(« Stromschnelle » by Gerhard Rießbeck)

In « Rapids, » the third part of « The Dam, » the protagonist/narrator is being carried from a mostly disappointing river straight into an heretofore unseen dam.

The intent behind this instrumental section is to convey a feeling of being taken ahead by an unrelenting force, and to let the listener reflect on the discourse presented in « River. »

In the storyline, the rapids represent the rising tension which accompanies the recognition that one's chosen course is not only increasingly unsatisfactory, but that the situation has evolved beyond the point of no return, and thus that a change of direction has become an unavoidable necessity. Our hero is being accelerated towards an ineluctable collision which is portrayed in the fourth section, entitled « Dam. »

Here's the associated poetry :

my wish is my motion
channelled by decision
i am running onward
to my destination

intensification
and acceleration
there'll be more upheaval
before vindication

the tension is building
hurried awakening
to my enfranchising
this stream is not leading

perhaps this has to be
passage necessary
from my own eyes to see
who isn't really me

or then again maybe
it is my penalty
karma for me worthy
of past conformity

how life obliges me
to be all i can be
to shed docility
and to choose liberty

of turmoil i'm prescient
implied in the current
i'm heading for a dam
latent in the torrent

approaching collision
silenced inclination
bearing artificial
the end of repression

and then i'll be dormant
drowning in the moment
water amniotic
withdrawn incognizant

cocooned in suspension
marooned in immersion
introspective recess
profound transformation

before elevation
to realization
revived buoyancy
triumphant emersion

« The Dam » is a 22-minute long suite in 8 movements that uses the metaphor of water flowing from source to ocean to illustrate the process of individual growth.

As the title suggest, the focus is directed on one major obstacle/life-changing experience, symbolized by a dam on the river, which the protagonist/narrator has to conquer in order to reach their intended destination.

The storyline is inspired by my own life and struggle to reach the goal of earning a living through my artistic output, as opposed to working a day job to support myself and invest what’s left of my energies in artistic pursuits on a part-time basis, as I’ve done for the most part of the last twelve years or so.