LINK TO THE BOOKLET: https://eklektikaberlin.com/files/1368670/futaria-booklet.pdf

With Futaria I wanted to tackle serious themes in the context of a progressive rock album. In collaboration with AI, I created and wrote the songs with the theme of challenges we as a world face in the future. I have no idea who will read this booklet, or will listen to the songs from beginning to end. But this is fact, not fiction, and it will affect us all. It already is as we witness climate change, war, and challenges to food resources. Actually all of the issues in the songs are with us now.

Futaria is a hybrid word evoking: Future – conveys forward-looking themes and exploration Aria – connects directly to music, singing, and melody. Air – evokes openness, freedom, lightness, and breath - or the challenge to keep it Area – gives a sense of space, a realm, or a place— the themes are about the world, and the space beyond where humans have had an impact.

I do know that it is far more likely that people on platforms such as Soundcloud will listen to individual songs which may be out of context. But I suppose that doesn’t matter because each of the issues is in itself very important. I have tried to make the songs as varied and interesting as possible, although that in itself is a challenge because of the range of musical genres available.

It is my hope that if people listen to one of the songs and like it, that they will be drawn to the others – and read the lyrics and notes.

The pictures are intended to stimulate thinking of the themes further and there are notes on what the pictures are trying to portray.

As the last and more uplifting song, ‘We Will Rise’, tries to suggest, it is through collective agency that we might be able to make the future better. It is a worrying time we live in – and there are still so many positive developments that we can only hope that we can turn the negative into something more positive.

I see this as a stadium rock live set with visuals and film footage, as well as some narration building up to the climax of the last two songs. It starts dark and slowly with industrial metal sounds.

Steve Lewis eklektika.berlin . August 2025