Today I’m introducing you to the track Without a lion by the British composer Shane Thomas. Thomas started playing the piano at the age of seven, and began composing his own music a few months later.
This is the title track from the EP ‘Without A Lion’, out 11th June of 2020.
Tell us something about your track Without a Lion!
Without A Lion’ is a minimalist composition dedicated to Marjan the lion, who lived in the Kabul zoo in Afghanistan. Marjan was injured in a grenade attack, rendering him blind, deaf and struggling to walk. A zookeeper named Sheraq Omar took responsibility of feeding a caring for the injured lion, and developed a deep human-animal bond. When Marjan ultimately died peacefully, it left the zookeeper feeling lost and without purpose.
‘Without A Lion’ conveys Sheraq’s loneliness and loss of purpose. His contemplation about the new life he must now forge. I find that the muffled felt piano mimics the texture of Marjan’s fur. The prolonged diminuendo the track ends on reflects the peaceful nature of Marjan’s death, in contrast to the violence he endured.
Recording anecdote:
There are actually up to 5 piano parts happening simultaneously. We had a hard time syncing the parts up! I got quite frustrated with myself, so I listened to some RY X to calm myself down.
Thank you Shane for sending me this track!
For more information, please check out the following links:
Spotify