"Return to the sphinx through the waves of illusion

Follow the wanderer crossing the gate

Shades are calling for a dance of diffusion

Travel the world that the watcher creates”

So reads the text on the inner sleeve of Jacco Gardner’s latest, and third, LP. The quote, one wrapped in mystery and duality and a sense of change and exploration, is emblematic of where Jacco has been in the last couple of years. Holed up in Lisbon with a new love in his life, immersed in literature, cinema, philosophy and the winding streets of a new city to wander. The resulting album, Somnium, sees the psych pop champion diving deeper into otherworldly adventures. Gardner deliberately abandons the use of vocals altogether, and instead forces the listener to experience the album as one whole entity. The album is a psychedelic escape, crafted to take you out of the rush and into a mysterious dream world shaped by your own imagination.

Somnium is meant to be an all-encompassing experience. One piece of transformative pop music. Turn off your notifications and enjoy the journey uninterrupted. A nod to the novel of the same name, written in 1608 by Johannes Kepler, regarded as the first ever science fiction novel. “This book fascinates me because it was basically Kepler traveling in his mind to a non-existent world while describing it, and his journey, with amazing detail. Many of his imagined sensations are actually really what happens when one travels into space, which happened almost four hundred years later. You could call it a vision of the future through his dreams, and I find this aspect very mysterious and powerful.”
Somnium is many things: an exploration in and around and between realities, an immersive cosmic journey through the creators mind - as well as your own - and twelve constructed tracks that are capable of plunging one into new dreamlike environments. “Somnium could be seen as a tribute to the album, a dying format in today’s fast-paced society. It can often be difficult to enjoy a meaningful uninterrupted moment. This album is where true mystery and wonder is waiting to be discovered.”
Listen to first track "Volva" now. Pre-order Somnium now ahead of its November 23rd release date.