«Chimes at Midnight»
When Madrugada regrouped to celebr… Read Full Bio ↴Madrugada
«Chimes at Midnight»
When Madrugada regrouped to celebrate the 20th Anniversary of their classic debut album «Industrial Silence» in 2019, they quickly realised that interest in the band had not waned in their absence. It had, in fact, increased, not least on the European continent.
What’s more, they realised that they loved being back together. Being in Madrugada had never been quite this much fun.
Says vocalist and guitarist Sivert Høyem: «It was if as the last piece of the puzzle had snapped into place. I’d never felt so self-assured on stage before. It was no stress at all, whereas in the past it had always been very stressful to me».
The tour was a triumph, with the band selling out shows in the their native Norway, plenty of festival dates and a host of concerts throughout Europe, where the band now sold out halls that were twice the size of the places they used to play back in the day.
10 years on from when the band called it a day after guitarist Robert Burås passed, the three remaining original members – Høyem, Frode Jacobsen (bass) and Jon Lauvland Pettersen (drums) – felt rejuvenated and ready for more.
They wanted to play more shows. In order to do so, new music had to be made. The trip they were on couldn’t be strictly nostalgic. And so it was that Madrugada, a band that usually takes its sweet time to agree on just about anything, ran straight off the stage and back into the rehearsal room in December 2019.
Jacobsen: «We were on a tight schedule. We booked time at Sunset Sound Studio in Los Angeles at the end of February, and had about a month and a half to come up with the material and whip it into shape. It went rather swimmingly. We were still high from touring, raring to go».
Høyem: «Everyone brought something – melodies, ideas – to the table. And then we’d all be let loose on it. We had the «Industrial Silence» album in our bloodstreams after playing it live on the tour, and I felt there was a direct line back to our formative years. Everything came out sounding like Madrugada».
The band worked in their own rehearsal space/studio in Oslo, in another studio, Velvet Recordings, 45 minutes outside the city, and spent a further week woodshedding in Berlin. 70% of the material they came up with, is spanking new. But they also rescued a couple of older songs from oblivion. «The World Could Be Falling Down» hails from the time of their first album. «Slowly Turns The Wheel» first reared its head somewhere between the third and the fourth.
Lauvland Pettersen: «The process was very different from when I recorded my last album with the band [«The Nightly Disease», 2011]. That was a case of ‘second album syndrome’. We didn’t have much going in, and had to come up with the goods on the clock. This time the material was not only written, but thoroughly arranged too».
The band arrived in Los Angeles in late February, happy to be recording in a legendary studio where classic albums by Led Zeppelin, Fleetwood Mac, The Doors and the Rolling Stones had been conceived.
Lauvland Pettersen: «It was a boyhood dream come true, for sure. A terrific gift: I’m here, I’m with my dear friends and we’re having the time of our lives».
Producer Kevin Ratterman (Ray LaMontagne, My Morning Jacket, The Flaming Lips) was waiting for them, and the plan was once again to get in the flow and work fast.
The band had given themselves two weeks to put the music, recorded live in the studio, to analogue tape. They met their deadline, and a good thing too. No sooner was the last song on the album, «Ecstasy», in the can, before the world as we knew it shut down. It was March 2020, and the plan had been for Madrugada to go home, rest up for a week and return to do overdubs and mix the album in a studio in Silver Lake. Instead, they had to go home, and stay home.
Høyem: «It was a ‘last flight out of Saigon’ kind of scene. And the tickets weren’t cheap».
Up until this point, the making of «Chimes at Midnight» had been a whirlwind affair. When it became obvious that the world would remain in a state of emergency for quite some time, it was important not to lose momentum. The album would have to be finished by unorthodox means:
Namely by Zoom and via big screen-TVs, with Ratterman and the American team on one end in Los Angeles, and Madrugada on the other, in Oslo, Norway. Frustrating? Oh yes. But the esprit de corps remained strong.
Jacobsen: «The technology enabled us to do overdubs in real time, with Kevin producing us from the other side of the Atlantic. Unusual, to say the least, and quite interesting. But the process became a lot slower».
It goes without saying that Høyem, Jacobsen and Lauvland Pettersen are painfully aware that one of Madrugada’s founding members, Robert Burås, very sadly isn’t around to work his magic anymore. But what other developments have the nigh-on 14 years since their fifth and hitherto last album, «Madrugada» (2008), and «Chimes at Midnight», begot?
Høyem: «The songs are a reflection of who we are in the present time. We’re older. We’re all fathers. I believe I have a more nuanced view of life than I had 20 years ago, a greater ability to feel several things at once. Madrugada’s aesthetic was very New York City and Berlin, we were a punk band that played the blues. All those elements remain. But this time around it felt appealing to explore the more dreamy aspects of what we do. The city we recorded in encouraged us to do so».
