5th PROJEKT shares their single, “Vagabond,” from their upcoming EP, The Wolf
Toronto cinematic art-rock band 5th PROJEKT has unveiled their single, “Vagabond.”
Tara Rice shares,
“Vagabond” was inspired by our 40-day pilgrimage under the Milky Way, called the Camino Santiago de Compostela. Living out of a backpack for over a month really changed our perspective on life and what we truly need (and don’t need).”
This new body of work was years in the making, an alchemical process inspired by Rice and McNalty’s weeks-long journey on the Camino Santiago de Compostela. This walking meditation from the south of France, across northern Spain to the Atlantic Ocean, is a mystical initiation that dates back thousands of years. It continues to serve as an alchemical process for distillation, refinement, and self-purification. Living out of a backpack for over a month really changes your perspective on life and what you truly need. This is the path of the Vagabond, who represents all of us, and the journey is both wistful and triumphant.
Review
“Vagabond” begins with a drum beat that won’t quit, which then layers Tara’s ethereal vocals, along with additional instruments.
It’s easy to see the talent behind the duo, as well as their compatibility. Although the music caught my attention, my focus always reverted back to Tara’s vocals.
The track feels as though you are on your own journey and possesses a somewhat hypnotizing effect at times that leaves the listener in a calmer state.
Although a bit outside of my musical style, this track is a stunning piece of work, which I highly recommend you check out!
Listen to “Vagabond” below and learn more about 5th PROJEKT via our Five Questions With segment.
Care to introduce yourself to our readers?
Why thank you, yes! We’re 5th PROJEKT, a cinematic art rock band that paints with sound. We like to make music that provides a warm psychedelic embrace and a kiss to your third eye. Our band consists of myself (Tara Rice) and Sködt McNalty as core members. My voice has been described as ethereal and haunting, powerful yet vulnerable, and Skodt’s guitar sound is ambient, atmospheric, textural, and angular. These swirling sounds are elegantly and expertly supported by our current rhythm section, Peter Broadley (bass) and Jeremy Oram (drums).
We’re a very artistically driven band and, so far, very DIY. Sködt and I write, record, and produce our own music. We create all of the artwork and music videos, do the radio service, press, propaganda, etc. We even started our own record label because nobody else would release our music, as what we do has always been outside of the box. We tend to delve into the esoteric and mystery school traditions, which comes through in our music. We pay attention to specific frequencies, specific words, intentions, and feelings. We see music as magick. Recently, we started a podcast where we’ll get into these subjects more linearly.
Tell us a bit about your most recent release.
Our most recent release, “Vagabond,” is the first single from our upcoming EP, The Wolf. It’s a psychedelic, shoegazey, grungy piece that was inspired by our experience on the Camino Santiago, which is a walking meditation that goes from the south of France across northern Spain to the Atlantic Ocean. It’s a thousands-of-years-old mystical initiation that still serves as an alchemical process for distillation, refinement, and self-purification.
‘The Vagabond’ is that aspect of ourselves that has irrepressible wanderlust and wants to soak up everything about life moment by moment. The adventurous rambler whose every footstep is intentional and for whom every experience is electric. Not because something external is creating excitement but because the Vagabond doesn’t need anyone or anything. Only the journey. The Vagabond lives contrary to our materialistic dopamine-addicted world, and the wandering isn’t aimless but very mindful, as it’s done with intention in the present moment.
Where do you tend to pull inspiration from when writing?
Musically, we draw inspiration from the psychedelic sounds of the sixties and the ideas of mind expansion, spirituality, love, and peace of that era. We also like the nineties for its introspective rock music and the raw, earthy sounds of grunge. We really don’t worry about the boundaries of music genres. We love music in all shapes and forms. We can go from Gordon Lightfoot to Swans in a blink.
Inspiration comes from everywhere. Life experiences, art, movies, history. Our last EP, The Labyrinth, was based on the esoteric themes of our favourite 80’s sci-fi fantasy films. One of the core themes of the films was ancient technologies, so we created album artwork for The Labyrinth, which was functional technology for altering consciousness. We love the strange and unusual ancient civilizations, mystery school traditions, esoteric symbolism, the occult, and the multidimensional nature of reality.
Also, inspiration comes from the ether. In our experience, writing music is a combination of whatever skills you hone plus your own consciousness, and then there’s an aspect of channeling. The universe is bubbling with raw materials for creation. It’s a matter of tuning in.
Do you have any upcoming shows you’d like to tell us about?
We just had a show at Horseshoe Tavern in Toronto, which was a lot of fun. We’re in the midst of scheduling shows for the release of The Wolf EP in March. The best way to keep up to date with that and other goings on is to join our mailing list.
What’s your goal for 2023?
The Wolf is the first of 3 EPs inspired by our journey on the Camino that we will release over the next year or so. That full body of work is called Ultreya. We will be spending some time finishing up vocal recording and then mixing and mastering. We’ve been waiting years to share this music, so we’re very excited.
Otherwise, our goal for 2023 is to get our music into many ears and to connect with kindred spirits. We plan on playing a lot of live shows and festivals in support of ‘The Wolf’ around southern Ontario, and if all goes well, beyond…
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