Black Marble - Fast Idol - VINYL LP

On Fast Idol, LA-based Black Marble reaches back through time to connect with the forgotten bedroom kids of the analogue era, the halcyon days of icy hooks and warbly synths. Harmonies are piped in across the expanse of space, and lyrics capture conversations that seem to come from another room, repeat an accusation overheard, or speak as if in sleep of interpersonal struggles distilled down to one subconscious phrase. At the same time, percussive elements feel forward and cut through the mix with toms counting off the measures like a lost tribe broadcasting through the bass and tops of a basement club soundsystem.Melodies roll with the fizz and charm of Jacno and phrases repeated are electric torchlight ballads sung after hours in William Gibson's San Francisco. 'Somewhere' opens in sombre herald, before dropping into a fast freeway tempo; the glassy synths and crisp beats cut through the anxious moods on 'Bodies' and 'Try' sits in a lineage with cult bands like Asylum Party. 'The Garden' is a journey through a post-apocalyptic cityscape, earthed by the pulse of a drum machine whereas 'Ship To Shore' could be a lost Oppenheimer Analysis B-side, and the album's closer 'Brighter and Bigger' catches a sentiment like The Dadacomputer has learned to feel emotions. He captures the loneliness of Ray Bradbury's atomic-era sci-fi and the apocalyptic but revolutionary spirit of Godard's Sympathy for the Devil, as in 'Preoccupation', the beating heart of the album, which conjures ambivalent scenes of an empty world and the comfort to be found in a shared humanity.Emerging from the early 2000s New York synth scene, Black Marble carried on the tradition of early synthwave pioneers like Martin Dupont and Modern Art who repurposed synths once reserved for expensive studios and stadium rock superstars. Seeking to channel this spirit, Black Marble recalls the gauzy tape wow and flutt

Elwd presents his first ever collaborative project MONOCHROME - a transatlantic link up featuring raps from YUNGMORPHEUS, VRITRA, AKAI SOLO, NAPPYNAPPA, Obijuan, Rahiem Supreme, Archibald Slim, and looms. In his own words InchMONOCHROME is about taking a step back, I wanted to create this unique atmosphere and feeling. Different to my other records, simple, yet complex in it's thought and execution. I was thinking of monochrome as an idea instead of a visual meaning. Everything around us can be very complex but if you really narrow it all down it's always two things - light and dark.Inch Lancashire born, London based multi-instrumentalist and producer Tyler Ellwood uses a signature sample style blended with live instrumentation and never leans too much to one conventional style. Drawing inspiration from hip hop, jazz, the dreamy drift of ambient music, electronic, and yet eschewing conventionality and allegiance to any one genre.

Released in 2016, It's Immaterial found Black Marble refining it's coldwave and synth-pop foundations into a warmer, more melodic expression of isolation, longing, and quiet resilience. Guided by Chris Stewart's unmistakable baritone and a palette of analog synths, pulsing basslines, and minimalist rhythms, the album feels simultaneously nostalgic and forward-leaning. It's songs drift between shadowy introspection and subtle hope, creating a cinematic atmosphere that's both intimate and hypnotic. With It's Immaterial, Black Marble deepened it's signature sound, offering a collection that resonates like a faded memory-soft, hazy, and endlessly replayable.