Eyes Closed Listening
fire_sign proudly presents their debut album, Eyes Closed Listening.
“This album traces a line between some of our earliest writing (the hazy ballad ‘Essential’) to some of our most ambitious arrangements to date (the cello-led scattered electro of ‘Dirty System’ or the angelic industrial-techno drive of ‘Rewilding’), and even carries echoes of our first single: ‘Sweet Oblivion Interlude.’ It’s been a few years in the making as we decided to (really) take our time with the mix, developing the tracks as far as we could before releasing.
“Eyes Closed references our wide-ranging influences and explores the various electronic sub-genres we love, producing an album of evolving music you can use to shut out the world for an hour.”
Track Listing
- (Eyes Closed)
- Taken
- 02:47am
- True
- 08:47pm [Alternate Mix]
- Surrender
- Dirty System
- 05:25pm
- Essential
- Little Lies
- It’s Real
- S.O. Interlude
- It Matters
- 12:36am
- Rewilding
- (Eyes Open)
Available November 24, 2023. Listen/Buy.
Coming soon: Fire_sign’s ‘Bronze Recast’.
Fired in the kiln of lockdown, Recast is a dub-hearted reimagining of the band’s 2020 EP Bronze.
Over nine tracks, fire_sign remix their material drawing on a wide variety of influences and styles ranging from acid to dark ambient. While Make Me in Stone is coloured by a love of old Rhythm & Sound and Deepchord records, the slow pulse of Too Much to Carry is inspired more by the synth-wave of acts like Pye Corner Audio.
In Sugar Dream, the band present their first ever ambient piece, a nod to their fondness for artists like Brian Eno and Celer. Elsewhere, they channel bold drum n bass accents in They’ve Spoken, setting off Shadow’s grand percussive machinery to spectacular effect.
“Some of our favourite records have been remix albums, and we’ve always enjoyed remixing our own stuff,” said fire_sign.
“This was an opportunity to develop the other less structured side of our music – something we started doing back with our first release, Sweet Oblivion.”
Recast was mastered in Berlin by Calyx and will be digitally released by 4am City on June 28, 2021.
Announcing “Bronze,” the poignant new electronica EP from fire_sign.
Using true British musical craftsmanship, the pair create a darkly shimmering world in which smudged beats ricochet ominously against soaring, heart-stirring vocals.
Title track Bronze explores a wish to be made from something else; a material instilled with every quality you lack.
Emboldened by your new non-skin, you feel self-assured and resilient enough to move among people without disappearing into an otherness.
But confronted with a real crowd, the illusion of strength quickly shatters, and you find yourself once again reaching for a trusted escape.
Journey with fire_sign as they flee ‘the people sea’, trip over past hurts, wander through a deserted factory haunted by powerlessness, and find their way out of an impossible romantic entanglement while walking London’s iconic streets.
Let yourself be swept into the comforting embrace of strings built around Sarah’s solo cello as you dry your eyes on a rich sonic tapestry daubed with synths of every colour.
And whatever sad thoughts Bronze brings to your mind, remember – “don’t let them dim your light”.
8-track EP “Bronze” was mastered in Berlin by Calyx and will be digitally released by 4am City on September 12, 2020.
Links:
Listen to the Bronze EP sampler.
Pre-order the EP now to receive title track Bronze immediately.
Watch the video for title track Bronze.
British duo fire_sign continue their tradition of fine home-crafted electronica with the release of their new EP “Bleeding,” created in response to the devastating terrorist attacks that erupted across the UK in 2017.
Recorded London, title track “Bleeding” walks in the footprints of 20th-century protest songs, uniting haunting vulnerability with a patient strength rooted in an unassailable belief in the inherent goodness of humanity.
Bleeding’s moving tale unfolds over an ambient drone created from raindrops of piano, guiding the listener from the disruption of a security taken for granted to a hope-filled yearning for peaceful coexistence.
Occasional crackles create a sense of displacement while minimal ticks of percussion, chiseled from a live piano recording, carry the track forward into a purposeful stride.
An emotive and intimate vocal performance expertly conveys the sense of shared pain which flows through the lyrics. Detuned backing vocals, symbolic of the inner strength that can be found in times of adversity, add supporting power to the lead.
