Begin With Nothing
single
Begin With Nothing
The structure here is the statement: nearly three minutes of unfolding vocal rounds in 3/4, built on the mantra ‘absence is presence / begin with nothing,’ before the electronic drums crash in at 2:38 and reframe everything you just heard as a kind of held breath before the exhale. In E minor at a measured waltz pulse, the overlapping call-and-response lines (‘end where you started / release the sound’) work like a Philip Glass ostinato, circling until the repetition becomes the point. It lands cleanly.
Lyrics
Ooh Ooh ooh Ooh Ooh ooh Ooh Ooh ooh Ooh Ooh ooh (Ooh Ooh ooh) Follow the breath Let go of knowing (Ooh Ooh ooh) Unfold what's left Begin with nothing (Ooh Ooh ooh) Wait for the silence (Follow the breath) Listen to air (Let go of knowing) (Ooh Ooh ooh) Absence is presence (Unfold what's left) Begin with nothing (Begin with nothing) (Ooh Ooh ooh) Form becomes motion (Wait for the silence) Time disappears (Listen to air) (Ooh Ooh ooh) Stillness is rising (Absence is presence) Begin with nothing (Begin with nothing) (Ooh Ooh ooh) End where you started (Form becomes motion) Release the sound (Circle the question) (Ooh Ooh ooh) Stillness is rising (Stillness is rising) Begin with nothing (Begin with nothing) Ooh Ooh ooh Ooh Ooh ooh oh Ooh Ooh ooh Ooh Ooh ooh oh Ooh Ooh ooh Ooh Ooh ooh (Ooh Ooh ooh) End where you started (Form becomes motion) Release the sound (Circle the question) (Ooh Ooh ooh) Stillness is rising (Stillness is rising) Begin with nothing (Begin with nothing) (Ooh Ooh ooh) End where you started (Form becomes motion) Release the sound (Circle the question) (Ooh Ooh ooh) Stillness is rising (Stillness is rising) Begin with nothing (Begin with nothing) (Ooh Ooh ooh) End where you started Release the sound Begin with nothing
Credits
Songwriter: Michael Anthony Rose