Beauty in Chaos release the new video for the track titled ‘Stranger’ from ‘The Storm Before The Calm‘ album. This time around partnering with Holy Wars/Pep Squad member Kat Leon, BIC Curator Michael Ciravolo takes a mellow turn and really finds that special place between disarray and serenity. The chemistry between Michael and Kat is symbiotic in the fact that their talents within their craft complement each other on an almost spiritual level. The sustained guitar almost sings and answers Kat forming an interaction that is left to the imagination.
The video is an almost auspicious merger of the song and the meaning of giving the impression of slight sadness and subtle hope. Directed by Leslie Gladney, the video for ‘Stranger’, to me, is a subtle creative departure that further highlights what I have said in the past few months; Beauty in Chaos is in a state of change. This is the time to listen.
We recently asked Kat and Michael a few questions about ‘Stranger’ and more. Read on to get more of the details as well as what is coming up from Kat and Michael below!
HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE THE SONG AND THE VIDEO ‘STRANGER’?
Michael Ciravolo: I am going to defer to Ms, Leon on the lyrics as they are very personal and close to her. They do resonate deeply with me, and I am really happy that the musical soundscape Michael Rozon and I crafted led her down the path to writing this. To me, the video was meant to do convey a cinematic backdrop to her telling the story … her story.
Kat Leon: Stranger is a special song to me as it was the first song since my “Mother Father” EP in Holy Wars that touches on grief and life after loss. It has been a while since a song made me feel connected to expressing such deep and personal feeling again but when I heard this track by Beauty in Chaos, there wasn’t anything more fitting. This song focuses on the internal feeling of losing disconnection with myself and the struggle and search for finding my identity again through acceptance. This video gives an intimate look into this feeling.
WHAT WAS IT LIKE WORKING WITH EACH OTHER AND HOW DID THAT COME TO BE?
Michael Ciravolo: I was on YouTube watching a live clip of one of our longtime Schecter bands, Papa Roach, and it turns out her band, Holy Wars opened the show. I went down the YouTube ‘rabbit hole’ and got to a video of her and her guitarist, Nick Perez doing sort of a mash-up of NIN’s ‘Closer’ and Zeppelin’s ‘Whole Lotta Love’. I was certainly intrigued and dug further and really feel in love with her voice and lyrics on her songs. I simply reached out … and now we have ‘Stranger’!
Kat Leon: It was so easy to work with Michael. He is so supportive and gives a lot of freedom for me to create over something beautiful and I feel it was a perfect fit. I told him I wanted to write these lyrics that were so personal and he really made me feel comfortable to explore some of the saddest thoughts I have. We actually met online after a video I did where I covered a mashup of NIN’s “Closer” with Led Zeppelin’s “Whole lotta Love”. He was very complimentary of my performance and asked if I would be interested in singing on one of his tracks. And the rest was history. Since then, he has become like family to me and Holy Wars’ Nick Perez.
YOU BOTH HAVE A UNIQUE SOUND TOGETHER, DO YOU THINK IT’S POSSIBLE TO DO ANOTHER COLLABORATION IN THE FUTURE?
Michael Ciravolo: Like most of the BIC collaborations, this was pure creative joy. ‘Stranger’ came together really easy and natural. I strategically placed ‘Stranger’ as the album’s final cut, which to my ears ends this record perfectly. To jump ahead a bit, which is what my brain does, I plan this to lead into the next studio album which I would plan to be with all female singers. I would absolutely love to work with Kat again, maybe even this time on a heavier track.
Kat Leon: Definitely. In some ways, “Stranger” felt like its own thing on the album and so I would surely be interested in doing another collaboration in the future.
WHERE DO YOU THINK ‘STRANGER’ WILL GO CREATIVELY WHEN IT IS REMIXED FOR THE NEXT ALBUM?
Michael Ciravolo: To let a bit of the proverbial ‘cat’ out the bag, ‘Stranger’ has certainly been to the most requested song to remix from the new album. It is so open and can be taken in a lot of different directions. I actually just got a remix today from someone in a pretty big band that took it in sort of an ambient/trance route .. and it works beautifully. I think the remix styles will run the gamut on this one. We are already discussing a video concept with one of them.
Kat Leon: I can’t wait to hear what everyone’s interpretation of the song is but I am expecting to hear some dark, industrial vibes and some trailer epic sounds as well.
WHAT ARE YOU BOTH WORKING ON NOW BESIDES BIC?
Michael Ciravolo: I’ve been fortunate to have been invited by Wayne Hussey to part of the ReMission International project. This is a great bunch of artists, many who take up a large part of my record collection that have come together to record a version of The Mission classic ‘Tower Of Strength’, with 100% of monies earned going to Covid-19 charities. I never would have dreamed of being on a track with Gary Numan, Martin Gore, Midge Ure, Bill Duffy, Julianne Regan; and this is just a few involved. The song and a few cool remixes will be out on August 28th.
