For years, Arlington, Texas-based electronic musician Forrest Carney, better known by his stage name of Mr.Kitty, put out fun, energetic dance albums. From chaotic 8-bit beats to advanced IDM, Carney kept his fans moving time and time again, releasing over 25 albums of grooving tunes.
So in March when Carney released “D E A T H” — 15 haunting tracks of dark, electronic music — many of his fans were taken by surprise. The CD, Carney’s 32nd official release, featured Carney’s robust vocals prominently for the first time and swapped his cheery beats for nefarious ones. But the album has been met with an overwhelmingly positive response, garnering over 270 Facebook “likes” on the CD’s Bandcamp page (http://mrkittydm.bandcamp.com/album/d-e-t-h) and receiving praise from the online electronic music community. The hype around the album has many thinking Carney will continue in the darker direction.
“I wanted to take a step away from the whole ‘dance til I die’ mindset and do something real,” said Carney. “The album’s lyrics and the story may be unrelated, but I wanted to give people something to think about.”
The story, a fifteen-part voyage that follows two characters who fall in love, die, and eventually reunite, was inspired by Carney’s own personal struggles in life and love.
“The idea of this album came into play when a guy I was dating left me after three years,” said Carney. “We were about to be engaged and he left me for someone else. That is the moment when I ‘died.’”
But for Carney, who has shared the stage with Crystal Castles and been featured in The Dallas Observer, a metaphoric death meant a rebirth in his music. Citing a loss of trust in many people close to him, Carney began isolating himself from the world and experimenting with new sounds. The result was the new Mr.Kitty — a deeper, more sophisticated artist who drew upon touching subjects to make moving songs.
“Everything I began working on started to sound very dark,” said Carney. “I’ve experienced a lot of encounters with death in my life, whether it be family members, pets, or strangers. But I’ve never seen death as a negative thing. I wanted to find a way to express my sadness and anger without committing suicide. I wanted to take the album into a direction that would make the darkest of times feel comfortable.”
“D E A T H” can be streamed and downloaded for free at Mr.Kitty’s Bandcamp page, http://mrkittydm.bandcamp.com/album/d-e-t-h.
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