1. Imagination

Imagination

In the opening song of Labrinth’s second studio album, we are introduced to a unique, ingenious use of harmonies and orchestral instrumentation. This album opens with “Imagination” – a minute-and-a-half track – cleanly integrating instruments such as organs, violins, and electronic effects. The electric sound and feel builds as the song progresses, coming back down at the end as we hear someone pressing buttons, and a sound reminiscent of flipping a cassette at the end of a tape. The minute details in this song are a fantastic representation of what’s to come.

The even tune and flow of the song changes in the middle when the bulk of the lyrics come in. An ethereal sound is accomplished using the organ, with the addition of violins completing this aura. As the organ becomes louder and more prominent, the lyrics slightly accelerate and become more prose than verse. This gives the notion of ideas spilling out steadily, his vision being relayed to us – the audience.

The lyrics of “Imagination” are not terribly complex, but the message is conveyed nonetheless. It illustrates an obscure kind of utopia, a world where we could live in peace and harmony. However, this world only exists in our imagination. In an ideal world we would live harmoniously, “planting seeds that we call ideas.” This line’s syntax stands out to me in that normally, we would compare the concrete to the metaphorical. In this verse, Labrinth takes the metaphor and forces us to see it as the reality: we are planting seeds – we happen to call them ideas. It implies simplicity. The way we live in the real world is technical and calculated, but in our imagination we would plant seeds which would grow into trees bearing fruit. One line which I find particularly prominent, heard in the middle of the song, is “We live on L-O-V-E like it was our salaries…” Although simple, this line implies much for the ideal world conveyed in this opening song. The way the song insists on this world being a reality with this line illustrates how much we neglect love. It is a contrast to the real world in which we live. We do not cherish love as much as we should, but in an ideal world, made in our imaginations, love would be depended upon as if it supported us monetarily. In the real world, money runs many of our lives; an unfortunate and sorry truth. If we could live on love to support us, that would be a much warmer world.

“Imagination” concludes how it begins; with imagination. We are brought into Labrinth’s world of imagination and view a utopia through his eyes. We see how his world would look if his imagination came to fruition, as we are then brought back down to Earth remembering this is all only an idea. He concludes with the lines: “I’ll live in this imagination/ Now.” Wouldn’t we all prefer to live in a world of our imagination? If our most concrete ideas for the world could be fulfilled, I believe that would be a world to be compared to this “Imagination.”