Saṃsāra is a stoner rock album, a little garage and grunge, sung in French.
For Ni!L, the Saṃsāra is a reflection of a thirst for existence, of successive rebirths. The 10 titles are stages of an unending journey where everyone meets the ups and downs of life, while seeking liberation. Cycles of suffering and rebirth follow. Inspired by dark or light sounds, but also by poetry and spirituality, Ni!L offers a carefully thought out album but all in spontaneity, without frills to keep the impact and flexibility of a duo, the power of a tandem. The formula is quite surprising but the result confirms that everything is possible with time, feet on the ground and head in clouds.
Each title is a metaphor that explores deep themes of our time. A first peculiarity opens the album: “Smarana“, which means “remember” in Sanskrit, is the link between the old sound of Ni!L and the new two-way balance. Samples of the two previous self-produced albums are integrated here and there throughout the instrumental title, as a mise en abye of the transition: from one album to another, from one track to another, but also from one state to another, physical or emotional.
“Bardenas“, the first single presented in mid-June, evokes the personal crossing of the desert, the inner journey, as well as the quest for knowledge, truth and meaning.
In a perfect «grunge tradition», the concealed depression (En Surface), the madness of male/female relationships and moral harassment (Le Banquet), or the grip of toxic relationships and the difficulty to free oneself from them (Entaille), are as many societal subjects approached more or less frontally.
“Serveur” reminds us of the importance of authentic human relationships in a world that evolves at the pace of ultimately antisocial networks. It encourages us to unplug the plug and get away from these 2.0 poisons that are gangrene the web.
“Sunyata“, an instrumental title, serves as a link with «Tamiser», a piece with a more heavy aesthetic, highlighting the devastating consequences of climate change on our planet and the frustration in the face of collective inaction.
So yes, the subjects are heavy (Entaille) and reflect a society often abused. Yet Ni!L’s approach is almost comforting. We don’t fall into terror. We hear a real indie rock album.
Like a lighthouse in the dark, “Toucher le Nord” guides us on the paths of the stoner. It evokes commitment, the future, otherness. This title is resolutely bright and dynamic, like a promise of hope in a tormented world.
«Saṃsāra» is the eponymous title that ends the album but also means «transition». Music seems to take over everything (there will probably be a sequel, perhaps successive existences?).
In summary, the album “Saṃsāra” is a musical journey in a grunge and sincere atmosphere. Ni!L invite the listener to dive into the meanderings of the human soul. It reminds us that we are all made of shadow and light, joy and sadness, love and pain.
