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The Black Atlantic - Darkling, I Listen EP (2012)

by The Black Atlantic

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1.
The Flooded Road (Built on Sand) Collision complete The sun became the moon Stygian clouds, A fair match for the inside I don't have to accept what I am I can drown him anytime Breath ripe With horizon fire The flooded road Of fleeting desire Our hope is built on sand With a different base (basis) in fact She waits for me there Clutching a child Love was lost in the ferns And rekindled on the slopes Our hope is built on sand I don't have to accept what I am
2.
3.
Darkling, I Listen This is bleak but in beautiful translation From infinity, to the pen, to the mouth I sing for the undertow Darkling, I listen to its crash upon my shore These scars are but memories to cherish Promises carved into a chasm wall I remain hidden inside their words, Composed like bronze I bend a knee Before the sun that dives in the sea When I die, fling my ashes high, For the wind to disperse All my intentions remain ethereal, All my dreams impossible, Save the ones I lived When I die, fling my ashes to the wind
4.
An Archer, A Dancer An archer amidst the mirth of birds His arrow flies through arches of slanted light Sometimes Time distills Sometimes it flows by A dancer bare on a shoal Her arms raised as if she could exalt the sky Sometimes Time distills Sometimes it flows by You and I are made for this earth Not for these times We find comfort in the berth of our pasts We choose to wonder the lark of furtive futures I am rudderless and adrift tonight My pen, in sinews of ink, dries in the maelstrom Strain your eyes To span time
5.
Quiet, Humble Man Darling, he does not possess the grace To speak for your honour Often, he mistakes his own pride for love Brave and drunk on cynics' nectar Mostly at night, the unfettered feeds the beast Thirty years of war have not made him wiser He wears heavy armour, like a fool And fails to see you keep the house alight with hope For a quiet, humble man to hold you Thirty years of war; You left the house alight For a quiet, humble man

about

From the near classical guitar intro of the opening, brooder-song “The Aftermath”, it is clear that ‘Darkling, I Listen’ is a much different sonic animal than the intimate, and mostly acoustic, affair of The Black Atlantic’s debut album ‘Reverence for Fallen
Trees.’ Clocking in at 23 minutes and 23 seconds, ‘Darkling’ contains five fully sculpted songs with a wide array of elements and influences, from 70’s psychedelic folk–rock to Phil Spector-esque orchestrated chamber pop and 60’s Motown soul
sensibilities. It also takes informed cues from current indie epitomes such as Grizzly Bear, Fleet Foxes, and Bon Iver. The Black Atlantic wears these influences on
its sleeve without sounding inauthentic. ‘Darkling I, Listen’ is an immersive listening experience, rustic and pastoral, but without the obvious pretty embellishments. It is impressionistic in its scope, full of wide-open vistas and cavernous sonic swells.

credits

released January 13, 2012

All songs written, arranged and performed by The Black Atlantic.
All lyrics by Geert van der Velde.
Produced by The Black Atlantic.
Track 1 was mixed by Chris Coady at Gigantic Music, New York.
Track 2 was mixed by Paul Pilot at Keusgen Tonstudio, Haldern-Rees.
Tracks 3, 4, 5 were mixed by Matthijs Herder at home.
Mastered by Steve Fallone @ Sterling Sound, New York.
Recorded and pre-produced entirely at Keusgen Tonstudio by Klaus-Dieter Keusgen.
All drums and piano recorded at Keusgen Tonstudio.
Lead vocals on track 1 were recorded by RZA at Sony studio, Beijing.
All songs published by The Black Atlantic / Antediluvian Publishing.
Artwork by Matt Moroz and Tracy Maurice.

The Black Atlantic are:
Geert v/d Velde: lead vocals, electric and acoustic guitars, harmonies.
Kim Janssen: electric and acoustic guitars, harmonies.
Simon v/d Heide: drums, auxiliary percussion, piano harp
Matthijs Herder: mellotron M400, harmonies, grand piano, philicorda, Yamaha CS5, Fender Rhodes, bass guitar, ukulele, nylon string acoustic guitar.

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The Black Atlantic The Netherlands

The Black Atlantic is a band formed around singer and songwriter Geert van der Velde, from the Netherlands.

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