This album has been in the archives for years. I haven't gotten around to releasing it until now. It's a piano album that I made to practice leitmotifs, and I feel like I succeeded on that. I tried to release this album a few times but motivation would quickly die.
The album is based around Native American/American Indian mythology, dreams, nature, working on breaking the shut-in habit, and even some fictional mythology and lore I've been building with my music and writing. I have Native American in me; Cherokee, Chippewa, and I believe Inuit. I don't know how much percentage I am however. While I'm personally not much of a religious person, (I do label myself as an Atheist,) I would say I still am spiritual. Native American and Ancient Egyptian have always fascinated me. Maybe one day I'll follow down the path of a tribe, I don't know yet.
Now for what the tracks mean or reference
A1: Thunderbird in the Sky
This is something that I believe in. Something about thunderbirds, giant avian creatures that make lightning, has always spoke to me.
A2: To North Fox Island
This references in island in Lake Michigan.
A3: The Fox Guides the Islands
This is referencing the Fox Wife from Inuit culture.
A4: The Dreams are Lying, I'm Not Awake
I suffer from chronic insomnia, and tend to pass out, have real-life like dreams and then wake up for real. Sometimes I even have false awakening, so I tend to not know if I'm awake or not.
A5: Starcrawler in the Sky
Starcrawlers are these beings I made up that live in stars and travel via starlight.
A6: Manabush Watched As I Calmed Down Outside
Manabush is a Menominee hero associated with rabbits. I remember one day when I was outside, swinging at listening and singing to music, I saw a rabbit underneath trees, watching me.
A7: Protector of the Dreamers
This references this creature I dreamed about one day that felt like a protective figure. "[One day], I was not having it. My sinuses were all hella wacked up. I constantly felt like I was going to pass out, even though I wasn't tired. Every subtle movement I made caused my head to be thrown into a world of pain. Then eventually my nose clogged. I eventually passed out at around six-thirty.
It seems like this creature was trying to say to me that I would be alright. I'll probably never see this creature again in my dreams, though I really want to, though I had drawn down a sketch of it; of what I could remember seeing in the flashes of my vision."
A8: A Week Without Sunlight
I had a rant on the sun one day that lasted eighty minute because I kept being blinded by the sun. The next day, a storm hit Michigan and I didn't see the sun for a week. There's a Native American story about a boy who stole the sun... Please don't attack me, I was just mad-
A9: Zakorn and His Resistance
Zakorn is a character of mine that is an eldritchite Aarakocra who acts as a protector of innocent beings who works to stop evil beings. He has appeared in my music twice now.
B1: Quetzalcoatl Flies to the Clouds
It's about the Aztec protector, Quetzalcoatl
B2: Keeping Memories Alive
It's about how telling stories keeps memories alive. Also uses the Reon motif.
B3: Opitkit Keeps on Smiling
Opitkit is a fictional god I made for the fictional mythology of Olentec (Olentecese), which is inspired by Ancient Egyptian, Native American, and Slavic mythos, as well as Romantic and Slavic language. To quote what I wrote about Opitkit, here it is.
Sometime in the thirtieth year on the Olentec world, there was a kid named Opitkit. While he was known to be a happy kid, he suffered from being bullied. He loved to go to a river near the town he lived. There, however, resided the god of water, Rytioh. He was known for his attitude being very harsh. He despises it when Olentecs mess with bodies of water.
Opitkit always had this item he would carry around with him. It was a plushie of some animal that his older sister, Tilioni, made for him. One day he was at the river when his bullies messed with him, causing him to accidentally drop the toy. He fled without realizing he had dropped it. When he found out he didn’t have it, he went back to the river, but was scared what would happen.
Rytioh found the toy on the shore of the river. He got furious of finding another item discarded near the river. When he spotted Opitkit approaching the river, he interrogated the child. Opitkit answered that the toy was indeed his, causing Rytioh to lash out and attack him.
Opitkit would eventually encounter Jakayal, Merako and Xalaki, for Rytioh had murdered him. When Opitkit told the trio what Rytioh did to him, they got livid. They went to Herlâ and Tredask and told them their refusal to have such an innocent child be dead because of one of the god. The two eventually came to an agreement to make Opitkit a god so he wouldn’t suffer from Rytioh’s wrath. A few days has passed. Opitkit had gotten really uncomfortable without his sister being around, so Tredask decided to make Tilioni a god as well. That’s how the two siblings became gods.
B4: Coyote's Calling
Coyote is a common figure throughout Native tribes.
B5 Cold Wind on the Porch Feels Better on the Field
I love cold wind.
B6: Brother Bear
This references a myth that a man had lost someone who he really cared about, and had taken shelter with a bear
B7: Following the Sun
This references a Native myth about a trio of brothers who follow the sun. This also goes with the theme of breaking out of solidarity, just like Cold Wind
B8: Nature Oasis
This is a callback to Solitary Oasis on The Beauty Within Our Loneliest Time. Also acts as a sense of freedom.
Rafe LaNore [or RonZak] is a multi-media artist, multi-instrumentalist, composer and producer that makes a wide span of
music. He delves into genres in the Electronic, Ambient, Folk, Rock, and Orchestra stages, with sub-genres like Vaporwave, Chiptune, Dark Ambient, Hauntology, Breakbeat, Progressive, Math. & more. He has other monikers like Toxins of Solitude, Dimension Log, Akzron, and Legs HQ....more
With the A-Side handled by Laura Trance and the B-Side by All True, “Kontratape 06” offers two different spins on glitchy electronic music. Bandcamp New & Notable Apr 17, 2021
