However, when the album was finished, Lian found himself in an extremely dark place and ‘Rose’ was never released.
Until now.
‘Rose’ was recorded in 2012-2013, a time when Lian was drenched in a toxicating pool of lies, cheating, drugs, shame and depression.
During that time, he lived in Berlin and had a short, destructive fling with a woman named Rose.
Rose disappeared rather quickly, but left the broken songwriter a muse - one that took on mythical proportions, providing a pitch black, honest story of catastrophic love.
The storyline is drenched in intriguing romantic endeavors and heavy substance abuse. The album concept can been seen as a loose homage to the ultra-French sounding Melody Nelson by Serge Gainsbourg, and captures a nightly romantic spirit.
After recording ‘Rose’, Lian hit rock bottom and his life in Berlin took even darker turns. He went off the grid for a few years, self-destructing in a spiral of drug abuse. Until, after attempts since 2016, Snowstar Records got in contact again to finally release this almost-lost record.
A beautiful album (for the listeners), a painful album (for Lian).
(Photo Credits: Maarten Boswijk & Lionel Samain)