Mark Barrott – Everything Changes, Nothing Ends (2024)
Review:
Mark Barrott's 2024 album, 'Everything Changes, Nothing Ends', is a profound and deeply personal exploration of life, love, and loss. Released on Anjunadeep Reflections, this album is a follow-up to his critically acclaimed 2023 release, Jōhatsu (蒸発). The album reflects the life Mark had with his late wife, and the harrowing experience of her illness and eventual passing. It stands as both a tribute to her memory and a reflection on the profound impact she had on his life and music. Mark has been a constant innovator throughout his nearly four-decade-long career and has never been one for sitting still musically. His first album 'Time and Bass' in 1996 paved the way for breakbeat futurism within Drum and Bass. His downtempo, introspective 2007 album 'Memories From A Fading Room' featured archival recordings of his family’s aural history and he founded International Feel in 2008 while living in Uruguay, before arriving in Ibiza and releasing the 'Sketches From An Island…' album series. In 2022, after several years working relentlessly as a producer for varied artists like South African DJ Themba and the late Virgil Abloh, he released 'Jõhatsu' on Anjunadeep’s sister label Reflections. Barrott began writing music for ‘Everything Changes, Nothing Ends’ during the eleven weeks of his wife's illness, using it as a form of therapy to cope with the overwhelming grief and loneliness that followed her passing on January 25, 2023. “I actually started writing music most nights throughout this process—it was therapy to mitigate the loneliness of coming back to a cold, dark winter home after spending the day with her at the hospital,” Barrott explains. What began as a way to process his emotions evolved into a project that would ultimately become the album. The album traverses genres, blending orchestral, ambient, and jazz elements to create a rich and varied soundscape. Each track on the album serves as an audio diary, capturing specific moments from the eleven weeks of his wife's illness. The music oscillates between intense emotional peaks and more soothing, delicate moods, reflecting the rollercoaster of emotions that come with facing such a profound loss. Ultimately, this album is about acceptance and gratitude for what was, not grief for what could have been. It addresses the fundamental issue that confronts all human beings: life and death. — anjunadeep.com
Track List:
01. Pandora
02. Butterfly In A Jar (I)
03. Butterfly In A Jar (II-IV)
04. Looking Through The Mirror Of The Soul
05. January 25th
06. Mono No Aware
07. It’s Just Like Falling Asleep
08. The Light Is Still There
Media Report:
Genre: ambient, electronic
Origin: UK
Format: FLAC
Format/Info: Free Lossless Audio Codec
Bit rate mode: Variable
Channel(s): 2 channels
Sampling rate: 44.1 KHz
Bit depth: 16 bits
Compression mode: Lossless
Writing library: libFLAC 1.2.1 (UTC 2007-09-17)
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