Tauranga, New Zealand (Top40 Charts/ Go Loud Limited) The Mafia is notorious for trying to buy it, some look for it on meditation retreats, most new parents would gladly trade their fortune for any in the middle of the night, but many don't realize silence is available for a song online. New Zealand recording artist
Brett Black recently broke silence on his album of silent music , "Silent Tracks of
Various Useful Lengths".
"I'm at a loss for words at the level of sales, since I released it in April 2010. We're now approaching 2,000 downloads of silent songs through iTunes alone. I woke up one morning with a little silent music repeating over and over in my head, and thought, 'wow, this is catchy.' It was also timely because I'd been looking for an easy way to put a silent song into a playlist I was working on. A silent MP3 seemed like the logical solution and I was surprised to find it wasn't commercially available, until now," says Black.
His album, "Silent Tracks of
Various Useful Lengths" was recorded in Queenstown, New Zealand and consists of 8 tracks: Silence - 5 seconds, Silence - 10 seconds, Silence - 20 seconds, Silence - 30 seconds, Silence - 1 minute, Silence - 2 minutes, Silence - 5 minutes and Silence - 1 minute (Stadium Remix). Of particular note is the final track, an arrangement that was carefully reconstructed to sound best blasted out across football grounds during that sombre one minute of silence. "The silent guitar solo in that remix is some of my most powerful work," says Black.
As global sales have steadily built over time, he believes his work has become a useful escape from the cacophony of modern life. It's also being put to good use by gym instructors, public speakers, choreographers or anyone looking for a silent MP3 or silent ringtone . "It sounds like quite a few people have downloaded the tracks to use as a silent ringtone on their phone, which they can assign to their least favorite contacts," says Black. "However, if you're wanting the songs for a quite moment at home, I suggest listening at moderate volume on noise-cancelling headphones."
He cites French mime Marcel Marceau and avant-garde composer John Cage, who penned a three-movement silent composition entitled 4'33", as inspiration, but insists his album is not merely about creating a statement. "I wanted to take silence to new levels," says
Brett of his silent music, which is the first silent commercial album ever released. "Some of my friends are hoping
Coldplay will cover it at some point," says Black.
"Silent Tracks of
Various Useful Lengths" is available for digital download at https://brettblacksilenttracks.com or via iTunes and Amazon.
About
Brett Black
Brett leads an unusually quiet existence in Tauranga, New Zealand. You can connect with
Brett Black via his website or Facebook page.
