Three Dimensions Deep

About

Learning to channel her intensity in lockdown was where Amber Mark began to fuse together ideas for her much-anticipated debut album, <i>Three Dimensions Deep</i>. “It was like putting pieces of a puzzle together,” the singer-songwriter tells Apple Music. “I had these song. I didn’t have a concept or know exactly where I wanted to go with it all. So, on a paper to-go bag, from some food I had got delivered, I began to section it out into three clear part.” For her deeply ruminative record, Mark soars through a galaxy of stirring anthem, helmed primarily by producer Julian Bunetta (a key part of One Direction’s hitmaking machine). “He’s my sensei,” she say, “and one of the only producers that I work with. My anxiety means I tend to make music by myself, but I left my comfort zone for this album. I used to be very against the idea of writing camp, but trusted Julian, and agreed to do one, which was so amazing.” On her endearing quest for healing, Mark embraces stages of grief (“One”), loss (“Healing Hurts”), and deep insecurity (“On & On”), advancing her sound and herself under the sharp light of futurist-feel R&B. “There’s been so much growth involved whilst making this album,” she say. “Just through the different points in my life—losing my mother, moving around. But since 2020, I’ve just been seeing the world differently.” Read on for her insights on each track from her debut album. <b>“One”</b> “I started really questioning myself at the start of 2019. You go into business with other, and you won’t always agree on thing. So, this song initially came from a state of anger; I was angry, and I wanted to get it out. I’ve been attracted to the idea of rap-singing more, and lyrically, this is the perfect song to dip my toe in with and experiment.” <b>“What It Is”</b> “I’m a sucker for big, very in-your-face harmonie. I had just seen the Bee Gees film [<i>The Bee Gees: How Can You Mend A Broken Heart</i>] and was so inspired by their journey. I remember writing this in one day. It’s a very bold song for me, and it started with writing out what this album mean, conceptually.” <b>“Most Men”</b> “I wanted to express on the conversations you have with friend, trying to console them after a breakup, after something fucked up went down. And it’s always advice that I give to myself: ‘You need to be able to find happiness on your own—find the joy of being alone in these moment.’” <b>“Healing Hurts”</b> “I had just gone through a breakup, and I’m kind of processing on this song. After my mom passed away, that period showed me that time is the ultimate healer. And, as I know that, I know I’ll move on from this and get over the heartbreak. But right now, I’m in my bed, and I’m emotional!” <b>“Bubbles”</b> “This is also quite specific to the breakup—the aftermath. ‘Push those feelings aside, go out, and have fun.’ We wrote this at the [writing] retreat—where we all became close really quickly. We had dinners and got to know each other. It was like taking a vacation with great friend, except they would all be doing tequila shot. I used to, in my late teen, early twentie, but the idea doesn’t appeal to me anymore. I’m <i>always</i> down for a glass of bubble, though, and somehow that became the joke of the trip.” <b>“Softly”</b> “When I was younger, living in Nepal, I had a very, very intense Craig David obsession. The beauty stores sold bootleg CDs there, and I bought his first two album. I heard [2001 single] ‘Rendezvous’ quite recently on a summer day in New York and fell in love with it again. That synthesized harp is such a big staple of the early-’00s sound. I was like, ‘I need to sample this shit! We have to bring this back.’” <b>“FOMO”</b> “I was starting to have a little bit of cabin fever whilst [writing], a little frustrated at not getting anywhere. Looking at my friend’s [Instagram] Stories—they’re out, having fun, doing shit, and I’m missing all these amazing opportunities to be with them. So, I ended up getting inspiration from that—staying home and wrote this song about it.” <b>“Turnin’ Pages”</b> “This is where we really start to address my inner turmoil. This is the next chapter.” <b>“Foreign Things”</b> “Because the feeling of running away and leaving life behind is something that’s <i>so</i> tempting—this is about being faced with those problem, head-on, when you can longer hide or escape from them.” <b>“On & On”</b> “This song is a long-standing favorite of mine on the album. This touches on a lot of old insecurities and the ways I was dealing with them, which was not working. So, in need of a sign, this is where my mom comes into play: She would always say, ‘You have to surrender to the issues that you’re dealing with.’” <b>“Out of This World”</b> “This is the introduction to section three, essentially. Another ‘mom’ song, but here, things start getting a little spacey, sonically. The song is from her perspective, and it’s her talking to me, trying to console me.” <b>“Cosmic”</b> “I love playing with the idea of higher dimension, associating them with the afterlife or the soul, because so many scientists have theories that prove they exist. They have the math for it but can’t portray it. So, I’m tapping more into the spirituality of science here.” <b>“Darkside”</b> “OK, I am <i>obsessed</i> with super-cheesy ’80s sound, especially the really wet snare. And I was inspired by a really beautiful song I Shazamed in my yoga cla. I went home, sampled it, and that was the start of this track. In my head, the approach wa, ‘How can I make this sound like a really weird Prince, Phil Collin, and Michael Jackson love child?’” <b>“Worth It”</b> “I wrote this after releasing [2020 single] ‘Generou.’ People loved it, but I also received comments like, ‘Ah, it’s a different sound!’ ‘It’s not the same Amber Mark. I miss [2017 EP] <i>3:33am</i> Amber.’ So, I made a beat, thinking, ‘Oh, y’all want old Amber Mark? Fuck y’all. I’m going to make a beat that sounds exactly like her.’ I was giving them what they wanted…in an angry way.” <b>“Competition”</b> “This is another from a writing camp. On one of the night, we decided to separate into teams and play a game. We had to write a song in 30 minute, and I was also the judge, which was weird, as I was playing. But this song we ended up choosing as the best. It’s all about how it’s not actually competition. Wouldn’t it be better if we all work together?” <b>“Bliss”</b> “This is the comedown from the out-of-body experience, sonically. It’s about that euphoric state that you never even imagined possible. I was really falling in love at the time we wrote thi. I’d never experienced anything like it. I wanted to talk about it. I mean, I didn’t even know this stage even existed.” <b>“Event Horizon”</b> .

via Apple Music

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