Phantasmagoria's debut album, Currents, places the listener inside a tactile landscape that feels as familiar as swimming in summer. The album, put out by local label Five Three Dial Tone Records, excites the senses with soft snaps and visceral growls. It's the sort of music that can only come from immersing yourself in nature.
The man behind the shaping of Phantasmagoria's sonic biosphere is Christopher Jarvis. "The song 'Dunes' is specifically about a trip we took to the Sleeping Bear Dunes," says Jarvis. "I made it right when we got back, and called it 'Dunes' before Lianna [Vanicelli] even heard it. And then she shaped her lyrics around that."
"Dunes" is the third song on the album, and it's the one that hooks the listener and draws them further into the album. The track begins with a rippling melody and builds with Vanicelli's vocal layering, which at times melts comfortably into the more languid notes.
If you know anything about Phantasmagoria, then you know that Jarvis and Vanicelli are not only musical partners, but a couple in life as well. In a candid conversation with Jarvis, we peered into their dual partnerships to see how much one has to do with the other.
I started to think of the album as almost a photo album for you and Lianna. Some couples might have certain books of pictures that they have to remember a trip, or even a certain time in their lives, but you and Lianna will have albums and EPs to remind you of where and what you've been in the past.
For us that's exactly how it feels. It's like a journal of the past year of our lives. Our albums are definitely very definitive of whatever's going on in our lives at the time so I think it will be cool to go back and listen to a song and be able to remember exactly how you felt at that time.
Currents has all of the makings of a great album. It has elements that one discovers anew with each listen. On the song "Summer (Living a Dream)," Lianna sings "Why can't it always be like this, why's it gotta change on me?" The album is primarily concerned with change by natural forces.
Water is a huge theme throughout the album; what it symbolizes – movement, change, flexibility, peacefulness. That's part of why we named the album Currents. | RDW
for more info on phantasmagoria and their latest ep, currents, visit fivethreedialtone.com.
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