The Black Atlantic

The Black Atlantic是來自荷蘭的一個四人團體，核心成員是唱作人Geert van der Velde。有趣的是，他之前曾是一支金屬核樂隊的成員。而The Black Atlantic的音樂更多的是隨性恬淡，干凈純粹的民謠彈唱。 2007年1月，樂隊首次在歐洲音樂節(jié)出演。在之后的兩年，在歐美進行了多達160場的演出。他們的首張專輯名叫 “Reverence for Fallen Trees” ，在2009年發(fā)行，當時他們提供了數(shù)字版的免費下載，有超過10萬多次的下載量。
2008年，樂隊開始在阿迪朗達克山脈(在美國紐約州東北部)的薩拉納克湖邊的木屋里制作這張專輯，木屋的主人是van der Velde的岳父母。成員們都才華橫溢，朋友Kim Janssen除了唱作歌曲，還會多種樂器，也因此契機地加入了樂隊。之后專輯大部分的制作都在荷蘭完成，那時已經(jīng)是09年的春末夏初，也難怪他們的音樂透露出不盡的溫暖氣息。
《Reverence for Fallen Trees》是“紀念逝者”的暗喻。他們在錄制過程，van der Velde的3位家人不幸離世，專輯也因此得名，紀念那些給過他們幫助的親人們。歌曲名也常圍繞著“感激”“家庭”“愛”“覺醒”等主題和隱喻。連去年很紅的紐約獨立樂隊The Antlers的幕后核心Peter Silberman也在當中獻唱一首，并演奏了一些樂器。
The Black Atlantic的音樂有著大量器樂的排布，散發(fā)著淡淡的，恬靜的氛圍。他們也受到了Bon Iver, Fleet Foxes以及Beach Boys等樂隊的影響。The Black Atlantic的音樂簡約而流暢，有時落地中鼓，節(jié)奏鈸，和一個小軍鼓就組成了他們的現(xiàn)場。
The Black Atlantic is the Groningen (Holland) based pop outfit formed around singer and songwriter Geert van der Velde, former frontman for the already legendary melodic metal-core stalwarts Shai Hulud.
The Black Atlantic started as a project of van der Velde in his off time from his philosophy studies. Gradually the itch to play became stronger and the project turned more serious after van der Velde recorded his first song - a Valentine's gift to his then girlfriend, now wife - in February of 2006. After posting the song online (Myspace) and getting 2 immediate indie label deal offers, van der Velde wrote and recorded 'Send This Home' in the early Fall of 2006 with the help of various contributing friends.
The EP documents van der Velde's very first attempts at writing pop music, and showcase his penchant for the melancholy and introspection that infuse his songs, as well as his then obsession with British bands like Doves, Coldplay and especially Elbow.
The Black Atlantic's debut EP was released on July 10th in the US by Five Point Records from New York (one of the two indie labels who had initially offered a deal). In January, 2008, the 'Send This Home' EP finally became available in Europe through Midsummer Records (DE).
In January, 2007, The Black Atlantic made it's first live appearance at the Eurosonic Festival, one of Europe's leading independent music festivals. Since then the band has maintained a steady diet of touring, playing shows with various line-ups. Thus far, the band has clocked in around 160 shows in Europe, the UK and the US in their first 2 years (2007, 2008) alone.
In October, 2007, The Black Atlantic recorded 3 new songs with engineer Matthijs Herder in his Paperboat Studio in Zwolle, the Netherlands. The recording featured both Herder and his band's drummer Robert Koole, as well as touring friend Arjen de Bock on bass, drums and keys respectively. The session resulted in the original recordings of "Madagascar" and "Lonely Moons", songs that showcased van der Velde's new obsession with Sub Pop records' contemporary catalog and hinted at a newly developed interest in folk music. Both songs were made available online for free almost immediatly. They have since been downloaded over 2000 times! The third song still remains to be finished.
In February, 2008, in between tours, The Black Atlantic approached the international recording project "In a Cabin With" (IACW) about a possible recording session. IACW were immediately enthusiastic and plans for a late 2008 recording, to take place in a log cabin, were made. The cabin, owned by van der Velde's in-laws, is located in the small town of Saranac Lake, in the heart of the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York.
For this recording, drummer Marcel Wolthof was re-enlisted alongside singer-songwriter Kim Janssen on various instruments. Janssen co-wrote some of the songs for the recording and seems to have permanently settled in and joined the band.
The Black Atlantic recently returned from their near-finished recording session with ten brand new tracks and one re-recorded song ("Madagascar"), brandishing it's pop branches with a foliage of experimental, indie, and underground pop and folk.
The new songs showcase a much wider variety of instrumentation and willingness to experiment with sounds and soundscapes, and an ongoing flirtation with Sub Pop's contemporary catalog, the Beach Boys and a general interest in experimental pop music.
Where before he would solely play the guitar and sing, for this recording van der Velde took it upon himself to learn how to play the piano. On the new record van der Velde plays the piano, ukulele, banjo, glockenspiel and his guitar. He also makes use of a wider variety of percussive instruments and auxiliary percussion. van der Velde has also taken to experimenting more with his voice, sometimes only using it instrumentally.
The addition of Janssen's presence to the permanent line-up has also changed the writing process considerably. Janssen's a multi-instrumentalist himself and has a distinct voice that works well with van der Velde's agile but sensitive clarity, steering the band's sound towards an ever-increasing usage of vocal melody and harmony, something van der Velde, a long-time Beach Boys fan, had envisioned since the inception of the band.
Additional recording will take place into early 2009. The band expects to release their debut full-length, as of yet untitled, in the late summer or early fall of 2009.