True Names by Project Blackbird
This is our third album as Project Blackbird. It's been a long time coming, but it's finally here.
Some of you might be wondering about the title, so before you put on your headphones or open up the lyrics, here's a quick note about the concept of "true names” - a theme that comes courtesy of the writer Ursula K Le Guin.
In Le Guin's fictional realm of Earthsea, identity is multi-faceted and mysterious; there are selves and shadow selves; and a living thing's true name, its essence, is a source of profound power, vulnerability, and consequence. To be given another's true name is to exchange "that gift that only a friend can give, proof of unshaken, unshakeable trust". To give one's own is to allow oneself to be seen, to be heard, to be truly known.
Though only the lyrics of the title track are directly inspired by Le Guin's writing, each of these 12 songs has its own identity and its own set of truths to share.
We hope you find something of yourself in there, too.
Tracklist
| 1. | Thank You for Last Time | 4:13 |
| 2. | Every House Gets Dark When the Sun Goes Down | 4:07 |
| 3. | Equinox | 4:52 |
| 4. | Carmen | 3:53 |
| 5. | The Magic Pebble | 5:00 |
| 6. | True Names | 4:48 |
| 7. | Radical Engines | 4:09 |
| 8. | Such a Diffident Child | 5:22 |
| 9. | 115th Street | 3:38 |
| 10. | Cassandra | 4:19 |
| 11. | Small Syllables | 4:16 |
| 12. | Listen | 4:44 |
Credits
Project Blackbird are:
Alan Roberts
Eddie Dublin
Jamie Varley
Jon Read
Ming Nagel
Recorded at Zephyr Studios (Leicester, UK) and Four Winds (Burrough on the Hill, UK).
Engineered by Dave Tidmarsh and Jon Read.
Produced and mixed by Dave Tidmarsh, Jon Read, and Project Blackbird.
Mastered by Michael Fossenkemper at TurtleTone Studio (New York, NY, USA).
Album art by Chloë Bates.
Album design by Jim Tetlow.
Special thanks to 1/2pint, who appears on “115th Street” courtesy of BMI and rebelsoulsista.
Big love and respect to True Groove for their faith in us and support of our music.
To our listeners, known and unknown – thank you.
License
All rights reserved.Tags
The "extraordinary" Project Blackbird, as BBC's Tom Robinson has called them, offer an atmospheric and unclassifiable listening experience that draws equally upon intellect and emotion. "Imagine a party at Ronnie Scott’s," one fan suggests, "where Sade, Björk, Jeff Beck, and David Byrne meet Portishead and then go for a late night curry to exchange ideas…sublime”.