The Swedish-American collaborative project between Tom S. Englund, vocalist of Swedish progressive group Evergrey, and virtuoso classical pianist Vikram Shankar, feels at once lushly cinematic, warmly intimate, darkly melancholic and incandescently beautiful. It’s making is a story of a deep musical kinship between two seemingly divergent talents. Their first album, “Satellites,” is out now via AFM Records.
They have checked in with the following update:
“Silent Skies presents their adaptation of the beloved traditional “Ave Maria,” as a holiday gift for their fans. We know that this year has been a challenging one in many respects, and we hope this bonus gift, on top of our recently released record, Satellites, can give you strength and joy this holiday season. This track is also a tribute to the great Johann Johannsson, a musical guiding light, departed from us all too soon. Please enjoy our special gift to you, and share it with everyone you know!”
The song is available on digital platforms found here.
Video for ‘Ave Maria’
If you voice Scandinavian melancholy and let it run through the virtuosic fingers of an Oberlin Conservatory film score graduate, you get Silent Skies. It is the sum of two individual musical journeys that came together by coincidence; some would even call it fate.
Tom S. Englund, vocalist of Swedish band Evergrey, and Vikram Shankar‘s ways crossed when Englund saw Shankar re-interpret one of his compositions on piano on YouTube. A swift email suggesting a collaboration gave birth to ideas of a musical landscape rooted in cinematic, film score music, driven by Shankar’s tender and emotive piano playing, but with the added sound of Englund‘s unique and charismatic vocals and strong melodic sensibility.
The compositions are both bleak and hopeful, setting a sombre tone, and with lyrics that stem from self-reflection and existential contemplation, the atmospheric music of “Silent Skies” is engrossing and hypnotizing, evoking in the listener visions for the inner eye.
Tracklisting:
Horizons (video)
Endless
Dreams
Us
Solitude (video)
Oceans
Here Comes The Rain Again
Walls
Distance
1999
“Satellites” will be available as Digipak and ltd. black/white double Vinyl. Order here.
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