Photo: Wout de Natris |
Leiden band The Stream played its show Nature Calls, also the name of its new album that was released on the 29th. In other words, I heard songs that I had never heard before and was surprised the whole of the way. Not so much by the music, this was vintage The Stream, but by everything else. In fact, I was surprised to be able to sing along to every word of one of the songs, on which more later.
Jan Stroomer, the band's leader and songwriter, told me that the concept of the album started when he visited his former department of physics at the university. From there a concept was slowly built around themes on the laws of physics, astronomy, etc. Song were written around these themes, some pure physics, others, tying life to nature's laws. I'm a historian, so some of the topics go way beyond my grasp, except that I have a general interest and like to know a bit about a lot, which does not equal understanding. Yet, Nature Calls.
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All the time the band played, steam was moving over the stage floor, a pendulum of light moved, small explosions took place, random movement took place, a hand was lit several times. Stichting Rino were doing science tricks on stage, mostly successful, not always. "If it smells, it's biology, if it explodes, it's chemistry, when it fails, it's physics", I learned. On a big screen at the back of the stage, equations came by but also the most beautiful pictures of the universe. Black holes, nebulas, the night sky over hours of time, rocket launches, while the music played, science was prepared and shown and a story sung. It was too much to keep up with all at the same, yet together so impressive.
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Nature Calls is a fantastic show. The music matches it. The album is available on The Stream services as of today. I haven't heard the album yet, but I certainly want to. I've such heard such beautiful songs in the theatre.
When the show plays again, do not hesitate and go and see it. I have never seen anything like it in the most positive sense possible.
Wout de Natris
You can listen to and order Nature Calls here:
https://thestream.bandcamp.com/track/nature-calls
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