KOAN
An ever-evolving sonic exploration of the words and music of Leonard Cohen
What if there had been a tour in support of the final two albums? What could the shows have been? Those shows can only be imagined. But what could it be now? The lyrics resonate with anyone who hears them. Create a show different people want to hear and deliver the message in their musical language. This project hopes to explore every possible genre with the vocal delivery new yet true to its original.
You Want it Darker
Reimagined as a powerful, synth-driven exploration of mortality. With a voice that is more than reminiscent, the vocals feel like a continuation of Cohen's, and the haunting lyrics are delivered with a renewed intensity. A complex layering of intricate synth arrangements creates a modern soundscape that amplifies the song's dark and introspective nature.
Moving On
A raw and intimate recording, the song's emotional arc mirrors the cyclical nature of hope and despair. Recorded in a single take, in the immediate wake of heartbreak. The minimalist arrangement, featuring a delicate piano and a haunting violin, creates a space for the most vulnerable vocals. Evocative imagery paints a vivid picture of lost love.
-
Michael Nault
Keyboards and Vocals
Born and raised in Rhode Island, then living in San Diego, Los Angeles, New York City, and now rural Vermont, Michael brings a classically informed piano approach and vocals that can be indistinguishable from the original Cohen. While the voice remains a constant, three keyboards create entirely new musical underpinnings.
-
Abbey B.K
Vocals, Guitar
Abbey is a versatile artist with a deep connection to the Vermont music scene, a prolific creator and radio host based in Burlington, VT. A songwriter since childhood, she already has more than two dozen accomplished releases. Abbey has a dedication to the craft and a unique voice that is comfortable and adept in Folk, Indie, Jazz, and Operatic settings
-
Ryan Spooner
Violin
IRyan, originally from central Maine, is a versatile and accomplished instrumentalist. Mastering both guitar and piano before focusing on violin, he graduated from the University of Vermont with a B.A. in Music. His experience ranges from classical chamber ensembles to his current role as Assistant Concertmaster with the Vermont Philharmonic Orchestra, demonstrating a rare ability to blend classical precision with improvisational flair.
KOAN
/ˈkōän/
noun
a paradoxical anecdote or riddle, used in Zen Buddhism to demonstrate the inadequacy of logical reasoning and to provoke enlightenment.
A poet who found music more than a musician looking for poetry.
Not everyone is lucky enough to see the end coming as clearly as he did. As much as many of us want it sudden and unexpected there is something to seeing the arc. Astronauts speak of this humbling experience often; seeing the whole of creation juxtaposed with the infinite vacuum of space.
You Want it Darker and Thanks for the Dance awakened me to Cohen’s music. From there I went back through the entire catalog. There is a sliding scale as the music becomes more recent it becomes more relatable, more intriguing, and more relative to me.
I will be attempting to work backward from the end. I want to start at the end because at 59, I’ve lived most of the beginning.
The themes are often dark, very dark. But there is an underlying romance in all the poetry. The beauty of the joke. We are the Universe looking back on itself often pretending to be in control of it when we are clearly allowed only as much choice as it will afford.
Only the language lives on but even that is mortal; limited by its ability to move from one memory to the next like a virus. It's never static, like the moon it’s forever waxing or waning.
My starting point has been to learn the songs from all three of the last albums. It occurred to me that the songs from those albums were never performed live by the artist. I want to create a tribute project that would, at times, aim to exactly replicate the music in a live setting. Taking the songs into different adaptations relatable to current trends and applying my musical bent to it all. This endeavor continues to get ever more exciting for me. I hope to do this weighty material justice!
Darker Still
Hear the transitionlal qualiity of upcoming KOAN releases. Click below and here the original foreshadow the new persepecive
