Cavalo Morto, by Nik Freitas

Cavalo Morto

by Nik Freitas

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1.	Sunlight Scene 04:17	lyrics	buy track
No one knew what colors do Until you mix them into two A deeper blue blends with the white To make a river in a sunlight scene No one saw the colors fade The sky turned blue to a dark gray The faces withered in the page By a river in a sunlight scene Painted view Attaching you Let you colors wind Like a river in a sunlight A river in a sunlight A river in a sunlight scene Let’s watch the colors run Until they cover everything Painted view Attaching you Let you colors find A river in a sunlight A river in a sunlight A river in a sunlight scene
2.	Sherri's Life 04:12	lyrics	buy track
Nobody told you where to look Only to find the nerve to try Will that beat in your chest let you sleep tonight ? Tomorrow will come just like the last Today felt like such a waste of time Will that beat of your heart let you rest tonight ? Under the silence Of a shooting star in the sky Were all dreams just made to die To make a fool of us ? Sherri Dancing in the moonlight Raise your glass to the sunrise And the vanishing of time Sherri Children play in the driveway Pictures hang in the hallway Of a face that hides two sides of life I know that sentences run on too long Its hard to get your point across When there’s never enough time Under the silence Of a shooting star in the sky Were you dreams just made to die Or do they live on inside all of us Sherri Dancing in the moonlight Raise your glass to the sunrise And the vanishing of time Sherri Children grew up beside you Showed them what true love can do With a face to hide both sides of life
3.	Aviso Amor 03:36	lyrics	buy track
Her love is like a potion Can’t tell when he’d had enough The days play in slow motion Always waking up before the night is done Her heart was beating faster Much faster than it ever does Feels like she’s chasing after Something invisible but warm to the touch Nobody has to be alone tonight Nobody has to be in love I want to rise up All the will i can find I want to tell you how it feels To be connected to a heart that wasn’t mine Nobody has to be alone tonight Nobody has to be in love I want to rise up All the will i can find I want to tell you how it feels To be connected to a heart that wasn’t mine
4.	Cabrillo 03:32	lyrics	buy track
I made a left Down the hill To the yellow lights On that Ferris wheel We were there Where did you go Cabrillo? Cabrillo School was done Missed reunions I got a job At a gas station We moved one Where did you go Cabrillo? Cabrillo The silence of an empty house (Cabrillo) Vanished without a sound Will we ever see you again? Twenty one Turned into Thirty Something I fell in love by accident She caught me Who took you Cabrillo? Cabrillo The Silence of an empty house (Cabrillo) Vanished without a sound will we ever see you again I drove my child To her first day of school I waved goodbye And I thought of you Children grow Will they know Cabrillo? Cabrillo
5.	Island Terminal 03:32	lyrics	buy track
Just past the Pyrenees In the Luminary Hills The lights are dancing with the sun At the Island Terminal I watch the planes come in They circle then they set One after the other Little windows between two jets We’re bound for mystery Nothing is certain in any way You can believe in Devine eternity Whatever gets you through the day The roads between us All lead to the interstate Will we find each other in a park Or down some distant highway Who’s going to love you ? Who’s going to love you now ? No one No one I know Is landing at the island terminal You’re lifting off with the wind Shadows cast below Clouds helping you disappear Whiter than the snow No path is permanent The next step could be a mistake Will you make your next connection Before it flies away ? Who’s going to love you? Who’s going to love you now? No one No one I know is landing at the island terminal No one No one I know Is landing at the island terminal Just past he pyrenees In the luminary hills The lights are setting with the sun At the end of a runway
6.	Are We There Yet? 04:25	lyrics	buy track
Sitting alone at the top of a hill You could see in his face he was prepared Blocking his view with 24 hour cable news He’s been waiting his whole for some bomb to fall Are we there yet To the ending Of our time spent Being here ? Born in home Haded keys to the thrown You could tell by his face that he was scared Circle of friends From Sunday school to Yale weekends They’ve been waiting their whole life for something to rule Are we there yet To the ending Of our patience with them Is there weight left In the system To tip the balance towards justice What a feeling to be alive And its such a wonderful day I think ill take a walk outside And smile all my cares away Finally passed Graduated top of class You could tell in her eyes that she was strong Dreams of a view Overlooking 5th avenue She’s been waiting her whole life for this moment to come Are we there yet To the ending Of pretending life is fair Is there room left In the future To be honest with ourselves What a time to be alive And its such a wonderful day Im going to take a walk outside I hope that I see you today Are we there yet Are we there yet Are we there yet Are we there yet
7.	Water Tower 05:06	info	buy track
8.	Flowers 03:02	lyrics	buy track
Flowers in a flood Still standing in the water towards the sun The colors of each pedal in the mud Living on through it all flowers in the snow Still growing through the ice melting below Still searching for some light through a window Living on through it all I’m picking one out To bring home to you So many of them, how can I choose? The prettiest one is the hardest to loose Flowers in the street Still growing through the cracks in the concrete The pavement cant hide whats underneath Living on through it all I’m picking one out To bring home to you So many of them, how can I choose? The prettiest one is the hardest to loose Flowers in a flood Still standing in the water towards the sun The colors of each of pedal in the mud Living on through it all Living through this All the flowers in a flood stay beautiful
9.	Siwanoy 03:14		buy track
10.	Normal #3 03:38	lyrics	buy track
I used to care about it all I used to loose it when she Called Had a dream I wished to live I had some love I wished to give Read the writing on the wall When you try to stand you’re bound to fall Then building grew to tall Gotta get used to feeling small So I gave up on thinking Can’t stop this boat from sinking Grabbed a raft from that wall My fun is done So im back to normal Whatever normal was And I think I’m doing What a normal person does Letting go of what you know I only squint to see Letting go of what you know I only went to leave So if life is formal Find me my suit Because I’m back to normal Whatever normal was And I think I’m going What a normal person does

