Leitmotif (album)

Infobox Album |
Name = Leitmotif
Type = Album
Artist = Dredg


Released = May 30, 1999
Recorded = Brilliant Studios, San Francisco, California
Genre = Progressive rock
Alternative rock
Length = 54:00
Label = Independent, re-released with Universal
Producer = Travis Crenshaw and Dredg
Reviews =
*Allmusic Rating|3|5 [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:oy0qoaraqijr link]
*ThePRP Rating|5|5 [http://www.theprp.com/reviews/dredg.shtml link]
Last album = "Orph"
(1997)
This album = "Leitmotif"
(1999)
Next album = "Extended Play for the Eastern Hemisphere"
(2002)

"Leitmotif" is Dredg's first full-length album, originally released on May 30, 1999. The album was re-released by Universal, with different artwork, on September 11, 2001. A "leitmotif" is also a recurring musical theme associated within a particular piece of music with a particular person, place or idea.

About the album

"Leitmotif" was recorded in ten days, and is a concept album in which the songs revolve around a small story written by bassist Drew Roulette included in the album booklet. It should be noted that the lyrics to the songs are not identical to the words in the booklet, although some passages are quoted word for word. The story of "Leitmotif" is about a man with a "spiritual disease" who must seek out different cultures of the world to find a cure for his affliction.

Universal re-released "Leitmotif" unchanged from its original version, both in the recording and in the booklet's text, essentially duplicating the band's original, independently released demo.

The newer case features the uniform brown paper package with white text as pictured, to the upper right, with only the phrase "We live like penguins in the desert. Why can't we live like tribes?" printed on the inner sleeve; a phrase used in the lyrics to "Triangle" on Dredg's next album, "El Cielo". The older case features the cover pictured, to the lower right, as well as more brown and blue topographical photos on the case and the booklet which are similar to the cover. Aside from the difference in artwork, the two versions of "Leitmotif" remain nearly identical.

Most of the lyrics can be found at [http://www.traversing.net Traversing] ; the lyrics to parts of several verses (and most of one whole song) are unknown outside the band. All of the music on this album is created by Dredg, there are no samples. As claimed in the booklet "all instruments and sounds are real. No samples."

"Leitmotif" was produced and engineered by Dredg and Travis Crenshaw, and was recorded at Brilliant Studios in San Francisco, CA.

Release history

Track listing

# "易" (Also referred to as "Symbol Song")* – 4:23
# "Movement I: @45°N, 180°W" – 1:02
# "Lechium" – 6:25
# "Movement II: Crosswind Minuet" – 1:23
# "Traversing Through the Arctic Cold We Search for the Spirit of Yuta/Intermission" – 6:38
# "Movement III: Lyndon" – 3:08
# "Penguins in the Desert" – 4:13
# "Movement IV: RR" – 3:00
# "Yatahaze" – 3:45
# "Movement V: 90 Hour Sleep/Untitled" (hidden track) – 20:21

*The tracklist on the back of the album simply lists the name of the first track as a variation of the Chinese character, 易 (pinyin: yì), which means "change". A similar Chinese character, 蜴 (pinyin: yì), means "chameleon". However, since these characters are not in the English language, most sources simply list the title as "Symbol Song" (including the band's official website).

Trivia

*The coordinates listed in "Movement I: @45°N, 180°W" actually point to sea water approximately 400 miles from the land in the Northern Pacific.
*The track "Movement III: Lyndon" got its name from Gus Lyndon Farwell, a man who went to high school with the band in Los Gatos. The track features opera vocals by Gus and so the band dedicated the song name to Gus, naming it "Lyndon".
*The universal use for "RR" is "rest and relaxation", this might explain the acronym used in the fourth movement, RR.
*When "Movement V: 90 Hour Sleep" starts, a sound of an apple being bit several times can be heard.
*Near the end of the hidden track on the album, Gavin Hayes can be heard singing the lyrics to "Penguins In The Desert".

External links

*MusicBrainz album|id=3a07ebb4-7da5-41a3-b298-9e2f5e35c6ee|name =Leitmotif
* [http://site.traversingboard.com/leitmotif.htm Analysis of Leitmotif]