SATSANG - The Story of You
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These musical masterminds deliver a "college degree," a peaceful protest rally, and a dictionary of harmony in each piece of music put forth by re-inventing ways to distribute information. With a fresh, yet familiar approach, this cooperative of conscious animals hit the ol' recording-cave for ten days straight with a pristine set of raw new tracks for all curious earthlings.
Comprised of Drew McManus (Guitar/Vocals), Karl Roth (Bass, Keys, Vocals, Weissenborn), & Keller Paulson (Drums/Percussion), these grown-up children re-emerged 'Satsang' into a musical trio. Coming off a productive high, with 'In Between the Blinks,' 'The Story of You' is born.
"With David stepping down from the project, Karl has moved into a role of Producer/Multi-instrumentalist to compliment my song writing and structuring," explained McManus.
Before even embarking into the phonics of this composition, the album cover itself sets a peaceful tone within the mind of the admirer, bottling a simplistic approach towards the portal of ones' self. Perfectly attributed to the messages inside.
Click the album cover to JAM these tracks
Representing conscious action, human empowerment, self-wealth, and environmental uprising, the overall message remains constant from the first album, if not more strategically pronounced. Uniting forward, this second studio album allows the listener to capture whatever they may wish from the intention of these audio architects.
The gateway to the series, 'Remember Jah,' sets the slate for the entire album. Providing a soulful, chanty script, this track encompasses a light preach while laying out influential ideas, yet, still allows interpretation. With Drew's voice refined and tightened, this creates a softer presence from their previous album. Setting the scene with a rainforest-esque flow and mountaintop "church" vision, it gives hope with its' vibe alone. Sounds of beautiful water formations built in with immense confidence in the vocals and instrumentals, these musicians are truly on point with one another. Virtually Holy.
From the man himself - "This is the first piece of work I have ever made that I feel 100% embodies who I am right now. Musically, spiritually, mentally," proudly spoke Drew. "This last year has been a lot of trials, tribulations, changes, restructuring...and that has birthed a lot of growth."
The 'Thrill of it All' provides a pleasant balance from track one with an enlightening and happy pace. Ears WIDE open. Playful, still enchanting, a similar band style follows through from their prior album; keeping the heart and soul, expanding on just that, allowing the new crew to experiment and improvise.
'I Am' presents social comfortability and applies confidence to the listener. It gives hope to the masses. Try! Changing paths, uniting with yourself, discovering new emotions and ideas, and creating this existence should be fun, and exciting. When the outside world and unique factors close in, losing focus can be easy...We all make mistakes, but we all have the power to learn, grow, and adapt in any setting or situation WE put OURSELVES in. Hence- "I will make mistakes, and often I will be wrong, but I am perfectly imperfect, and I am only here to learn, and all the evil on the path gets burned." A powerful message condoned. The ending riffs leave a positive vibration of strength and gratitude.
Title track, 'The Story of You,' has that 'Land Before Time' entry. A chill, beachy, flow. Taking the album by the wings, this segment stays simple and focused, and houses an impactful undertone. The antique glow portrayed by 'The Story of You' reminds us to casually "go with the flow." And remember..."You are the one you will answer to when this life is through." After all, it is the story of YOU!
With an access point dropping in like Indiana Jones, 'All For One' highlights a traditional reggae style for its' base. This track ties the entire album together, incorporating a slowed hip-hop lyrical rhythm and a deep electro bass-transfer that echos through the galaxies. All genre tones released mix simultaneously! Quite the wild array of sounds.
The song messages progress slightly into new, emerging ideas and focal points, while holding constant meanings shared with the audience. These brothers showcase the ability to construct the most pleasant vocal and instrumental material, and lay it out in such a crisp, charming manner, similar to those extreme greats of our lifetime.
"Satsang has toured all over the country and has shared the stage with the likes of Steel Pulse, Nahko and Medicine for the People, Trevor Hall, Chris Berry, Mike Love, Jon Wayne and the Pain, Tubby Love, and many many more," exclaimed their management team.
