Nicholas Lens
The Australian multi-talent Nick Cave, known more as a poet than a vocalist, has once again teamed up with the Belgian composer Nicholas Lens. Following their previous collaboration on 'Shell Shock' (2014), they created 'L.I.T.A.N.I.E.S.' during the lockdown. Cave composed twelve lyrical pieces, which he described as 'petitions to a divine creator demanding a kind of cosmic recognition'. Lens, cycling through quiet Brussels, was inspired by memories of the peaceful atmosphere of Rinzai Zen temples in rural Japan. These impressions flowed into the minimalist, at times trance-like music. The recordings were made while adhering to social distancing rules – eleven instrumentalists recorded their parts individually in Lens's apartment. Nevertheless, the finished work, which featured singers such as Denzil Delaere, Claron McFadden, and Lens's artist daughter Clara-Lane, radiates a remarkable unity and gentle beauty that reflects the inner peace Lens had experienced in Japan.
Nevertheless, the finished work, on which singers such as Denzil Delaere, Claron McFadden, and Lens's artist daughter Clara-Lane participated, radiates a remarkable unity and gentle beauty that reflects the inner peace Lens had experienced in Japan.