David Zee’s experimental “virtual ensemble” Zanilonia returns with their latest single, “The Door Never Opened Before.” Written for childhood friend R. Henk who, at the time, installed interior and exterior doors, “The Door Never Opened Before” also delves into higher systems of awareness (meditation, the many unfurling methods of mind expansion, spiritual awakening, etc.) – concepts discussed by David and R. Henk as curious teenagers (and Jon Anderson fans) during the 1970s. Ready to open doors to various realities or untapped structures of the multitudinous human mind?? Let’s take a listen…
Wait. Who does what?
David plays the instruments, and finds his collaborators online. For this particular work, he enlisted Myrah from Nigeria for additional vocals, and the aforementioned R. Henk (who, by the way, stars in the music video).
Listening, and talking about it.
“The Door Never Opened Before” is a piano-and-synth-string-based number that’s partly playful, partly celebratory, and partly Billy Joel-ish working man lament. It tells the story of said working man, a fellow who installs doors in the city. But one day, per the lyrics, he sees an unusual door — one that wasn’t there before.
“One day I saw a new door
One that my hands had not made
I heard a voice say come through and I was not afraid
Then I opened the door never opened before
And I saw there was more than I knew
I followed the guide as she flew me inside the view.”
The song begins in a lamenting tone, but builds strength and assuredness as instrumentation and backing vocals embolden the moments when discovery and exploration occur.
At about 2:09, an interesting piano and organ break occurs – it moves through clever chord changes, instrumental exchanges, and returns effortlessly to the final verse. And when the song reaches its end, after the final word of the chorus, the piano and strings perform a portending but resolving coda – it offers ominous piano twinkles, perhaps implying the journeyman’s initial fear of perplexing multidimensional portals, but ends on a chord of acceptance, of peace, and perhaps successful inner evolution due to such a wondrous transition.
But is it good?
Once again, Zanilonia, with its experimental, multi-genre playfulness (that’s quite serious in its exploratory mission), creates an interesting, moving track about the fields of higher existence dwelling so close to our corporeal mundanity, one might access them through a simple, nondescript door. It’s like…our evolution is so close, so close to being discovered and experienced, but obfuscated by the blinding doldrums of our daily lives. If you’re looking for music that’s truly independent – music that takes risks, dreams big, and delivers? Then take a listen to “The Door Never Opened Before.” You might indulge that need to turn a new but strangely familiar knob, and step into something that waited a lifetime for your arrival. Recommended.
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BELOW: Listen to Zanilonia and check them out on Facebook, YouTube, Twitter (“X”), and Instagram. Please support Zanilonia by visiting their website, and playing, downloading, and/or purchasing their music on Spotify, Soundcloud, Apple Music, iTunes, Amazon, Pandora, and Deezer. And, as always, thank you for supporting real music.
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