The wait is finally over! Mark Hockings, the lead singer of Mesh, spent the pandemic in isolation pondering his musical future, and he hatched a bold plan. He would use his involuntary exile to create something new, and thus Blackcarburning was born. Fun fact: when Hockings started his career, he never planned to become a singer. He almost accidentally ended up doing vocals with Mesh, but what he originally wanted was to play keyboards and program tunes. And with “Watching Sleepers,” he was able to do just that.
Hockings takes on multiple roles, including writing, singing, and programming, and describes the tracks as “electronic music written around songs, emotion, and energy.” He further adds, “The tracks were written to see what I could achieve by working primarily on my own. It’s been a vehicle for exploring new songwriting and programming ideas, experimenting with sound design, and developing some exciting new directions.” Once you have been part of an iconic band for so long, it is not easy to slip into a new role.
But Hockings has been collecting material for quite some time, and he comes out of the gate with guns blazing. His work with Blackcarburning is complex, refined, multilayered, and un afraid to address the pressing questions we face today.
“Watching Sleepers” is a beautiful piece of art with an incredible level of depth and sophisti-cation. The album is pop on the surface, but it goes deeper. Hockings is a superb songwriter who has seen a thing or two, and this new vehicle gives him the space to grow as an artist and express himself in a different way. He is curious, willing to take risks, and ready to ex- plore the darker side of pop music. Watching him spread his wings is a pleasure.
“Watching Sleepers” will delight Mesh fans who have been waiting for new material for several years, and they will also get to know a different side of Mark Hockings.