Jacobsen: «Chimes at Midnight» is not a conceptual album, it doesn’t point in one particular direction. That makes it somewhat different, in my mind. But it’s made to played live, just like the other albums».
Lauvland Pettersen: «It’s got maybe more of a singer/songwriter vibe to it, I think. If I want to write a ballad and give it the full orchestral treatment, I’m welcome to do it. It’s been therapeutic too. The shows were pure pleasure, and the album’s given me a feeling of closure».
Høyem: «‘Chimes at Midnight’ was born of an atmosphere of true joy and goodwill. To me, it’s a passionate album».
The members’ respect for their shared history is at the top of their minds at all times.
Jacobsen: «I’ve always had romantic ideas about bands in general, and our band in particular. I never wanted to make music outside of Madrugada. I wanted to make it with the people I started out with».
Madrugada are
Sivert Høyem
Frode Jacobsen
Jon Lauvland Pettersen
with
Cato Thommassen and Christer Knutsen
Album discography:
«Industrial Silence» (1999)
«The Nightly Disease» (2001)
«Grit» (2002)
«The Deep End» (2005)
«Madrugada» (2008)
«Chimes at Midnight» (2022)
Biography from their site: https://madrugada.no/#biography
Theres's another band from the 70's that use the same name:
2) Madrugada was a band from Bergamo, Italy, formed around 1970, and had a long life that lasted until 1978. The group derived from some 60's beat bands like I Condor, that included bass player Alessandro Zanelli and keyboardist Franco Orlandini (from Mat 65 and who later worked with Equipe 84 and Claudio Rocchi), and later changed name to Le Lunghe Storie, and along them from Le Bugie and Gruppo 3. But the basic nucleus came from Terza Classe, which also gave birth to Perdio.
Though not properly a progressive rock album, their first one, only released in 1974 by Philips, contains some interesting parts.
It contains seven tracks, some of which were arranged and signed by Roberto Vecchioni (a singer-songwriter that's still very popular nowadays), while three songs were composed by Mauro Paoluzzi.
The first side shows some influences by a West Coast styled sound, with multivocal parts very well executed but not particularly original. Second side contains the long Mandrax, led by Gianfranco Pinto's keyboards, that's probably the best album track.
Except for a limited use of acoustic guitar on Uomo blu the band didn't use guitars and their sound was strongly based on keyboards and richly arranged vocal parts.
Second album came three years later, this time the trio was helped by some guest musicians like Lucio Fabbri on violin (Piazza delle Erbe and later PFM), the jazz saxophonist Gianluigi Trovesi, and Luciano Ninzatti (from Eugenio Finardi's band Crisalide) on guitar.
With a much better production and sound, this can be considered the best of their two albums, with long tracks like the opening Romanzen or Aragon showing a very good composition quality. Another nice song was È triste il vento, that had previously been played by another group from Bergamo that had a close connection with Madrugada, Perdio.
Like in the first album there are some odd different-styled tracks, like the folky Noter de Berghem and the silly Katmandu (that was also released on single with È triste il vento, but with no success), but Incastro can be surely appreciated by progressive music fans. Unfortunately it didn't have a good promotion by the record company.
In concert, Madrugada played on tour with Area, Claudio Rocchi and Biglietto per l'Inferno, and in Lugano (Switzerland) with Kevin Ayers. Moreover they played in many concerts for political movements like Avanguardia Operaia and the Radical Party and the Re Nudo magazine. The band split at the end of the 1970s.
Pinto and Zanelli collaborated with Mauro Paoluzzi in his shortlived Pangea project, which produced only a promotional album in 1976.
Keyboardist Pinto has collaborated with many Italian and international artists (Patty Pravo, Roberto Vecchioni, Adriano Pappalardo, Riccardo Fogli, Gianna Nannini, Brian Auger), and in the late 90's with the reformed progressive group Perdio.
He works in a music school in the Parma area and still plays now in studio, with live bands and in the piano bar circuit.
Bass player Billy Zanelli formed the semi-punk group Judas, with an album on Spaghetti label in 1978, and later played with Roberto Vecchioni.
Discography
LPs
Madrugada (Philips, 1974)
Incastro (Philips, 1977)
CDs
Madrugada (AMS/BTF, 2006 / Universal, 2010)
Incastro (AMS/BTF, 2006 / Universal, 2010)
Singles
Katmandu / È triste il vento (Philips, 1977)
sirens
Madrugada Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Like rock and skin
At peace with evil
And all within
A shadow looms above the river
And fire sweeps across the land
Our bones are twisting in their sockets
Right here alone, yeah
Fire in work beneath your skin
Forever let us sleep
'Till sirens tear the night wide open
And even we awake, love
Oh listen
The world is awake
Oh it's time for the towers to rise
And the blood of the engines
Heeeey alone lone lone lone lone
Lone with evil, lone
And alone
Right here alone, yeah
Alone, oh ho oh
Alone, yeah
Lone, lone, lone
The lyrics in Madrugada's song "Sirens" are quite poetic, yet cryptic, and can be interpreted in a number of different ways. The opening line "With hearts below us, like rock and skin" seems to suggest that the singer(s) are hardened and dehumanized, with feelings deeply buried within them. The next line "At peace with evil and all within" suggests that they have come to terms with their inner demons and the evil that surrounds them, which has brought them a certain degree of inner calmness. However, this is then contrasted with the shadow that looms above the river and the fire that sweeps across the land, which suggest that chaos and danger are still very present.
