Rest/Unrest by Nick Rousseau
Rest/Unrest tells a story of the turbulent time we all went through in the year 2020, but with themes that seem to be universal.
The song “Rest/Unrest” lives in the space where protests, the idea of “the other,” and general disagreements inhabit. The intention behind the song is to illustrate the cyclical nature of life, and hopefully provide the comfort of knowing that all unrest must eventually come to a rest, while also acknowledging the anxiety that the opposite must eventually happen.
“Lucid Awakening” is a musical portrayal of what it might feel like to drift through everyday 21st century life. “Let Their Voices Sing” is a call for togetherness, listening (with intent), and compassion for our fellow human beings. “Deassurance” deals with the uncertainty in life, and my musical personification of my overthinking and anxious mind. “Soul Harvest” aims to make the listener feel as if they're holding on by a thread (which can be heard from the ostinato guitar line).
“Reconstruction” and “Fall/Rebuild” are the two pieces of music that may be most relevant to life in 2020/2021, despite being written years apart (Reconstruction was written in mid 2017, “Fall/Rebuild” was written late 2020). “Solemn” is my sincere thank you letter for lending your ear to the music I make.
This album is my first effort as a leader and was made independently without a record label. Some tunes were written years ago (Deassurance and Reconstruction were written in 2017 in Miami, my hometown) some as recent as a year ago (Rest/Unrest, Fall/Rebuild, Let Their Voices Sing, and Solemn were written in 2020 in New York City), and some in between (Soul Harvest and Lucid Awakening were both written sometime between 2018 and 2019, in Boston). My hope for selecting these tunes that were from different times and places was to create a collection of musical pieces that encompass my life as a musician and human being, trying not to make a “killing record” or fit into a genre mold but make music that’s representative of me as a whole. I sincerely hope you enjoy it.
Thanks to everyone involved with this project and my life for helping me bring this alive.
Tracklist
| 1. | Rest/Unrest (Ft. Alex Sipiagin) | 4:20 |
| 2. | Lucid Awakening | 6:59 |
| 3. | Let Their Voices Sing | 4:29 |
| 4. | Deassurance | 5:18 |
| 5. | Soul Harvest | 4:04 |
| 6. | Reconstruction | 5:00 |
| 7. | Fall/Rebuild | 5:49 |
| 8. | Solemn | 2:56 |
Credits
Nick Rousseau - Guitar
Carlin Lee - Piano
Sean Hannon - Bass
Anton Kot - Drums
All compositions by Nick Rousseau
Rest/Unrest (track) features Alex Sipiagin on Trumpet
Recorded by Julian Cornell (Tracks 2-3, 6-8) and Parichat Songmuang (Tracks 1, 4-5)
Mixed by Nick Rousseau (Terranaut Recordings)
Mastered by Grant Meyer (Short Stack NYC)
Album Art by John Arenas
License
All rights reserved.Tags
Nick is a guitarist and composer who seeks to bring thought provoking and emotionally compelling music to whomever he gets the pleasure of sharing with. Influenced by musicians from Wayne Shorter to Shai Maestro, The Beatles to Led Zeppelin, Foo Fighters to Circa Survive, he attempts to utilize every part of his musical upbringing and style into his compositions and improvisations.