About - From Sand | Wreck of Time

The Story Behind From Sand Part I and Part II

by Rafael Macedo - August 13, 2022

The idea of writing a concept album is an old dream of mine. I have always been inspired by works such as The Dark Side of the Moon (Pink Floyd), The Wall (Pink Floyd), Crime of the Century (Supertramp), Farewell to Kings (Rush), Scenes from a Memory (Dream Theater), and others.

The initial idea came from a poem by my late cousin and brother in light, Fabio A.P, titled “The Lady in the Seashore.” Within half hour, I had the majority of the song written. Something about this mysterious woman and the imagery of it truly inspired me. The next thing written was the opening text we can hear in the intro of From Sand - Part I.

From there, Fabio and I started developing the concept of the story. He continued to write the lyrics based on the same theme, and I kept working on the musical part. I wrote the songs “Narrowing - Part I” and “She’s Made From Sand.” Fabio had a very powerful lyric written for the latter, perfectly contrasting “Lady in the Seashore.”

Now that we had the basics of it, we needed a song about The Lady, which my cousin named Anne. I wanted this one to be about her gift and personality. And from that idea, the track “Shine Shy Shine” was born. The final additions were Mitch's song “Promises” in collaboration with Fabio and “The Curtains of my Eyes”, in which Jeremy and I worked together.

The album was split into two parts because we felt it would have a better flow to tell the story. At the time of the release of the album From Sand - Part I, I had many of the songs that would end up in the second part. The songs were: Natural, 242, Narrowing - Part II, Adrift, Moonlight Infatuation, and Lullaby.

The story came to life, and new ideas and songs were created for From Sand - Part II: White Nebula, Chemical Mirror, Prophet Machine, Made to Shine, and Unending.

We felt that we needed to find a new sound for part II. We decided to work with the incredible Jens Bogren at the Fascination Street Studios. He was the final touch that helped us find the sound and power of the new album.

The Story

The story follows Jared. Just another ordinary guy living the life that society told him was the correct one. One day, while on vacation at this strange beach, his life would change forever. He meets this mysterious woman called Anne (The Lady in the Seashore). He feels they’ve known each other his entire life and that she is the woman he keeps seeing in recurrent dreams.

She vaguely tells him her life is complicated and that she doesn’t “live” around here. After a magical night, she vanishes without a trace, leaving him doubting his sanity about these events and wondering if she was real.

Anne has a special gift. She can communicate with people through melodies. She uses this gift as a way to connect to each person’s “frequency.” This gift became another source of inspiration to explore different musical influences, moods, tempos, etc.

The album is about the journey of self-discovery. Only when, and if, Jared can open his mind will he be able to find the ethereal place where Anne lives.