The Full Story
About Re-Genesis
Re-Genesis was the third album to be produced and released in 2022. Stylistically, (re)GENESIS could have been released with SO MUCH FUN as a double album, but the subject matter of the material is significantly different, so it was decided to bring them out separately.
Whilst the themes in (re)Genesis revolve around death, aging, and mental health, the underlying message is more positive than the cynical So Much Fun album. In (re)Genesis death and decay are seen as necessary paths for rebirth, hence the (re) appendage to the concept of Genesis.
Apart from the thematic differences, in a musical sense (re)Genesis is far more abstract than previous Madadkin albums and stylistically, in an avant garde jazzy way, it was a big step forward by Adkin towards his second pseudonymn SHERWIN who would release his first album the following year.
(re)Genesis was released on December 16th, 2022.
Change to Save
CHANGE TO SAVE is the most link to previous works by Madadkin. Political commentary from a revolutionary standpoint, it is a sarcastic, rock and roll representation of a world sinking into yet another age of wars. Opening with chops from a Biden speech responding to Putin's invasion of the Ukraine, it's a fast rocky piece calling for change... to change our human world in order to save the world.
Avant garde:
Yukiko Okada, & Bachward Bass Bounce for Edna St Vincent Millay
These two tracks develop the long collage tracks Pit and the Pyramid (Raining in Greenland album) and Passacaglia for an Atom Bomb (So Much Fun). They both have a very nostalgic feel. The main theme of YUKIKO OKADA is suicide, the tragic suicide of that popular Japanese teen-pop artist of the 1980s. The track revolves around the recurring theme from 'Sakura' (Cherry blossoms) reinforcing the message of regeneration. BACHWARD BASS BOUNCE however is more anarchic and randomly stuck together, mixing a Bach theme, random phiosophicl titbits, a poem by and read by Edna St Vincent Millay and a strange Star Trek chorus calling for Scotty to beam them up.
Melancholia:
Life Comes Back With The Rain, Sleeping Beauty
LIFE COMES BACK WITH THE RAIN is a slow jazzy piece about regeneration after disaster. The piece has a powerful melancholy feel and the vocals are full of powerful emotion. It is one of Adkin's favourite songs. SLEEPING BEAUTY deals with the inevitable phenomenon of aging. A poignant, sad ballad about the futilities of human vanity based on the allegory of the Sleeping Beauty tale.
Jazzy chops:
I Hate To See Da Sea, & The Hysteric's Discourse
These tracks follow in the style of Kicking Lacan and In the End, using jazzy bass licks and vocal chops to create an experimental finish. I HATE TO SEE DA SEA is built around a chop of blues singer Bessie Smith while THE HYSTERIC'S DISCOURSE is a bass and synthesizer jam that gradually dissolves into a groaning violin accompanied by a whining melancholy vocal. Hystgeric's Discourse is one of Madadkin's most popular tracks on Spotify.
Blues:
When You Opened the Window, Foghorn Blues
WHEN YOU OPENED THE WINDOW is a slow blues and is a piece of social observation. FOGHORN BLUES is a starkly atmospheric piece that narrates the story of a shipwreck on a dark foggy night.