We recently had the pleasure of featuring Energy Whores‘ powerful and intentional album, Arsenal of Democracy, so when we heard that visionary artist Carrie Schoenfeld was already back with a follow up single, Fade To Gray – we were impressed with the level of consistency and output, and couldn’t wait to listen and feed back!
Fade To Gray opens with a textured drum performance and cosmic bell tones creating a sense of allure and cinematic intrigue. The opus expands with cerebral vocals from Carrie as she sings, “She’s just a shadow behind the door, a voice imprinted as a distant song, her heart was only made of ice, and surprises in the winter time…”
We immediately connect with the unfolding depth of the track, and are reminded of British alternative bands from the 90s like Space, particularly their song, Female of the Species. The song continues with a vocal production switch up to clarity with spoken word prose. This intertwines with more trippy and psychedelic elements. The orchestral strings are sublime and the sonic ebbs and flows keep us enthralled throughout, from meditative vocal solos to dimensional trip-hop moments and even French ad-libs!
In essence, it explores themes of perception, emotional collapse, and the gradual loss of certainty. Speaking on the release, Carrie tells us, “Fade to Gray is about watching something you believed in dissolve in real time. It builds from intimate, melodic moments into a haunting crescendo, featuring a transformed vocal motif that emerges as part of the instrumentation itself.” We could imagine the song featured in a film like Drive, Ex Machina, or perhaps an episode of Nine Perfect Strangers.
Energy Whores is a New York–based avant-electro project founded by Carrie Schoenfeld and guitarist Attilio Valenti, with Schoenfeld leading as the primary songwriter and producer. The project has now expanded with the addition of Mexican-born producer and DJ Grant (NYC) as a core member. Grant brings over two decades of experience from the underground electronic scene, including running Union Jack Records and releasing music supported by notable DJs.
Needless to say, we are in awe, and have added Fade To Gray to our New Music Spotlight playlist, and our TIMELESS and TRIPPY playlists, whilst we continue to stream Arsenal of Democracy and anticipate future releases!