My third full-length Pocket Operator album. It took me longer to make than the other albums, as I was busy with many other things, and I actually found it difficult to finish it up. But I must say, I am very proud of this album, and I consider this maybe my best work yet. There are some songs that I think have a very nice and distinct vibe. Hunters of the Night, Shrouded Valley and Reunion definitely are quite unique, also in their approaches to songwriting, but they all suit the ambience of longing for something you never had, for something out of this world.

In a sense, that is something I always try to create. My music is a way for me to escape the confines of the mundane reality. In my music, and the fantasy, I can be anything, and can create worlds to tell stories in.

For this album, I pick up the story of the Dream World EP. In a sense the Evolve EP is also part of the same history, but it is not involved in such a direct manner. However, I wanted to create something darker for this album. The first songs I made were Elfstone and Hunters of the Night. Especially the latter is very nasty, harsh, and heavy. It really gives me the feeling of a rushed hunt through dark woods, with cloaked figures on dark horses hunting a girl on the run.
For Shrouded Valley, I took a bit a different approach to my normal songwriting. Instead of making patterns with similar vibes, and sequencing them, I took each pattern, and edited a bit further in the next pattern.
Reunion is the only song that also includes the PO-28 Robot. It is a bit more difficult to use the Robot and the Arcade together, as you need to have a very clear song structure in mind, and you need to separate the instruments. I plan to make a more distinct PO-28 album in the future, or give it a larger role at least.

So, the story...

A girl goes in search for her older brother, who has been lost to the world for quite a long time already. She is now of the same age as he was when he disappeared. Having done her studies in the old dusty books in the attic, she knows where to find him. The Elfstone is her passage to the Dream World, but when she arrives, the world around her is dark, and full of Evil. Wherever she looks, all she sees is the Dark Woods.
Her arrival has not gone unnoticed, and the Hunters of the Night are stalking her. Hooded figures, set on dark horses, rush through the everdark forest to capture her. Fleeing from their evil presence, the girl runs further and further from the Elfstone, and following her instinct, she arrives at the Shrouded Valley.
She knows this must be the place her brother is hiding. She can see the smoke rising from the chimney of a small building on a meadow next to a bright blue lake, all surrounded by the Dark Woods.
However, the girl is not the only one to have noticed the Valley, for Dark Magics surround it, although something is keeping it out. Through an intense battle of will, the girl manages to conquer the Magics, and enter the Valley.
Finally, the Reunion of the siblings is fulfilled. The boy has not aged a day since he left, and the two are equal now. He explains the full story of his disappearance to her, of the Faerie Fire, the Knights of the Shine, the Three, and how they fought the Troll King on the Mountain. And how the world Evolved, and how the Invasion of Darkness took place.
The Long Night will come, and they must survive the many hardships, but in the end, they will prevail. For the Love of this World.

I hope you enjoy listening to this album as much as I enjoyed making it (and also listening to it). Let me know what you think! Which is your favourite track?

Best wishes,
Conrad