Empire (Deluxe) by C Z A R I N A
"The album’s technical brilliance is matched by its emotional depth… With “Empire”, CZARINA doesn’t just make music; she builds immersive sound worlds that are as emotionally profound as they are complex.” - ALTERNATION DARK CULTURE MAGAZINE
“CZARINA’s music is equal parts ethereal, expansive, and transportive—an immersive journey to realms of wonder and introspection…. ‘Empire’ expands upon the cinematic, otherworldly soundscape she created with ‘Arcana’” - SYNTHPOP FANATIC
“Empire surges with a fierce blend… Imagine Florence and the Machine, Annie Lennox, Enya, Grace Slick, and Loreena McKennitt crossed with the surreal intensity of a Philip K. Dick tale - C Z A R I N A’s vocal resonates like a call to the cosmos, charged and cinematic, woven with the divine feminine.” - POST-PUNK.COM
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As a follow-up to her critically acclaimed sophomore full-length record "Arcana" (2022), Galicia, Spain-based American Progressive Darkwave Artist-Producer and Multi-Instrumentalist CZARINA (styled as C Z A R I N A on all platforms) unveils the next stage of her evolution in her third LP entitled "Empire" under the French-German Gothic label, darkTunes Music Group. The record looks further up into the cosmos while diving deeper into the liminal inner realms of the subconscious, embracing visceral and cerebral themes of death and rebirth, transhumanism, esoteric mysticism, spacetime and quantum mechanics, sacred geometry, and forces of both earthly and celestial kinds.
The record showcases CZARINA's hallmark progressive sound and intricately layered, dynamic compositions, mixing orchestral and gothic choir arrangements with electronic and synth undercurrents, introspective lyricism, and powerful vocal and instrumental performances. Genre-bending yet cohesive, "Empire" has been meticulously crafted to mirror and articulate the mysterious depths of the artist's mind and spirit, as well as every facet of CZARINA's soundscape - ranging from progressive darkwave, orchestral dark ethereal, synthpop, futurepop, prog rock, and modern trip hop.
The album dramatically opens with "Rebirth," an epic and liminal transhumanist-themed piece about a soul being brought back to life, awakening in a new body, and breaking into a new level of heightened consciousness.
Heavily dropping in with its intense orchestral opening, dark ethereal and futurepop track "Dark Star" signals a new celestial force born from the ashes of great trials and tribulations. With themes of chivalry, the track is a love letter to the artist's childhood enthusiasm for robotech and mecha animes that served as inspiration for the grand composition intended to invoke outer space battles.
Driven by fast-paced, hard hits and battle cries, the progressive dark rock and cyberpunk track "Ghost Machine" summons woken Furies during times of great turmoil in an effort to take action in a world teetering on the brink of a great unknown.
Sci-Fi-inspired futurepop track "Exoskeleto" surges in, invoking biomechanical celestial beings springing into action as manifestations of newly found strength upon re-entering the battle arenas of life.
Orchestral synthpop and the record's title track, "Empire," reflects upon picking up the pieces of a lost kingdom that once burned to create a new and greater kind of empire—one that transcends materiality and thrives in a higher space.
The record reaches its phi moment in "Metatronica," a modern trip hop song based on sacred geometry, Metatronic connectivity, and oneness. The track incorporates the Golden Ratio or Fibonacci sequence in the composition and structure of its own phi moment. Composed and originally produced by CZARINA, the album version of Metatronica features additional arrangements, sound design, and lead production by co-producer and music engineer Von Hertzog (VHxRR, Information Society), furthering the concept and bringing color to the wistful message of the song.
Progressive, epic dark rock "Alchemy" surges in with giant drum and bass grooves and ritualistic feral cries breaking into the aether, gathering magic and all the elements to prepare a new sanctuary and cradle for new life to carry into the future.
Finally, the record concludes with the spacewave epic "Beyond The Veil," carrying themes of love and hope held by the foundations of quantum mechanics, opening a portal to fold spacetime towards a higher dimension. The song features sample recordings of the sounds found in the planet Saturn's rings, discovered and captured by 3x Venice Biennale-showcasing sound and visual artist China Blue for NASA, entitled Saturn's Siren. Saturn, also considered the god of Time in Roman mythology, provided the time-warp inspiration for the sound design and lyrics of the song.
