Bridge of the Sun by October Gold - the Music of Malazan

October Gold is an alt-folk duo out of Canada that seems to be gaining in popularity and recognition around the world. Now, I'm basically a book blogger and I'm even less 'qualified' to be commenting on music than books. But October Gold has the distinction of getting much of their inspiration from Steven Erikson's Malazan Book of the Fallen series (my review), of which I am a big fan. All of the lyrics from their new album are taken directly from poems and even excerpts of the series, primarily from the last two books.

 

So when I was contacted by Kit of October Gold about taking a listen to their new album (apparently at Steven Erikson's suggestion), I was eager to give it a go. In short, I really enjoyed it. Erikson's Malazan series does a lot, but at it's heart it is an exploration of humanity, particularly tragedy and hopelessness, though ultimately hope for the future does win out. The songs that October Gold have put together using Erikson's writing capture the powerful humanity of the Malazan series, and make for some really great music.

 

I'm certainly not a music critic, but I can't write this post without saying at least a few things that are more specific and related to my personal taste (I have no reference point for commenting on actual musical talent and composition beyond personal taste). The CD begins with "Song of the Last Prayer" which to me sounds like it's straight out of an episode of Firefly - to me this is a very good thing. And while I'd have probably been quite happy with a CD devoted to such a style, the next few songs pleasantly proved that October Gold has a wide range of styles they use to explore their music through. My favorites are probably "Song of the Last Prayer", "Dust of Dreams", "Gallan's Hope", and "Where Ravens Perch". And I simply must say, that I couldn't help but wish at times that the lead singer's voice was about 2 octaves lower because I think a Leonard Cohen-like musical narration and arrangement of these songs could be just about the coolest thing ever. But that says more about my own eclectic tastes than anything else.

 

So, fans of music and Malazan will want to check this out. And while I think anyone without knowledge of Malazan can enjoy this music a lot (after all, the themes are universal), I think Malazan fans are in for a special treat.

 

Below I have few samples of the music and info about October Gold that I was able to get my hands on. So, sample, enjoy and go get some great music if you like it.