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The Snakes You Charm & The Wolves You Tame

by Sweet Gum Tree

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  • Streaming + Download

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
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      €8 EUR

     

  • Record/Vinyl + Digital Album

    DOUBLE 12" BLACK VINYL LP - 2x180G - DELUXE GATEFOLD SLEEVE WITH LYRICS

    Includes unlimited streaming of The Snakes You Charm & The Wolves You Tame via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 5 days

      €18 EUR

     

  • Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

    Deluxe CD in gatefold digisleeve, including 16-page booklet with lyrics and exclusive pictures.

    Includes unlimited streaming of The Snakes You Charm & The Wolves You Tame via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 8 days

      €12 EUR

     

1.
Redhead 03:46
I remember cornfields in ancient Egypt, sprinkled with my ashes And being burned at the stake with a temptress in the Middle Ages For coming too close to the flames of hell, held guilty as witches It’s that provocative colour at the centre of desire which led to persecutions for centuries Hey Ginger, beware They’re not going to treat you right out there Sooner or later they’ll be back again to bury your head Bury the redhead in the playground sand I can picture them easily, not pulling any punches Hunting you down, setting their dogs on you as far as beaches And after the wanton street stoning, you’ll be counting up the stitches All of this I carry with me, as history unfolds and nothing ever really changes Hey Ginger, beware They’re not going to treat you right out there Sooner or later they’ll be back again to bury your head Bury the redhead in the playground sand
2.
New Rays 03:12
He had taken an endless walk Through the fogs of nostalgia With little more to expect than the occasional sap rise And cheap rebirth on shaving days She had left town and he’d blown his chance Ensued years of utter letdown But then one day fate’s obscure reasons Were finally matched by its rare luminous ways New rays from an ancient sun Never forgotten Divine apparition Culminating in a white room bathed in light In pillow conversations slowly they entwined Her golden curls, his copper hair New rays from an ancient sun Never forgotten
3.
Unexpected and uncalled-for The ill-timed guilt prompt to sell my secrets once more While her rosy cheeks could never betray My own blushes instantly give me away Dressed as a blatant crush Here comes the crimson flush Cruel implying I might crawl at her feet Looking less like victory than defeat Without even letting down my guard In a second I find myself bare and disarmed Too embarrassing a situation, so with all due respect Will you please get off your pedestal or else swat me like an insect Dressed as a blatant crush Here comes the crimson flush It’s here, it hasn’t missed a heartbeat Cruel implying I might crawl at her feet Looking less like victory than defeat And yet met with a beaming smile Yes, met with a beaming smile…
4.
Grass-green And your hair’s golden sheen In the meadow you preen Yourself, greeting the dawn Goodbyes Like escapes you devise Witness life in full size Mean you’re nobody’s pawn No-one tells you where to go And no-one needs to know Or try to wrest your secrets No-one tells you where to go And no-one needs to know Birds of passage travel light Here now, then out of sight Truant heart Not too pure to act smart Turn your life into art Blaze in the wake of freedom’s call The slipstream Of a new self-esteem Catches you and your dream Now rid of the chain and the ball No-one tells you where to go And no-one needs to know Or try to wrest your secrets No-one tells you where to go And no-one needs to know Birds of passage travel light Here now, then out of sight Moonrise Comes up as a poor disguise For the loneliest eyes That I’ll ever recall
5.
Pavement microflora We grow through cracks Streetlight microfauna We follow the same tracks Aeons of time watch us pass Stretched out, stretched out Naked souls through prisms of glass Hold out, hold out Sunrise Anatolia Day in, day out Leap up, ballerina Point foot, in line Winning over wildest heart Stranger, be mine Evening breeze hints at fresh start Junction gives sign Ageless Manitoba Further we ride I turn to kiss Virginia To the nearest station we stride We’re off without any second thoughts About the last chance train
6.
Astray 03:25
Sir Privilege Never reached the shore On London Bridge Mister Greed met the ghost of Thomas More All he’s got is useless maps No thoroughfare Bottomless pitfalls, random traps Old class warfare Dream vessel sails Before seizure In search of tales From a sweet hereafter All we’ve got is useless maps No thoroughfare Bottomless pitfalls, random traps Old class warfare May the horizon Hold out the promise Of some paragon Like a new Atlantis We’re just left with useless maps No thoroughfare Bottomless pitfalls, random traps Toy explorers led astray Avidity’s dismay Yields only gaps Like some dark scheme under wraps
7.
Set your own rules, let the game begin All eyes on you the second you walk in The snakes you charm and the wolves you tame Blood red varnish on your fingernails Paying no heed and dismissing threats Manimals end up caught in your nets Any creature, your disposable pet Any gender, your potential asset Chew up, spit out Insatiable flesh keeps calling your name Come help yourself, what’s the pick of the day ? Tender surrender from your willing prey Make up your mind, is it take-away ? Chew up, spit out
8.
I owe you For the incandescent hours Among the scents of all the flowers You grew I walk through Every garden that you conjure From an eden undercover For two Every step I take This ravaged heart feels new Long overdue Laid bare to you I praise you For that pretty desperate venture When the saved became the saver Didn’t you I saw you Trade my days of blood and thunder For sweet nights in technicolor Deep hue And as time elapses I tend to take my cue Only from you It makes sense to I owe you For revealing all the splendor Of that complex human nature How true And this lucky reprieve breath Is due to you I have as few Regrets as morning dew Grateful as fire
9.
Emily leaves out the strict necessary Such is the eminent dignity The superfluous that she keeps Is the only remedy For mediocrity Semi-detached and half-wise She’d rather get caught by surprise Leading her life with no answer Mere acceptance, to be The vulnerable almighty The princely nature of creating beauty Must be an inner necessity She feels genuinely Bound to remain free As platonic anarchy Semi-detached and half-wise She’d rather get caught by surprise Leading her life with no answer Mere acceptance, to be The vulnerable almighty
10.
A walk down the lane strewn with dead leaves before dark She seemed to carry out the remnants of her life into the park That same old damp wind every birthday The usual thick fog in her way Until luck whispered in the air Broke the curse and felt like fate’s hand stroke through her hair Whatever pain years accumulate The warmth of a chance encounter could easily alleviate Cold-sensitive creature she had nowhere to go It took a shivery posture and one glance for the stranger to know He reached for her hand and suitcase Led her to a cosmic fireplace Somewhere the cold would not penetrate A shelter made of trust that grief could not infiltrate That day luck whispered in the air Broke the curse and felt like fate’s hand stroke through her hair November daughter Autumn flower
11.
Breathtaker 07:15
Chiselled as two Grecian sculptures With feline grace you stage a female duo tonight Your palms meet like facing mirrors Foreheads touch, a secret mimesis for my sight Choreographic breathtaker don’t stop Stir my imagination, bend, stretch and hop The senses maze in your glamorous manner A foreplay Regal poise and grand composure You draw her gaze, pull her body to yours in assumed might She stoops down enough to conquer Her hands enslave your slender ankles in subdued light Choreographic breathtaker don’t stop Stir my imagination, bend, stretch and hop The senses maze in your glamorous manner A foreplay Wrists and arms belt your trim figure Ineffably sweet, you meet her insistence with delight The breath on your neck lets you surrender The sumptuous swell of confidence flies you to new heights

