Minimal Synth Act Black Marble Debuts a Love Letter to Artists with “Preoccupation”

Black Marble’s Chris Stewart has unveiled the third single from his forthcoming new album Fast idol, a record brimming with old-school synth sentiment and romanticism, culling from the atmosphere of French coldwave heroes like Martin Dupont and Asylum Party or the UK’s Oppenheimer Analysis.

Stewart’s NYC Wierd-era synth background is on full display here, showcasing his emergence from the scene spearheaded by Martial Canterel and Xeno and Oaklander, that was in turn inspired by some of the more obscure post-punk artists of the 80s. With Fast Idol, Stewart dives inward towards his own dreamscapes and unconscious mind space, which is reflected in the churning minimal wave reverie of “Preoccupation”, and the other two singles, ‘Somewhere”, and “Ceiling”, released thus far on the new album.

“On my previous album I was more specific about the themes I was talking about,” Stewart says. “Fast Idol goes back to the songwriting on my early records, where the themes were guided by intuition and instinct – often, their meanings only become clear to me after they’re written.”

On the song, “Preoccupation”, Black Marble’s Christ Stewart elaborates:

“A kind of revolutionary spirit but back to nature post-apocalyptic motif is what ‘Preoccupation’ is about. Sort of a return to barbarism, reclamation by nature over the state, and the protagonists are observers of this going on and narrating it from an anthropological point of view…So anything that hints at these motifs but in your own way. “What is on the way?” is just questioning what is coming specifically but knowing what’s coming generally. I counted twice 1,2,3,4, but I reversed it, so it’s counting down – or counting up rather, but in reverse.”

On creating the video, Crack Cloud Media Studio adds:

“What is on the way?” is one of several thematic motifs in Black Marble’s ‘Preoccupation’ that grabbed our attention. Our world in recent years has been frozen in ambiguity, but from the perspective of an artist- such uncertainty goes hand in hand with the territory. The timing of this production felt like the end of a deep thaw; an invitation to start from square one. We entertained various concepts involving an observer and their connection to a shapeshifting world, but the excitement and shakiness of our own lives and as a group felt more tangible than any fiction we could commit to paper. We contemplated our own creative process; what is the main motivating factor behind why we make art? In some sense it’s a means of creating a common ground or language to unite us. A sense of community and playfulness in all of life’s volatility. It’s this very essence that we sought to realize in our visual interpretation of the song. The creative process for us is always clumsy, emotionally and in execution. Our storyboards are often half-baked and riffing off an idealistic notion rather than anything concrete. We wanted to share with the viewer as candidly as possible what this process looks like. As day dreamers that wear our hearts on our sleeves, we made this video as a love letter to all artists, and the eternal optimism that they represent by nature of their own preoccupation.”

Watch the video for Black Marble’s “Preoccupation”, below:

“Preoccupation” is featured on Black Marble’s fourth studio album Fast Idol, set for release on October 22nd via Sacred Bones Records.

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