The blurred lines between fragility and force, memory and instinct, have long been at the heart of The Color of Cyan‘s sonic universe. With the release of their third album, “As Human,” the band delves even deeper into these liminal spaces — crafting a record that meditates on vulnerability, resilience, and the human spirit. From the elegiac tension of the title track to the ancestral echoes of “Oubao Moin “and the towering grandeur of “Hail the Mountains,” “As Human” unfolds as a cinematic journey of sound and emotion. In this exclusive interview with Progressive Rock Journal, the band opens up about the inspirations behind the album, their compositional process, the role of strings in their arrangements, and how they translate such layered music into live performance.
Can you introduce “As Human” in your own words? What central ideas or emotions did you intend to explore with this record?
The album “As Human” is fueled by the strength and resilience to push through in the world we live in today. This sense of resilience is very personal, of course, but at the same time, relatable to many others around the globe. In my case, it reflects the island and the people I grew up with. With each track, the struggle and the beauty are visualized through a poetic journey from the sea towards the mountains.
The title-track, “As Human,” feels like the emotional axis of the album. How did you approach its structure and the decision to place a string quartet at the heart of that piece?
This track highlights how different voices, in this case instruments, interact with each other; they speak between them, without repeating themselves or playing the same notes. One is constantly reacting to the other and vice versa. Something I like to do with Cyan’s music. It starts with very low, enticing guitar melodies, and as more instruments join, it starts to build into heavier sections. Each section never repeats itself.
“Oubao Moin” references the Taíno name for Puerto Rico. What inspired you to write this song, and how did you work to bridge ancestral memory with the present-day themes you mention?
Yes, ‘Oubao-Moin’ literally means ‘Island of Blood’, which is how some Tainos used to call the island of Puerto Rico. In many ways, because of all the battles during those days. The island had one of the fiercest indigenous groups from the Caribbean, and somehow that blood found its way into the people’s character today. It’s a very heavy and unusual track,
with lots of distortion layers. At this point in the record, you are making your way up the mountain, fighting anything on your way.
“Hail the Mountains” closes the record with grand, tremolo-driven peaks. Was it always intended as the album finale, and how did you build the sense of resilience and solitude during composition and arrangement?
I’m very conscious of the flow of energy when writing an album, but I love how everything shapes organically. When I started to put ideas together for the track, I was not specifically looking for an album closer. Once the music began to shape up, the track was clearly not only an album closer but also a live performance closer. Like you said, it is grandiose, it is an epic closure, and it’s the celebration of reaching the top of the mountain and giving thanks to it.
“Hands Weaving Sky” has a new live video. How do you translate the studio textures of your songs to a live setting, especially the more orchestral or layered moments?
‘Hands Weaving Sky’ is probably one very special one to translate live. The studio version includes a beautiful bass arpeggio as the back bone of the track. For a live version, I challenged myself to translate the arpeggio into strings to give space for the full quartet to shine live.
The album was produced by Eduardo Cintron and mixed/mastered in Chicago (Greg Norman / Bob Weston). What influence did those collaborators and the different recording locations have on the final sound?
Well, Greg and Bob are masters in their field, and their previous experience helped shape the sound of not only ‘As Human’, but Cyan itself. (Greg also mixed all of our previous records). They both have worked with so many other amazing bands that not only I respect, but also influenced and/or pulled us into playing Post music. They easily
understood the language we speak. The different studios are just a result of where all the musicians are located at given specific times.
String arrangements are a recurring element across the album. How do you write for strings alongside the core Rock instrumentation, and what do the strings mean emotionally for the band?
Many times I write guitars as if they are violins or cellos. Is just the process I like to take and experiment with for Cyan. So in many of the songs, my mind is on strings/neo-classical mode first, I translate to rock afterwards.
Can you describe your songwriting process as a band? Do lyrics or instrumental motifs usually come first, and how collaborative is the process from initial idea to finished track?
Each record usually takes around two years to complete, primarily because of my process and where everyone is located. When I first start to put together ideas, musical melodies, or motifs together, I create a solid base for everyone. I write for all the instruments. That way, everyone has something to react to, then everyone adds their own to it and makes it better. I rewrite on top of that, edit, rewrite, edit, rewrite till we go into recording sessions. (I keep editing after that tbh, hehehe).
The record moves between ritual, remembrance, and personal reckoning. How much of the album is autobiographical versus imagined narrative or collective observation?
I think in the end it’s all autobiographical.
Artwork and photography (Eduardo Cintron / Herminio Rodriguez) complement the music strongly. How did you approach the visual side of As Human, and what do you want the imagery to convey before a listener even presses play?
All the art for ‘As Human’ was carved in linoleum blocks, printed on paper and scanned. I wanted to translate the craft of the music into the visual aspect as well. The idea was to show what’s inside of each one of us, makes makes us unique.
Releasing on vinyl today carries both aesthetic and practical choices. Why was the physical format important for this album, and what role do the labels A Thousand Arms/Dunk! Records play in the record’s rollout?
I see each vinyls as an art piece. Not only in the craft it takes to design the cover, labels or inserts, but also the colors and how the vinyl itself is pressed. They’re not two alike, there’s always something unique about each one, even if they are called copies. A1KA and Dunk! have always been there since the beginning helping distributing the music, each in their
own region.
Touring and performance plans: will you bring the string quartet and extended arrangements on the road, or will you reinterpret the material for a smaller live lineup?
We do both, all depends on where and how the show gets produced. But yes, we are ready for full string orchestra or smaller live performances.
Looking forward — what does the future hold for The Color of Cyan? Are there musical directions, collaborations, or projects you’re already imagining after “As Human“?
We are always working on something. In the near future we are going to release the full album ‘Live from Electrical Audio’, and seven of those tracks will be released in video as well. And of course, I’m already writing music for a future studio album, like I mentioned, it takes around two years to complete, so I had to start.
Thank you for taking the time to speak with Progressive Rock Journal. Is there anything you’d like to say directly to the PRJ readership and to new listeners discovering “As Human” today?
Just my thanks to everyone for being part of this journey. Seeing and reading how people around the world connect with our music fuels us. It means a lot. Thanks.
Purchase “As Human” here:
https://thecolorofcyan.bandcamp.com/album/as-human
https://dunkrecords.com/products/the-color-of-cyan-as-human-lp
https://www.athousandarmsstore.com/collections/thecolorofcyan