Kael and Heather married in 2005, and shortly thereafter moved to Irvine, CA, where they met John Williams, who was also in the area doing a PhD in comparative literature at UC Irvine. Heather was studying biology, and Kael was already hard at work creating music for film and TV projects. One afternoon in the fall of 2007, looking for a distraction from writing his dissertation, John suggested to Kael and Heather that they write some music together. Within three weeks they had written a few songs, and put them up online (on ye olde Myspace). The response from listeners was fast and overwhelming, so much so that they were motivated to continue writing and release a full album, Dynamo, in 2008. After playing some shows in southern California, the band won “Best Electronic Band” at the OC Music Awards, and was listed by the New York Post as a “new music must-have.” NPR called the band’s debut album “clever, intriguing . . . even beautiful.”
When John graduated and got a job at Yale, and Heather was accepted to medical school at UCLA, the band realized they’d either have to carry on via long-distance songwriting, or else end the band. With Dynamo doing so well, and many more songs still on their way, the band decided to try songwriting bi-coastally. John purchased some home-recording equipment to take with him to Connecticut, while Heather and Kael moved to Los Angeles, where Robot Repair built a beautiful studio space for Kael to work in. During the next three years, the band sent tracks back and forth online, video chatting, and emailing notes to write two more studio albums, New Medium (2010), and The Matter (2012). The band’s sound had matured by this point into something more powerful and intense. Alternately sparse and epic, harmonic and grinding, pensive and playful, FPF was clearly moving beyond their electro-pop beginnings.
By 2013, FPF’s music seemed to be circulating everywhere, with millions of plays on Spotify, LastFM, Hype Machine, and Pandora, and appearances on everything from ABC’s “Grey’s Anatomy” to MTV’s “The Real World,” NBCSports, and E! Then, just as the band was contemplating a fourth album Kael and Heather discovered that they were expecting a baby. Many fans wondered whether Faded Paper Figures would be able to maintain its songwriting work with so much going on. But very little seems to slow them down. If anything, the music now comes with even greater clarity and brilliance, and as a result, the band is now set to release their fourth studio album in August, 2014, titled “Relics.” This most recent album promises to be their most honest, sophisticated, and ambitious, spanning a vast musical and lyrical spectrum, from epic synth-pop anthems on questions of life and death, to quiet, intense meditations on the passage of time. The band seems to have fully mastered not only their signature sound (electronic beats, gorgeous guitar riffs, and beautiful harmonies), but accelerated full force into a brave new world of sitars, analog synths, and even more intense vocals. Whatever emotions and uncanny dreams those day jobs are creating, it seems to be paying off enormously in their musical lives.
North by North
Faded Paper Figures Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
We can sail without the wind in this town
Things that London never saw
Northern winters start to thaw;
To islands on the sea,
Lands I've never seen,
Things will get calmer follow me.
You were happy being someone
Let's go far far far from home
I'll be glad to be with someone
Land pneumonia, your engines in repair;
Plant begonias, and orchids in your hair.
Continents all made of clay
Dreamers leaving every day
To islands on the sea,
Lands I've never seen,
Things will get calmer follow me.
Someone told me you had oceans in your eyes
Cold as shadows over European skies
Coasting out the shallow day
Leaving London in decay
To islands on the sea,
Lands I've never seen,
Things will get calmer follow me.
The song "North by North" by Faded Paper Figures is a beautiful interpretation of the desire to explore new places and escape the monotonous routine of everyday life. The lyrics talk about sailing away without a clear destination or objective, just to be free from the constraints of society. The singer talks about the wonders of the North and how the Northern winters start to thaw, indicating that a new beginning is on the horizon. The song is an anthem of liberation, encouraging listeners to let go of their fears and embrace the unknown.
The second verse talks about "planting begonias and orchids in your hair" - a beautiful image, symbolizing the beauty that can be found in unexpected places. Continents are made of clay, and dreamers leave every day, indicating the transient and ever-changing nature of the world. The singer encourages the listener to follow them to lands that they've never seen before, whether that be a physical place or a mental state of being. The line "Someone told me you had oceans in your eyes" is a beautiful metaphor, symbolizing the depth and vastness of a person's soul.
Line by Line Meaning
North by north lest we have to settle down
We must continue on a northerly course, so that we do not have to come to a permanent stop
We can sail without the wind in this town
We can move forward, even if it feels like we are not making any progress
Things that London never saw
Places and things that are unknown to people who have only lived in London
Northern winters start to thaw;
The coldness of winter in the north is beginning to dissipate
To islands on the sea,
To travel to remote and undiscovered locations on water
Lands I've never seen,
Places that the singer has never visited before
Things will get calmer follow me.
