Unger-Hamilton studied English Literature; the other three Fine Art. In their second year of studies, Newman showed Sainsbury a handful of his own songs inspired by his guitar-playing dad and hallucinogens, and the pair began recording in their dorm rooms with Sainsbury acting as producer on Garageband.
First as Daljit Dhaliwal and then as Films, they spent the next two years playing around town. Their eponymous first 4-track demo ∆, was recorded with producer Charlie Andrew in London and included early versions of "Breezeblocks", "Hand-Made", "Matilda" and "Tessellate".
Their first 2012 release for Infectious was the triangle shaped 7" "Matilda" / "Fitzpleasure", followed by "Breezeblocks" as an advance of their first album An Awesome Wave, released on 25 May 2012. That same year, they won the prestigious Barclaycard Mercury Prize for An Awesome Wave.
On January 2014, Sainsbury announced that he had left the band. "Hunger of the Pine" was released in June, with an accompanying video. Their second record, This is All Yours was released in September 2014.
On 6 March 2017 alt-J released "3WW", which features lead singer Ellie Rowsell of Wolf Alice, as a digital single and announced dates for the Relaxer Tour in support of the album. Three weeks later, on 29 March, they released "In Cold Blood", the second single from Relaxer.On 24 May 2017 alt-J released "Adeline", the third single from Relaxer. The album was released shortly afterwards, on 2 June 2017.
On September 28, 2018 an alternative version of Relaxer was released. The album, titled REDUXER, is a "rap heavy do-over" of the previous year's record
http://altjband.com
Arrival in Nara
alt-J Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The rope loops 'round her feeble feet
Before the dawn
Breaks on her sorry grasp
In a blink and in one motion
Rope constricts
Rips her towards the ocean
She never finds her bearings
Sucking splash into her lungs
Ooh
Ooh
Ooh ooh
Ooh ooh
Though I cannot see
I can hear her smile as she sings
And though I cannot see
I can hear her smile as she sings
Oh ooh
Ooh
The lyrics of alt-J's song Arrival in Nara describe a woman who is drowning in the ocean, as she is tied to a rope that drags her down. The images painted by the lyrics are graphic and powerful, as they describe her feeble feet being tied up with the rope, and her sorry grasp not being enough to save her from her fate. Despite her struggles and the violent force of the water, the woman continues to sing, and the singer can hear her smile through her voice. The lyrics create a sense of tragedy and finality, as the woman is unable to escape her impending doom.
The lyrics of Arrival in Nara are open to interpretation, but one possible meaning is that they speak to the inevitability of fate and the idea that even when we are facing our darkest moments, we can still find a way to express ourselves and connect with others. The woman's singing in the face of her drowning could represent a refusal to give up, or a willingness to embrace the unknown with openness and courage. Alternatively, the song could be seen as a meditation on the power of sound and music to touch us even in the most dire of circumstances.
Line by Line Meaning
As she submarines
As she dives underwater
The rope loops 'round her feeble feet
The rope wraps tightly around her weak feet
Before the dawn
Before the sun rises
Breaks on her sorry grasp
Breaks on her weak hold
In a blink and in one motion
Suddenly and quickly
Rope constricts
The rope tightens
Rips her towards the ocean
Pulling her towards the sea
She never finds her bearings
She never gets her sense of direction
Sucking splash into her lungs
Taking in water instead of air
Ooh
Ooh
Ooh ooh
Ooh ooh
Though I cannot see
Even though I cannot visually perceive
I can hear her smile as she sings
I can sense her happiness through her singing
And though I cannot see
Despite my inability to see
I can hear her smile as she sings
I can still detect her joyfulness through her singing
Oh ooh
Ooh
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: AUGUSTUS UNGER HAMILTON, JOE NEWMAN, THOMAS GREEN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@julialohr4547
[Intro]
[Verse 1]
As she submarines
The rope loops round her feeble feet
Before the dawn
Breaks on her sorry grasp
[Verse 2]
In a blink and in one motion
Rope constricts
Rips her towards the ocean
[Hook]
She never finds her bearings
Sucking splash into her lungs
Though I cannot see
I can hear her smile as she sings
@AllisonGhost
"Arrival in Nara"
As she submarines
The rope loops 'round her feeble feet
Before the dawn
Breaks on her sorry grasp
In a blink and in one motion
Rope constricts
Rips her towards the ocean
She never finds her bearings
Sucking splash into her lungs
Ooh
Ooh
Ooh ooh
Ooh ooh
Though I cannot see
I can hear her smile as she sings
And though I cannot see
I can hear her smile as she sings
Oh ooh
Ooh
@WispWalk
This song is disturbingly beautiful. The bass track fluctuates giving you an unsettling feeling, however it is always accompanied with a technically brilliant guitar melody line.
"Though I cannot see I can hear, smile as she sings."
This is about a woman drowning, and in her last seconds, she sings underwater to die doing what she loves.
Fuck this makes me so emo god must be my mid-terms.
@promyk9255
I'm listening to it on the balcony at 4:43 am when everyone's asleep. Wonderful feeling.
@tommytucker5464
go to bed
@promyk9255
oh, I went to bed shortly after :>
@purplepikau
Everything, the air, feels like yours, and with even the sun gone, you're one of the few ones thinking, in that moment.
@matthewnash4953
I was listening to this song to help me concentrate while doing homework. I completely stopped and just sat there listening until it ended..
@abbychristensen2628
sammmmmme
@miaama
Literally me right now ahha !!! such a soothing and heart warming song with a magical melody
@vanille864
same ♡
@penndavis471
That's how I am whenever I try to listen to music while I do homework
@danielglabazna1479
+matthew nash guess its not the best song to listen to while doing homework then:D