Fiskur
Album: Cold Hands Burn Slow
Release Date: 2020
Scotland
Fiskur is a new collaborative project formed by Glasgow singer/songwriter Ross Clark and Frightened Rabbit multi-instrumentalist Andy Monaghan. The songs come from many different places and perspectives, from smoggy nights staring at the Shanghai skyline to hazy afternoons fishing on the River Kelvin. The motivation is to create music that excites, not distracted by the trappings of making music in our modern world. [Facebook page]
Ross Clark talks about You Know Me So Well
This song is one of my favourites on the record, as it was one of the first tunes that defined Fiskur sonically and it’s a fun one to talk about as it was written in Shanghai, China. Over the last few years, I have been working all over China and this song was written during my very first stay in Shanghai. For those not familiar with Shanghai it is a densely populated, smoggy and high rise city, some refer to it having a futuristic quality which, definitely influenced the tone of the tune.
You Know Me So Well, was written right after a song (also on the album) that took me a while to finish and was written very quickly, the lyrics and chords were written in about an hour, it felt like a confession. I love being honest and cutting with my songwriting and this was a return to that form, in my opinion, I wasn’t afraid of expressing these thoughts, they were how I felt at the time. This song fell out of me like it had to happen and this had to be said.
I lived on the top of a 26-story apartment block on the north side of Shanghai overlooking what seemed like endless rows of tall buildings beaming their neon lights through the smog, this, provided the canvas on which to build the song. The theme of the song is ‘self-hatred’ and being away from my life in Glasgow afforded me a different perspective on things back home.
The guitars on this song constantly go in and out of tune, I wanted to create tension and take you to a different place, for example, next to me, smoking cigarettes, gazing at the Shanghai skyline at night, wondering what we are going to do next.
Ross on the making of You Know Me So Well
At that time I felt guilty that the people around me thought I was a nice person when at my core I felt like a total asshole, there is a lot of tension and space in the tune, this is what inspired that sound. Many of the songs from ‘Cold Hands, Burn Slow’ deal with a sense of alienation and isolation, working in China allowed me to explore these themes without distraction. It’s an amazing city and I will always remember that apartment, that view and the freedom, that being away from home encourages.
Musically, we were trying a lot of things out with You Know Me So Well, it was one of the first true collaborations with Andy that occurred, I let go a little and let things happen. There are so many influences on this record, I was massively influenced by hip hop, the beats that jump out your speakers are sometimes the most powerful and, making things jump out was a goal for this track. The guitars on this song constantly go in and out of tune, I wanted to create tension and take you to a different place, for example, next to me, smoking cigarettes, gazing at the Shanghai skyline at night, wondering what we are going to do next.
Lyrics: You Know Me So Well
Battered Hellbent wrapped around my shell
Tortured footsteps hanging down the well
Beating temples I can’t take the strain
For ever gift a sweet revival falls again.
So now you know my name, it’s time to take the blame
Can’t escape the world, or the books upon your shelf.
You know me so well, there are cracks in me can’t you tell?
You know me so well, from the bottom of the well
Red Moon rises on a crowded sea
A thousand letters that belong to me
I’m just a worker trying to make my way
Through broken sentences laid out for me
Now I know the game it’s time to sign your name
I’ll never hide the pain cause it will come again.
You know me so well, there are cracks in me can’t you tell?
You know me so well, from the bottom of the well
Staring out standing on foreign towers
Weeping glass wrapped up in lilac flowers
All this time I have been on my way
To find the world don’t come after me
Now I know the shame
Of walking round this place
Terrified of you
Its time to speak the truth
You know me so well, there are cracks in me can’t you tell?
You know me so well, from the bottom of the well.
You know me so well, there are cracks in me can’t you tell?
You know me so well, from the bottom of the well.
Tracklist: Cold Hands Burn Slow
1. “You Know Me So Well”
2. “Too Slow Too Far”
3. “I Become Silver”
4. “Raven”
5. “Silhouette”
6. “Servant“
7. “Emerger“
8. “Blank Revival“
9. “Klinkhammer”
10. “Death Pact”
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