Atlantic (song)
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| “Atlantic” | |||||
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| Single by Keane from the album Under the Iron Sea |
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| Released | April 24, 2006 | ||||
| Format | 7" Vinyl, Download | ||||
| Recorded | Helioscentric Studios, Rye, East Sussex The Magic Shop, NY |
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| Genre | New Age, alternative rock | ||||
| Length | 6:11 (video) 4:13 (album version) |
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| Label | Island Records | ||||
| Producer | Andy Green | ||||
| Keane singles chronology | |||||
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| Under the Iron Sea track listing | |||||
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"Atlantic" is a song performed and composed by English piano rock and alternative band Keane and is featured on their second studio album, Under the Iron Sea as the opening track. The cover of the album is also the illustration representing the song in the inner pages of the book-shaped CD+DVD edition.
The song was premiered at a secret gig in London on April 5, 2006. It was officially released on 24 April 2006 as a the first single from the album (see 2006 in British music), firstly as a download only music video and later as a 7" Vinyl limited to 1000 pieces. This is to date the only Keane single with only one song on the track list. The video was aired only on Europe.
The song was featured in the season three CSI: NY episode "Consequences".
Contents |
[edit] Track listing
[edit] iTunes video
- "Atlantic"
- The video version is longer than the one found on the album, incorporating the outro of the album track "The Iron Sea" as well as an extended intro. Irvine Welsh, author of the novel Trainspotting, directed the video, which was filmed in black and white on a remote Sussex beach, and did not feature the band.
[edit] UK 7" Vinyl
- "Atlantic"
- A special 1000 copies limited edition of the single was released and sent to members of the messageboard. The single came inside a special box designed to contain the remaining singles of the "Under the Iron Sea era" (similar to the one released with "The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore")
[edit] Composition, recording and musical structure
[edit] Composition and recording
"Atlantic" was composed by Tim Rice-Oxley circa 2005 and recorded at the Helioscentric Studios, Rye, East Sussex and at the Magic Shop, New York. First demos featured Rice-Oxley instead of Chaplin on the lead vocals. The first verse, lyrically was different from the final version. Sessions at the Magic Shop for the recording of this song were filmed and released on the Under the Iron Sea DVD. The video for Atlantic was filmed at a remote location in a beach in East Sussex. The recording appearing on this single is two minutes longer that the one on the album.
[edit] Musical structure
The first rhodes under the BMaj7 chord are played with Rice-Oxley's electric piano instrumentally. After 30 seconds, the bass and drums are added. Within 59 seconds, the shorter version appearing on the albums starts (running 19 seconds on that version). The weird intro of the drums was a particular reason for Rice-Oxley to include it on the album. Chaplin vocals are then introduced, without drums for 16 beats. Clocking 3:27 on the video and 2:32 on the album, the song drastically changes its tone to introduce the chorus and the final part, converting automatically the song in a ballad. While the album version fades with strings, the video version incorporates the outro of "The Iron Sea", with strange and electronic sounds including echoes and voices.
- Length: 4:13/6:11
- Tempo: 65bpm
- Key: 1st part: BMaj7; 2nd part: Eb
- Time signature: Semi out of time 4/4
- Instrumentation: electric piano, bass, drums, synthesizer, vox synthesizer, effects pedals and what could possibly be a string quartet.
[edit] Information about song's meaning
According to Keane.at, "This song talks about newly-wed Rice-Oxley feelings about his relationship."
Tim also explained this in May 22, 2006:
| “ | Well Atlantic was the first thing that we recorded for the record, and it was actually gonna be a b-side. It was weird (...) It's a piece of music that I'm really really proud, and I think we're all really really proud of as a band. It's a great example of a piece of music that we've all contributed to, and it wouldn't be the song that it is unless we all put something special into it. The reason it's the first song on the record, is because it's got such an incredible atmosphere to it, and I guess it's about having a terror of being alone - it sets the mood of the record really well, both musically and lyrically.[1] | ” |
[edit] Music video
The video for Atlantic was directed by Scottish novelist Irvine Welsh. It is entirely black and white and starts with scenes of the Atlantic Ocean and a beach at Sussex.
A long-haired, bearded man with ragged clothes comes out of the ocean and walks quietly along the beach. Firstly, he sees a couple tying a rolled sheet of paper - presumably a message for help - and putting it into a bottle before they throw it to the sea. He stops briefly to watch them, and then continues walking to find a boy kicking a football. The ball rebounds on the cliff and falls into the water; the boy asks the man to fetch it, but he refuses, so the boy kicks him and runs away.
When the man recovers he continues walking, and sees a large swimming-costume clad woman with a life-ring who throws herself to the sea and disappears while the life-ring floats on the waves. The man is shocked, looks around for somebody to help her, sees no one and then walks on.
He finds an old man who has a metal detector, and points out a place along the shore and the metal detector finds something in the sand. Digging, they find what seems to be a dead bird. The old man runs away shortly before the main man.
When the chorus leads in, the man finds two children building a sand castle, who promptly destroy it upon seeing him.
The final scenes show three men (representing Keane) throwing two bottles into the sea, and when the man turns around, he faces a pale man with a dark hooded cloak representing Death, or the Grim Reaper, and loses himself in Death's eyes. Immediately, for two seconds every person in the video appears, and in the final shot they all follow Death with linked hands - this bears a resemblance to the final shot of the Swedish film The Seventh Seal.
[edit] Cover art
The cover artwork for the single was designed by Sanna Annukka Smith, a Finnish artist in May 2006.
[edit] Chart performance
| Chart | Peak position |
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| UK Official Download Chart | 35 |
| Beyond Radio Charts Hot 100 | 35 |
[edit] External links
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