The colours of cold – the definitive song
Now out is my EP called “The Colours of Cold”. The title track with the same name is a love song to snow, and to my significant other. I’m not in the habit of writing love songs – I’ve only ever written two. And straight-up romance and lyricism is not my forte. But this song came naturally because I live in a part of the world where Winter is significant. It snows, freezes, ices up, gets foggy like something from a Gothic Horror novel, and rains, boy, does it ever rain. And then the rain changes to snow and it comes down in blankets, in dumps and swathes. I love it, since I grew up in a country that is semi-arid, and mostly hot, and where water shortages are common.
To me every day with snow is a wonder. I have written many poems about it, and many songs. But this is about my husband taking me to see the snow, when he sees that I’m longing for it. He puts up with my crazy obsession, and I love him for it. To me, him and snow are one good thing. In terms of the meaning of the song name, snow is not just white. It takes on the colours of the light and the things around it, and in Winter, the landscape has many colours, from white, to pale blue, pale green, and silver, and of course the lovely pink-and-gold Alpine Glow on the mountain peaks.
It’s an asset
“The Colours of Cold” single is the production that made me understand what people mean when they call a sound recording an asset. It’s a thing with a value, and it stands alone as a creation. It also has legs in that you can do many things with it. You can remix it, adapt it, shorten or lengthen it, re-use the main theme, re-use the lyrics, etc. “The Colours of Cold” took about a year to develop and be produced in its various iterations. But this is my song, the song which is most directly my voice, my artist’s voice, and I love it.
mixes and variations
The song has enough complexity to have three versions – “The Colours of Cold” is the original, with heart-rendingly gorgeous, emotional vocals by Sean Berchik, who also co-wrote the lyrics and arranged it. After he finished the master, I could not listen to it for a few months because every time I did, I would feel absolutely heartbroken because it’s so beautiful. Can something be beautiful and painful at the same time? Yes, it can – the truth will do that for you.
The second version, “Better Than Snow“ is double the length of “The Colours of Cold” and performed by Ben Alexander in his perfectly pure crystal-clear tenor. It has a more orchestral sound, with an extended bridge which is a variation of the main theme. “Snowfall” is the instrumental version of the song, with the main theme followed by variations. At the same time that I wrote “Snowfall”, I wanted to produce a version with a darker sound because snow is not always harmless. Sound engineer Luke Garfield produced a mix that is dramatic and somber, almost a film soundtrack, so I called the composition “Snowstorm”. Because I love the song so much, I did produce a version of “Better Than Snow” with me singing in a duet with Ben – you can just about hear make out my voice. Sean’s trademark baritone is unmatchable, so I did not try to do the same on his recording.