Faultline is British producer David Kosten, and one of those musicians who leaves a frustratingly long gap between releases. To be fair, he seems to keep himself busy with lots of collaborations, remixes, and production, but under the Faultline alias, it’s been almost a decade since his last release.
That release was “Your Love Means Everything”, put out in 2002. The first song I heard from that album was the title track, an instrumental version of the song posted here. After a listen, I was just about to say, “gee, that was pretty, but it could use the plaintive vocals of a Grammy Award-winning musical superstar,” when I discovered that the closing track on the album featured exactly that.
Chris Martin could sing the alphabet and it would sound plaintive. Say what you want about him; his voice isn’t that powerful, he doesn’t have a great range, he may have a strange habit of naming his children after fruit and Biblical characters…but he’s got plaintive down to an art. And it’s a perfect complement to Faultline’s ethereal music.
What makes this a beautiful song:
1. The epiano. Full of wobbly tremolo, it sets a great dreamy atmosphere as soon as the song starts.
2. The distant drum. It’s far back in the mix, but it’s there, giving an occasional “bah-boom” that reminds me of a heartbeat.
3. The layered vocals at 1:38. I always thought the best Coldplay songs were the ones where Chris Martin layered his voice, and in a soft song like this, it really stands out.
Recommended listening activity:
Watching a baby sleep.