The lines "Our bones are twisting in their sockets and even we must try to stand alone, right here alone" hint at the vulnerability of the singers, and the difficulty they face in navigating their surroundings. The repetition of the word "alone" throughout the song adds to this sense of isolation and the struggle to find one's place in the world. The chorus, with the lines "Till sirens tear the night wide open, and even we awake, love" suggests that some kind of drastic event needs to happen in order to shake people out of their complacency and make them face the reality of their situation.
Overall, the lyrics of "Sirens" are shrouded in ambiguity, but offer a commentary on the human condition, the struggle to find meaning in a chaotic world, and the need for a wake-up call to shake people out of their apathy.
Line by Line Meaning
With hearts below us
We are deeply affected by our emotions
Like rock and skin
Our emotions are as solid and tangible as our physical body
At peace with evil
We have come to accept and coexist with the darker parts of our nature
And all within
Our inner selves are harmonious and unified
A shadow looms above the river
There is a foreboding sense of danger and uncertainty lurking nearby
And fire sweeps across the land
There is destruction and chaos on a grand scale
Our bones are twisting in their sockets
We are physically and emotionally writhing in pain
And even we must try to stand alone
Despite the hardships, we must rely on ourselves to persevere
Right here alone, yeah
We are facing this struggle on our own, in this very moment
Fire in work beneath your skin
There is a passionate intensity burning within us
Forever let us sleep
Let us remain in this fiery fervor forever
'Till sirens tear the night wide open
Until a sudden, loud disturbance awakens us from our blissful rest
And even we awake, love
Even in this awakened state, we can feel love amidst the chaos
Oh listen
Pay attention to what's happening around us
The world is awake
The world is aware and active
Oh it's time for the towers to rise
It's time for the powerful and established to make their presence known
And the blood of the engines
The driving force behind progress and advancement
Heeeey alone lone lone lone lone
Despite the noise and activity around us, we still feel isolated
Lone with evil, lone
We are still in harmony with our darker nature, even in this chaos
And alone
And we're still facing this struggle on our own
Right here alone, yeah
We still have to rely on our own strength to overcome
Alone, oh ho oh
Being isolated is a heavy feeling
Alone, yeah
Even though we're surrounded by others, we can still feel alone
Lone, lone, lone
We are one with our inner selves, and no one else can understand that
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: PETER HAYES, ROBERT BEEN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@Haroupi
LYRICS:
Well hearts belong
Like rock and skin
At peace with evil
And all within
A shadow looms above the river
And fire sweeps across the land
Our bones are twisted in their sockets
And even we must try to stand alone
Right here alone yeah
Fire in wirk beneath your skin
Forever let us sleep
'Till sirens tear the night wide open
And even we awake, love
Oh listen
The world is awake
Oh, it's time for the tellers to rise
And the blood of the anciest
Heeey alone... alone... alone... alone
Hear my ban with evil
And alone
Right here alone, yeah
Alone
Alone, yeah
Lone, lone lone
@pennypapazoglou7933
Αυτός ο δίσκος έχει ταυτιστεί ως υπόκρουση με τον ανεξέλεγκτο,ανέμελο, φοιτητικό ερωτα
@soniaelenaki
Ευχαριστούμε τον Κοκκινόπουλο. Thanks awesome director
@bitter_truth8646
Υπάρχουν ψυχές που νιώθουν ξένες στον κόσμο αυτό..
@user-cm2qv8re2j
Ταυτίστηκα
@dakillah6018
An eisai adras kane kati gia auto . An eisai gynaika perimene me .
@nickydk4282
ειμαι μια απο αυτές :)
@Iakovos276
✨
@elizadeth24
Για μένα αυτό είναι επιτυχία.....το να μπορείς να ξεχωρίζεις..να είσαι διαφορετικός..
@belalugosi2448
Σαν τώρα θυμάμαι την πρώτη φορά που ήρθαν στο Ρόδον κι έπαιξαν.
Αγαπούσες όλον τον κόσμο, υπήρχε στον αέρα ,το ένιωθες.
Η απόλυτη σιγή από το κοινό.
@ayahridhamohamed7315
2023 and still listening to your magical voice and the greatest band of all times