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After 1989: A Trip To Freedom

by Minutes to Midnight

supported by
David Dellacroce
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David Dellacroce Superbly crafted thematic album, with each song contributing to the overall experience. Favorite track: The Day Before.
Garrett Mickley
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Garrett Mickley This album straight up changed my ideas of what kind of music I could write myself. Huge inspiration.
Mykie Frankenstein
Mykie Frankenstein thumbnail
Mykie Frankenstein The crystal clear mix, the engrossing story, the lovely bass. I’ll often end up with the chorus to ‘Skinny Kid’ stuck in my head without warning. Favorite track: Skinny Kid.
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  • Streaming + Download

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

    You also get the 24-page booklet, complete with original photography, synopsis, song narration, lyrics, and credits. The booklet is available both in English and in Italian.
    Purchasable with gift card

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  • Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

    Comes in a beautiful 6-panel wallet gatefold card case, with full lyrics, synopsis, credits and original photography by Silvia Maggi.

    Includes unlimited streaming of After 1989: A Trip To Freedom via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 2 days
    edition of 100 

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  • Full Digital Discography

    Get all 4 Minutes to Midnight releases available on Bandcamp and save 10%.

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of The Die Is Cast (EP), Non sai chi sono (remix), After 1989: A Trip To Freedom, and After 1989: A Trip To Freedom (Original Demos & Outtakes). , and , .

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1.
Skinny Kid 03:49
I was only fifteen A family lunch in the summer I was looking at grandad Too much wine for my jolly old man He was talking too loud About a time in the war Somewhere in Berlin Couldn’t jump the train, couldn’t stop the rain Couldn’t guess the pain, couldn’t break the chain When he walked through the gate In iron letters read his fate The skinny kid drowns in an ocean He tries to swim among wheels in motion The skinny kid can’t stop the corrosion He’s losing his grip Wave upon wave of faceless strangers Chosen, discarded Put in a line to the chambers He was spared by the guards Just because of his craft The skinny kid, like a sudden explosion Runs away from the pit A dream has swollen The skinny kid, high above on a tree He’s tied up to sleep
2.
There were two of us We left in a rush We stole a gun, some clothes and ran We kept going all night all day Until Berlin was far away
3.
The Logic 02:22
I’ve got my side, you’ve got yours We keep an eye open wide indoors I know it’s cold and we walk in pairs Better a wall than a hot full war The logic is cyclical It’s shining iron, systematic The logic is cynical It takes a phase and makes it critical
4.
13 Days 03:27
Defence Condition is two A giant leap for mankind A small step for you Unless you’re blind We pull a blockade And call it quarantine Could be our last day You might convene First strike: miscalculation Second strike: retaliation You keep pushing for war or invasion We just want the best conclusion In the meantime Helen stares at the window Hugging her husband
 Waiting for that cloud —Not coming, is it?— It’s dark outside The red of a street light She might never live To see another nice Saturday night
5.
Last night in my dream We crossed the border in a car boot Didn’t blink, couldn’t breathe Hearts were pounding Teeth were grinding Next time I don’t want to be seen Wake up, gotta go now To the place we can’t be afraid of Join me, let us be there No flags no fear I can assure you Come on, we have to be there This time I want to be free This time we need to be seen This time I can be me This time we’re gonna be free
6.
Love Field 04:23
Somehow, somewhere I’m part of the crowd Shaking hands with him Bringing roses to her At Love Field Somehow, somewhere Standing still at a window I lean over, stay on the low I hold my breath I show my strength The limo, the bikes The petals, the signs —She’s waving— The flowers, the dress The runner, the press —He’s waving— Somewhere, somehow Here, right now —I’m waving— Somewhere, somehow The moment is right To stand still
7.
Requiem 02:09
Eulogy speech by Robert F. Kennedy (extract) "Martin Luther King dedicated his life to love and to justice between fellow human beings, and he died because of that effort. In this difficult day, in this difficult time for the United States, perhaps we’ll have to ask what kind of a nation we are and what direction we want to move in. For those of you who are black, you can be filled with bitterness and with hatred, and a desire for revenge. Or we can make an effort, as Martin Luther King did, to understand, and to replace that violence with an effort to understand, compassion and love."
8.
Nineteen-eighty-three On a Friday night—I think When I took my seat And the lights went off On the biggest screen I cannot tell the way it was But I went miles away A boy in a foreign land A farmer, a soldier A groom and a bride Children, a daughter In the countryside A doctor, a nurse The fire in the sky A priest and a curse Burns to the eye Nineteen-eighty-three On a Friday—I believe When I watched the film And the fear would never leave Never leave Never leave Never leave
9.
Berlin 91 04:09
I’m twenty again On a noisy bus No matter where we are The breeze, the vane A Trabant passes by Naked sign of time The wind of East Berlin is ruby-red When lost in your hair I whisper your name On the yellow line We’re leaving hand in hand A war to blame No wall to climb A concrete partner in crime The lights of West Berlin are ruby-red When lost in your hair That was me watching the no man’s land That was me This is me changing the life I planned That was me thinking of where to stand That was me This is me walking the no man’s land
10.
You went to see your son Could not stay too long Did you think of his tiny hand In no man’s land? You were just a young lad Didn’t mind to be a dad Fascists then came For the end game I stand up to my fears After so many years Walking towards your jail Chasing your trail Then I saw the gate No future, no fate ‘Work sets you free’ Next time you might be free The barracks, the beds Watchtowers, the meds White walls with a stench The bleach, the long bench The wooden foot shape You sitting on a crate The pot, the silver spoon Breath under the Moon I stand up to my fears After so many years Walking around your jail Chasing your trail Not easy to stand my ground Staring eyes with no sound Walking around your jail I stand and I vail

about

AFTER 1989: A TRIP TO FREEDOM

“After 1989” is a concept album about imprisonment and liberty.

