Beneath the track’s shimmering surface the lyricism looks to shed light on the dramatic everyday effects of climate change.
Words: Karl Johnson
Fire season in Australia is an annual occurrence, but for those living in Victoria, 2020 was unusually intense. There were 3,067 fires and more than 1.5 million hectares of land was burnt, with no question that climate change has had an impact on the increased severity and frequency of these fires in the last 20 years.
“The single ‘Smoke in the Air’ was written during January of 2020,” states Majak Door lead singer Frankie Vakalis, “when Melbourne had been engulfed in smoke from the near bushfires.” Humbled by the burned black grass and the red skies that lit up Melbourne where they reside, Majak Door have offered up a thoughtful and dreamy new number entitled Smoke In The Air.
Smoke In The Air is undoubtedly a product of its surroundings, though it skips all feelings of a post-apocalyptic anxiety and goes straight onto soundtracking a satisfyingly serene dream state. The track floats with an airy calm, synths parts blow you from left to right as guitar parts offer staircases into the psychedelic realm. Beneath the track’s shimmering surface the lyricism looks to shed light on the dramatic everyday effects of climate change, and closes with a word on mother nature “such a shame she had to press reset”.
“The upcoming album touches on many different areas; nostalgia, friendship, politics, and anything else that crosses the mind of a 20-something-year-old,” mentions Vakalis. The sextet’s debut self-titled album – containing previous cuts Will She Leave You and L’acqua Salata (Ain’t So Sweet) – arrives September 17th.
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