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Bruise Blood (album)

by NORI

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    Artwork by Dayva Beaudoin

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1.
The Dream 03:39
In the dream, unity In the dream, grace In the dream, possibility But the dream's misplaced Is the dream, opportunity Is the dream lies? Does it lay in the casket We walk behind? Still our voices rise for the dream Still we stand tall And despite gravity Still we fight the fall Where's the dream when we wake? Was the dream a mistake? Is the dream bound to break and die? Still we dream
2.
Wildfire 03:31
The flicker Of feeble candlelight Seems harmless, but wait It sets the stage For fire’s rage The war is waged in flames of hate The arsonist grins The smoke chokes our kin The reckless blaze wins unabated Wildfire This is wildfire Wildfire
3.
Every night I watch you sleep My fear burns deep My throat shuts tight What a world I brought you into Where no matter what good you do Some will thrive on their hate for you Longing to erase what they fear What a world that I gave to you Where the old try to eat the new And the path crumbles under you Threatening all that you hold dear Will our generation stand up and fight? Will our generation yield to the light? Or Will your generation wither and wane Starved of all we squandered in our disdain for life? Every night I watch you sleep I want to weep Can't make it right Look around at the evidence Of our cruelty and negligence Disavowing our common sense Rape the land and leave you with dust For so long we walked toward the sun Every day hope where once was none Now our backs turn on everyone And our hearts have started to rust Will our generation stand up and fight? Will our generation yield to the light? Or Will your generation choke on the ash From the devastation left when we crashed and burned? Crash and burn Crash and burn
4.
Undertow 04:37
I'm waiting To feel myself But I'm a stranger They're wading While my waves rise Parading danger In this overflow You feel me You see inside Ignore my blunders You fill me With love and fear And I'm pulled under In this undertow And then there is the lightness When I hold you And then those moments Of such sweetness when we dance And then I feel forgiveness For my failings And somehow I am Given yet another chance Give me another chance to try
5.
The Walk 04:25
This is how I walk through life Someone’s daughter someone’s wife This is how you see my flesh A thing you can possess But I’m not your hole to fill And I am not your time to kill I am the product of my own will Your hands are strong I’m stronger still This is what I face each day Your desires in my way This is how you see my worth Your place for death and birth But I’m not your hole to fill And I am not your time to kill I am the product of my own will Your hands are strong I’m stronger still
6.
Sell My Soul 04:03
See my divinity See my supremacy Moral authority Was laid upon me There's no duality There's no depravity But your humanity Means nothing to me You may need charity You may need dignity No promises from me This I give freely: In the shadow of my crown I shield men of greed I will sell my soul for spoils Laughing while you plead In the shadow of my crown I shield men of greed I have sold my soul for spoils Laughing while you bleed
7.
When our land is illum'd with Liberty's smile, If a foe from within strike a blow at her glory, Down, down, with the traitor that dares to defile The flag of her stars and the page of her story! By the millions unchain'd who our birthright have gained We will keep her bright blazon forever unstained! And the Star-Spangled Banner in triumph shall wave While the land of the free is the home of the brave.
8.
Amends 03:14
Lift your head out of your holy book Lift your head up out of your hands Lift your eyes and confront the madness Does it feel like what your God planned? When our fear and our darkest demons Take control of all that's sacred What a shame, what a sad irony We ignite our own explosive end We are all to blame When we look away It's not enough to pray We must make amends Little minds come to big conclusions About all who don’t share their views What’s the cause of our heart’s confusion Victory divine means we all lose When we use his name For our empty games He must feel ashamed We must make amends
9.
Prelude 01:51
10.
Ballad 03:50
I am what you see in these fatigues Fighting for your life I breathe and bleed I’ll decay if you take away My work, my dream, ‘Cause you can’t see the part of me That’s you

about

Bruise Blood is a reference to Steve Reich’s 1960’s composition Come Out. Reich’s medium is a tape-loop based on the spoken words of Daniel Hamm, a young man from Harlem wrongly accused and convicted of murder. After police officers tried to brutally beat a confession out of him, Hamm made a desperate attempt to show his need for immediate medical treatment – “I had to, like, open the bruise up, and let some of the bruise blood come out to show them.”

Come out to show them, come out to show them...

These echoing words strongly reverberate today. America is hurting inside. Years of division, ignored pain, and struggle have been festering and clotting under the skin. Nori’s Bruise Blood is an album determined to cut that wound wide open to let the blood out.

The album opens with The Dream, a song that introduces a contemplative tone with a stately three-note motif and slowly devolves into a chaotic roar of unresolved doubt. Wildfire is about an arsonist setting blaze to our future and reveling in the “flames of hate.” When the smoke clears, a fearful mother ponders the world she has brought her child into in the introspective Crash and Burn. Motherhood is further explored in Undertow, a song that flows with a sweeping string arrangement and unpredictable rhythm. Side A ends with The Walk. It is a protest song written from a woman’s perspective. The lyrics are vivid. The march-like cadence is strong and deliberate. Side B begins with Bruise Blood, a collection of three songs: Sell My Soul gives insight into the cult of personality of a corrupt leader; the free-jazz stylings of The Star-Spangled Banner provide context for a bruised and divided nation (the lyrics come from an unofficial fifth verse written by Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr. during the American Civil War); the three-song collection concludes with Amends, a song in search of a way to stop the bleeding. The album closes with Decay (in two movements): Prelude is a dark and mysterious first movement arranged for string trio; Ballad, the second movement and final song of the album, leaves us wounded, lamenting that “you can’t see the part of me that’s you.”

credits

released November 30, 2018

Nori is:

Akina Adderley - vocals
Erik Telford - trumpet
Nick Litterski - Fender Rhodes, piano
Aaron Allen - upright bass
Andy Beaudoin - drums, percussion

Special Guests:

Leigh Wallenhaupt - violin
Leah Nelson - viola
Rylie Harrod-Corral - cello

Recorded by John Michael Landon at Estuary Recording in Austin, TX
Mixed and Mastered by Dave Darlington at Bass Hit Recording in New York, NY

Artwork by Dayva Beaudoin
Legal Services provided by David Beaudoin

Produced by Andy Beaudoin and Nori

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NORI Austin, Texas

Nori is an eclectic modern jazz band from Austin, Texas featuring Akina Adderley on vocals, Erik Telford on trumpet, Nick Litterski on keys, Aaron Allen on upright bass, and Andy Beaudoin on drums.

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