Black Marble aka Chris Stewart pays tribute to Robert Palmer on I Must Be Living Twice, an EP of synth pop covers that include Lives of Angels, Wire, The Field Mice, and Grouper. “Johnny and Mary” is the second single following a cover of Wire’s “In Manchester” in anticipation of the EP’s release on August 14th.
Chris Stewart shares: “A lot of people know Robert Palmer as this slightly garish 1980s pop icon, but not everyone is aware of his early more bedroomy synth stuff he wrote before he really got big.” Putting it into this context, Stewart’s synths glimmer in a way unique to his music, but also pays tribute to this early Palmer tune. It’s enchanting and nostalgic in the same vein as 2019’s acclaimed full-length album Bigger Than Life. The glimmering minimal synths feel closer to Pink Industry, Solid Space, or even Orchestral Manoeuvres In the Dark than the more atmospheric soundscape introduced in 2012’s A Great Design. In this release, Stewart’s pop sensibilities shine through and comfort listeners as he gives new life in this sparkling version of “Johnny and Mary.”
On the choice to cover this Palmer song in particular, Stewart states that “Since the themes of the song deal with someone who’s undergoing sort of a career crisis… I thought it would be interesting to cover in the context of who he was and what he (and artists more broadly) often go through.” The songs covered on the EP have evidently been carefully curated by Stewart, and fans are anxiously waiting to hear the rest.
Pre-order ‘I Must Be Living Twice’ HERE — Out on Sacred Bones Records August 14th, 2020