Albany, NY tranquil-pop duo, Titanics – comprised of Mark Lombardo and Derek Rogers – specialize in chill out jams set to themes of wander, wonder and water with dreamy Washed Out sensibilities. Following the success of their 2014 blog-trending EP, Deeper, the band unleashed their deliriously lush new EP, Hotel, last week.
We asked Lombardo share a track-by-track commentary on Hotel and the result was priceless. Enjoy as you take the EP for a spin below!
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“Hotel”
Earlier this spring I spent some time staying in some extravagant hotels around New York City. I had great company, met people from all over the world and had some amazing dining experiences. I started to become really interested in the idea of what a hotel symbolizes – a wondrous and temporary place. The transience of all of it is beautiful.
“Tides”
Probably the most R&B influenced song we’ve created. A big part of the writing process of Hotel was to let it all naturally happen. I had spent months putting together literally hundreds of hip-hop beats and for some reason I started writing lyrics to this one. Lyrically the song is ocean influenced. Tides come and go like many other aspects of life. Reflecting on a past relationship or situation – “I don’t hold your tides now.”
“Close Enough”
A song about searching, a song about discovering, wondering and moving on. It’s all in a very hopeful light. It’s the idea that perfection doesn’t exist.
We all want to feel like we’ve found the right person or the right moment and at the end of the day – it’s all in our heads. We search so much and miss so many moments. We can enjoy each moment independently. The “leaks and drips” line was from a notebook I had been keeping back in 2009. It’s one of my favorite lyrics I’ve ever written and I’m very happy it finally found a place in a song.
“Blue / Green”
The first song recorded for Hotel. The intro riff was from an old iPhone voice memo I had rediscovered. The lyrics came very naturally and this song was written and recorded in just a couple of hours. Definitely a night time song. Reminds me of warm woods. I’d say blue / green is the color I associate most with Titanics.
“Ravine”
“Ravine” was based, in a loose sense, on a dream I had where I was exploring a watery walkway down a mountain with Ellie Kemper. We were on some sort of mission, trying to find something we both knew was down there. I can’t remember how the dream ended, but I couldn’t get it out of mind. The idea of searching and discovering always seems to find its way into my songs.
“High Frames”
My favorite song on Hotel. This song, to me, is quintessential Titanics. Lush pads, warm beats and guitars trickled throughout. This song is in reference to “Low Frames” – the first track off our first release, Soft Treasure.
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Hotel is available now here.
