Los Angeles, California — Black Phantom Records® is an eponymous vanity label, helmed by artist and producer Marie (stage name, Black Phantom). Known for house productions and painfully raw acoustic performances, she has branded a name all but synonymous with downtempo house. The release of her latest single, “To the Poet in My Deepest Mind," has made a bold opening statement for her upcoming album, Bibliothèque Noire.
Black Phantom’s previous albums unravel with graceful humor. Black Phantom — full of longing and satire, American Royalty — rife with indignation underpinned by lust and romance, are albums are held together by lyricism that almost begs a conversation with the author. As if it was her intention all along to lure you in with curiosity. Taken at face value her music is an eyebrow-raising collection of synths with heart-pulsing beats, while vocal delivery leans into wit, addressing complex topics with fervency.
Honing an affinity for subverting lyrical expectations, Black Phantom presents a world of dark undercurrents with formidbly unapologetic passion; brought to focus by the effortless weaving of unusual time signatures, chromatic melodic motifs, and unconventional vocal processing. Lyrically, she romanticizes adversity and duplicitous power plays, often sourcing inner-conflict as a parallel for large-scale intimations, while the supporting harmony introduces arrangements reminiscent of orchestral composition.
Production “feels like suiting up in dragon-scaled armor” she explains, “and performance feels like exposing the belly of the beast. I don’t know how the picture could be complete without the rest of me there living and breathing what I wrote.” With the release of various demos highlighting the songwriting process, lyricism seems to be the beginning of Black Phantom’s mindset while performance is the endgame.
As the like-minded continue pining for the personal vulnerability of promising live performances, Black Phantom slowly emerges with fragments of a vision it has become clear we haven’t been given the full scope of. From acoustic demos exploring loss and connection, to the polished electronic tracks Black Phantom has become known for, vision is taking shape. Bibliothèque Noire stipulates to be a vulnerable followup rooted in the pain motivating a broad creative vision.
"The idea that life can be lived and remembered in the name of ideas is a powerful point of connection for me,” says Black Phantom "and I hope my intention to contribute — to carry on the tradition and immortalize a meaningful conversation that started long before me is apparent in everything I do. When I sit at the piano and pare it all down, I think of a man willing to die in the name of his ideas. That’s something I can stand behind. Legendry by name or lost on the battlefied, I feel inspired by that energy. It's everything to me."
ABOUT
Black Phantom Records® cites songwriting influence from artists such as Maynard James Keenan of "Tool," and Carrick Moore Gerety of "Everybody Else." Surrounded by an eclectic variety of influences growing up, Marie finds identity in the simplicity of transcendence. Her roots in performance are classically trained from a young age. While studying jazz piano and vocal screaming techniques as a young teenager, desire for refining her craft deepened with inspiration from performing artists like Katy Perry and Lady Gaga.
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