Intimate and vulnerable, the achingly acoustic folk ballad Zach Kleisinger’s “Dance for a While” captures love’s warmth and wonder in a sweet song overflowing with raw, radiant emotion.

Stream: “Dance for a While” – Zach Kleisinger

So much of this life is sadness, but there is a deeper kind with you…

Love is inspiring: It gives us a renewed sense of purpose, transforms our perspectives, and connects us to something specially deep and viscerally meaningful in this world. It’s in part a surrender of our individual identities for a shared partnership: Two hearts become one, as one soul becomes two. Zach Kleisinger’s recent love song speaks to all this and more, painting a powerful image of togetherness, understanding, and cheer: Intimate and vulnerable, the achingly acoustic folk ballad “Dance for a While” captures love’s warmth and wonder in a sweet song overflowing with raw, radiant emotion.

Their Symposium - Zach Kleisinger — Their Symposium – Zach Kleisinger

Here I am before you
and I know,
maybe I could have done this better,
but, here I am, and I forfeit;
you reach out your hands and
then I take them.
I see that shine of gold
that I’ve been chasing,
right there in the shadows below your eyelids.
I don’t know how it happens,
so much just disappears.
But I want to dance,
and we can’t dance forever,
will you dance awhile with me?

Released as a single this past summer, “Dance for a While” is the second track off Vancouver, British Columbia-based singer/songwriter Zach Kleisinger’s recently-released debut album, Their Symposium. A beautiful collection of poetically-laced alt-folk songs largely centered around the artist’s vocals, piano, and guitar, Their Symposium is unapologetically up-close and personal. Kleisinger’s musical approach is reminiscent of singer/songwriters like Iron & Wine and Gregory Alan Isakov: Organic, spacious, relaxed, but intense. His music is filled with sentiment, and whether he’s rocking out in a full band jam or letting his piano chords fade into the abyss (as we hear on “Swinging Door” or “Miss You When You’re Leaving”), there’s no denying the immediate impact of this artist as he sings soft songs into our ears, his soul spilling out in the process.

Dance for a While - Zach Kleisinger — Dance for a While – Zach Kleisinger

“From the perspective of their original creation, these songs have the purpose of a personal rebellion,” Kleisinger says of his debut album. “For me, art is the only reasonable act to emanate from the acceptance of living in a world where there is no apparent meaning to anything we do. There is a subtle and unequaled joy produced when one acknowledges the burden of life and treats it with respectful opposition (this does not mean neglect). The purpose of writing songs has been to chase this strange satisfaction by regarding the affecting moments in my life and exteriorizing their memory. The purpose lies in my combative intent to turn back on futility while knowing it cannot be avoided. They are a resistance against internal resistance, and an endless balancing effort.”

“From the standpoint of releasing this project to the world, there are perhaps three reasons why. One, this is my first major undertaking, and I would like to see how it stands within my place in history. Two, it is a desire of mine to offer something of personal importance to others with the hopes of it similarly affecting its recipient. In the same way that my favorite artists have stirred beauty inside of me and developed my awareness of the human condition, my goal is to offer something of related value. Third, and perhaps the point where the cycle of artistic creation resets, is my hope to reach enough people who enjoy and purchase my work so the process may continue. Probably, in the future, I will write a blues album or something conceptual, but until then, this is what I have.”

Their Symposium is by and large a gentle, reflective record: Kleisinger’s songs radiate feeling without blowing out the speakers. Highlights like the comforting “Seasons Changing,” the wondrous “Floating,” and the bluesy bookends “Nothing Special” and “As Sweet as Yours” stand out for their moments of memorable musicality, as well as their upheaval of evocative emotion.

Here I am before you
you look away,
towards your family across the country.
I miss mine too,
so much of this life is sadness,
but there is a deeper kind with you.
When I hear your voice
softly in the morning,
I want to swim there for every
day left that I’m given.
Here we are as the snow casts diamonds,
and I pick one for your hand.
We can dance, not forever,
but for a while, I think we can.
We can dance, not forever,
but for a while, I think we can.

“Dance for a While” is a direct, no frills, heart-on-sleeve expression of endless devotion.

It’s a moment of untethered truth, on a record home to several special moments of truth.

“This is a simple love song,” Kleisinger tells Atwood Magazine. “I wrote it for my friends who had just become engaged. I wrote it from the perspective of the one kneeling and asking for their partner’s hand in marriage. The song imagines the whirlwind of emotions that may be passing through both their hearts.”

How better can one begin to express their love for someone else than with the words, “Here I am, before you“? It’s an expression of presence: Of being there for your person. Kleisinger captures the simple, yet profound mindfulness and sincerity lying so often at the core of love. Expressing faith, appreciation, dedication, and so much more, “Dance for a While” is a beautiful, achingly moving expression of love.

Get lost in the whirlwind of “Dance for a While” below, and be sure to listen to Zach Kleisinger’s Their Symposium in full: An up-and-coming folk artist, his words resonate in the air long after the music has faded from view. Their Symposium is sure to stop all listeners in their tracks, ultimately leaving us better off than when we first pressed play.