BIC producer Michael Rozon will be working next month with Silence In The Snow at our SAINTinLA Studio. They are a great dup that know you have covered. Cyn M. has asked me to possibly add some textures on the tracks, so that will be fun as I do really like the band. She and I have also started a song that will certainly be part of the ‘all-female’ concept I mentioned above.
Kat Leon: I am about to release a single called “IHATEMYSELF” in Holy Wars. A song that is been highly anticipated by our fans. We’ve been playing it live for the last year and has been the song everyone keeps asking us when it will be released so I am very excited to get this one out. I also released a solo EP under Kat Leon of a collection of songs for film and tv and debuted a project Pep Squad.
VIDEO CREDITS
Directed by Leslie Gladney
Filmed at Tiger Lab Studio, Van Nuys, CA
voice: Kat Leon
guitar: Michael CIravolo
statue woman: Sophia Ciravolo
‘Statue’ Makeup by Nicole Ciravolo
STUDIO CREDITS
Kat Leon: voices
Michael Ciravolo: guitars and textures
Michael Rozon: bass, piano, synth
Dirk Doucette: live drums
recorded, mixed and produced by Michael Rozon at SAINTinLA STUDIO
additional recording by Nick Perez
ABOUT ‘THE STORM BEFORE THE CALM’
Recorded at Ciravolo’s own SAINTinLA Studio, this album was recorded, mixed, and produced by Michael Rozon, Grammy-nominated for his work with Ministry.
Earlier, Beauty in Chaos previewed several tracks from this record, including ‘A Kind Cruelty’ featuring Curse Mackey (Pigface, My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult, Evil Mothers), ‘The Delicate Balance of All Things’ featuring The Mission frontman Wayne Hussey, and ‘Almost Pure’ featuring Steven Seibold of industrial-synth-punk legends Hate Dept. and the Martin Atkins-led Pigface. This album also features collaborations with Ashton Nyte (The Awakening), Rafe Pearlman, Kat Leon (Holy Wars), and mezzo-soprano Adrienne LaVey.
ABOUT BEAUTY IN CHAOS
Beauty in Chaos is the brainchild of guitarist Michael Ciravolo. Originally from New Orleans and now based in Los Angeles, he is best known as President of Schecter Guitar Research. He also played guitar in Human Drama for 30 years, in addition to playing live and recording with Michael Aston’s Gene Loves Jezebel since 1998.
“Undaunted and unscathed by the studio software/hardware meltdowns and the unprecedented global pandemic shutdown, here is our new album. I am in complete awe of the amazing artists; some returning, some new that have lent their voices and words to make this record possible. And I‘m eternally grateful to our growing BIC FAMILY that continue this journey with us,” says BIC curator mastermind Michael Ciravolo.
“To me, ‘The Storm Before The Calm’ represents a rewind and a fast-forward. Rewind to the ‘80s and the great albums that lived on my turntable, that set a mood, a vibe… even the feeling of temperature.. as well as a crystal ball, look into the next evolution of Beauty In Chaos. Beauty wrapped in chaos. Dark, but always, with a light”.
In 2018, Beauty in Chaos released their acclaimed debut album ‘Finding Beauty in Chaos’, followed by the ‘Beauty Re-Envisioned’ album (2019). Other BIC artists include Simon Gallup (The Cure), Al Jourgensen (Ministry), Robin Zander (Cheap Trick), Pete Parada (The Offspring), dUg Pinnick (Kings X), ICE-T (Body Count), producer Tim Palmer, guitar icon Zakk Wylde, Ashton Nyte (The Awakening), Kevin Haskins (Bauhaus, Love & Rockets), Rolan Bolan, Michael Anthony (Van Halen), Michael Aston (Gene Loves Jezebel), Paul Wiley (Marilyn Manson), Michael Aston and Dirk Doucette (Gene Loves Jezebel), Pando (A Flock of Seagulls), UMMAGMA, Evi Vine, Johnny Indovina (Human Drama), Danny Lohner (Nine Inch Nails, Marilyn Manson), Betsy Martin (Caterwaul / Purr Machine), Kevin Kipnis (Purr Machine) and KITTY LECTRO, among others.
LINKS:
https://www.beautyinchaosmusic.com
https://www.facebook.com/beautyinchaosmusic
https://www.instagram.com/beauty.inchaos
https://twitter.com/MichaelCiravolo
https://www.beautyinchaosmusic.com/music-store
https://www.beautyinchaosmusic.com/bic-blog
https://soundcloud.com/33-3-music-collective
https://beautyinchaos.bandcamp.com
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Greywind – Am I Asleep?
