After Wulf Zendik had passed away,
the commune group and the music group was left alone.
Arol, who never did releases or sang before, at that moment sang a very powerful personal document about Wulf's departure, called "You've been gone"****°, an item highly recommended. It contains also a very strong expressive track by Wulf Zendik.
Several releases were to follow, some of the members took the lead in a release . Arol gained her own power-of-expression-in-voice with "Rough Cuts" (and with "We the Poet").
A compilation album with Wulf, called "Zendik" was released. Another compilation of unreleased songs of Wulf was meant for 2002 but took a while longer.
The commune or better 'tribe' is still alive. People come and go to visit the farm. There is lot of preparation of publishing and distributing releases going on now.
Wulf's early book "A quest amongst the bewildered" has been published too. This book is written from the heart and is a welcome tread to read fragments from. It's able to stimulate touches of awareness of our not always so beautiful human nature in our daily behaviours with others.
Out of a long life of struggle Wulf achieved some wisdom and succeeded to create some real results not only in theory and in creativity but also in this still alive practical 'mini society', the Zendik Tribe.
Now when his presence is gone several people express themselves even more freely their feelings of being put down into the pit of our society. Such struggle does not always create its wisdom selfcomprehensively.
- There might not be any definiable goal of perfectionism we can strive to. Everyone's growing up is a complete maturing in every sense, until we're able to create out of negative experiences our own positive additions. Society's worst part might often be its too slow development (and even worse are all people who change too slowly with it in comparing with the needs of a creative environment ; any social structure is only as stimulating as it is able to provide us our own ability for practical changes). Mostly any too slow development respects only its growth in quantity. There's not enough room to react quickly enough on its own changing nature, on the changes of the environment, on any social or personal needs from its time. The therefore needed confrontations where much more responsibility is needed reacts too slowly and does not have much positive results towards broader perspectives, or towards more needs than just the accidental individuals who acchieved some accidental place they momentary desired. Most good hearted and most intelligent people hardly can agree all the time with such an inability to react on people's needs, with such a society where any development is taken too slowly to fulfil all social and environmental needs. There are always too little practical positive regulations. Most developments are only set for the most known situations. These are only a creative result in an already over the edge imbalanced situation. People,good hearted people or much more intelligent people, who saw more than these all too easy adititions, also seeing or knowing too many other needs could have had the attention they deserved, without any restrictions whatsoever, mostly can't do much better than to stand on the site and to watch in disbelieve at this much more slowly growing selective nature, while they themselves can only continue to seek to fulfill what they already know. They know there could have been a natural whatever and not only a selective confirming response to anyone's needs for personal growth..
- The interest in Zendik, based upon a gift of "yes, we do want to share your hand and help anywhere were we can find its potential" has been growing ever since more peiple realised what I just talked about.
"Strange times" could have been written after the 11th September madness (not only in what possibly caused this madness, but also for all the chaos it created afterwards). Because with this event even some more negativity came more into daylight, some of it were most possibly were even lies ? Did this help us to develop a growing consciousness, or did we respond instead with primitive reactions and expressions reflecting from a seemingly not so very developed mind our society had given so easily to us ? Some of us slightly saw some lights in this darkness and did find some hopes, or created themselves more connections how it better be and not how it was predicted or restricted too easily. Some of us could not find any descent thoughts to express any more. But they did feel, and they are still be able to feel that there's plenty that is not right, it's not right, it's not right. They see more and they see and seek further than this. Some other people don't recognize this seeking and they don't understand that you don't follow the slowly rules of social changes and fast reactions for black-and-white acceptations or non acceptations so easily any more. It does not mean that you're passive now, although others might see you there already as being "off" society.. Just because you couldn't talk along so easily any more ; you might have had too many questions about everything ? You are just about to grow out of this ; for the moment you have much more questions, no clear answers. At the point where you did start to correct yourself by 'realising' you also felt disconnected at the same time.
