Some Kind of Illness – Awakening (2017)

I’ve been practising active meditation daily for almost five years, and in that time I haven’t come across a genre of music that could practically double as meditation music; that is until now.  As my meditation practice has evolved, I’ve listened to many guided meditations through YouTube and other creators, as well as even downloading the binaural beats meditation tracks from OmHarmonics.  Some of them I still use to this day, while others I have found no longer fit in the schedule of my day or the heightened sense of awareness I look to achieve through my meditation.  Some Kind of Illness’ latest LP Awakening, released on June 16, 2017, seems like it could be played from beginning to end and take you on a mystical journey of the mind through musical meditation – even with lyrics embedded into some of the tracks.  I find their use of lyrics in these tracks to be well constructed and planned to provide the listener with the right mood. 

The Bolton/Manchester-based alternative indie guitar quartet Some Kind of Illness is composed of Paul Hinks (vocals, guitar), Mark Hinks (guitar), Luke Brown (drums), and Kieran Hewell (keyboards), and was formed in April 2014 in Farnworth by brothers Mark and Paul Hinks.  They combine alternative indie songwriting with an atmospheric and reverberant backbone to create a sound that is best described as both calming and beautiful, with their biggest influences including Joy Division, The Verve, and The Cure.  

The opening track, ‘Awakening’, sets the mood with a light and airy ambience to a steady rhythm overlaid with some gentle acoustics.  ‘Neon Glass’ continues with a more upbeat tempo, synths and light-shimmering vocals with echo.  ‘No More Waiting’ has a more 80’s-like rhythm to it, but it’s done very lightly to maintain the mood the band has set.  ‘Violet Dream’ features a groovier rhythm this time with finger snaps and added vocals from Hara Su to bring a dreamy feel to the track.  ‘Memories in a Window’ steps it up with a drumkit percussion; however, this isn’t the main focus of the track as the vocals are the centrepiece done to an organ-sounding synth and gentle cymbals.

‘Ledana’ is very light and airy in mood, much like the ‘Awakening’ opener, but makes the listener aware of the layers with a slow surge of music before sharper notes are played.  ‘Cyclone’ seems like a combination of ‘Neon Glass’, ‘No More Waiting’ and ‘Violet Dreams’, this time with very light backing vocals from Daisy Davies all done to some fast-paced beats and lingering notes.  ‘Icarus’ offers the feeling of the Greek myth flying too close to the sun, almost as if floating in outer space with fuzzy synths and spiralling notes.  ‘Snowflakes’ has the sound to make it seem like there are shooting stars, done to a light and airy synth with spoken words from Virginia Martelozzo.  ‘Crystal Light’ has another 80’s sounding rhythm to it but features a simple guitar riff and vocals.

This is a guest blog post by Chad Pearen of Chad Pearen: A Day in the Life Of…

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A Chat with Paul Hinks from Some Kind of Illness (2.04.18)