かな娘の視野で
あー見知らぬ都に灯が灯りだす
酔いや なぜに 無限と美杯
酔いや なぜに 無限と美杯
The lyrics of Aril Brikha's song, "Winter," depict a dreamlike scene where the singer is chasing a girl who points the way and takes him to a high place. The girl seems to possess some sort of mystical power, and as they reach the hilltop, they are greeted by a vast expanse of land. The land that they reach is not just any hilltop, but rather a place that holds a deep significance to the singer. The lyrics also touch upon the theme of divergence and how the singer has surpassed countless crossroads to reach this place. The theme of reminiscing is also evident in the song, as the singer remembers past days and moments.
The refrain "酔いや なぜに 無限 と美杯" can be translated to "Why does intoxication bring infinite beauty?" The lyricist seems to be reflecting on the feeling of being drunk and how it can add a level of complexity to the world around us. The lyrics suggest that while being intoxicated, one can experience things more vividly and see beauty in things that might be overlooked when sober.
Overall, the lyrics of "Winter" by Aril Brikha offer a dreamy and introspective narrative that touches upon themes of divergence, the search for meaning, and the beauty of moments that we may not fully comprehend in the moment.
Line by Line Meaning
酔いや なぜに 無限と美杯
Drunk, why do we have an infinite and beautiful cup?
遠くの空 回る花の 円陣の喧しさに
The noise of the circle of flowers circling the distant sky makes me remember the fork in the road we passed long ago.
あの日や あの日に 超えてきた分岐が目を覚ます
The crossroads that we passed that day, which we overcame, come to mind clearly.
かげろうに身を借りて 道を指す娘を追い
I followed a girl who, by taking refuge under the shade of darkness, pointed me the way to go.
高台に現れた 名も知らぬ広野は懐かしく
The unknown plain that appeared on the hilltop was nostalgic.
あれが夢で見せた街と 影の声がささやいた
The voice of shadow whispered to me that it was the city that I saw in my dreams.
来る日も 来る日も 幾千の分岐を超えた時
When every day comes and every day we overcome thousands of crossroads.
暗がりの賢人が 捨てられた日々を集め
The wise in the darkness gathered the days that were abandoned.
海沿いに 海沿いに 見も知らぬ炎を躍らせた
They danced around an unknown flame along the shore of the sea.
あーマントルが饒舌に火を吹き上げて
Ah, Montol speaks eloquently and blows fire.
捨てられた野に立つ人を祝うよ
Celebrating the people who stand in the abandoned fields.
あー静かな静かな娘の視野で
Ah, in the silent and tranquil view of the girl.
あー見知らぬ都に灯が灯りだす
Ah, the light shines in the unknown city.
高く空 朱に染め 火の燃えるごときの雲模様
The sky is high and dyed in crimson with cloud patterns like burning fire.
あの日や あの日や あの時に無くした道を見せ
Show us the path we lost on that day, on that day, on that time.
繰り返し夢に吹く 風を追い時が下り
Chasing the wind that blows repeatedly in my dreams as time goes down.
川沿いに 川沿いに 見も知らぬ至福の花を見た
I saw an unknown flower of bliss along the river.
Contributed by James C. Suggest a correction in the comments below.