"It still amazes me how far these boys have come in such a short period of time. With a very dedicated fan base and a lot of respect in the music community amongst other artists, Satsang is a band to watch closely." -GratefulWeb
Gaining momentum, 'Right Now' suggests a higher idea of progression. Just live. Be. We can't dwell, worry, or focus on the evil of our current path. WE may only change the world by doing what WE can, with what WE have: with an attempt of bettering ourselves and everything around us.
Drew's voice really carries a true, genuine appeal, with zero hesitation, especially with the components at hand, and falls in perfect harmony with Karl & Keller. Almost as if they were all designed to speak these words, and play these notes, together.
The intro to 'Grow' carries a familiar style to that of the established and blissful String Cheese Incident and Phish. This beauti-rap rasta soul portion of the album builds on everything; reminding us to keep a positive outlook, and attempt to stay focused. Some things may not happen overnight, and processes can be slow, but "as long as we have air, and water, and love, we may all grow!" This track is part of that process, just like this album. It goes through a story of improvements, accomplishments, sacrifices, struggle, beauty, and suggested guidance. Their mellowed, yet high energy in this one shines through.
The instrumentals pair perfectly with the vocals. They share a musical brain. Every time the tone changes, or a single word highlights an intuitive change for rhythm, they are all right there to pounce on the vibrational melody used to perfect the song or idea. The flow throughout this album is flawlessly seamless with clear messages, yet allowing the listener to still take what they want and think for themselves, without forcing their beliefs and truths on others.
'Make it Better' continues the idea of this album and the scope from the artists. The lyrics "Take your time, make it last," signifies helping others, don't rush. It is not like they are telling us what to do, but more assisting us on what to do, and possibilities on how to go about it. "Just making it better, by making it together." Break through the struggle, with everyone doing their part. This is a track for rejoice. Taking on those distinct reverberations of bands like Slightly Stoopid and Giraffe Aftermath, these guys dissect each portion and make it their own. This confident experiment seemed to get lengthy; however, it did not hurt the impact. It was solely reiterating important significance for the album.
Having some good ol' fun with this one-creating a boppy, floaty characteristic of audio, 'We Are Free' allows us to sit back and reflect on that idea itself. Laid back and mellowed, on top of the world, and confidence throughout; this song is a proud part of the album. Moving through life, telling it how it is, fear, growing, and expanding on the good. They even gave a shout-out to their first album, 'In Between Blinks'.
"Acceptance of our ENTIRE STORY. Not just the good bits. But the really hard stuff that we don't like to share. Typically the hard stuff is where we see the most growth. It is where we learn the most about ourselves hands down. If we can learn to LOVE ourselves through all of our faults and imperfections, I feel like that is when we can experience real liberation and freedom. That's the common theme of all these songs," Drew revealed.
A highly uplifting start to the final piece of this compilation, 'Life Goes On' musically states: We got this! No matter what, move forward! If we all participate in our own ways, however we can, all shall be beautiful. Assist, try, face fears, pray to whateva', & LOVE unconditionally. A perfect finalization to this series of sounds and emotions. The harmonious compounding roar within sends images of floating off into a one-world of unity, chanting; a bird-like soaring finale. Taken back, words outspoken, clarity at its' best.
The entirety of this album was laid out thoughtfully, or maybe it just flowed that way. The tracks ordered to highlight meanings and built on one another. Playing around with words and music to accomplish having a good time...consciously, and speakin' a lil' truth while they do it.
It is sincerely amazing what three men have the ability to come up with; sounding like an entire orchestra, yet simplified down.
"This Winter we signed with Artifact Concepts for management, and Sweetwine Entertainment Group is now handling our booking. We are really exited about our team! We will be playing a handful of festivals and touring around them. June we will be in Colorado and touring into the midwest. We will be at Northwest String Summit in July and touring around the NW before heading to Alaska," Drew announced joyfully.
"I am holy, and sacred, and righteous, and true, and I deserve to be here, and so do you!" bellowed Satsang.