Art D’ecco

JOY Presents:

ART D’ECCO

Does life have meaning or a purpose? What distinguishes good from evil? Do individuals enjoy free will or is destiny preordained? Critical thinkers – Sartre, Nietzsche, Dostoevsky – have pondered such questions for centuries. Serene Demon dispatches them in under 39 minutes, reflecting Art d’Ecco’s singular focus on his fourth album: “I was determined, in an almost monomaniacal way, to prove that I can do something different.” One need only to listen to the title track to recognize his success. Composing “Serene Demon” required two months’ time and deep reserves of creativity. The premise may seem straightforward (“it’s literally an existentialist and a true believer walk into a bar and debate”) but the execution is anything but, incorporating four distinct sections, a fluid tempo, and a myriad of tone colors as it veers between intimate and epic moments across seven and a half minutes.

Likewise, the song’s succinct lyrics belie the enormity of its subject matter. “I’ve always been fascinated with the seduction of evil that lurks within us, and not just the archetype of the angel and the devil on each shoulder.” Evil can take many forms: self doubt, Imposter Syndrome, the unrelenting darkness of depression and anxiety. Yet out of this miasma, Art d’Ecco emerges triumphant. “That song is the most challenging thing I’ve ever written.”

Great pop music accommodates big ideas and simple truths with equal finesse, but don’t expect a record – even one as ambitious as Serene Demon – to solve all life’s mysteries. “If you’re constantly searching for answers or hope to bestow any relevance to the existence that you’re living, then take a pause and realize that life is happening right now,” concludes Art. “You don’t need to constantly defer happiness. Just exist in the moment.”

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