February 17, 2023
When I received Rasmus Nelausen's submission, I must confess that I made a mistake. As usual, I listen to the songs one after the other, without looking at the screen, and I close my eyes to appreciate every detail of the song. And for 3:54, I was sure to hear a new Nanuk song. Then I opened my eyes. Missed. It's Rasmus Nelausen, a 28-year-old Danish folk artist, who already has 200+ shows under his belt, and performances on national TV in his country. So, yes, the vocal resemblance to our favorite teddy bear Nanuk is quite amazing, but Rasmus Nelausen has his own musical universe.
As the song progresses, it gains in intensity and we are totally absorbed by the wonderful and warm vocals, carried by a writing full of metaphors and poetry. You too, close your eyes and imagine those clouds in the sky.
The song plays with contrasts, between acoustic and electric guitar, between black and white as the title suggests, but also with differences in intensity. We find this color contrast in particular in the second verse: "And I know your fences / How you paint them white / Pure as a black crow / Taking flight". But the primary root of the song remains the acoustic guitar with that fabulous fingerpicking, as Rasmus says:
"On the new album, we've been really aware of the fact that we wanted to experiment with sounds. Not that acoustic guitar was out of the picture, but it wasn't the first pick either. This song actually started out way different. The demo was way more ”high energy” and ”rocky” but in the studio, we felt like the song just needed to calm down a bit. This led to the song ending up being carried by the acoustic guitar. But the main take from the song was always the lyrics.”
Mixing feelings while creating a comfortable and pleasant listening atmosphere, "White Fences, Black Crows" paints a portrait of the different types of relationships one can have with love:
"It's a song about love, the passing of a loved one, and the reassuring, of the one who is left behind, that life is still worth living, even though you are missing a big piece of it. That's love and sorrow. You can't have one without the other".
Relaxing, the song will undoubtedly find a place in your chill playlists. We're already playing it on repeat, your turn!
Reach out to Rasmus Nelausen
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