Arguably the prettiest of all @PorcupineTreeOfficial songs, Lazarus, off their album Deadwing, is a beautiful yet mysterious tale of a son who is beckoned by the spirit of his deceased mother to escape a miserable life (at least, that's what I interpreted from @StevenWilsonHQ's lyrics). It's one of three PT songs, the other being Fear of a Blank Planet and Blackest Eyes, that often catches the ears of my friends who haven't listened to their music before.
With this cover, I sought to put a bigger spotlight on the chorus with more expansive harmonies by leveraging Olivia's range to great effect. To give each of the two big choruses their own flavor, I listened closely to Richard Barbieri's synth work and experimented with combining different types of Mellotron and Hammond organ sounds to create a unique texture for each chorus. Additionally, despite the song's relative simplicity, it was important to capture the essence of Colin Edwin's and Gavin Harrison's rhythmic work, so special attention was paid to how the kick patterns and bass were interacting from verse to chorus and bridge sections. Finally, this tune was a good reason for me to learn how to play slide guitar, which was an eye (or ear) opening experience that answered a lot of questions I had about how this kind of guitar technique worked.
Compared to other Porcupine Tree covers I've done, this was a relatively straightforward and more joyous experience in which I worried less about nailing technical parts and deciphering complex layers while spending more time experimenting with harmonies and mellotrons.
Check out the Gothik Serpent discography: gothikserpent....
Kerwin Tsang - Vocals, guitars, bass, synths, mixing, video
Tau Bowyer - Drums, mastering
Olivia Jean Kong - Vocals
26 авг 2024
