Zea
We Are Still Each Other's Only Hope
In an essay on the remarkable Estonian sound poet Ilmar Laaban, the Swedish author Teddy Hultberg noted that Labaan often drew inspiration from Tristan Tzara's motto, "thought is born in the mouth." The inquisitive, empathic music of Zea, aka Arnold de Boer, often follows a similar dictum. But whereas Laaban's surrealist poetry worked "backwards," creating elemental, vegetative sounds, Zea's music seems to work towards the words, making a springboard for his message. McLuhan's doctrine made flesh, literally. Great pop music always has a magpie quality. And Zea's message is created from a wide circle of friends and sources. A student of philosophy and cultural anthropology, De Boer has always had a fascination with language and poetry: "sucking up, or sticking with every word, sentence or concept" that gives rhyme to his muse. Movies and books also provide a steady source of words and ideas: De Boer; "there's always a bit of Ingmar Bergman in my music and a bit of James Baldwin too. Did you know they once met? For me that is the perfect meeting." The album 'We Are Still Each Other's Only Hope,' showcases a number of fascinating "meetings" of words and music, most notably, 'And The Man Killed The Bird,' a haunting soliloquy based on a pygmy legend as recounted by Joseph Campbell in the series 'The Power Of Myth' with interviewer Bill Moyers. The track is a true example of a thought that is "born in the mouth:" De Boer's voice is masked, sounding like it's been recorded on a dictaphone. Sound and message are massaged to create a mood poem that was maybe first meant exclusively for the ear. Elsewhere we can hear words purloined for a good cause: such as on the restless 'Hyperobjects,' a track inspired by Timothy Morton's book 'Hyperobjects.' And 'The Magician' is based on Maria Wislawa Anna Szymborska's poem 'Powroty'("Going Home").