Alexander Leonard Donat, is a very busy musician with Fir Cone Children, WHOLE, Vlimmer, and his ownership of the German independent label Blackjack Illuminist Records.
FCC has released a new album every year since 2015. This year was no exception.
On September 27th, the label issues FCC‘s fifth studio album Fog Surrounds Us which is a sparkling offering of 11 brand new indie-rock, shoegaze-oriented post-punk episodes. Here, Donat is playing with all these ingredients while blending it all with some psychedelia too, the more social kind of psyche music though, ultimately sounding as what can be best described as dream-punk.
This one-man dream punk project from Berlin began nearly 5 years ago with, Everything Is Easy, and an album that told stories of Alexander Leonard Donat’s first daughter, who was barely 2-years old at the time.
Four years later, with album number five, the sound has changed to a fast and tempestuous, yet dreamy shoegaze structure that includes, occasional explosive beats as much as pearly lo-fi piano indie-pop.
The overall concept, however, hasn’t changed: Donat puts his focus on his (now) two daughters and how they experience the world. It’s mainly a positive yet naïve mindset that is led by instinct, curiosity—and candy.
But when does this fairy tale fog turn into unsettling smoke?
Alex Donat explains:
“When a little kid asks you, “Are we lost?” surrounded by people watching a firework-lit sky, it shows that fears and worries belong to everyone’s lives even in moments you wouldn’t expect them. As long as caring family members and friends are around us, it’s manageable and we feel safe and sound. “Fog Surrounds Us” is about all that: sheer joy, confusion, unconditional love, sadness, expectations, bravery, bold moves, and everything that lies in between.“
Τhe new album also involves Krissy Vanderwoude who lent her voice on several tracks for the third album in a row. Here we go!
