Anja Plaschg grew up in a small village called Gnas in south east Styria, where her parents have a farm. She has played piano since she was six. At the age of 14 she began violin studies and developed an interest in electronic music. She attended the Graz Polytechnic for Graphic Design, but dropped out at 16 and moved to Vienna shortly afterwards. There she studied art at the Academy of Fine Arts in the master class of Daniel Richter, but at 18 dropped out again.
Musicians like Xiu Xiu, Cat Power, Björk, Nico, Aphex Twin and composers like Sergei Rachmaninoff or Arvo Pärt have had a great impact on her music.
After only playing a handful of concerts she was already being dubbed a "Wunderkind". In 2008 she played German singer Nico in the play "Nico - Sphinx aus Eis" by Werner Fritsch in Berlin and Vienna, performing several songs in it, including "Janitor Of Lunacy", from her first EP.
Her first album, called "Lovetune for Vacuum", was released in March 2009. It received excellent reviews and placed in the Austrian Top 10. The album also achieved chart positions in Germany, Belgium and France. Music journalists have already claimed to see in her a new star of Austrian pop.
In 2010 her song "Mr Gaunt Pt 1000" was used in the television commercial for Ford's Mondeo. In the 2010 French film "Mes chères études" (also known as "Student Services"), the song titled "The Sun" plays during the credits. Her tracks 'Brother of Sleep' and 'Marche Funèbre' were used in the soundtrack for Universal Pictures thriller 'War Games: At the End of the Day' in 2010.
The death of her father in 2009 was a key element on her mini-album Narrow, which was released in February 2012.
Cradlesong
Soap&Skin Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Barely a span long
The rough barrel-beat
Was my cradlesong
You ask why I keep still
Why I don’t pour it out into the night
You know
It effaces every piece of light
Foreign what my lips say
Foreign my hair, my dress
Foreign what your eyes ask
About this strangeness
You ask why I keep still
Why I don’t pour it out into the night
You know
You know if it rises and float
It effaces every piece of light
When scream masses on wound
I want to meet you
When the great testimony
From your branches trickles down
Here my soul grows
‘Til it smashes
Above the scene, the balcony
The song "Cradlesong" by Soap&Skin is a hauntingly beautiful and deeply introspective piece that delves into themes of identity, belonging, and the struggle to find one's place in a world that is often hostile and unforgiving. The opening lines, "I thud on a drum / Barely a span long / The rough barrel-beat / Was my cradlesong", evoke a sense of vulnerability and fragility, as if the singer is expressing their deepest fears and anxieties through the simplest of rhythms. The repetition of the phrase "cradlesong" throughout the song suggests a longing for comfort and security, but also a recognition that such things are fleeting and elusive.
The song goes on to explore the singer's sense of foreignness and otherness, with lines like "Foreign what my lips say / Foreign my hair, my dress / Foreign what your eyes ask / About this strangeness". Here, the singer seems to be expressing a feeling of being out of place, of not belonging anywhere. The refrain "You know / You know if it rises and floats / It effaces every piece of light" suggests that speaking out or trying to assert oneself can be dangerous or damaging, as it may attract unwanted attention or backlash.
The final lines of the song, "Here my soul grows / ‘Til it smashes / Above the scene, the balcony", suggest a desire for transcendence, for breaking free from the limitations of the physical world and achieving a higher state of being. The image of the singer's soul "smashing" suggests a violent or explosive release of energy, as if the singer has been holding back their true self for too long and can no longer contain it.
Overall, "Cradlesong" is a powerful and deeply moving piece of music that speaks to the universal human desire for love, acceptance, and belonging, as well as the struggle to find those things in a world that is often hostile and unwelcoming.
Line by Line Meaning
I thud on a drum
I make a loud, rhythmic beating sound on a drum
Barely a span long
The drum I play is very small
The rough barrel-beat
The sound of the drum is deep and rough
Was my cradlesong
I was soothed and put to sleep by the sound of the drum
You ask why I keep still
You wonder why I am quiet and still
Why I don’t pour it out into the night
Why I don't express myself and my feelings outwardly
You know
You understand
You know if it rises and floats
You know my true emotions can be overwhelming and take over
It effaces every piece of light
My emotions have the power to overshadow everything else
Foreign what my lips say
My words may not make sense to others
Foreign my hair, my dress
My appearance is different from what is considered normal
Foreign what your eyes ask
You may not understand what you see and ask me about it
About this strangeness
You wonder why I seem strange to you
When scream masses on wound
When I am in pain and suffering
I want to meet you
I want to connect with someone who understands me
When the great testimony
When there is proof of something significant
From your branches trickles down
When knowledge or insight is shared with me
Here my soul grows
In this place, my inner self develops and expands
‘Til it smashes
Until it reaches a breaking point
Above the scene, the balcony
Looking down on everything from a higher perspective
Contributed by Emily R. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Ben - Moderator
on Safe With Me
Lyrics updated
Aaron
on Safe With Me
Where in the world did these random lyrics come from?