Greywind has released their new video for the track titled ‘Am I Asleep?’. Starting with that subtle burn of a hook and the lush vocals of Steph O’Sullivan on vocals and the brilliant guitar work of her brother Paul, ‘Am I Asleep?’ hits you right in the creative feels in such a way that it will stay with you and become a part of your musical conscious. This song is beautiful.
ABOUT GREYWIND
Making little secret of their ambitious global plans, Greywind is fast proving themselves as a force to be reckoned with. Raised in the Irish town of Killarney, their mutual passion for expansive, stadium-sized rock music has since propelled them beyond the confines of stifled opportunity and into realms of superstar potential.
Produced by Romesh Dodangoda (Bring Me The Horizon) the duo’s brand-new single, ‘Am I Asleep?’ bursts with textual, cinematic magnitude. The track’s sweeping post-rock soundscapes alternate between tender, evocative and aggressive. Steph O’Sullivan’s voice is the magic ingredient that elevates Greywind into another dimension. And don’t miss the epic accompanying video, see here.
Greywind: “During the writing process for ‘Am I Asleep?’, we were heavily inspired by movies. We’ve always aimed to bring a cinematic sound to our music and visuals, and we wanted to expand on that more than ever.”
Formed by siblings Steph (vocals) and Paul O’Sullivan (guitar), Greywind are an alternative rock duo from Killarney, Ireland. Armed with a powerful mission statement, painstaking years calling out to be noticed were condensed into a single week, when the first song they uploaded to SoundCloud was picked up by Zane Lowe and Daniel P Carter on Radio 1, a deluge of industry interest followed, and a bidding war with all the major record labels.
The band’s eventual 2017 debut album, Afterthoughts would go on to address the dark heart of the human condition and lay out the foundations for the band’s thirst for stardom. Recorded at Sonic Ranch Studios in Texas with Grammy-award-winning producer, Jason Perry, the album was released through Universal and charted in the Official UK Rock Charts on the day of their sold-out debut headline show in London.
In 2020, Greywind toured with the American rock band, Palaye Royale, and was selected to perform for the US Embassy. They’ve also played some of the biggest stages around the world, including Reading and Leeds Festival, Isle of Wight Festival, Download Festival, Rock Am Ring, and have supported the likes of You Me At Six, Thrice, and The Coronas. Greywind has been heavily backed by BBC Radio 1, Zane Lowe, and MTV.
LINKS:
https://greywindband.com
https://twitter.com/greywindband
https://instagram.com/greywindband
https://www.facebook.com/greywind
https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QFfYJq7jdx8GnVrePpZm4?si=oJgIZGaoSiaDjO4l9YkqKg -
Slowness – Rose
Dreamy gazey indie space rockers Slowness present their new single ‘Rose’, the first taste of their long-awaited ‘Berths’ album. Schoolkids Records will be releasing the long-play on vinyl, as well as digitally, in June.
As for all Slowness releases, this record was produced by Monte Vallier (Weekend, The Soft Moon, Wax Idols). Side A was engineered by Dave Voigt (Luna, John Cale, Yo La Tengo, Alex Chilton) at his Beyond Notes studio in Brooklyn. Side B was done with Vallier at Ruminator Audio in San Francisco.
This release follows up their 2014 album ‘How to Keep from Falling off a Mountain’ and 2013 album ‘For Those Who Wish to See the Glass Half Full’.
Slowness runs mostly mid-tempo, sometimes fast and occasionally slow. As for this new record, it is purposefully slow, sounding like a hybrid between classic Slowdive, early-Cure and mid-period Neil Young. Often labeled shoegaze or dream pop with elements of slowcore, psych rock, and even Krautrock, this music is perhaps best referred to as drone-pop. Imagine Spacemen 3 teaming up with Murmur-era R.E.M. with female harmonies.
“This is a very personal record. It’s taken a while to make for several reasons. When we started recording during the summer of 2014, we knew wanted a slower, heavier record to reflect the current American grain,” says Geoffrey Scott.
“We tend to think everything’s gone bad since the last election and sometimes forget that that election was 30 years in the making. So we set out to capture that, but then the whole concept probably took a turn when Julie and I decided to end our 11-year relationship as a couple. So the political became blurred with the personal, and the lyrics probably reflect that. In fact, all three members of Slowness were going through a major breakup during the making of this record.”
Formed in 2008 in San Francisco, Julie Lynn and Geoffrey Scott started recording demos, crossing and tripping over wires from the pod to the four-track recorder. In 2009, they enlisted Erik Karl on drums to help turn those demos into the songs that would become their 2011 debut EP ‘Hopeless but Otherwise’.
Eventually, