Music
 
Freezepop Hip enough for hipsters but nerdy enough for nerds, Freezepop are back with a new batch of songs that you won’t be able to get out of your head. The new EP Maxi Ultra•Fresh features some stellar remixes, live tracks, the brand new song “Smoke Machine,” as well as a few tracks from Fancy Ultra•Fresh, their second full-length album. Fancy Ultra•Fresh, which also includes video and interactive multimedia content, was released in 2004 by the Archenemy Record Company and charted in the CMJ top 50. Freezepop recently won “Best Song” honors in the 2005 Independent Music Awards (for “Stakeout,” Dance/Electronica category). They have a sizeable cult following from songs featured in six video games, including two new titles, Dance Dance Revolution Ultramix3 and Guitar Hero. Currently, Freezepop are hard at work on their third album. Band members Liz Enthusiasm (vocalist/fashion plate), the Duke of Pannekoeken (programmer extraordinaire), and the Other Sean T. Drinkwater (synths/vocoder/wacky hijinks) are based in Boston and have been playing together since 1999. Their debut album, Freezepop Forever, was released domestically by Archenemy in 2001, and was licensed for worldwide release by Elefant, a Spanish indiepop label. The band have also released several EPs of new material and remixes by the Future Bible Heroes, Soviet, and Stephan Groth (Apoptygma Berzerk/Fairlight Children). They have toured throughout the U.S. and Europe, and have played at the Outsider Electronic Music festival, as well as with such artists as Cibo Matto, Add N to (X), Momus, and Princess Superstar. A typical day in the life of a Freezepop song: Liz wakes up at the crack of dawn and begins brewing a fresh pot of lyrics, sometimes innocent, sometimes less-than-innocent, and sometimes in another language and making very little sense. Meanwhile, the Duke drops the blippy drums off at school and swings by the cleaners to get the synthpads chorused up for the dinner party. later in the day, the Other Sean is out walking the vocoder and stops by the delicatessen for a fat bass sandwich. Later that evening after a long day, the Duke tucks song into bed and goes to read the latest issue of Scientific American. Crypto-Candida features three tracks by Freezepop: “Outer Space,” “Get Ready 2 Rokk,” and “Tender Lies.” Freezepop’s Web Site Rob Byrd Since 2001 Boston-based guitar player Rob Byrd has been performing improvised ambient music in a wide variety of settings from the legendary CBGB’s in New York City to the Burning Man festival in the Nevada desert. Fascinated by how sounds exist in time and space, he treats electric guitar with various signal processing equipment to spawn sonic pieces that are shaped by the location at which they are being performed and by the energies of those present. The aim is to create a shared experience of reflection and meditation which resonates between performer, venue, and audience, but can also be enjoyed purely on a musical level as well. ‘Bells of Tomorrow’, his first release on Rootsucker Records, is representative of the live guitar performances but also contains an additional element of treated found sounds to enhance and expand the textural range and flavor of the music. Tones both pure and dirty, atmospheres of expansive plateaus and tiny ponds, moods of elation and sadness all meld in attempt to echo the rich grit of life, and the full spectrum of feelings that accompany the journey back to joy from a place of despondence. Byrd is honored and pleased that a number of Reiki Masters, yoga teachers, and massage therapists have picked up on the healing patterns in the music and use it to accompany their treatments. ‘Every sound has a beginning and an end, as does every moment of sadness and joy’. Rob composed and performed the distinctive original score for most of the scenes in Crypto-Candida that take place in the Nothing. Rob Byrd’s page at Rootsucker Records Symbion Project for the last 15 years, symbion project has been the ongoing electronic music endeavor of k*ss*n. with most of his time spent composing & performing with his synthpop band, freezepop & his last band, splashdown, symbion project has long simmered in the background. the first full length cd "red" came out in 1997 followed by "immortal game" released on the synthpop label ninthwave records, with artwork by stoltze design. not being one to be pinned down stylistically, symbion project has continued to embed differing styles of electronic music into its overall aesthetic. early symbion project incorporated elements of instrumental techno & trance, along with spastik drum & bass programming. songs on "immortal game" slowed dramatically into hypnotic down-tempo, reminiscent of boards of canada & dj shadow, with haunting synths & vangelis-esque ambient soundscapes. "immortal game" also features guest vocalists, like melissa of splashdown (all things remix) & leah callahan of betwixt (pawn to king 4), alongside the instrumentals. the newest album, entitled "wound up by god or the devil," is slated to be released in fall of 2006. symbion project was featured in the sony ps2 videogames freQuency & sequel amplitude where you can interact, construct, & remix symbion project songs like "funky dope maneuver" & "freQout" & "synthesized." k*ss*n wrote additional songs for the games under the pseudonyms komputer kontroller, dj hmx, & cosmonaut zero. symbion project has also been heavily involved in remixes over the last few years, for bands such as depeche mode, lamb, & delerium. Crytpo-Candida features three symbion project tracks: “the infinite number of truths yet to be discovered,” “our breath shall intermix,” and “snog (pretty remix)”. symbion project’s web site Ultra Plush Ultra Plush is built on the surface of alternative and psychedelic rock. Ambient atmospheres, alternate realities and massive rhythms oscillate the listener through the threshold of the raw into epic soaring soundscapes, glistening the heights of the ethereal. Influenced by the morbidity of the darkwave/goth scene and an Aquarian optimism the band displays a balance of Yin and Yang energy. Weaving a musical spell at Salems Vampire Masquerade Ball, playing in the woods of Vermont through a thunderous rainstorm or enchanting audiences at local rock clubs, Ultra Plush continues to explore the Sonick world. Ultra Plush is Eric Love and Amy Geszvain on guitar and vocals, Richard Maddalo on drums, and Sandra Levesque on bass. Eric recorded two original pieces on guitar, based on themes he developed with Ultra Plush, for the “Irene’s Dream” segment of Crypto-Candida. As the character Morpho, Eric also sings the song “A Moment More” a capella later in the film. Ultra Plush’s Web Site http://www.freezepop.nethttp://rootsuckerrecords.com/artists/robbyrd/http://www.symbionproject.comhttp://www.ultraplush.netshapeimage_3_link_0shapeimage_3_link_1shapeimage_3_link_2shapeimage_3_link_3