AURORA 2017 Sydney

Alexander McPherson
31st Jan 2017

The daughters of Mne Seraphim* led round their sunny flocks.

All but the youngest; she in paleness sought the secret air.

To fade away like morning beauty from her mortal day:

Down by the river of Adona her soft voice is heard:

And thus her gentle lamentation falls like morning dew.

*Mne Seraphim is the angel mother of the muses

-- William Blake, Book of Thel

Let me just say, straight off the bat, I absolutely adore AURORA! So rarely can you feel such tangible love from a performer, as if you’ve just met an old friend on the road who, in her gracious way has sat down and sung some ancient tale. Now the story finds us here on earth, and her message is simple, “We are here to be kind to others”. AURORA is a warrior for love and light, and she gives herself entirely to her experience so that we too know that we can face our demons and survive, we can even create something beautiful along the way.

Citing Cohen and Dylan as key influences AURORA aims to tell stories to captivate her audience. I don’t know whether she knows the depth of the tale she is telling. With great humility she knows that she is the vessel for “something much bigger” and as Bob once said, “I never wrote a song”. So perhaps the purity in AURORA is that of her channel, through which old souls of Heaven sing of our adventure so that we may know ourselves and come home.

It was never meant to be easy, and clearly for AURORA it hasn’t always been, her songs sing of pain, hardship and even hostility, yet the light and love remain, she holds a candle to the darkness. Despite writing music from a very young age, from the forests of Bergen, in Norway she never really thought of being a performer, nor did she care too much for the idea until her mother provided her a Golden Key of Wisdom, “music that can help someone should not be kept to yourself”. It is this authenticity, this loving service that resounds from AURORA and shows itself in her music, there is no quest for fame, her desire is in the hearts of her fans.

This is the first concert I’ve been to in years where the median age was in their early twenties, amongst giggles and screams the greatest impact it had on me was the knowledge that young people truly do connect with authentic art, and are in fact crying out for compassion and understanding in times that can seem so alien. It’s really nice to know that the youth are getting their heart nectar.

All My Demons Greeting Me as a Friend is Aurora’s first album. She was signed off the back of her debut performance and has been on a rocket ship of success ever since. It’s not hard to see why, her music contains beautiful melodies that hook on a heart beat and fly you further into hidden away caverns, her voice sails on the oceans of heaven (its get’s rough there too!) and her lyrics bear such great wisdom that alchemise the human experience. Every time I listen to her songs my soul perks its ears to listen.

There is a pop sensibility to her music, yet there is nothing generic about it. AURORA herself has said that she is still searching for her sound and what produced itself on the first album was as much an exploration into the playground of the studio as anything else. She has a vast palate, from Norwegian folk and classical all the way to heavy metal. Like all the great artists who are constantly on the move, I’d say AURORA’s next outfit may be completely different.

I thank AURORA and her band for a truly uplifting and heart opening concert last week at the Metro, I felt the roof lift off and for a moment found myself peering into Heaven. Music is such a profound means of breaking down barriers and I’m very grateful to have had the experience. I know that her music, from whatever realm it comes will continue to reverberate throughout the hearts of humanity and play a great role in these times of significant change.

Let love conquer your mind

Warrior, warrior

Just Reach out for the Light

Warrior, warrior