As Escape the Clouds, Mark Rossmore tells steampunk stories through music and words. Capturing sounds and influences from the world over, he combines them with modern songwriting and techniques. On the new album Until the End, these global, industrial, and electronic soundscapes collide in dramatic, multi-faceted songs, each telling of colorful people and fantastic events that never existed outside of imagination. What if they were real? How could their stories be told - and how would they sound? Those are the questions Mark seeks to answer with every song. In Circumnavigator, the steampunk theme permeates every song. Fantastical times and characters live through the instrumentation, the lyrics, the general concept. For the first time, he introduced vocals into the songs. Six of the twelve songs aboard the album feature sung or spoken word vocals. It is all an evolution from EtC's first album, Bring the Rain, an all-instrumental set released in early 2009. A transitional collection of songs, the 13-track album builds a bridge between EtC's earlier electronic rock style and the newer steampunk influence. Origins: Mark has written songs for many years as a solo artist and was the bassist and programmer for several bands in the Miami, FL area before moving to the Florida panhandle. After taking a hiatus from music for some time, he began writing and producing songs again in early 2007. When that renewed passion mixed with his newfound love of steampunk in 2008, Escape the Clouds was born. Influences: Amongst the artists and works Mark finds most influential are: Nine Inch Nails, Cirque du Soleil, Stabbing Westward, Rachid Taha, Yoko Kanno, Juno Reactor, and Asian Dub Foundation. His love for the spoken word format found its genesis in Golden Palominos' Dead Inside, Nicole Blackman's poetry and performances, and Alan Wilder's Recoil project. Other musicans of whom Mark is a fan include: Michael Franti, K'Naan, Blue Man Group, Yoshida Brothers, Nujabes, VAST, Rasputina, Bob Marley, Kidneythieves, Garbage, 30 Seconds to Mars, Black Light Burns, Shakira, Abney Park, Rage Against the Machine, William Orbit, Skunk Anansie, the Unreal Tournament soundtrack, Dr. Steel, Tool, Xavier Rudd, Raquy and the Cavemen, and many, many more. Other Work: Mark is also a published author of both fiction and non-fiction work. Learn more about his writing work here. The above was lifted from http://www.escapetheclouds.com/artist.cfm, which appears to be his website. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.