about

Nik Freitas has always been on his own wavelength. The 41-year-old songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer has had a fruitful yet underrated career in myriad sects of the entertainment industry. In the early 2000’s he worked as a photographer at Thrasher Magazine; a few years later he was a touring musician in acts like Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band and Broken Bells; and for the last decade he’s been scoring TV shows, movies and commercials for a living. However, throughout all of those creative ventures, Freitas has identified as a songwriter above all else.

On 1/31/20 he’ll release his ninth album under his own name, Cavalo Morto, via Park The Van. The title means “dead horse” in Portuguese and the album’s gloomy cover art depicts a weathered pianist chugging along at his craft while horses fall from the top of the instrument. It’s a reference to the inescapable mundanity of being a professional artist, a glamorized yet often underappreciated vocation that can wear on a person’s soul if they do it long enough. Although the dead horse is sort of a metaphor for Freitas’ lifelong struggle to be heralded for his own art, there’s a healthy dose of irony in that sentiment. Cavalo Morto is an invigorating set of songs that conflate the classic pop songwriting of Dylan, Bowie, and Elliott Smith with Freitas’ own hermetic twist.

“I’ve always wanted to do it my own way and I always will,” he says proudly. Like all of his albums, Freitas produced, recorded and played every instrument on Cavalo Morto. But unlike his past work, in which his own experiences informed the subject matter, there isn’t a single song on the album that’s directly about him. Instead, Freitas found unexpected inspiration from the names of those around him. “Siwanoy” and “Cabrillo” are fictional stories based on street names from Freitas’ neighborhood, and “Sherri” is a made-up tale about the awkward social dynamics of a loving mother who has to strip for a living.

Others are in fact based in reality. “Water Tower” is a dusky folk-pop song about the first person Freitas knew who committed suicide. The striding, Kevin Morby-esque rocker’ “Are We There Yet” is about the utterly demoralization of last year’s Kavanaugh hearings. “Are we there yet? / to the ending / of pretending life is fair,” Freitas sings briskly during its hook. Most of the melodies on Cavalo Morto are piano driven, but Freitas has an acute ear for when to splash in some warm acoustic guitar strokes or a tasteful electric guitar lick. His first instrument was drums, and even in the record’s least percussive moments, there’s an engrossing sense of rhythm that physically pulls you into Freitas’ creative universe.

Although working in different disciplines throughout the music industry has helped him hone his craft, Freitas has always felt that his music exists in a completely separate universe from his other projects. But the outsider mentality of skateboarding has always stuck with him. “I was a hipster way before hipsters,” he jokes. “I hated everything. We all did, all skaters hated everything. Everything sucked and when you did find something that was cool it really meant a lot of you.”

Freitas found songwriting. And nearly 20 years later he’s not merely still doing it—he’s doing it better than he ever has.

credits

released January 31, 2020

Performed, produced, recorded and mixed by Nik Freitas at Poppy Peak in Alhambra, CA

Jason Boesel played drums on ‘Siwanoy’

Normal #3 was recorded onto a Tascam 234 4 track tape cassette at Ocean Way Studio B

Engineered and mixed by John Gutenberger and Bryce Gonzales down to two track.

Overdubs and final mix finished at Poppy Peak

All songs written by Nik Freitas copyright 2020 BMI
Mastered by JJ Golden
Cover artwork by Mike Stilkey

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Nik Freitas Los Angeles, California

Since 2002

nikfreitas.com

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