Let’s say you, like most people in North America right now, are a fan of the show Stranger Things, and that you’re particularly devoted to its soundtrack. But let’s also say that you’re the type of person who needs lyrics—or narrative, really, which is why your love for Stranger Things extends beyond the aesthetic. You need to feel as though you’ve immersed yourself in a world, another place, a place that has a certain look and feel to it, that bears a family resemblance to the real world and yet is totally disconnected from any history.
The music of Black Marble—the recording project of Chris Stewart and a cast of collaborators—is drawn from the air of such a world. Like Stranger Things’s otherworldly soundtrack, it’s built from a web of dewy synths, but it has little interest in frightening you. This morning, we’re debuting the song “Frisk,” taken from Black Marble’s Ghostly debut (and second full-length) It’s Immaterial. Stewart’s voice emerges as a slightly less dim light from among a network of barely flashing lights, his longing and the knocking synths behind him dopplering slightly, to strange effect; it’s like hearing someone’s heart break as their car drives past you. What do you do with this information?
It’s Immaterial is out October 14 via Ghostly, but you can check out “Frisk” below now.