- A 'bluesrock' rhythm is the expression of our dwelling nature. A 'dark psychedelic drone' continues its desperate need to express more freely. The 'matured by age voice of Arol' is its cry and need that more people would develop far enough to gain its 'rock of wisdom', of being strong enough within any chaos. Deep in our selves is a loving nature and a strong will that finally will make our human conquest complete. Arol saw that point of reach through Wulf's eyes, and she learned to see through this vision more and more. -
A place with an incredibly lot of people, or a huge town like New York, Washington or like any big city had created so often, -instead of secure places for all-, only some island of happiness for the lucky ones, and at the same time for most people who couldn't find their secure place so easily also a place to develop more hard and harsh and even devilish ideas where noone bothers any more if you go that direction. How at the end can you still find a way out of a disharmoniously developed situation ? Many more people know this and want to leave such kind of situation ! To flee from this and to create at first another reflected society from mostly hardly very much practical ideas. Tell me how can we learn to see the reflections of it all at some distance ? Shall we learn to look first at "the pebbles from the moon's reflection" ? No, please ! Just look up at first who is approaching you for your old or for your new and easily taken vulnarable reflections or who approaches just you, just you. I'm not interested in following the directions of anyone's reflections, but I am prepared to accept just you. That is You.
- "Walk trough hell" on the cd is just desperate. Also "My story" following after that is just hoping for someone to tell what is already personally acchieved or learnt.
"Move my heart" after that, instrumentally nicer, recollects its full positive power for times of need. A moving song indeed. The last song, "Marching soon" is a war song about a woman's vision trying to recollect humanness out of pride in destruction. -
So far my personal reflections I had in mind while listening this last cd.
Listen to a few audiofiles of this CD, Rough Cuts from Arol Zendik :
Zendik Arts
Arol Zendik : Into the oracle (US,2003) (no grading done)
A few small introductions might illuminate the background vision and appreciation of this album. Arol Zendik, after Wulf’s departure might have had a temporary breakdown in her ability to speak and sing again, caused also by her suffering from a cancer, which she miraculously recovered from. Before this had happened she had recorded this album, with some songs as if predating of what was going to happen.
The album starts with the very naked intro “listen”, with voice only and some echo. Arol’s voice has a deep range of colours from age combined with an ability to express emotions, as a rightful female opposite pole for Wulf. Second track is accompanied by slow driven cymbal, bass and high note drums, guitar, and goes deep into emotional blues. A partial purpose of the songs, like in “Morning Star” is to give people something hopeful with an inner vision combating the noticeable fucked up parts in society, tickling people’s awareness with their innocence, as the opposite pole for ignorant fucked up behaviourist habits. “Forgot my name”, (bass, drums, keyboards, voice) for instance is about people who innocently forget their own essence when just trying to please others. The bluesy mode, also on "This one time" is meant to give an easy access-penetration to words of insight, here basically it’s about a request to open up one's empathy.
Her voice, especially on a song like “Who loved the wind” comes over like an old native Shaman speaking of her visions, closing the circle somewhere when one thinks about the time of when the ex-chief father of Wulf Zendik tried to make something of his life in the “New America”, which is now concluded in the visions of his son’s wife, Arol, through words with a vision bringing it all down to an expression of a desire for becoming free like a wind, here literally becoming part of nature, where the bone essence is given back to the wind. “Golden days” is that desire of the mind and soul as well, to go to transcendent moments. In reality life will also bring sorrow. In some way it’s good to know it all, and to achieve it all. When the day’s complete, night brings peace.
Zendik ArtsArol Zendik : A soul crying in the night (US,2005)
On a calm bluesy guitar, bass and drum pulse Arol seems to improvise her emotional thoughts. This is rather simple bluesy music, meant as a personal document, a slice of inner awareness into song. There are thoughts on Christianity, on God, and with other related themes like the personification of Mary, standing on Christ’ cross and sacrifice with a thought on certain repetitions in history. And of course there's the ever lasting memory of the love for Wulf, and about his moment of conscious departure. The music only slowly gets you in, and then keeps your attention with this concentration of feelings with thoughts. It might not be the easiest starter of all Arol Zendik's releases but still has a similarity in significance. My favourites are "Mary" and "Help me up" and how it comes to these.
