A block of marble was so fine,
To buy it did a sculptor hasten.
“What shall my chisel, now It’s mine
A god, a table, or a basin?”
“A god,” said he, “the thing shall be;
I’ll arm it, too, with thunder.
Let people quake, and bow the knee
With reverential wonder.”
So well the cunning artist wrought
All things within a mortal’s reach,
That soon the marble wanted nothing
Of being Jupiter, but speech.
Indeed, the man whose skill did make
Had scarcely laid his chisel down,
Before himself began to quake,
And fear his manufacture’s frown.
And even this excess of faith
The poet once scarce fell behind,
The hatred fearing, and the wrath,
Of gods the product of his mind.
This trait we see in infancy
Between the baby and its doll,
Of wax or china, it may be
A pocket stuffed, or folded shawl.
Imagination rules the heart:
And here we find the fountain head
From whence the pagan errors start,
That over the teeming nations spread.
With violent and flaming zeal,
Each takes his own chimera’s part;
Pygmalion does a passion feel
For Venus chiseled by his art.
All men, as far as in them lies,
Create realities of dreams.
To truth our nature proves but ice;
To falsehood, fire it seems.
-Jean de La Fontaine Book 9, Fable 6
SOFIA RETA begins ODOURS 『香水』 under the guise of Jean de La Fontaine’s “The Sculptor and the Statue of Jupiter (seen above),” warning of the power of modification, interpretation in the hands of the sculptor and viewer alike. The hour-long thread, chiseled over time like the sculptor’s statue, only has one enveloped title. There are directions and moods left for the artist’s headspace, only available to the viewer through interpretation. There are songs in ODOURS 『香水』 like there is imagery within the Statue of Jupiter, like looking up into the sky only reveals what it wants. If you search around, listen close, you’ll find it all. The artist expands on it below:
“ODOURS” or 『香水』 is an attempt at a sonic recreation of the refined Japanese art of appreciating odours known as 香道. Like 香道, there are allusions to common threads embroidered throughout the songs that represent each fragrance (which will go unnamed) so that you might discern a similar ‘flavour’ or ‘texture’ from one song to the next. Bearing that in mind, it’s maybe important to experience the album as a whole and preferably with headphones, by yourself, or maybe going to a walk. While music, like aromas, have a certain power to unify people, sometimes you can draw even more interesting conclusions when alone, allowed to think.”
• SOFIA RETA: https://aarrcc.bandcamp.com/
• SOFIA RETA: https://www.facebook.com/sofiaretacompany
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