Midnight Snow

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Music video for Strangled Into Gray

"Midnight Snow" is a deeply personal concept album, with every lyric written to fit exactly where it does in the album. The first 5 songs (which can be thought of as Side A) are "Midnight Snow", while the last 5 songs (Side B) are to be thought of as "Morning Rain".

Side A, "Midnight Snow":

Strangled Into Gray is an anthem about the struggles of everyday life. The frustrations expressed in this track provide the spark for everything that is to follow. Every note on this album was intended as a response to this daily struggle. The next 4 tracks take us to those candle-lit evenings full of intimacy, inspiration, bliss and beauty. How intense and magnificent life can be under the right influences! But what is the meaning of those moments in relation to the struggles and mundanity of yet another tomorrow in the world as it actually exists?

Side B, "Morning Rain":

After the candle is blown out at the end of Track 5, the beauty symbolized by a midnight snowflake is replaced with the grayness of a rainy morning. The difference between the lightness of snow and the heaviness of rain is only a few degrees in temperature. The idea of this small change in temperature is meant to symbolize our small changes in perception. "Morning Rain" reminds us that "Midnight Snow" is not and cannot be a permanent state; that, symbolically, the next morning will come and we will have to deal with its unpleasant and harsh realities. Track 10, "Sentiment", closes the album with the idea that perhaps what matters is not life's peaks or valleys, but the contentedness of a life well-lived with that one special person who is worthy of spending one's entire life with.

In recording and releasing the album, I didn't look for any help from a record company because I didn't want it and didn't need it. I wanted to create something truly non-commercial and unfiltered. I have decided that I didn't want money to come between my creation and your ability to enjoy it. I make money in other ways and my music is something completely different in my life.  When I mix music with business, the music suffers and my bank account tends to suffer as well. I want to keep my music pure and authentic. This recording isn't perfect, but what is perfection anyway? I think that uniqueness and authenticity are more important than some notion of "perfection" and I hope the final result agrees with your sense of aesthetics.

All songs have been written by, performed by, recorded and mixed by Abscondo (C. Mark Manney). These tracks are licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 3.0, which means you can do anything you want with my music. Share it, use it in films, podcasts, even sell it if you find a way! All I ask is that you give me credit. I will also be releasing the album "properly" so it will show up in iTunes and at other on-line sources.