If you follow me, things will become more peaceful
You said a long long time ago
A reference to a previous conversation that took place a while back
You were happy being someone
You were previously content with the person you were, but may now be looking for change
Let's go far far far from home
Let's travel to a distant location that is far away from where we have lived our entire lives
I'll be glad to be with someone
I look forward to sharing this journey with another person
Land pneumonia, your engines in repair;
Spend time on land to recover and fix any issues with your transportation
Plant begonias, and orchids in your hair.
Take the time to appreciate and enjoy the beauty of nature
Continents all made of clay
Imagery to suggest the idea of the world being malleable and open to change
Dreamers leaving every day
People who are not satisfied with their current lives and are always seeking out new experiences
Someone told me you had oceans in your eyes
A metaphorical description of the depth and complexity of the person's emotions
Cold as shadows over European skies
The comparison to the chill that comes over the European landscape during certain times of year
Coasting out the shallow day
Going through the motions of life, without experiencing anything meaningful or truly fulfilling
Leaving London in decay
The idea that the singer is moving away from a place that is no longer of any value or importance
To islands on the sea,
To explore and visit remote locations that most people have never even heard of
Lands I've never seen,
The excitement of discovering new and unfamiliar places
Things will get calmer follow me.
If you trust me and follow my lead, things will start to feel more peaceful and easier to handle.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Rando Expresso
Lyrics:
North by north lest we have to settle down
We can sail without the wind in this town
Things that London never saw
Northern winters start to thaw;
To islands on the sea,
Lands I've never seen,
Things will get calmer follow me.
You said a long long time ago
You were happy being someone
Let's go far far far from home
I'll be glad to be with someone
Land pneumonia, your engines in repair;
Plant begonias, and orchids in your hair.
Continents all made of clay
Dreamers leaving every day
To islands on the sea,
Lands I've never seen,
Things will get calmer follow me.
You said a long long time ago
You were happy being someone
Let's go far far far from home
I'll be glad to be with someone
Someone told me you had oceans in your eyes
Cold as shadows over European skies
Coasting out the shallow day
Leaving London in decay
To islands on the sea,
Lands I've never seen,
Things will get calmer follow me.
You said a long long time ago
You were happy being someone
Let's go far far far from home
I'll be glad to be with someone
You said a long long time ago
You were happy being someone
Let's go far far far from home
I'll be glad to be with someone
You said a long long time ago
You were happy being someone
Let's go far far far from home
I'll be glad to be with someone
You said a long long time ago
You were happy being someone
Let's go far far far from home
I'll be glad to be with someone
Rando Expresso
Lyrics:
North by north lest we have to settle down
We can sail without the wind in this town
Things that London never saw
Northern winters start to thaw;
To islands on the sea,
Lands I've never seen,
Things will get calmer follow me.
You said a long long time ago
You were happy being someone
Let's go far far far from home
I'll be glad to be with someone
Land pneumonia, your engines in repair;
Plant begonias, and orchids in your hair.
Continents all made of clay
Dreamers leaving every day
To islands on the sea,
Lands I've never seen,
Things will get calmer follow me.
You said a long long time ago
You were happy being someone
Let's go far far far from home
I'll be glad to be with someone
Someone told me you had oceans in your eyes
Cold as shadows over European skies
Coasting out the shallow day
Leaving London in decay
To islands on the sea,
Lands I've never seen,
Things will get calmer follow me.
You said a long long time ago
You were happy being someone
Let's go far far far from home
I'll be glad to be with someone
You said a long long time ago
You were happy being someone
Let's go far far far from home
I'll be glad to be with someone
You said a long long time ago
You were happy being someone
Let's go far far far from home
I'll be glad to be with someone
You said a long long time ago
You were happy being someone
Let's go far far far from home
I'll be glad to be with someone
TeeTeePlays
this song is criminally underrated
FairSquare
Very much agreed
Jason Lee
Truly
cdub W
I love all of y’all here 😂 this song is so rare, not only was it a slim chance just stumbling upon this song when I was like 15 or 16 (31 now) but the fact a few other people did the same . Thinking about it now I think I found this randomly on pandora one day. Anyhow, this song has not left any of my playlists!
Mica Chakraborty
God I wish I could go back to listening to this in middle school.
drag9n boi
Amazing
Wolfzy Pack
I found this from my favorite wings of fire youtuber.
drag9n boi
@Wolfzy Pack same
Ian Moore
I think im going to cover this. Is that okay?