Bright & Black release latest single "Mounts of Misfortune"
This is something special ! The symphony orchestra project Bright & Black unveils an epic new song Mounts of Misfortune, a raw beauty of nordic darkness set in an orchestral landscape. Composed by Erik Danielsson (Watain), arranged by Nico Elgstrand, Jacob Hellner and Eicca Toppinen.
On the new single, composer Erik Danielsson comments:
“Getting to compose music to be performed by an orchestra really opened up new creative depths in my being. Following the evolution of my initial demo idea into the final grandiose piece at the capable hands of everyone involved was very inspiring. And ultimately I must say that the end result feels like a quite natural extension of my musical artistry, with my initial idea kept intact throughout the metamorphosis. A unique project with a unique outcome indeed.”
Check out the video for the single Mounts of Misfortune below:
Metal music and orchestral music, two worlds existing in parallel, finally clash and a sound not yet heard is born. In an unprecedented move, the world of metal will fuse with the world of the orchestra by having writers all rooted in the metal scene compose directly for the orchestra giving them a completely new set of colours to create a new se of sounds. With a bang.
At the core of Bright & Black is the music. Contributors include Eicca Toppinen (Apocalyptica), Fredrik Åkesson (Opeth), Erik Danielsson (Watain), Nico Elgstrand (Entombed AD), Tomas Haake/ Dick Lövgren (Meshuggah), Jacob Hellner and Kristjan Järvi.
The full-scale Dolby Atmos album production of the project was recorded with an orchestra of 65 players in the autumn of 2022 at the Estonian National Radio studio in Tallinn. Produced by Jacob Hellner. Performed by Baltic Sea Philharmonic. Conducted by Kristjan Järvi. Orchestrations by Jonny Abraham. Additional recordings took place at Urban Sound, Oslo, the postproduction and mix took place at Big Island Sound in Stockholm.
Watch the album trailer below:
Music can be magical. And the magic of music is never greater than the experience of a live performance. Kristjan Järvi and Baltic Sea Philharmonic have aroused audiences across Europe for years with a totally fresh approach to how an orchestra performs. No sheet music and everybody standing up makes it a very dynamic, organic and different experience. And with Eicca Toppinen as front man a Bright & Black show will be something out of the normal, both for an orchestral audience as well as the metal crowd.
Tour Dates
07.03.24 - Alexela Concert Hall, Tallinn
08.03.24 - Filadelfia Convention Center, Stockholm
11.03.24 - Berliner Philharmonie, Berlin
14.03 - Hong Kong Arts Festival, Hong Kong
Album Track Listing
Nidhugg
Bloodgrind
Can't Explain This
Collateral Damage
The Secret
Mounts of Misfortune
Armies of the Preposterous
A World of Strange
From Dust and Mud
And Flesh and Bone
Midnite Son
End of All
Some more information about key contributors:
Eicca Toppinen
Eicca Toppinen, founder of Finnish metal band Apocalyptica and the soloist for Bright & Black. A past student of the Sibelius academy. Composer and musical producer of multiple stage productions and movies. Performer of metal on his cello for 25 years.
Kristjan Järvi
Tallinn based Kristjan Järvi, conductor, producer, and composer from a family of great conductors. He himself as well as his father Neeme and brother Paavo hold the baton in the greatest orchestras in the world. Kristjan has a reputation of being an innovative and bold conductor within the classical scene moving freely between various styles and genres. Together with his team, he runs his own Estonia based company: Sunbeam Productions. Kristjan is also the founding conductor and artistic director of Baltic Sea Philharmonic.
Jacob Hellner
Jacob Hellner out of Stockholm producer of cutting edge metal for 30 years for artists such as Rammstein, Clawfinger, Apocalyptica and Entombed AD among others. Apart from producing he is also a composer for various tv, film and stage productions. Jacob is together with Per Kviman founder and artistic director of Bright & Black.
Per Kviman
Per Kviman runs Stockholm based Versity Music, an artist management formed in 2003. Per has a background as A&R for the record companies RCA (UK), MVG and Wire Records (SE) and has been rewarded with platinum and gold selling albums across the world. Per is together with Jacob Hellner founder and artistic director of Bright & Black. Per also hold the position as Chairman of the Board for the European Music Managers Alliance (EMMA), the largest artist manager organisation in the world.
