Description
Product Description
Content Introduction The former youth has grown into young men, and while retaining traces of their former selves, they have made a brilliant comeback to the scene with an evolved sound. Blackbird Blackbird has moved from San Francisco to LA and, after overcoming numerous struggles, has completed their third album, "Hearts," after a five-year hiatus. While reminiscent of their brilliant debut album "Summer Heart," they have created a modern, updated soundscape, a neo-chillwave sound that blends the old and the new. Their inherent pop sensibility is brilliantly awakened, colored by scattered sound particles and wavering reverberations. A superb dreamy electronic pop album to color the end of 2019. The cover illustration is by SAITEMISS (�f?????), a rising illustrator from Taiwan. Mikey Maramag, also known as Blackbird Blackbird, once hailed as a dream-pop wonderkid, made a brilliant debut with "Summer Heart," a chillwave classic that remains a long-running bestseller. In 2014, he released "Tangerine Sky," a futuristic synth-pop album that skillfully blended hip-hop/R&B, space-age folk, meditative grooves in techno, house, and bass music, steadily building his career. A few years ago, he moved from San Francisco, where he had lived for many years, to LA. Initially, he seemed to be enjoying exciting days, but gradually he became stressed and withdrew from society. He spent gloomy days in his room with his dog, but it seems that creating music gradually relieved his psychological anxiety and stress. His new album, "HEARTS," his first in about five years, is about the hardships and pains of his life so far, mainly about heartbreak and love. In this album, Mikey's deep love for 80s new wave is evident throughout, while simultaneously blending it with his characteristic modern sound production, always keeping up with current trends. His signature pop songwriting, combined with an addictive sense of weightlessness and beats, creates a sound that could be described as neo-chillwave. The album opens with the dreamy, dawn-like "Lifestream," followed by "Myself," a self-deprecating ballad featuring keyboards, low-toned vocals, and a pleasant rhythm, and then the title track, "Hearts," which was released in advance and has already surpassed 4 million streams?a dreamy instrumental that modernizes chillwave. From the very beginning, the album draws you in, and throughout the 10 tracks, Mikey's unique melancholic and soulful vocalizations, fused with shimmering and wavering sound production, invite you to the heavens. The CD release is Japan only and includes a download code for one bonus track. The cover illustration is by SAITEMISS, a rising illustrator from Taiwan. As a bonus, a sticker of the front cover is included. Media reviews and more: Blackbird Blackbird's third album in five years, "Hearts," completed after overcoming numerous struggles following their move from San Francisco to LA. While reminiscent of their brilliant debut album "Summer Heart," it constructs a modern, updated soundscape?a neo-chillwave sound that blends tradition with innovation. Their inherent pop sensibility is brilliantly awakened, colored by scattered sonic particles and wavering reverberations. A superb dreamy electronic pop album to cap off 2019. (C)RS
About the Artist: A solo project by sound creator Mikey Maramag, originally from Hawaii, raised in San Francisco, and currently based in LA. Influenced by New Order, The Smiths, The Radio Dept., Radiohead, M83, Aphex Twin, Boards of Canada, Portishead, Cocteau Twins, Four Tet, Beach House, Tycho, and others, he was once featured in The Hype Machine as the most blogged artist. In recent years, his split 7-inch with Pao Pao, released as the first release on Double Denim (which also releases Kero Kero Bonito and Jay Som), and his cassette release on Sixteen Tambourines have garnered some attention. His debut full-length album, "Summer Heart," released digitally in 2010, rode the wave of the chillwave movement at the time, bringing him into the spotlight. The album was released on CD in Japan in 2011 and remains a renowned chillwave classic today. After signing with the long-established OM Records, they steadily built their career by releasing the EP "Boracay Planet" and their second album "Tangerine Sky," but for the next few years, they were not very active. Then, in 2019, they completed their third album "Hearts" through self-release, making a spectacular comeback.