Darkbloom is an extended play released by Grimes that was also released as a split EP with fellow Canadian musician d'Eon. It was released on April 18, 2011, by Arbutus Records and Hippos in Tanks.
Background[]
Within a few months of meeting each other, Grimes and d'Eon knew they wanted to work together on a project, initially envisioning a mixtape or an album of B-sides that "no one would ever hear," however their label was supportive and the pair decided to release it properly.[1]
They had two sessions together where they collaborated, but after the second didn't go as well as the first they both decided to work on their half of the EP separately; as to not compromise each others sound.[1]
Inspiration[]
Grimes said this to Pitchfork:[2]
❝ I remember chilling on the sidewalk, really appreciating the twilight of the city [Montreal] in the time I was making this - I don't know, this album feels really Montreal. ❞
Composition[]
When asked by DMY if her approach to making music changed, she answered:[1]
❝ I’ve been studying popstars…those songs, I feel are old though. I’ve moved far beyond that, in terms of like…me and my manager Seb went into the studio and then we mixed everything, and he basically taught me – everything is still bedroom, but we replaced a lot of the drums in the studio, put effects on the vocals. Seb made me…he was like, “we’re mixing the vocals high” and I was like [whispers] “no, I’m so scared…” but now I love it, I just had to get over that fear of hearing myself sing. ❞
❝ There was a frustration to my other albums of me doing things because I had to. Now I can actually make the music that I have in my head. Like, “are you a musician?” You need to be able to stand up to that test, and my music is production, that’s almost everything about it. I want to make music that’s pleasurable, but not boring, and not at the expense of being experimental. ❞
In 2020, on reflection, Grimes told Pitchfork: "I think this album was me trying to make pop music, mostly."[3]
Writing[]
When asked if the songs were outtakes for Halfaxa. Grimes told DMY:[1]
❝ Mine is post-Halfaxa, but…I don’t know what I did, why I wasn’t writing music. I’ve since written an album, since the split, but for some reason I had nothing for it. [..] A lot of mine [were written on] Christmas break, in Vancouver. ❞
EP Visuals[]
EP Artwork[]
The artwork for this extended play is unique from her others as it is not one of Grimes' artworks and is instead a photograph of her and d'Eon. The EP photoshoot took place in her apartment and was shot by Sadaf Hakimian, inspired by an Alicia Keys cover "where it’s just her face." Grimes wanted to "bring back the pop star," and called the photos "almost distastefully high contrast."[1] The cover features her and d'Eon being covered in "stuff from the dollar store", with hanging fabrics behind them; Grimes' face is painted in acrylic white, which is harmful to the skin.[4] Grimes referred to it as a "having fun with friends kinda vibe."[4]
d'Eon said of the album artwork:[1]
❝ Claire and Sadaf, who did the photos for the cover, are mostly responsible for the visual stuff, because I’m not really a visual artist and I don’t have that sort of eye. But I’m really glad we used that photo for the album cover. It’s weird, a lot of people in this sort of circle of music don’t really use their faces. ❞
Tracklist[]
| Darkbloom | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
| 1. | Orphia | Grimes | Grimes | 1:09 |
| 2. | Vanessa | Grimes | Grimes | 5:24 |
| 3. | Crystal Ball | Grimes | Grimes | 3:16 |
| 4. | Urban Twilight | Grimes | Grimes | 4:16 |
| 5. | Hedra | Grimes | Grimes | 3:39 |
| 6. | Telepathy | d'Eon | d'Eon | 3:03 |
| 7. | Thousand Mile Trench | d'Eon | d'Eon | 6:00 |
| 8. | Tongues | d'Eon | d'Eon | 4:02 |
| 9. | Transparency | d'Eon | d'Eon | 5:30 |
| Total length: | 36:19 | |||
Credits[]
Credits adapted from Darkbloom album liner notes.[5]
- Grimes – vocals, producer (tracks: 1–5)
- d'Eon – vocals, producer (tracks: 6–9)
- Jasper Baydala – design
- Sebastian Cowan – additional mixing
- Sadaf Hakimian – photography
- Tyler Los-Jones – artwork
Trivia[]
- Grimes described the album's sound as "urban twilight Montreal" in an interview for Pitchfork, when asked to describe it in three words.[2]
- If Grimes were to change anything about the songs, she said she would "finish them" as she believes most sound like 'sh*t'.[6]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 https://web.archive.org/web/20120202045245/http://www.dummymag.com/features/2011/05/09/grimes-d-eon-interview/
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 https://youtu.be/umoqd0VbRI4?si=vggRFBdNuVrDl-9u&t=273
- ↑ https://youtu.be/umoqd0VbRI4?t=303
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 https://youtu.be/umoqd0VbRI4?si=u9Tl5Ui1bL-ZN77n&t=285
- ↑ https://www.discogs.com/release/3079489-Grimes-4-Deon-Darkbloom
- ↑ https://youtu.be/umoqd0VbRI4?si=1lUE6yu0UswoBkjR&t=309