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Traditionally the musical advent calendar begins with its journey in Belarus. It fits well with the fact, that there are still some leaves on the trees, as the first song deals with autumn. However, isn’t it rather a song about spring? At least one can say that it is a fabulous reference to the temporal chain of seasons and years, and thus Ili-Ili adequately inaugurates the annual return of advent.
Life as a student provides much room for realizing ideas and dreams. You’re young, curious about life and – most relevantly – this life lies in front of you. Creative energy will develop even more if you’re a student of the fine arts. When a group of evenly talented young people gathers around you, many good and beautiful things can happen.
Under such circumstances for young artists founded Ili-Ili, the protagonists of today. Their Belarussian and Russian lyrics reflect about such fundamental issues as human existence, determination and contingency of fate, love. Often, those diverse topics are framed by motifs from nature.
Melancholy underpins their music, because, as Ili-Ili say, one should listen to it in complete solitude. Autumn is like spring has been published in 2010 on their debut album Past Perfect and it is one of their most popular songs. It leads us into an atmosphere of nostalgia, floating away towards past days while simultaneously concerned with the future, with love, faith, hope and the course of life as such. Most recently the second album of Ili-Ili occurred under the title List.
Translation and presentation: Iryna, Lukas, Kuba.
Autumn is like spring
We listened to music
We listened to music together
We listened to music together
On the rooftops of a high-rise
Our radio-hearts
Received the signals of
These clouds, stars and bridges
We strode
We strode together
Into the spring over melting black snow
Unknown villages, soaken shoes
Icy wind, cheap beer
Babble and laughter
Together
We sang together
We sang together
Like birds without our goods and chattels
But there was something to live for
It seems as we
Once believed in something
We once believed
In beautiful thoughts.
Autum is like spring, just reversed
Like to stop a continuous round dance
I touch the ground with my fingers
Lifting ice to my lips
Autumn is like spring, just reversed
(La-la-la)
We understood
We understood together
That no one will come
There will be no sign
And if the East cannot be seen
The sun won’t rise anymore
We stood
We stood together
At the highway
That takes in nights and days
It seemed as if
The mystery was the life
It seemed as if
We weren’t walking only for ourselves
(La-la-la)
Autum is like spring, just reversed
Like to stop a continuous round dance
I touch the ground with my fingers
Lifting ice to my lips
Autumn is like spring, just reversed
Wake up, how long can you sleep!
Because the alarm didn’t go off
And nothing wakes you up
Besides your dreams
From the beginning
You only heard one motif
And what is one to sing here
Than your own words.
Autumn is like spring…(3x)
Exactly – spring!