7. Beyond the Horizon

L to R: Eitan Prouser, Conner Duke, Charlotte Odusanya, Devyn White, Delilah Jane Dunn, Justin Scheidling, Tiffany MJ Anderson - 2024 54 Below - the public debut of Beyond the Horizon

This guitar riff started as an experiment with Edge-style delays. The sound comes from running two separate delays at different times so the echoes arc in uneven ways. It creates a lopsided, ping-pong effect that never quite settles. That instability felt right.

This is where we hear the paint-stroke motif return for the first time, as Vincent’s excitement spikes over the new living situation with Paul Gauguin. The ensemble begins to shift here…not just people in the room anymore, but extensions of Vincent’s internal monologue. At first they share her optimism, leaning into the promise of the situation.

Then it tilts.

Worry creeps in, led by the Shadow. The Shadow is the physical embodiment of Vincent’s doubt and anxiety, and once they enter the song, the tone changes. After a brief scene between Theo and Johanna, the drums come crashing back in, pushing Vincent’s thoughts into overdrive.

Eventually, the energy burns itself out. Vincent slows. The noise recedes. The paint-stroke motif begins to dissolve as she turns her attention upward toward the stars, and what they might mean if she lets herself look long enough.