By Elizabeth Walker | March 8th, 2012
I really love it when artists do something unexpected and it’s shell-shockingly amazing. Just this last Tuesday, San Francisco’s Mikey Maramag – under the moniker Blackbird Blackbird – has taken a page from the darker side of electronic life. He dropped a new single, “Poltergeist,” and I was instantly captivated by its surprisingly succulent underground, haunted feel.
Maramag’s previous library consists of a lot of sun-washed electronic tracks, but not today. “Poltergeist” shows a new facet for Maramag, aligning more with a deep house / UK garage feel. Utilizing despondent vocal snippets, an emotionally charged bass line, scattered synths, and pendulant percussion, “Poltergeist” slowly builds a harrowing story full of depth and darkness. Parallels to Burial and Jacques Greene can easily be drawn with this track.
Now we wonder where Maramag will go from here; more dark and stormy or back to the more angelic world? Me, I’m hoping for more of this anguished amazingness. For more Blackbird Blackbird, check out his SoundCloud.