Mikhail Daken On the Making Of “Fable”
“Fable” is the rousing new single from alternative singer-songwriter Mikhail Daken.
A rich soundscape of rising guitars, brooding electronics and cinematic atmospherics explodes into an anthemic chorus of crashing guitars, pounding drums and Daken’s unique voice.
The music video for Fable plays like a "fantastical concept art come to life", directed by Andy W and Mikhail Daken, the narrative weaves a tale of a lone wanderer, lost in an enchanted forest, seeking their escape, all the while pursued by something otherworldly.
We sat down with Daken, who took us through how the captivating world of Fable was brought to its otherwordly life.
What is the most important theme in this single?
One of the most rewarding and fun elements of songwriting is to be able to communicate on multiple levels. Meaning and message can be interpreted in so many different ways depending on how the listener is receiving your words, how you are saying it and how the music is supporting delivery. I always try to write with an imposed sense of ambiguity. This way, the listener is able to freely interpret the themes of the song, and I get to keep a little something for myself. I love hearing how different people have gone on such different journeys with “Fable.”
How did you approach the arrangement and composition of the music for "Fable?"
I am always writing - whether this be with pen and paper, at a keyboard or with a guitar. This means I am perpetually ending up with scraps of music passages, phrases and mini arrangements. I also love to resample my guitar and voice. The bones of “Fable” came out of 2 or 3 older songs that went through this process. It eventually became this 5-minute sprawling arrangement. A turning point was when I started to work with producer George Lever. He is an artist’s dream, because he really forces you to examine what you are trying to say and do with the song. It’s a brutally honest, challenging but liberating process. I went to him with what I thought was a complete song, with fully recorded full band arrangements. The intention was to spend a couple of days doing vocals and production flourishes. Within a few hours, he had stripped the track down to a skeleton. I left his studio that evening, strolled into a forest and wrote a new second verse and overhauled the chorus entirely.
Can you tell us more about the stories this single contains and how they connect to you personally?
I think its all there, on the page, within the song. But, I also think my personal connection to the song is the least interesting connection of all. For me its all about the listener and what they take away from it. I love the notion of people, being out in the world, having their own "main character moments" soundtracked these songs.
How do you feel the music video and overall campaign adding to the messages and storytelling in the music?
Since my first release, I have always tried to create an audio-video experience, between the song and the music video - never just treat it as a musical promo. I try to use the videos as a mechanism to go deeper into the themes and messages that orbit the song. With my last release [ 2022's EP "They Who Eat Time"], I had tried to incorporate the various social media channels to help tell the story. These included voice logs and codex entries in the form of coded messages, implied to come from the song to the listener.
With “Fable,” I treated it as an opening chapter in what will become the introduction to the next EP. I sought to create a world where abstracted visions and projections of the songs play out, a netherrealm, "A Place Beyond Lost". I partnered with an incredible special fx studio called CineStudio1080. These guys, headed by Andy W, just got it. For the better part of a year we spent building a world for which the story of Fable could unfold. It was a digital playground of abstracted fantastical horror.
All this world building allowed us to create a two-month social media campaign -slowly introducing "The Place Beyond Lost" through lore videos, codex entries, tarot cards and more coded messages. Its been fun to see the audience experience the joys and frustrations of piecing it together. It all culminated with the “Fable” being released into the world during the moonrise of the August Blue Supermoon. We hosted a YouTube premier event and live-streamed it. I had, what I thought was about 20 close friends and collaborators watching. I refreshed the page and saw there were 1300 people taking the journey into our mythical world together. It blew my mind.
What impact do you hope "Fable" will have on your audience?
I would love for people who are intrigued by the sights and sounds we have created, to take a moment and venture into "The Place Beyond Lost", and lose themselves in the vibes we are creating.