Blue Sky Black Death
Noir

Seriously, enough. I think that's sufficient. We've all understood that you've lost. Everyone except you who are reading, of course, but that was predictable. It was in the air. When I told you that you couldn’t even remotely imagine the fun we were having, I really meant it. In the end, we deserve it. As the saying goes, "we really go looking for it with a lantern, don't we?" WE FUCKING DESERVE IT.

I am convinced of one thing: it is our right, almost a duty, almost a vital exercise for our survival to try to find (or create) our own atmosphere. For many it may be a simple nine-letter word, but not for me. This time I won’t fall for it. ATMOSPHERE. A-T-M-O-S-P-H-E-R-E. It is something we cannot do without. Like the water we drink or the oxygen we breathe. It’s something we need, that makes our daily story explode and reassemble its remnants. The Big Bang of our existence. It is our redemption for all the crap we swallow. That's why we listen to music. And go ahead, tell me that it's just a pastime, you assholes. Sure, the important thing is that you believe in it. Always stick to your path, I beg you.

Because if it’s true that it doesn’t matter where you were born and the only thing you really need is what is right in front of you, then you need Blue Sky Black Death. Take a good look at the image to the right of the screen and start asking yourself some questions. MAKE YOUR OWN ATMOSPHERE, damn it. Mind you, they’re not called Blue Sky Black Death and they didn’t release an album titled Noir just randomly. It’s about building your own balance and adjusting it as needed. I mean, we’re people after all. And we get angry, we have fun, we love and we hate like crazy during our existence. We need to find something to help us get through all this. Forget Boards of Canada, DJ Shadow, Sigur Rós, Explosions in the Sky, Odd Nosdam, Jesu, DJ Krush, Godspeed You! Black Emperor and your second cousin who does instrumental hip hop with that glitch touch that’s so cool nowadays. Something cinematographically epic, grandiose, a shortcut to our hypothetical treasure island. This is Noir. The best thing that could happen to me. And it doesn’t matter if I love, hate, get pissed off, or am happy. Because above our heads the SKY is BLUE. Because at the end of it all, a nice BLACK tunnel like DEATH awaits us. Or because maybe you can just put on a record.

It's instrumental music. It's literally fantastic. There isn't a minute I would add or remove from this album. It’s perfect. For every occasion. Think about it: one single ATMOSPHERE for any circumstance. For any of your moods. For every damned story of your damned existence. Blue Sky Black Death are two producers of hip hop/shoegaze bases (which involves excessive use of samples, but also "played" music live) from Seattle and they pretty much shit out beats always, anywhere, and anyhow. They debuted in 2006 with "A Heap of Broken Images" on the legendary Mush Records and they've already become history for that "Late Night Cinema" from 2008 that practically made everyone who thought instrumental hip hop had no life ejaculate prematurely. A great record indeed. Then they had great collaborations practically with anyone who asked them: Holocaust, Hell Razah, Yes Alexander, Jean Grae, Nacho Picasso, Alexander Chen and many more unknown names. If you ask them they might make two bases for you and then you can have your record of a lifetime. Anyway, it comes to 2011 with this "Noir." Honestly, no one and nothing hoped for it. Or at least they imagined what they were getting into. " Yeah, it's the usual record, let’s listen to it ". Yeah, yeah listen to it. The first listen was something absolutely dramatic. Think of Sgt. Elias's death scene in Platoon? There you have it. Exactly like that. I swear. You’re there with headphones on and "Our Hearts of Ruins" starts and you're already shaking your head in a 'no' because you can’t believe it. The more you listen and the more you’re abducted by the sounds, it comes naturally to rip the headphones off your ears, run out of the house, kneel on the ground, raise your hands to the sky and scream: "WHY ONLY NOWOOOO?". It’s a record you can listen to everywhere and it will never be out of place. It unites people. Try putting someone who listens to '70s Italian singer-songwriters in the same room with someone who listens to experimental grindcore with jazz influences. And then put on Noir. They will love each other, mark my words. It’s music you make so much your own that you sing over it with songs from other artists. That’s what psychologically devastates you. I found myself (and I systematically find myself) singing Poison's "Every Rose Has Its Thorn" over "Sky With Hand". I mean it. Really, it’s stuff that if you think about it will screw your brain.

Throw away (metaphorically, never in reality) your collection of instrumental music and dive into these 14 songs. Listen to them repeatedly. And check outside if it’s raining because if you go out to do the screaming pose like Sgt. Elias you'll get wet and sick, and then you'll blame me. Create your personal ATMOSPHERE. Come on, and please, don’t have too much fun. After all, I mean, in the end, blue sky and (above all) BLACK DEATH for everyone, there’s no escape.