The sun has brought life to a halt. It’s crawling through the rugged walls. The faded terracotta walls throw back its reflections. It’s wearing down the parasols that have seen better days anyway. It’s dazzling heat is not yet ready to disappear. There is a couple sitting on a café patio looking towards the sea. He’s wearing a white linen shirt, a straw hat and linen pants. In his right hand he is holding on to a thick cigar. His left hand playing with the little spoon. He’s calmly stirring his espresso. Her beautiful eyes are covered by big, dark sunglasses, her legs crossed and covered by a thin red dress. Red lipstick has left marks on the glass of cold white wine she playfully draws circles around with her index finger. Condensed drops of water are running down her glass. The waiter is resting in the dark entry of the café. His white shirt impeccably buttoned up he’s wiping down the drops of sweat on his bald forehead with a cotton tissue. Two old men are playing cards in the dark and cool corner next to a humming refrigerator. It seems as if it is the only audible sound in miles. The whole town is quiet. Not even the black stray cat can be bothered to chase after two lizards racing around her. Life is alright around here. But the waves coming in from the sea could tell a different story. All you need to do is listen.
Music can paint some beautiful pictures. It can create that one magic moment taking you on a journey. And the journey can be so different to each and every listener. When I first heard Where is Piemont, the second album by German duo Malky it painted a concrete picture of a hot summer day at the mediterranean sea in my head. One of my friends told me it sounded like the perfect audio translation of a summer fling. You know, the one where you fall in love head over heels. The one where every words sounds like poetry but the summer heat makes it too hot that you even feel like sex? But you do it anyway and you end up sweaty and happy and all over each other in white linen sheets.
One picture can’t do this record justice though. Where is Piemont is a grand record. A rarity in todays pop world. It is like a good bottle of red wine. Where is Piemeont demands time, demands attention. Malky took their time with it and you can hear every minute that has gone into its production. Songs ebb and flow. They refuse to end when you expect them to end.
It feels like Malky are taking up a subordinate role to their songs. Any need for radio compatible singles is dismissed in honor of the greater good that is the album. Sometimes this approach feels overwhelming, sometimes a little too far and it is definitely far from the norm. But once you let yourself fall into this world, the mood and the atmosphere of Where is Piemont, Malky have won and you just stare out the window in awe, thinking about that hot summer all these years ago.
Where is Piemont by Malky is out now via Columbia Records / Sony Music.
You can pick up your copy here.
Header image © Max Parovsky
