Ferry Heart from Kinfire by TartanGrime

A midnight ferry carries Isla across dark water, the track tracing her solitude. Gulls cry like echoes of unspoken kin. The chanter, pushed through battered pedals, stretches a drone into the vastness, while a shivering sub and hushed hi-hats lay a low, insistent pulse, a drum of exile in the chest. A 22-second ferry horn motif, side-chained to the kick, anchors the opening, then returns as a ghosted counter-melody, a memory woven into rhythm. It captures the difficult shift from quaking isolation toward a fragile steadiness, the early ember of self. This foundational sound lays bare the artist's first steps, a quiet strength evolving before the album's full roar. The piece ends with the 'tartan glitch,' the drone phase-cancelled, leaving only throbbing overtones, a vacuum that hangs before a defiant breath. A splintered identity begins to stitch itself back together, a single spark refusing to vanish.

Tracklist

1.	Ferry Heart	3:13

Lyrics

Midnight CalMac, deck cold as tin
Salt on my lips, a tremor within
I count each gull like cousins I miss
Chest keeps drumming, I breathe into this
Like a match in rainboots, I hide the spark

If my name feels thin, I’ll stitch it slow
(yeah) I’ll stitch it slow
From lone torch to bonfire, let it grow

Hold on to the warm in my fist
Hold on till the deck stops its twist
Hold on, I won’t vanish in mist

Pub-murmur ghosts, a distant cheer
I stand like the last seat out here
Salt on the rail tastes honest and raw
I speak to the tide like kin I once saw
Small flame in my palm, I face the dark

Hold on to the warm in my fist
Hold on till the deck stops its twist
Hold on, I won’t vanish in mist

Credits

from Kinfire, released December 9, 2025

License