We Are Temporary
Brooklyn, New York, United States | Established. Jan 01, 2013 | INDIE
Music
Press
“The result is a lot darker and weirder, but no less anthemic. The song’s lyrics take on a newer, more haunting quality in light of Kesha's legal troubles. Now, the message of hedonism and carpe noctem seem either prophetic or tragically ironic.” - Refinery 29
Haunting... A spacey mix of dark-wave and electronic goth that’s heavy on atmospherics, with effects that sound as if they might just evaporate like paint thinner - The Village Voice
"Otherworldly and downright gritty" - Under The Radar Magazine
“As unsettling as it is engrossing... hints at the transitional state between waking and sleeping, coming together for an almost nightmarish trip” - COMPLEX
“The result is a melancholic, witch housey take, that focuses on Kesha's vocals, and wunderkind songwriting skills.” - PAPER Magazine
“Riding high on his latest single” - Yahoo! Music
“The video's power is hard to stomach, but its absolutely necessary. As Kesha herself has pointed out, her case speaks to silenced victims the world over. The only way we'll start creating change is to start saying 'No more'.” - .Mic
“Catchy electronic pop” - Brooklyn Vegan
“Stunning… throbbing with sultry passion, offering up a host of inventive blasts of dense instrumentation before suddenly feeling as light as a breeze” - Gold Flake Paint
“Visually striking, the video is a visual remix of footage taken from Nadine Asmar & Georges Hazim’s psychological thriller short film Dans Mon Cocon, all set against industrial drum machine funk and Mark’s emotional new wave/goth-styled vocals.” - The 405
“Haunting, mesmerizing, magical… the result is simply overwhelming” - Against the Odds
Using a dark production style [We Are Temporary] provokes feelings of mortality and melancholy… heartbreaking and deeply troubling. - Cuepoint
“Dark and foreboding... a fitting first song from a debut album that explores the crossing from life to un-life” - Northern Transmissions
This is music that despite being very pretty at times, is not for the faint of heart. - Bitcandy
"We Are Temporary creates tenebrous, synth-adorned pieces of passion and pain" - Cassette-Rewind
"We Are Temporary creates a world of gloom draped in lush textures of industrial electronica that sound soothing and somber at the same time. (...) This disc is a modern day equivalent of ‘80s goth. - The Daily Vault
“Lyrics like old love notes… smeared like tears on running eye-liner” - IMPOSE Magazine
“One of the most real artists you will ever have the pleasure to experience” - Floorshime Blog
“Stark electronica with a very vulnerable human heart” - POP LIB
“An incredible release that everyone should check out” - Earbuddy
“Simultaneously brutal and brittle; lyrics scathe like steelo over jagged synths and rhythms” - Cheese On Toast
“A sense of epic, but touching greatness” - Deer Du Bois
"Endearing, desperate, and progressively disheartening, We Are Temporary's eclectic angst-ridden brainchild gushes with affection and demands to be heard" - Regen Magazine
"His debut EP Afterthoughts is a statement, so deeply personal it makes you uncomfortable at first, and then sympathetic, perhaps even sad. We Are Temporary, exposes what could be Roberts’ very own diary pages, hidden in the attic for years. His lyrics are laid down over beautiful beats, and loops, and merge into unsettling songs. Despite all its lyrical heaviness and feeling of isolation it is in fact beautiful." - I Am Not A Musician
We Are Temporary is much, much more claustrophobic. It’s aggressive musically, but the lyrics betray a real fragility. Roberts’ explorations of textures and rhythm are confronting, but it’s an extremely rewarding album. - Under The Radar (NZ)
A healthy helping of darkwave, goth pop, and ambient synth won’t have you sulking in the corner. A majority of We Are Temporary’s sound is highly danceable, thanks to the pulsing synths mixed within the dark soundscapes. - The Record Stache
Discography
2016 - Crossing Over [debut album]
2014 - I Can't Breathe (In Memory of Eric Garner) [single]
2014 - Gods & Monsters (Lana Del Rey cover) [single]
2014 - Machine Love (feat. Misfit Mod) [single]
2013 - Afterthoughts [EP]
Photos
Bio
We Are Temporary, the wired and weird brainchild of Brooklyn’s Mark Roberts, is as much the result of a musical obsession as a philosophical one. With boldly confessional lyrics and vocal deliveries funneled through nightfall beats and orchestral synths, We Are Temporary draws from a wide range of influences in contemporary electronic music, future beats, dream pop, witch house, post-rock, vintage industrial, minimal techno, and classical music. Featured in outlets such as Noisey, Refinery 29, PAPER Magazine, Yahoo!, The Village Voice, Complex, Brooklyn Vegan, and Under The Radar, his sound and production sensibilities having been compared to bands such as Fever Ray, Crystal Castles, M83, Bat For Lashes, Gazelle Twin, Skinny Puppy, and “Depeche Mode at there most raw”.
Since We Are Temporary’s 2013 debut Afterthoughts EP, Roberts has been busy releasing a song in memory of Eric Garner that premiered with a lengthy interview in The Village Voice, collaborating with label-mate Misfit Mod, covering Lana Del Rey’s “Gods & Monsters”, and sharing numerous remixes of Kesha, Kelela, Bart Skils, Maceo Plex, Ruane Maurice, Empathy Test, and more.
In February 2016, We Are Temporary released his debut album Crossing Over via Brooklyn's Stars & Letters label. His remix of Kesha’s massive hit “Die Young” received a lot of attention, as well, with Roberts' stripping out all of Dr. Luke’s production as a testament of unity with the singer. His heavy-hitting and dark approach to “Die Young” premiered with PAPER Magazine, and a day later the popular fashion and beauty website, Refinery 29, featured the track saying “the result is a lot darker and weirder, but no less anthemic.”
In May 2016 We Are Temporary toured Germany, where he performed at the world’s most significant dark music gathering, the Wave Gotik Treffen in Leipzig, and supported artists as diverse as The Legendary Pink Dots and The Downtown Boys.
We Are Temporary is now signed to Trisol—one of the world’s most significant cult labels for dark music and home to artists like ASP, Clan Of Xymox, Die Form, Dope Stars Inc., Emilie Autumn, London After Midnight, Project Pitchfork, and more.
Band Members
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