Let us start with the beginning, at home on the deck of a farm house, swinging under the porch while kids roast marshmallows over a campfire nearby. the adults - conversing sparsely, drunken with labour and sunsets - dream of lands where seasons of bounty are eternal and the rains plentiful. in this instant, there is no point in competing with the crickets, the evening is theirs to call each other in mating rites; it’s normal, yet mesmerizing. hypnotic doesn't quite cut it to describe the work of LikeATree, since each sound here morphs as it travels, as truth tellers murmur sweet prophecies, beckoning at the door of our souls (if we can stand the presence of strange creatures in our proximity). talking of which, it is now frogs’ turn to sign a lullaby and bid farewell. allow us to pass them softly to dig our way deeper into the woods where the stars drop by to visit each other. is it possible their scintillating light could also bare such a potent growl? what were we to do except join them in their chant…

The drum beat in this Future Montreal artist’s compositions is slow and steady as the pulse of those who risk entering the silence with fierce confidence. at those temples we imagine the blood flow would rise in imitation of the sizzle of sap across the cathedral of branches on new moon nights. a somber soil is the most fertile, therefore we would not dare to confide our desires in skies other than those dark ones. this ceremony we find ourselves invited to partake in is not a feeble attempt, it is rather one felt with every vibrating fibre of our entire beings. the echoing buzz of a distant city somehow reaches us, just as ancient glimmers of colours blink blindly from galaxies dead in glorious explosions. some still care staring back!

On this part of the path, there is no more hand to hold and be held by anymore, the marshes have halted all the others. yet, you knew the bell would summon you alone; that was agreed upon but you forgot why you made that choice. fear shortens your breath for a quick moment and is gone: going onward is a sole evidence. it is probably not considered walking if that is what you believe you are doing while listening to this blossoming producer: dancing is an imperative and no one should worry what one looks like when one replies positively to melodies.

The wetlands lie behind us, a delta. the group reunites as we prepare to dive in an ocean known only through rare rumours. to resist its sirens’ shrill, it’s clear, would render us crazy. hence we comply with this submersion. now cradled into its belly we softly rock as currents flood on by, flying us further into an abyss that wrinkles the skin of the earth. hiccups awaken us in time to steer us back to the surface to come up for air. at last the waves caress our mangled reveries and excitement builds as we climb the beach where we hope we might meet him. alas, he is too upset to receive us… how long must we wait with the uncertainty it may be in vain; how long is patience stretched before we see it as obstinacy?

They are allies, those who made it their mission to ignite you with the searing score of all that is. won’t you trust your proficiency in coping with the pain of loosing something you never were -shed some peels! don’t you want to discover who’s been here before and shelled themselves to fuel your trek along a maddening fine balance between order and chaos? as the story proves, the past lives, and reveals us through suffering it’s fair to say… lest we forget the pleasure of each adventure.﻿ 
released 20 September 2014

Music by LikeATree (Future Montreal)
Artwork by Dugong
Poetic write-up by Etienne Gour (Future Montreal)
Mastering by Colin Barber (Future Montreal) 

Past Lives LP Bandcamp

LikeATree - Past Lives LP (Future Montreal - FM010)

Bandcamp

LikeATree - Bodhi (Past Lives LP - FM010)

LikeATree - Prisoner Dub (Past Lives LP - FM010)

LikeATree - Sophrosyne's Paradigm (Past Lives LP - FM010)

LikeATree - Orgone Cloudbuster (Past Lives LP - FM010)

LikeATree - Kalyanamitra (Past Lives LP - FM010)

LikeATree - From Duality To Oneness (Past Lives LP - FM010)

LikeATree - Yugen (Past Lives LP - FM010)

LikeATree - Paramnesian Dream (Past Lives LP - FM010)

LikeATree - An Ocean Refuses No River (Past Lives LP - FM010)

As above, so below, as within, so without, as the universe, so the soul...
LikeATree with its branches spreading across the heavens and the roots digging deep into the earth...

The true crisis in the world is not social, political or economic, our crisis is a crisis of consciousness, an inability to directly experience our true nature. An inability to recognize this nature in everyone and in all things. 

“Nothing is original. Steal from anywhere that resonates with inspiration or fuels your imagination. Devour old films, new films, music, books, paintings, photographs, poems, dreams, random conversations, architecture, bridges, street signs, trees, clouds, bodies of water, light and shadows. Select only things to steal from that speak directly to your soul. If you do this, your work (and theft) will be authentic. Authenticity is invaluable; originality is non-existent. And don’t bother concealing your thievery - celebrate it if you feel like it. In any case, always remember what Jean-Luc Godard said: “It’s not where you take things from - it’s where you take them to.” 
― Jim Jarmusch

"You can hold yourself back from the sufferings of the world, that is something you are free to do and it accords with your nature, but perhaps this very holding back is the one suffering you could avoid." 
― Franz Kafka

Currently looking for like-minded artists for collaborative projects, please contact me at kubz1111@gmail.com
https://musiclikeatree.bandcamp.com/releases

Currently Released Projects:
Past Lives LP (Future Montreal - FM010) - Full Solo Album
Dugong's Earthquake Music EP (Nu Label - NU042) - Hurricane
Dugong's I Rage For You EP (Lethal Dose - LDR036) - Holy Mountain
Smallroom Compilation 01 (Smallroom - SRM10) - Under The Dead Sea (as 11:11)