about

"Lush and spellbinding" orchestral project by singer-songwriter Arno Sojo features Isobel Campbell, Earl Harvin (Tindersticks), Marty Willson-Piper (The Church), classical composer Eric Voegelin as well as producers Peter Deimel (Anna Calvi) and David Odlum (Gemma Hayes).
*** MOJO , 7/10 UNCUT

credits

released February 3, 2014

Performed by Arno Sojo aka Sweet Gum Tree (vocals, guitar, piano, autoharp, glockenspiel, bass, drums and percussion) with guests Virginie Levasseur (piano, keyboards, backing vocals), David Odlum (keyboards), Isobel Campbell (vocals), Romy (backing vocals), David Sojo (bass), Marty Willson-Piper (bass, additional guitar), Earl Harvin (drums), Simon Bernier (drums), Marc Dupont (drums), Igor Adveev (vibraphone, percussion), Andrei Amocov (contrabass), Helena Drako (violin), Artyom Shishkov (violin), Elizaveta Hembitskaya (violin), Helena Maximova (violin), Mario Forte (violin), Tatiana Mesniankine (violin), Vladimir Kunitsa (viola), Nicolai Anischenko (viola), Andrei Malakhov (viola), Dima Tsypkin (cello), Alexei Kicelyov (cello), Tatiana Livitskaya (harp), Alexei Yaskelshik (french horn), Alexandre Kovgan (bass clarinet), Sergei Metrashkevich (trumpet), Pierre Bernier (tenor saxophone).

Written by Arno Sojo.
Composed by Arno Sojo & Eric Voegelin except tracks 2, 5, 7 & 8 by Arno Sojo.
Orchestra arranged by Eric Voegelin, led by Dima Tsypkin.
Track 11 contains excerpts from "Homme" by Eric Voegelin.

Recorded by Peter Deimel and David Odlum (at Black Box) and Maël Bellec (at Taxila).
Additional recording by Arno Sojo, Romy and Chris Szczech.

Mixed by David Odlum (Black Box), except tracks 5 & 8 by Peter Deimel (Black Box), tracks 6 & 10 by Dare Mason (VIP Lounge), track 11 by Arno Sojo & David Odlum.

Mastered by Greg Calbi (Sterling Sound).
Edited by Alex Wharton (Abbey Road).

Cover illustration by Jean-Noël L'Harmeroult.
Design by Arno Sojo.

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Sweet Gum Tree Angers, France

Sweet Gum Tree is musician Arno Sojo's psych-pop / art-rock project. He's played a hundred shows in eight countries and collaborated with such luminaries as Isobel Campbell, Heather Nova, Earl Harvin (Tindersticks) or Marty Willson-Piper (The Church). Embodying a distinctive kind of elegance, he cultivates his own aesthetic in a beautiful collision of the intimate sphere and the wide open space. ... more

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