Fort Atlantic by Fort Atlantic

From 2009 to 2011 Fort Atlantic founder and front man, Jon Black recorded over 30 songs. Keeping with the DIY mentality, Black played a wide variety of instruments himself. “The idea of making a record myself wasn’t to hire someone for every instrument and then put my guitar and vocals on it. While I did ask friends to play on the record I was more interested in pushing my creative limits. If I didn’t know how to play something and had access to it, I would learn.”

In November of 2011 Black finished recording and took the record to New York to work with Grammy-winning mixer and producer Tom Schick (Wilco, Ryan Adams, Mavis Staples, She & Him, Sean Lennon, Rufus Wainwright). They mixed songs, new and old, for five days in Studio A at Magic Shop (Coldplay, Arcade Fire, David Bowie) and became friends through the process. “The songs on this record are instant classics. Jon has an impressive voice and crafts beautiful songs with many great twists and turns. I love this record,” says Schick.

On the record you’ll find a blend of analog and digital representing the current state of human existence. “We balance between heartbeats and hard drives. Our art will reflect that when this era is studied in the future,” Black says. Whether it’s the one-take troubadour folk song of suburban escape “New York Lights” or the nine-minute Bladerunner meets Gibson Guitars movement of “I’m Wrong”, Fort Atlantic’s debut truly stretches the divide of the digital landscape.

From 2009 to 2011 Fort Atlantic founder and front man, Jon Black recorded over 30 songs. Keeping with the DIY mentality, Black played a wide variety of instruments himself.