Close To

Metric System 1981 & Marko Zoric - Close To

Reviewed by Edoardo Gastaldi

“Close To” is a musical epitome of the feeling of closeness, gathering all of its manifestations into a vast, ethereal, and subtly metaphorical ambient record. The 3-track EP, created by Marko Zoric and Michael Schacht (known in art as Metric System 1981), displays a slow-paced soundtrack of the artists’ lives in reverse. Showing all the beauty and all the pain; all the power and all the gaps - seen from above. In between life, in between everything that is built, destroyed, and built again, that’s where closeness lies. Closeness acts as a healing glue of all the pieces that make us; like a snake softly moving from meadows towards oceans. That is, in our path forward, proximity to friends, family, culture, ideas, and dreams keeps us standing. Closeness is what provides mankind with a deeper meaning, the true driver of most of our actions because There’s nothing that can be valued more than closeness… closeness in so many incarnations.

The prologue and epilogue tracks, respectively “Close To” and “So Close”, frame the features of the feeling and depicts it like a cyclical dream. Closeness is what we belong to, and what we aim to reach. The beginning and the end of our wishes and prayers. Musically speaking, the EP is a rich hidden treasure of influences - from the Nordic somber ambient feeling, reminiscent of Biosphere and Lights & Motion, to the post-rock experimental approach, finding resonance with works from John Hayes, Chris Bartels, and Hammock. The EP carries listeners as a gentle yet twinkly river of consciousness would do, coupling awareness with longing, eventually reminding us that nothing exists by itself. We all are a product of our interactions with our surroundings. And in that, closeness to something or someone is the fuel of hope and traditions.

“Close To” integrates a pleasant listening experience with a profound self-reflection on the understanding of human beliefs, desires, and needs - the underlying roots directing our trajectories forward. As Thomas Kessler once said, It’s always worth training back the beliefs you find in yourself back to when and why they came to you. “Close To” finds an answer to that task in tenderness and bonds as the ultimate meaning-providers in our lives.

"Close To - EP" is now available on all digital platforms