The Story Behind The Song
While playing my very first show with Black Sea Storm in Mérida Mexico mid-July of this year. A rush of natural body chemicals hit me during the very first 10 seconds of the set. The result; my hands got tense, and my legs shaky. I had not performed live on a stage in a long while, and this was the very first time I was playing a legitimate show all by myself.
After the debrief of the first show with my dear inner voice, I decided to write an intro for my live performances to establish the Black Sea Storm mood early on, warm-up physically, and ease in emotionally so the rest of the show flows smoothly. I came up with the instrumental version of “Dünya’nın Kalbine” while I was staying in Mérida, Mexico. Since the second Black Sea Storm concert in Mexico, I’ve been opening my shows with this piece of music. For a while, it was called “La Tormenta del Mar Negro” until the day I decided to record it and added vocal tracks to the song. Once I included the vocals, the song renamed itself to “Dünya’nın Kalbine.” In English, the title would be something like “Into The Heart of The World.”
I am not sure if I will integrate the vocals for the live shows. The whole purpose of the song was to have an intro where I did not have to worry about singing so I can ease-in into the repertoire and set the Black Sea Storm mood with an instrumental piece. If I start singing on it live, I would need to write another instrumental show opener. This approach actually could be an exciting way to remain creative. Where all new songs first exist as concert introductions.
Creating on the Road
“Dünya’nın Kalbine (Akustik)” is the second song I am able to release while touring. The song was written in Mérida and recorded in Oaxaca. The cover art is a picture I took from the mountains of Donaji while I was still living in San Luis Beltran last year during my first visit to Oaxaca. I had integrated into my daily routine to run in the mountains. Oaxaca is at 1600 meters of elevation. To get to the spot where I took the photo, I had to challenge my cardiovascular system more than a bit. There was no way to rest on the trail to the top. It’s all steep uphill running track. Either you continuously run uphill, or you stop once in a while. If you refuse to pause the way I like to run, then you end up being in good shape after pursuing the routine for a few days. It was a blessing for me to live in the mountains for three months straight. I think my health benefited from this situation in a significant way.
Acoustic First is a First
For the past year, I’ve been adapting my songs to the acoustic guitar so I can play them live. “Dünya’nın Kalbine (Akustik)” is the first full-on song to exist in its acoustic version first. I don’t know I would find any interest in recording the electric version of the same song, but I find it interesting to be able to reverse the creative process. From the studio to the stage vs. From the stage to the studio.
Digital Progress of The Storm
The song is now available for streaming on all major streaming platforms. Every stream supports Black Sea Storm not only financially, but more there is interest for my music from listeners, the algorithms of various platforms are presenting Black Sea Storm to new listeners who may dig my sound. Lately, the algorithms of Spotify and to a lesser degree YouTube have been pushing my music to new listeners.
So far, Black Sea Storm has not made it to any editorial playlists on Spotify. On the other hand, my songs have made it their way to “Your Daily Mix,” and “Discover Weekly” algorithmic playlists thank the support of the people who are actively listening and adding Black Sea Storm songs to their playlists. I also think that playing shows and releasing new material help with such algorithms. Currently, Black Sea Storm has 9313 monthly listeners and 268 followers on Spotify. A year ago, I had about 40 monthly listeners and some mere 50 followers. I think that most of the 9313 listeners are not active listers, and most of my streams are dry streams. All that said, I find the progress quite remarkable.
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