“Bandage” follows as an abstract deconstruction of Bleeding’s sorrow, breaking the vocal down into pieces before healing with an ethereal climax.
The 4-track “Bleeding” EP, mastered in Berlin by Calyx, will be released digitally on 22nd November 2019 on the band’s own 4am City label.
Accompanying the release will be a video made from a series of animated drawings by fire_sign based on the original cover art.
Links:
Bleeding EP on iTunes
Bleeding EP on Google Play
Bleeding EP on Spotify
Hand-drawn video to title track Bleeding on YouTube
Next gig: St Pancras Old Church on Friday March 29 2019.
Click here to buy tickets.
fire_sign are to support Marconi Union at a rare London gig next month.
The doomtronica duo will premiere new tracks Shadow, Rewilding and Dirty System at the gig which will take place on Friday June 1st at St Pancras Old Church.
Also lending support is electronica star Digitonal who beautifully remixed fire_sign track Sweet Oblivion in 2017.
Tickets available from See Tickets.
The leading lights of the British electronica scene will perform in London this October to raise money for charity The Neuro Foundation.
Musical heavyweights Rival Consoles (Erased Tapes), Alex Banks (Monkeytown) and Justin Robertson (Skint/BMG) will take to the stage on Friday 27th October at London Bridge venue OMEARA with support from rising electronica duo fire_sign (4am City).
From this carefully curated line-up you can expect complex, emotional and intricate electronica that will move your mind with its beauty, and your body with its beats. This night of music is a rare, not to be missed treat on the London scene.
Tickets for Electronica Helps are on sale now with Eventbrite and with SEE Tickets with discounted early bird tickets available via Eventbrite until the end of September.
Follow Electronica Helps on Facebook.
Sweet Oblivion is the first single from London based ‘doomtronica’ duo fire_sign.
Bleak warehouse-techno beats and synthetic pads slowly build under vulnerable vocals and soft cello in a track that “brings to mind the vocal intensity of ‘Dusty in Memphis’ era Dusty Springfield backed by a form of electronic soul that’s warm and dark.”- Electronic North.
“There’s a broad number of sounds and ideas at work on this tune, that should be pulling in very different directions. Instead, the result is a wonderful set of ingredients offering up a lush, engaging soundscape that suggests everything from electronica through to techno.
“At its heart, ‘Sweet Oblivion’ is a wonderfully layered composition weaving in strings and electronics. Glayzer’s vocals, meanwhile, lend a gossamer sheen to proceedings.” – The Electricity Club
Four track hand numbered insert, sticker-sealed, 180 gram vinyl with download code to the full 8 track digital release, limited to 222 copies.
Remixes from Digitonal (Toytronic/Just Music) and Greymatter (Wolf Music Recordings).
Vinyl Tracklist:
A1 Sweet Oblivion
A2 Sweet Oblivion [Digitonal Remix]
B1 Sweet Oblivion [Greymatter Remix]
B2 Sweet Oblivion [Let Down Mix]
Digital extras:
1. Sweet Oblivion [Leigh Morgan Remix]
2. Sweet Oblivion [Mr Bristow Remix]
3. Sweet Oblivion [Instrumental]
4. Sweet Oblivion [Live]
The Sweet Oblivion EP 12″ is available to purchase in-store at Lion Coffee + Records and is available in-store and online at Rough Trade
The Sweet Oblivion can be purchased as a digital download from Band Camp, iTunes, Amazon and Juno and can be streamed on Spotify.
Reviews: Electronic North, The Electricity Club
American indie music radio show It Matters caught up with doomtronica duo fire_sign earlier this month to learn more about their beautiful, miserable music.
Interviewers Kerry Hall and Monica Brinkman discovered what the band’s single Essential is really about, and also had an exclusive listen to fire_sign’s forthcoming release Sweet Oblivion which comes out in 2017.
fire_sign joined fellow electronic bands Uhuru and Thraneen In November to play the first ever Electronica Social event organised by DJ and producer Frank MacCarthy.
Electronica Social is a new bi-monthly electronic music night for London, with live artists and networking at Zigfrid von Underbelly, Hoxton Square.
