Artist: Becoming the Archetype
Title: Celestial Progression
Label: Solid State Records
Release date: 4/17/2012
Track Listing:
1. Breathing Liquid (Born of Water Remix)
2. We Ride (Giant Robot Remix)
3. Invisible Sitar (Giant Robot Remix)
4. Elemental Bond (Giant Robot Remix)
5. Space Refraction (Giant Robot Remix)
6. Magnetic World (Giant Robot Remix)
I was very excited when I first read the title of the post “ Becoming the Archetype Remix Album” several weeks ago. The first thing that came to mind was “Sweet, they’re going to redo a few recent tracks and mix in Chris’ vocals so we can get a little teaser of what to expect on the new album(s).” So I’d be lying if I were a little disappointed at first when I found out that they were “non metal” mixes. Flashes of Necrotizing Fasciitis with “(Big Chocolate Remix)” after it and/or “(feat. Skillrex)” raced through my mind. So I was extremely happy when I got the promos unexpectedly from Solid State and found out that that didn’t happen. I had to ask my buddy Seth Hecox some questions regarding the release:
How long have you guys been thinking of doing this and what was the reason for it?
I’ve been getting into electronica music more and more over the last couple years. I’ve made friends in that scene and it just so happened that I had two sets of friends that were very skilled at production and the mixing/remixing aspect of music. I asked them if they’d be interested in trying their hand at remixing BTA songs and they all said yes. I told the “remixers” to make the songs their own and turn them into their own thing. If they heard something in a song, I said go for it.
Were you all in agreement in doing this or were there any skeptics or naysayers among you?
Well, to be honest, it was just me powering this project through and everyone else seemed ok with it when I mentioned it. The “remixers” were my friends and I pursued my idea with the label and sort of pushed it through. The label just kinda let me do what I wanted, which was cool. They’re very good at understanding what the situation is and if I’ve got a vision for what I want, they often ask me what I want to do and then they go for it if it’s financially feasible. This project was done easily because there wasn’t a ton of cost involved and everything just seemed to fall into place.
Who remixed these tracks and how/why did you pick them?
Giant Robot remixed 6 tracks, 5 of which are on the EP. He chose the tracks to remix and he’s a good friend of ours. He was the guy that recorded sitar on our album and his name is Sean Patrick Murphy. The first track as remixed by Born of Water, an electronica team out of Nashville that has some pretty sweet jams that you can find online. Those two guys are really good at this kind of stuff and although they only did one track, I think it sounds superb and that’s why it’s the first track on the EP. Their names are Tom Dyer and Jonathan Spear.
So now into the nuts and bolts of this EP. This EP can be summed up in two words “Chill Metal” or “BBQ Metal.” It is relaxing, “trancy” and something I could play while grilling some food this summer. I was happy that for the most part if not all the remixing was just on the musical side and not on the vocals. Giant Robot did a great job in my opinion of mixing/contrasting some mellowed out guitars and drums and yet keeping the aggressive nature and tone in Jason’s vocals. I was worried that they’d chop up, stutter some of his screams, and go full out dance. I’m happy to say that this EP isn’t going to play at Studio 54 or a rave (do these things still exist?). I enjoyed all the songs, but I really enjoyed “Space Refraction” the most because it was the most aggressive of the tracks. To me the only track that really didn’t fit in was “Invisible Sitar;” however, it makes total sense that it’s on this EP given the history.
The bottom line with Celestial Progression: this was a good experiment that I believe will please current BTA fans and maybe gains them some fans on the lighter side of music (I came to this conclusion when my wife actually enjoyed most of this EP during a recent road trip). I’m not an electronica fan, but I have definitely enjoyed chilling out to this music over the past few weeks, and I also realized how much I’m going to miss Jason but look forward to Chris ripping up the vocals on the next album.
**Yes I realize I didn’t score this album. I don’t score EP’s