"While sensitively orchestrating his chamber musical qualities on his records or in his studio, his live performances are known for kicking some ass!" From Shitkatapult website
He collaborated with Ellen Allien in 2003 on the album Berlinette, and again in 2006 on the album Orchestra of Bubbles.
Apparat's fourth album,The Devil’s Walk released on 27 September 2011 through Mute Artists, began during a lengthy trip Apparat took in 2010 to Mexico, where he worked in a makeshift studio in the town of Sayulita.
Black Water
Apparat Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Looking down at scattered bones
I used to keep a slender hope
Until they spread above the stone
Until they spread above the stone
I pulled the trigger by mistake
Floundering at the aftermath
We will be ephemeral
We will be ephemeral
Fact isn't what you see
Not anymore, then what it used to be
Fact isn't what you see
Not anymore, then what it used to be
Fact isn't what you see
Not what it used to be
I'm flowing like black water
To us, insurgency
To us, insurgency
The lyrics of Apparat's song, Black Water, depict a sense of despair and resignation towards the inevitable passage of time and the transience of life. The first stanza describes a bleak landscape where shapes, possibly referring to memories or dreams, dissolve into the snow, and scattered bones suggest death and decay. The singer confesses to having held onto a "slender hope" before accepting that they too will succumb to time and become ephemeral. The repetition of the line "Until they spread above the stone" emphasizes the finality and inevitability of death.
The second stanza shifts to a more personal and immediate narrative, where the singer confesses to have "pulled the trigger by mistake" and now faces the aftermath of their actions. The ambiguity of the line leaves room for interpretation, with the "trigger" possibly referring to a real gun, a metaphorical decision, or a missed opportunity. The realisation that "we will be ephemeral" connects to the song's broader themes of mortality and acceptance of one's fleeting existence.
The chorus of the song offers a commentary on the concept of fact, suggesting that what we see may not be what it seems, and that the truth is no longer as clear-cut as it once was. The line "I'm flowing like black water" may refer to the singer's sense of being disconnected from the world and following a path of least resistance, or to the murky nature of truth and how it can be subject to interpretation.
Line by Line Meaning
Shapes still melt into the snow
The shapes continue to blend into the white background of the snow.
Looking down at scattered bones
Observing the remains scattered amongst the flakes.
I used to keep a slender hope
Once upon a time, I had a small glimmer of hope.
Until they spread above the stone
But hope diminished rather progressively, as it began to drift away like mist over the gravestone.
I pulled the trigger by mistake
Trigger was pressed unintentionally.
Floundering at the aftermath
Panic ensued in the moments following.
Slowly recognize the scale
Starting to comprehend the full scope of the event's impact.
We will be ephemeral
Our fleeting existence in this world is inevitable.
Fact isn't what you see
Truth is not always visible to the naked eye.
Not anymore, then what it used to be
The way things were perceived in the past is no longer relevant.
I'm flowing like black water
I am in motion like the murky, dark waters.
To us, insurgency
Rebellion against injustice as seen from our perspective.
Lyrics © Budde Music Publishing GmbH, MUSIC SALES CORPORATION, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Alfredo Carlos Nogueira, Patrick Christensen, Sascha Ring
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@mirsadathossain3932
Shapes still melt into the smoke
Looking down at scattered bones
I used to keep a slender hope
'Til they spread above the stone
I pulled the trigger by mistake
Floundering at the aftermath
Slowly recognise the scale
We will be ephemeral
Fact
Isn't what you see
Not anymore
What it used to be
I'm flowing with black water
Into a loss of surgency
@quimera4946
Shapes still melt into the snow
Looking down at scattered bones
I used to keep a slender hope
Until they spread above the stone
Until they spread above the stone
I pulled the trigger by mistake
Floundering at the aftermath
Slowly recognize the scale
We will be ephemeral
We will be ephemeral
Fact isn't what you see
Not anymore, then what it used to be
Fact isn't what you see
Not anymore, then what it used to be
Fact isn't what you see
Not what it used to be
I'm flowing like black water
To us, insurgency
To us, insurgency
@oceanographerradio5256
Shapes still melt into the smoke
Looking down at scattered bones
I used to keep a slender hope
'Til they spread over the stone
I pulled the trigger by mistake
floundering at the aftermath.
Slowly recognise the scale
We will be ephemeral
Fact
Isn't what you see
Not anymore
What it used to be
I'm flowing with black water
To a less assurgent sea__♫
@TirikitaBlogspot
"'Til they spread OVER the stone"...
...You know, just as they spread stone over a coffin after it's laid into a grave.
and
"FLOUNDERING at the aftermath."
Because the whole thing was a mistake.
@TirikitaBlogspot
Pretty much.
And the last line: listen to it carefully. The way Sascha wields his syllables in the singing makes a more convincing argument for him to be saying the phrase "To a less assurgent sea," or "to less assurgency" -- NOT "to another surging sea."
'Assurgent' is a word that's fallen out of popular usage, but it means 'rising up' or 'pronounced.'
About killing and regret? Yes. The subject of the song has learned his lesson painfully, and is seeking to abandon the context he was in (I'm flowing like black water to a less assurgent sea). "Shapes still melt into the smoke, looking down at scattered bones" -- that line pretty much describes what happens when you are removed from a combat zone via helicopter.
Blackwater was a paramilitary company the US hired in Iraq. (I am an Iraq war veteran.) You should note that the US has plenty of its own military bases in Germany -- where Sascha is from. As far as I can tell, that's where the title and main concept of the song comes from ("Black water"), and it describes events like this:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nisour_Square_massacre
But in this particular case, it sounds like it was an issue of "friendly-fire" mortality. The subject of the song would need to be present at the funeral in order to "keep a slender hope" (that the victim is alive) "'til they spread over the stone."
@FS-qv1mb
Damn I miss 2011 so much, the time where my brain finally was ready to explore and expand my musical knowledge as a teenager. I'm so glad I grew up with this kind of music, I want to label it with a genre but I won't since it'll stay special and unique for me if I don't. Thanks to the people making me tear up while I'm smiling and thinking I'm so proud and thankful to be alive. Have a good day and lots of love.
@Brimstonebat
It’s my first time hearing music like this and I’m so attracted by it. I know exactly what your saying. No label no genre no nothing
@karlosdeevs
Gee, where the hell was 13yr old me when this charted, probably stuck on the Taio Cruz's, the Pitbull's, Flo Rida's, Tinchy Stryder's, Mike Posner's, and comeback Britney's.. i-mean folks who listened to 'em back then mightn'd want anything to do with it now. And i guess i'm no different but i still cherish it for it guided me into every other genre throughout this gr8 decade and the one's before. What i'm saying is those hits were all there for those moments, but it's gems like the Apparat's that stay for the lifetime. Peace
@WaukWarrior360
I was 16 that year. The meloncholia/nostalgia is real.
@nathanrose3752
Shoe gazing.
@aaron1888
never label music, when i was a kid i asked my grandmother what kind of music she liked and she said good music. i have given that same answer for about 35 years now
@Raphael-the-Writer
I love this genre. Always makes me feel like I'm in a dream....
@jonpower2686
You are
@lolgiacm
I just woke up, I was like "I had an amazing dream, let's search for 'dreams' on YouTube" and then I felt the urge to listen to Apparat. Hadn't listened their music for a couple of years, but here I am now. I know exactly how you feel. :)
@TheGrandpaCreative
Perfect to sex