For the past fortnight, two things have been looping in my head: The Ukraine crisis, and, "Nite Flights" (a song by Scott Walker, 1943-2019). The song, the titular single of the album, was recorded in 1978 by The Walker Brothers and has been rumoured to be an abstract essay on warfare; namely, The Dirty War of Argentina (1974-1983) and the therein, shocking "Death flights".
The brutal imagery conjured through Walker's lyrics are hideous and torturous, much like the invasion of Ukraine by Russia (and all others of its kind across the globe). As such, I chose to cover a rough-stylised version of the song myself, pairing it with collected footage of the conflict. Sampling The Fatima Mansions' cover of "Nite Flights", I intercept the music with a dystopian soundscape and visions of the stars-highlighting the comparative smallness of human power escapades and reflecting the interruptive nature of shelling on civilians.
The text is an excerpt of William Blake's (1757-1827) "Prologue, Intended for a dramatic piece of King Edward the Fourth" from his 1783 collection, Poetical Sketches, has always held a vivid place in my literary imagination. Since first hearing it put to music on Loreena McKennitt's Elemental (1985) album, performed by Canadian actor Douglas Campbell (1922-2009) for the track "Lullaby", it stands as a timeless assessment of the evils of war and the vain glory battle brings only to the cruel rulers of the land.
Негізгі бет Nite Flights
Пікірлер