Bang of Sun website

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Here is the milk teeth (original) demo of Vivid Hues:

Click here -> Vivid Hues [& Sadko By The Shore]

About the song

Chad: This song got chopped and changed so many times that I don’t remember how Paul’s first version went. The tempo was a big thing, but we’ve settled on a slower groove now and I’m happier with it.

Pablo: The amazing artwork of the Russian artist Ivan Bilibin has been a source of inspiration for me for many years, ever since my youth. It feels incredible to me that he is virtually unheard of these days. I’ve always wanted to turn people onto him, and this song is definitely about his work and the Russian folk tales that he illustrated. It’s also about the passing of my father, who was very dear to me. The ultimate message of the song is that we are the product of our childhood, and I’m thankful that my father was a great role model:

(“vivid hues that you imbue… I mine my childhood for veins of gold that you upholded…”)

Ivan Bilibin was influenced by the Japanese technique of wood-block printing known as ukiyo-e, which I also love. Many of the beautiful lithographs he produced were for Russian folk tales, such as Prince Ivan and the Firebird:

("Fantastic firebirds.... / firebirds on epitaphs.")

Baba Yaga:

("Your prospecting could've turned out better...")

and, of course, Koschei the Deathless:

("...and Koschei, who can never die!")

I encountered these vivid stories in my youth and they’ve always stayed with me. I hope some of you can enjoy them, too. Here’s the original version of Vivid Hues that I made on my computer before Chad and I formed Bang of Sun. It’s a bit whack. This was before Chad and I developed it into the rock song it is today. It’s sandwiched between two halves of another (instrumental) song, which I called “Sadko By The Shore”.

If you didn’t already do so at the top of this page, click here -> Vivid Hues [& Sadko By The Shore]

Sadko is the main character of another Russian folk tale, a merchant who has fantastic adventures under the ocean. Ivan Bilibin illustrated that story, too:

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