Three decades after the fall of the Berlin Wall, it’s time to tell the tale of how a young man managed to escape Germany in 1945, while his grandson made the other way round in 1991, looking for answers that he could only find in 2017.

A modern-day attempt at storytelling, the album is a glimpse into hope.


SYNOPSIS

Summer, mid-eighties. During a family dinner, after a glass too many, my grandfather let a story slip from his past. He told us how fascists captured and sent him to Germany, where he spent four years in Sachsenhausen concentration camp, on the outskirts of Berlin.

The Nazis spared his life because of his craftsmanship as a shoemaker. In April 1945, a few days before the Allies stormed into the city, he managed to escape with a fellow Russian inmate. They crossed Europe and came back home.

I grew up during the Cold War, obsessed by a shared feeling of impending doom. My very first trip was to Prague and Berlin, a few months after the collapse of the Wall. I watched a divided city as it still was, but didn’t dare to visit the camp. Many years later, I was able to put my resolve to the test.

Present day. Once again, I’m back in Berlin, this time to finally see the Konzentrationslager. I’m on the S-Bahn train to Oranienburg. At each station, my mind goes back in time, to the tumultuous decades that preceded the 9th of November 1989, when people were able to cross the Wall. I’m thinking about the connection between my grandfather’s story and the convoluted menacing world order that came out of it.

When I finally cross the steel gate of Sachsenhausen, I realise how this whole story is about being a prisoner. Whether in a concentration camp, behind a wall, caught within propaganda or fearing a nuclear holocaust.



A full account of the production is available at: minutestomidnight.co.uk/blog/after-1989/

Album reviews: minutestomidnight.co.uk/blog/after-1989-reviews/

credits

released November 9, 2019



MINUTES TO MIDNIGHT (2019)

Simone Silvestroni
bass, piano, synth, drums, sound effects

Paolo Clementi
guitars, viola


GUESTS

Dan Ecclestone
vocals, ukulele and toy piano (Little Boy), piano solo (The Day Before)

Gerald Duchene
electric guitars (Skinny Kid), sax

Rachel Goodman
vocals

Callum Gardner
acoustic guitars (Little Boy, The Day Before, Sachsenhausen), backing vocals

Giuseppe Bianchi
piano (Requiem)

Michele Frumento
drums (The Logic)

AndiA Bonnor
drums (13 Days)

Keven Howard Bellamy
backing vocals (Skinny Kid)


PRODUCTION

Music and lyrics by Simone Silvestroni.



13 Days, Unter Den Linden and Berlin 91 arranged by Paolo Clementi. Requiem arranged by Giuseppe Bianchi.

Original sound effects recorded on location between 2017 and 2019. All songs except ‘Sachsenhausen’: S-Bahn 1 train from Central Berlin to Oranienburg, tannoy system (2019).
 On 'Sachsenhausen': birds and cars passing by, Oranienburg (2019).

 On 'The Day Before': children in a playground, Cambridge, UK (2019).


All historical sound effects are in the public domain. Sound editing and restoration by Simone Silvestroni.



Recorded in Ravenna and Milan (Italy), London and Cambridge (UK), New York and Aiken (USA).

Produced and mixed by Simone Silvestroni of Minutes to Midnight in Cambridge, UK.

Mastered by Ian Shepherd.



Management by Christopher Carvalho of unlockyoursound.com


DESIGN

Sleeve design by Simone Silvestroni.


Photography by Silvia Maggi of silviamaggidesign.com, shot in Berlin and Oranienburg between 2017 and 2019.

Cover photo by Dan Budnik "An elderly woman, standing at the Berlin Wall, West sector, with hands raised, waiting to see her East Berlin friends and relatives (1961)"

Cover photo digital retouch by Silvia Maggi.

CD photo by Adam Jones, Ph.D “Prisoner's Uniform with Red Triangle of Political Enemy - Majdanek Concentration Camp - Lublin - Poland”. www.flickr.com/people/adam_jones





I wish to thank my wife, my core family and close friends, all present and past performers and professionals involved, and Julie McCrae. Always grateful for the continuous support and help. 


—Simone Silvestroni



© 2019 Music & lyrics by Simone Silvestroni. All rights reserved.

℗ 2019 The copyright in this sound recording is owned by Minutes to Midnight. Minutes to Midnight is the exclusive trademark of Simone Silvestroni. All trademarks and logos are protected.

Official website: minutestomidnight.co.uk

Made in the UK.

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Minutes to Midnight Cambridge, UK

Sound designer, bass player and music producer. Game audio pioneer.

Storytelling has always been a huge magnet, hence why the concept album is my favorite medium.

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