Black Arcana uncork their sonic tonic of heavy honey for the soul with their latest single Rum Runner — showcasing today on Tinnitist.
The brainchild of Montreal-based musicians Patrick De Marseilles and Miss Marie, their bittersweet and mood-heavy brand of alt-rock — a preview of their forthcoming debut Astrophysical — takes listeners on “an exquisite plunge into personal divinity and the ties that bind and divide.”
“Black Arcana is a musical reflection of our relationship,” says De Marseilles of the way their sound embodies the duo’s intrinsic synchronicity. “We are both attracted to a certain kind of darkness: the kind that lingers just beyond the reach of visible light … The kind of place where much of the beauty and depth of the human experience can be found, but which also gives rise to one’s more perverse inclinations.
“Really, this world would be much darker than it is were it not for Miss Marie. She brings an innate lightness to the project, which tends to temper my own darkness. From the first time I heard her sing, I wanted to involve her in a project. I love the element that Miss Marie’s voice brings to the music. I love her tone and intonation; she has a beautiful, raw, emotive quality to her voice, and I love how that fits into the melodic structures of the songs. It’s her voice that rounds out the sound, that offsets the perhaps, more brooding quality of mine. It’s that juxtaposition … These wafting vocals over a gritty guitar riff, or a dark, industrial drum beat.”
With a mutual love of loud, bluesy garage-rock a la The White Stripes or Black Keys, as well as more innovative trip-hop of Massive Attack or Thievery Corporation, Black Arcana started out with a noisier trajectory before pivoting and incorporating a sound and technology its members might have previously eschewed. “With more time in the studio, new elements started to creep into song development,” De Marseilles explains. “What I’ve done is taken my approach to crafting a DJ set and incorporated that into a rock context. I dig it, I dig making use of technology that way — as something complementary, but with melody and vibe being the driving force. I find it freeing, somehow.”
Watch Rum Runner above and catch up with Black Arcana via their website, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
