Across a career spanning 30+ years and 7 studio albums, the English band Mesh has steadily risen to the upper echelons of modern synthpop music and become one of the most influential artists in the scene. But they’ve largely been quiet since their excellent 2016 album, Looking Skyward.
During that long 7-year break, Mark Hockings, the unmistakeable voice of Mesh, launched a solo project called Blackcarburning. He’s so far released a handful of singles that will soon be collected on Blackcarburning’s debut album, Watching Sleepers. The album is due out June 23.
Watching Sleepers finds Mark taking on multiple roles, including writing, singing, and programming. Here’s what he says about the project:
The tracks were written to see what I could achieve by working primarily on my own. It’s been a vehicle for exploring new songwriting and programming ideas, experimenting with sound design, and developing some exciting new directions.
Watching Sleepers opens with Blackcarburning’s fantastic 2022 single, “All About You,” which I included on my list of the year’s best synthpop songs for its propulsive beat and creative synth arrangements.
The album will also features some guest vocalists. Mark says one of the things he wanted to do when he started Blackcarburning was invite friends to participate. We know at least one of those guests vocalists. The project’s most recent single, “Divide Us,” features vocals from rising star Mari Kattman.
Blackcarburning Watching Sleepers tracklisting and cover art
Watching Sleepers will contain 14 tracks:
- All About You
- Watch Me Die
- Divide Us
- Guilty
- The Mirror
- Reset
- Echo Chamber
- 8 Losing Our Way
- Watching Sleepers
- The Sound Of Running
- Breaking Bones
- Your Heart Is Like An Island
- Love In Control
- To Sleep