Here are some of the influences, decisions and processes that went into creating some of the music and lyrics for Before and After the Storm.
"Mending the Sky" was the next song written after "Cimmerian," and in my mind the album (originally supposed to be a mini-album if you remember the announcement last December) was going to start with "Cimmerian" and end with "Mending the Sky." Of course that's not quite true: "Cimmerian (Reprise)" ended up completing the album, though I have some redemption in that the SLF Mix is at the very very end…
Mood-wise, "Mending the Sky" is the lightest song on the album, and that feeling is very much in the spirit of Bauhaus' "Hope" on Burning From The Inside. I liked the idea of ending this album on a positive note, which I know isn't very goth of us, and I think Summer's lyrics/vocals contributed nicely to that light/hopeful feeling as well.
Musically the main influence on this song was "Burning" by Sarah Fimm. I liked the simplicity and beauty of the slow, solo electric piano at the beginning. Of course, that mood all went to hell when I added drums to the song, but that's kinda how my writing process in the studio works. In many ways, Miles' remix retained the original inspiration of the song much more effectively than the direction I ended up taking it.
If you're not familiar with Sarah Fimm's work, we highly recommend her White Birds EP. Check it out!
Nvwa is part of ancient Chinese creation myth. As I mentioned in the note about Cimmerian, I wanted to explore different mythologies and I researched those of ancient China. Nvwa is the ancestor of all people — not entirely a creator but she effectively tamed the world to allow people to live there. At one point, the ancient Chinese believed, that the sky cracked open, there were uncontrolled fires and flooding and fierce beasts flew through the air.
Nvwa mended the sky and cut the feet from a huge turtle to make pillars for the universe. She stopped the floods and fires and slew the beasts. She is also said to have married her brother and their children are the population of the world. So she's sort of a more powerful Eve-type figure. In later generations she was regarded as a goddess of marriage and reproduction.
What really drew me into the story was the idea of taking chaos and creating peace. And I loved the visual imagery of someone mending the sky.