The anonymous music collective Porcelain releases ‘Hold Me In The Dark’ as a way to spark a conversation of the “light and darkness” of love.
This unidentifiable group not only refers to the lack of faces and names, as it also perfectly describes the few information listed on their “About” section of their website and social media platforms. The collective’s intention to not be known stems from a refusal to participate in the current phenomenon known as celebrity culture.
Porcelain works as a counterpoint to society’s obsessive tendencies and nature towards any figure with influence above a large group of people. In a present where privacy for celebrities is close to nonexistent, where common citizens feel entitled to have an opinion over others’ lives and decisions, and the media feeds into the habit of violating a public figure’s personal space for the sake of content, absolute anonymity is near impossible to be achieved by anyone with a following.
However, this collective has succeeded in maintaining a completely blank image, with no information regarding the participants and with the usage of faceless mannequins and dolls that add an element of androgyny onto them. As such, Porcelain has effectively maintained themselves separated from labels and common definitions. This also allows for their music to take over the spotlight, and highlights their talents at every moment.
Their newest single, Hold Me In The Dark, is an evocative and dramatically bittersweet piece inspired on Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung’s concept of the persona and the shadow self.
Musically, Hold Me In The Dark is a heart-gripping dance between two lovers standing on the edge of a cliff. With half of their body mass leaning towards an infinite void and the other half facing the security of a place to walk on, this serene piece of art resembles the highlights and lowest points of an amorous relationship.
As previously stated, the track plays with the idea of light and dark: white and black, good and evil. Representing an illicit love affair, it contains the equanimity felt when you commit a morally frowned upon action, and the betrayal felt by the people around you once a dreadful secret comes to light.
According to Jung, by whom the collective was inspired during the making of the song, there is a necessity of “evil” in order to be complete. The shadow self, originally an unconscious side of one’s self that holds all the negative and undesirable traits, must be a part of one’s existence at all points. Otherwise, we’d be left with the hollow shell of our personas, and have no real life or value.
Porcelain plays with this concept, and shows us what could be considered the struggle before accepting “the self”: as we grasp to understand and accept both our exaggerated selves who craved validation and our autonomous but hidden side, we might find ourselves in a state of confusion and despair or numbness. These feelings and more are all conveyed marvelously in the lyrics, the instrumental, and the accompanying music video.
After contemplation, it is only fitting for artists such as those behind the idea of Porcelain to be those who also discuss concepts such as acceptance of the self and the eternal debate of the sides of light and darkness. With thought-provoking and equally enjoyable music, the enigmatic collective continues arriving to those who need to do an introspective analysis on their lives and surroundings, or those who enjoy dark soulful music meeting with electro sounds.
If you enjoyed Porcelain’s music and would like to stay updated, be sure to check out their official website. For social media, you can follow their Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Tiktok accounts. To listen to their music, you can head over to her Spotify profile and Youtube channel.
You can also support the artist by streaming and sharing their music, which can be found in the following Playlists: Fresh Singles, Indie Only, and Chill – Folk – Acoustic.
P.S. If you enjoy discovering new artists and fresh new music you should subscribe to Less Than 1,000 Followers and follow the Playlist with all the artists we’ve talked about!
This coverage was created via Musosoup #Sustainablecurator https://www.musosoup.com/sustainable-curator