CHARLIE NIELAND’s ‘The Ocean Understands,’ a masterful blending of post-punk, dream pop, and prog-rock

CHARLIE NIELAND returns with new EP ‘The Ocean Understands,’ a masterful blending of post-punk, dream pop, and prog-rock from the man whose previous collaborations include Debbie Harry, Rufus Wainwright, Blondie, and Scissor Sisters.

“This set of songs is a kaleidoscope of styles,” he said. “They are luminous secret rooms that reflect one human’s heart in a world at the precipice. Staying creative is resistance. As authoritarians attack culture, they make the mistake that imagination can be controlled when it actually emerges from the bottom up. Culture is not imaginary. It is rooted in imagination but it’s more real than what can be measured.”

“These songs tell stories of growing up, of how we got severed, and how we connect. I burrowed into each idea over several years that were filled with love, uncertainty and family drama. The time allowed me to create and explore sound worlds with a cinematic eye, finding contrasts in texture and time, to create an experience that shifts with each listen.”

The material from the new EP – and forthcoming album ‘Stories From The Borderlines’ – took root through the New York performance series ‘The Bushwick Book Club’ and was inspired by Nieland’s love of David Bowie, Kate Bush, Peter Gabriel, and Cocteau Twins.

Nieland’s musical backstory is impressive, having written, performed and produced music for decades, he also wrote for, and produced, Debbie Harry, Rufus Wainwright, Blondie and Scissor Sisters, as well as scoring the film ‘The Safety of Objects,’ [Glenn Close].

Connect with Charlie Nieland HERE