First Songs

In 2005, Boris Skalsky, fresh from the break-up of his prior band Phaser, began writing music under the moniker Dead Heart Bloom. He released two records, a 2006 self-titled debut album and 2007's Chelsea Diaries. In 2008, Boris felt himself being drawn again to the group dynamic, and Dead Heart Bloom began morphing from a solo project to a full collaborative endeavor, finally developing into a four-piece band. In this new guise Dead Heart Bloom released a series of three EPs in 2008, ranging from the fierce aggression of a loud rock tune to the spaced-out vibe of an ambient folk revival, with plans for a 2009 follow-up. Yet while the dynamics of Dead Heart Bloom were transforming, Boris continued writing the more stripped-down songs that defined the 2007 acoustic release Chelsea Diaries. Because these new songs no longer fit the Dead Heart Bloom aesthetic, Boris is releasing them as a true solo album, an eight song collection titled First Songs. These eight tracks, from the acoustic jangle of 'It's A Truth' to the reverbed piano of 'A Love To Remember,' are drawn from some 20 unreleased songs written and recorded between 2007 and 2008. They were composed and recorded spontaneously: tracked the night they were written, with limited overdubs, no extra musicians, and no weeks of hand wringing over rough guitar tones and raw vocal takes. The intention was to preserve the honesty of the performance and the directness of the lyrics- to capture the first vibe, the first inspiration, the first take. The first song. First Songs was written, performed, and recorded by Boris Skalsky.