CSLTY – The Night Is Dark and Full of Power (2020)
There is nothing quite like that small bracket of time between 2 am and 5 am when the world is quiet. This moment of stillness has been captured by CSLTY in his new EP The Night is Dark and Full of Power. Using a combination of lush synths and distressed piano lines, he is able to recreate the sounds and feel of this time in his native New York City.
Each track in the EP is perfectly balanced to infuse the feeling of early morning into your veins. The cinematic feeling of the soundscape he creates helps to place you in the cocoon of quiet like a deep breath before the storm. We also sat down with CSLTY to talk about the album, his creative process and much more.
The EP starts with ‘Good Time’ which draws you into the calm of early morning with these light synth notes. There is a soft static over the music that adds to that feeling of only a few people being around. When the beat hits, it lightly grabs your hand to lead you through the song. This is a very chilled start to the album and perfectly sets the tone.
‘Midnighters’ continues the calm feeling of early mornings, but there is almost a sense of wonder in the notes. The lower level makes you feel like you are experiencing the quiet and chill for the first time. The soft zinging notes are like your thoughts as you sit awake as the rest of the world sleeps. There is a very calming vibe to this song that allows you to sit back and relax. If you were awake in the early morning, this song would be perfect to listen to.
The progressive opening of ‘The Oculus’ has these waves of sound that gently lap against your ears. Of the EP, this is the song that best represents that stillness in the early morning when the only sound is a single bird waking up. The music makes you feel like you are the only person around and perfectly encapsulates the feelings of being awake before everyone else.
‘City on Fire’ has more going on than the songs before it. Where the other tracks were all about the stillness of the morning, this one throws you into the latter part of the morning bracket. Through the gentle movements of the melody, you are thrown into the soundscape of the city waking and life starting. There is an easing into this through the flow of the music that wonderfully represents the moment when a few people start to head out into the world.
The EP ends with ‘Into The Night’ which has a slightly darker vibe to the rest of the EP. While there is still a calm thread through the melody, there are these lower notes that make you think of encroaching darkness. It is an interesting end to the album as it almost feels like a fade out. The light twinkling notes are like the first rays of light in the early morning while the darkness clings to the lower level synths and beats.
CSLTY casts you into the wonder and calm of the early morning with the beautiful instrumentation of The Night is Dark and Full of Power. The EP is calming and peaceful from start to finish. Through each note and song, you are filled with the emotions of being awake as the world takes its first breath before the day starts.
Find out more about CSLTY on his Twitter, Instagram and Spotify.
