Brother Wren

The Azan

The Azan

A very abstract piece. Here's the story: for those of you who don't know, the azan (adhan) is the muslim call to prayer that you hear five times a day. In a city like Cairo, it's an inescapable moment of sound -- especially in the morning, it comes out of nowhere and rushes over you, then disappears into relative silence once again. It becomes your timepiece, your focal point for measuring days, whether you go to pray or not. There's something extremely amazing to me to hear dozens of human voices suddenly rise out of loudspeakers all at once, completely coordinated but out of sync with each other. It's like the kind of chaos emerging from organized structure that I see in all aspects of humanity. 

That said, I wrote these extremely simple lyrics, and interspersed them with noisy, almost discordant sections that would sonically represent those five times of day. I don't think it's quite successful yet. It's better if you know what it's supposed to stand for, but I need it to be enjoyable for the listener without any idea about what I'm talking about. There's lots of empty spaces that could be filled with vocals or solos, but that would defeat the purpose of my serenity/crazy noise vibe I'm going for. Any and all suggestions are appreciated for this song.

Also, what do you think of the weird middle bridge that doesn't have anything in it except a lame piano solo? Should I just take it out? I feel like I need it to give the song a bridge between the first and second halves, but...

It is time
Azan
Silence breaks
Shatters in sound

Carry me
Azan
Above streets
Pull me down

It is time
Azan
Day is long
Give me pause

Sleep by me
Azan
Night is come
Announce dawn


It is time
Azan
Heavy sky
Cast off by voice

It is time
Azan
Nothing
Changes