Currently making quite the buzz is the talented songwriter/producer Barbonus, who, from his creative haven in Freiburg, Germany, masters the hybrid craft of delivering top-shelf electronic beats and meaningful storytelling. With his latest release, the six-piece EP “Fire and Distance,” released on the 16th of January, music lovers everywhere can breathe easy knowing the wonderful things to discover in his sound. If you’re an enthusiast of rich synths or songs with actual meaning to their lyrics, then there is definitely quite a lot to take in from his tracks. Let’s get started.
“The Song I Never Wrote”, the first song, opens with a feeling of moderation. It tiptoes in, as if uncertain whether it should exist at all, rather than exploding into life. The introduction establishes the emotional tone right away and feels purposefully lacking, almost skeletal. This song’s lyrics focus more on absence than presence. It’s more about a missing confession than a missing song. The words revolve around regret, hesitation, and the burden of everything that was left unsaid when it mattered most. The character in the song uses “the song I never wrote” to describe either a song he indeed never wrote, or it could stand for having regrets about certain things in his life. Either way, you can feel his regret through the lyrics and the performance. This vulnerability merely expresses the price of silence rather than pleading for pity. The arrangement reflects that emotional divide musically. Pauses and restraint allow the listener’s own thoughts to enter, and space is used as a storytelling device. The effect is subtly catastrophic. This song will resonate with anyone who has mentally replayed conversations for a long time. This song does a good job of opening the album.
The album’s next song is “What I Meant to Say”. While the first song lives in silence, this one lives in frustration. Nevertheless, it flows naturally from that emotional beginning point. Although there is still tension underneath, it begins with a slightly more assertive musical presence and vocal performance, as if the band is finally coming forward to speak. This song’s lyrics examine the gap between expression and intention. It depicts the excruciatingly human experience of having one meaning while conveying another, of seeing words reveal feelings in real time. The character in this song makes a connection with a woman; he feels as if this woman was not his class, but he makes the move, hoping he will be enough for her. There’s an undercurrent of self-blame running through the lyrics, not directed outward but inward, questioning why clarity feels so elusive. Musically, the track builds gradually, layering instruments in a way that feels like thoughts piling up faster than they can be organized. The listener experiences that pressure as well by the time it reaches its emotional peak. Anyone who has ever attempted to explain themselves and felt misunderstood, even by others, will find the impact to be extremely relatable.
“Creeping Back Again” is the next song on the list. The song turns the emotional focus of the EP to relapse and repetition. It begins with an uneasy atmosphere that suggests movement without advancement. This song’s lyrics discuss patterns that won’t go away. The song expresses the annoyance of thinking you’ve moved on only to feel the familiar weight return, whether it’s a habit, a memory, or a person. The lyrics have a haunting quality that makes it seem as though the narrator is both anticipating and fearing the return of something they know too well. The song’s musical style leans into that tension, using rhythm and texture to create a sense of unease; nothing feels fully resolved, and that’s intentional; the listener is left in a state of suspended motion, mirroring the emotional loop described in the lyrics; this is especially poignant for those who understand how hard it is to break free from cycles that feel ingrained in you.
“On a Burning Stove” comes in at number three. One of the EP’s most powerful emotional metaphors brought to life through sound is this song. It starts with a level of intensity that seems risky, like approaching something you know will cause pain. This song’s lyrics discuss willfully remaining in painful situations despite being fully aware of the consequences and being unable or unwilling to leave. Here, there is an unvarnished candor about self-inflicted pain and conflating familiarity with security. These lyrics are not glamorizing this pain in any way; they’re making it very ordinary, which somehow makes this pain hit home a little more. As far as this track is concerned in terms of music itself, this conflict is expressed quite literally to a greater extent in this track’s edges and general sense of chaotic control. It never essentially boils over quite enough to spill, though, which has a visceral effect on the listener in a personal way that makes you think about being in situations yourself where you’re staying a little too long and touching this heat despite knowing better yourself somehow.
The next song has a title that reads “Burning Matches”. Again, this song continues to follow the theme of burning and fires; nonetheless, it changes perspective slightly. While the past song maintained an element of suffering, this particular song seems to carry a sense of impulse in it. It begins with a spark of life and energy; yet again, it is short-lived and ephemeral. The lyrics of this song are an investigation of how something can catch fire and as quickly descend back to nothingness. Like how the character burns a matchstick, which lights quickly but soon becomes a small wisp of smoke. There is an impression of intense but transient quality to the description, of relationships or decisions that flash brightly but fleetingly, leaving behind only smoke and doubt. The music is also nice in the manner in which the transient quality of the event is suggested. There is a quick rise and fall to the dynamic levels, creating the impression of urgency, though the sense is also transient. There is the impression of something powerful being glimpsed, only to vanish.
The EP ends on a track named “Looking Down,” a track that feels quite emblematic of all that has happened before this point in terms of emotion. The track starts in a more meditative state of mind in terms of pace, as though time itself has slowed down somewhat, and the piano melody helps in creating this perfect melody right from the start. As far as overall themes go, this track feels to me like being at a height and being able to look back over everything that has happened in terms of emotion throughout the character’s life, and also what has happened to us listeners through this EP. Although introspection is to be had in this track, it is not a sense of closure as such. Being able to see patterns, choices, and consequences with fresh eyes, even if you have no idea what’s next. With the music, there is an emphasis on atmosphere and delicacy that allows the ear to have some room to breathe. The end does not resolve things, and that’s what makes it good. It’s all very softly profound and ends the album beautifully.
“Fire and Distance,” released on January 16, is evidence that Barbonus isn’t just making music; He’s crafting an environment. Here, Barbonus opts away from genre-specific ideas and toward a philosophy of space and emotional tempo. He does this by mixing minimalist electronics with raw romanticism, so that the quiet between the notes is just as loud as the music playing. What actually lends this project its magnetic quality is its unwillingness ever to take the easy route, its resistance to overproduction, and the quick fix in favor of a more reflective journey of the mind. I loved the use of fire metaphors in the EP because I believe that fire is so much more than danger, and this EP is proof that fire can mean so much more than sister. Barbonus, you are a musical genius, and I can’t wait to hear what you cook up next. Consider me seated!
Stream the “Fire and Distance” EP on Spotify
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