Lucid Lockpicking by Death and The Poetess

A note from jojo:
We’re only two months into 2025, yet it can sometimes feel like we’ve already been insomniac-style awake, sleep-deprived in a much longer, dark, dystopian, anxious fever dream. If you’ve been feeling soul-wearily agitated, or doom-scrolling the news between jagged sleep bursts at night ~ this record is our ‘dirge wave,’ weirdeval musical offering for you. We wish to assist in profound rest, sacred release, and for you to feel safe and bolstered on The Journey.

I had surreal childhood experiences of night time and consciousness; lucid dreaming, hypnagogic light fractal visuals, and sleepwalking. With this EP I hope to share rituals, soothing/trippy tunes, and lightly intended sleep hypnosis induction/guided talk-downs –for grappling with the vulnerability of falling asleep.

There are some ‘Easter eggs’ from the songs my mother sang to me (check the track notes for “Dancing Shoes” and “Wolfy’s Song.”) We were influenced by The Brothers Grimm fairy tales, Ukulele Ike, Johnny Cash, Faun Fables, and the Victorian absurdist artist Edward Lear, whose poem “The Duck And The Kangaroo” we set to music.

On our prior five RPM challenge albums we’ve oscillated between acoustic, folk instrument compositions as well as making extensive use of synth-orchestra embellishments, and psychedelic, digital pedal libraries. With *Lucid Lockpicking* we have aimed for a natural, ‘in house,’ solely acoustic instruments' sound. We hope you enjoy the album, may you sleep deeply whenever you do, and may you wake rested for your adventures, the continued unfolding of The Great Mystery.

(March 1, 2025)

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GENRES: Dirge Wave, Weirdeval, Neofolk, Grimoire for Lucid Dreaming, Mind Palace Hacking, Twee Dark Ages, Ethereal Acoustic, Sleepy Vaudeville

Tracklist

1.	Induction (Hypno-Script)	3:30

2.	Lockpickin'	2:51

3.	Wolfy's Song	2:23

4.	The Duck And The Kangaroo	4:09

5.	Dark Hallways	2:23

6.	Dancing Shoes	3:30

7.	Lull-Ville	2:53

8.	La Alhambra (The Sleeper Has Awakened)	4:07

Credits

released March 1, 2025

Completed for the 2025 RPM Challenge
www.rpmchallenge.com

jojo Lazar: vocals, flute, soprano and concert ukuleles.
Blake Girndt: vocals, classical and acoustic guitars, upright bass, mandolin, marimba, glockenspiel, percussion.

Lyrics/scripts are originals by jojo Lazar and Blake Girndt.
Except "The Duck and The Kangaroo" by Edward Lear. And the outro of "Dancing Shoes" is a reworking of the anonymous lullaby/camp tune "Bed is Too Small For My Tiredness."

Recorded at Ghost and Bones Studio, February 2025. Engineered, mixed, edited, mastered by Blake Girndt.

Album cover art is a paper collage by jojo from 2020. Additional digital collaging (Wolfgang Catclops, and padlocks) was added this year. The title art (illuminated manuscripts) and text was digitally done by Blake.

Illuminated manuscript majiscule sources: Bentivoglio Hours, and the Bodmer Codex.

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