All the songs in "Empire" were written, composed, produced, arranged, performed, and recorded by CZARINA in her seaside home in Costa Da Morte in Galicia, Spain, which has been serving as inspiration for her music. Von Hertzog served as co-production, mixing, and mastering engineer, who has been harnessing the vast dynamics of CZARINA's sound since they started working together on her sophomore record, Arcana. All the art, visuals, and music videos for Empire were created by CZARINA and her husband, the artist DeadlyKawaii, under their two-person production house called The Kitsunés.
Empire will be available on all digital streaming platforms on November 1st, along with a music video premiere on the darkTunes YouTube Channel. Limited edition vinyl copies of the record will be available on Bandcamp and darkMerch.com. A deluxe extended edition of Empire will also be available exclusively on Bandcamp, featuring six bonus tracks, including a cover of A Perfect Circle's "The Outsider," the original demo version of "Metatronica (Kitsuné Demo)," and instrumental tracks of "Dark Star," "Ghost Machine," "Empire," and "Alchemy." The extended edition will also be available as a limited edition deluxe compact disc.
The record will also be followed up with a series of new music videos, which will be released throughout the following year under darkTunes Music Group.
CZARINA is Vero Faye Kitsuné, an American synth and electronic rock artist, producer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, filmmaker, visual artist, and esteemed long-time creative director and fashion industry veteran from New York City, now based in Galicia, Spain. Known for her multi-disciplinary approach, CZARINA combines transcendentalism and esoteric mysticism with her love for futurist culture, transhumanism, biomechanics, quantum mechanics, mythology, folklore, Japanese Animes, and Budo martial arts. Her unique life story has been featured in VOGUE Philippines, and her music videos have garnered several international film festival awards, including Music Video of the Year (2021) for Wonderland at the New York International Film Awards. Her critically acclaimed sophomore LP Arcana has garnered a cult following, receiving several editorial accolades, and was named Album of the Year (2022) by synthpop authority, Synthpop Fanatic.
Tracklist
| 1. | Rebirth | 5:23 |
| 2. | Dark Star | 4:28 |
| 3. | Ghost Machine | 5:19 |
| 4. | Exoskeleto | 4:40 |
| 5. | Empire | 4:36 |
| 6. | Metatronica (Feat. Von Hertzog) | 3:24 |
| 7. | The Outsider (A Perfect Circle Cover) | 4:58 |
| 8. | Alchemy | 5:32 |
| 9. | Beyond The Veil (Feat. China Blue) | 4:31 |
| 10. | Metatronica (Kitsuné Demo) | 3:23 |
| 11. | Dark Star (Instrumental) | 4:28 |
| 12. | Ghost Machine (Instrumental) | 5:20 |
| 13. | Empire (Instrumental) | 4:39 |
| 14. | Alchemy (Instrumental) | 5:32 |
Credits
Composition, Lyrics, Arrangements, Performances, Recording, and Production in all Music by C Z A R I N A
With the Exception of “The Outsider”
Original Song Written by Maynard James Keenan and Billy Howerdel
Co-Production, Mixing, and Mastering by Von Hertzog
“Metatronica”
Featuring additional Arrangements and Production by Von Hertzog
“Beyond The Veil”
Featuring Sample Recordings of Saturn’s Rings by China Blue entitled “Saturn’s Siren”
“Metatronica (Kitsuné Demo)”
Production and Mixing by C Z A R I N A
Album Art and Photography by The Kitsunés
Presented by darkTunes Music Group
License
All rights reserved.
CZARINA (styled as C Z A R I N A) is an American award-winning synth and electronic artist, songwriter, producer, visual artist and filmmaker. A New York City native based in Galicia, Spain, her work transcends a vast spectrum of dark genres including Progressive Darkwave, Orchestral Dark Ethereal, Synthpop, Futurepop and Prog Rock.