Face to Face – Ignorance is Bliss vinyl reissue

Antagonist Records has reissued the classic Face to Face album Ignorance is Bliss on vinyl (for the first time ever!) in celebration of its 20th anniversary.

Immediately controversial when it was released in 1999, Ignorance is Bliss caused a schism among Face to Face fans who were unprepared for the band’s change of direction.  Known for their snappy SoCal pop-punk sound, the band had entered the studio (with me as co-producer, engineer and mixer) intent on breaking out of that narrow niche.  We labored together at length (and at great expense to the band members themselves) to meticulously craft a bold, densely-layered, creatively produced hard rock album.  The backlash from fans was severe.

Over time, though, Ignorance is Bliss gained a devoted following as fans gradually rediscovered its artistic strengths.  To this day, a subset of Face to Face fans holds the album up as their very favorite.  Although it remains controversial, it has earned its status as a classic in their catalogue.

The vinyl reissue is available in three limited edition colorways direct from Antagonist, while stocks last.

New video: Real Space Noise – Utopian

After a very long time in development, I’m thrilled to announce the first REAL SPACE NOISE releases in 13 years: The new album EMPTY AND POINTLESS and instrumental companion EP LOST SCIENCE, both of which will be released October 4, 2019.

Today I’m unveiling the video for the first single, “Utopian.” YouTubeVimeo

Visit realspacenoise.com for pre-order links and more information.

EMPTY AND POINTLESS
LOST SCIENCE

Face to Face – Live / Trever Keith – Melancholics Anonymous vinyl reissues

Two long-anticipated vinyl reissues (of records I worked on!) are now available from Antagonist Records.

The classic Face to Face album Live, originally released in 1998, has been repressed in a deluxe 20th anniversary double-LP edition, in three colors.  Visit the Antagonist Records site for details and ordering.

The live album was the first Face to Face record I worked on (following our anomalous remix collaboration for the Mortal Kombat: Annihilation soundtrack album), beginning a series of creative adventures with the band and its individual members that continues today (see Viva Death – Illuminate).

I mixed the tracks for Live, with Trever and Scott producing, at The Complex studios in West L.A.

For its 10th anniversary, Trever Keith’s 2008 solo album Melancholics Anonymous has been pressed on vinyl for the first time ever, in a limited orange vinyl edition with redesigned artwork.  Visit the Antagonist Records site for details and ordering.

Sonically and emotionally unrestrained, Melancholics Anonymous is considered by many Face to Face fans the successor to the band’s 1999 art rock masterpiece Ignorance is Bliss.  Trever’s distinctive melodic style and voice are in top form here, wrapped in rich layers of heavily effected guitars and drums, electric piano, vintage synths and drumboxes, and copious magnetic echo machines.

Trever and I co-produced the album, I did some drum programming, recorded in various studios in and around Los Angeles, and mixed at The Eye Socket.  Listen here:

The Bellwether Syndicate – new single “Republik”

The Bellwether Syndicate (William Faith and “Scary Lady” Sarah Rose Faith) have released the new single “Republik” to kick off their North American tour supporting Clan of Xymox. I co-produced and mixed at The Eye Socket.

The track is a gothic glam banger, at turns brooding and explosive, a spirited call to action well timed for election season.  Listen through the player at left or visit their Bandcamp page.

Depeche Mode’s remarkable 1980s non-album singles and B-sides

My introduction to British electronic band Depeche Mode was through the video for the brilliant single Everything Counts, from their 1983 album Construction Time Again.  It was strikingly unlike anything I’d heard before and made me an instant fan.  To this day they’re one of my favorite bands.  Very few artists in popular music have created such a singularly distinctive sound, or sustained such a prolific and distinguished career.

In the 80s I devoted unreasonable proportions of my hard-won teenager’s income to obsessively collecting every release in Depeche Mode’s catalog (as best a suburban California kid could do, pre-internet) which led to uncovering quite a lot of lesser-known gems.  As the band are currently promoting a series of boxed sets of reissued singles from their early career, I’m struck by how much of their best work in the 80s could only be found on singles.

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