As I listened to Amit Erez & The Secret Sea, I wondered to myself if there were instances in which filmmakers were so inspired by an album that they made a film to fit the soundtrack instead of the other way around. I’m sure it’s happened, and if any album deserves its own movie, it’s this one.
Amit Erez, a celebrated Israeli folk musician, teamed up with his musical friends to form The Secret Sea, and what resulted from their union is a deeply pensive, poetic collection of baroque-folk tracks that delicately reflect on the nature of mortality, spirituality, war, love, and nature. Nature is the heavy favorite though, and some of the lines lean towards those of Whitman and other naturalists. There are many mentions of the sun, even once of being raped by the sun, and there remains a prevailing sense of gripping tightly to life and light despite a nagging awareness of death and darkness.
Diverse instrumentation shape the sound into something evocative and cinematic, so you can imagine I was moved at the fiery fourth stanza of “Elegy,” which begins a capella and then builds into one of the most gorgeous lines I’ve ever heard. “Even if I’m lost in this constellation/even if I’m alone on this flight/even if I’m late for the celebration/I’m hearing the mute/he whistles tonight/set this sore emotion to the light.” A lot of the lyrics are cryptic, yet inspiring in the same untouched manner as nature.
I really believe The Secret Sea is meant to be heard paired with a simultaneous reading of its lyrics. All of the careful touches done separately sound sincere, and all of those parts together form a stunning, transcendent landscape. Listen to “Elegy” above, and “Not About Us” below, but keep in mind that The Secret Sea is best enjoyed as a whole.