The Story Behind The Song
Much like myself, African storks like to spend their summers in Latvia. On our travels around the country we’re always on the lookout for their gargantuan nests which teeter on the tops of telegraph poles. If you’re lucky you’ll see one of these gentle giants standing guard, for all the world looking like a statue of some bygone Pterosaur. We always stop the car by the side of the road, desperate for proof that these enormous birds really can fly- it’s certainly hard to imagine one getting airborne, let alone making the migratory round trip of over 12,000 miles. But there’s good reason why they’ve become the preferred proverbial courier for delivering babies. I’ve only witnessed a few take to the skies, but it’s something you never forget. While those enormous lumbering wings require tremendous effort to get off the ground, once in the air they become deceptively effortless. Reaching dizzying heights of 16,000 feet, these white storks are among the highest flying birds in the world; at this altitude, what once looked awkward and cumbersome become graceful and swift. There are times when my guitar resembles a stork standing guard. It just sits there inanimately, like a statue of some bygone instrument. With six unforgiving steel cables stretched taught over a solid baseball bat neck and oversized wooden body, I fail to believe it could sing with that same grace. Though it seemed impossible, this piece is the first I’ve ever written where my guitar really felt like it took flight (lidojums in Latvian).
Released 12th November 2021