Electric Fetus

When Chris Stewart set out to write and record his third album as�Black Marble, he was�newly living in Los Angeles, fresh o a move from New York. The environment brought�much excitement and possibility, but the distance had proved too much for the car he�brought along. With it out of commission indefinitely, he purchased a bus pass and planned�his daily commute from his Echo Park apartment to his downtown studio, where he began�to shape Bigger Than Life. The route wound all through the city, from the small local shops�of Echo Park to the rising glass of the business district, to the desperation of Skid Row. The�hurried energy of the environment provided a backdrop for the daily trip. When Stewart�finally arrived at his studio, he�d look through his window at the mountains and the sky,�seeing the beauty that makes L.A. unique � the same beauty his fellow commuters, some�pushed to the edge of human endurance, had seen. That was the headspace he was in when�he began to map out the syncopated drums and staccato arpeggiation of Bigger Than Life, an�ode to his new condition and a shimmering synth-pop response to its cacophony.

As with every Black Marble album, Stewart recorded, produced, and played everything you�hear on Bigger Than Life using entirely analog gear, though the process was new. This time�around, he wrote everything on his MPC and sequenced it lie to his synths � only using the�computer to record, not to create. �I try new approaches every time, which helps me stay�engaged but also its kind of a trick I play on the creative side of my brain,� Stewart says.��Keeping one side of my mind busy on organizational creativity I think frees up the other�side where the inspirational creativity comes from.