I have to say this, few albums have made me crazy like Harpsinger. Allusions about it started to appear around the 27th of June 2018 when the first bunch of singles came out, but it’s only on June 29th of 2019 that the full album has been released, literally a year later! High expectations and hype trains are tough allies to deal with, they can crown your work as well as throw shadows on what good could have been made (look at the weird Swedish House Mafia situation). So, it’s not that I am a man of little faith, but given the long wait and the stellar precedents like his groundbreaking deconstructing nature album, I was afraid lo let my enthusiasm fly too high.
By this point you’re probably legitimately wondering: has the album met expectations? Hell yes.
Let me begin saying Harpsinger is another bold statement of the immense talent that lies behind sakuraburst’s mask. This man’s fantasy seems endless and boundless. His creativity is a universe in incessant expansion, where music and emotions mix together, giving birth to wonderful galaxies. Coming down, back to earth, Harpsinger is an album that at first glance may seems quite cold and analytical, too full of its digital nature and electronic artifices. But once you embrace it and its message, all those inputs will start moving the most human thing we have: emotions.
“About a long journey to the north skies; Through forest, through sand, through water, through ice. About a long journey to becoming better; Through being lost, through finding friends, through challenge, through change. I hope you can find your sky too.” This’s how the UK producer described its creation, and indeed it’s a celebration of the agony and ecstasy of being alive. Triumphant melodies, broken rhythms, sweet melodies, insane synths are just echoes of our everyday life experiences and the different stages of our personal growth. I won’t go further in an unnecessary technical analysis. If you are stuck in the rat race and you don’t even have time for a complete listen, I highly suggest to begin with the sequence composed by ‘THE GIANT’S SHROUD’ – ‘GLASS RIVER’ – ‘BESPOKEN ISLANDS’ (probably my favourite song of the album) to get a glimpse of the world inside Harpsinger.
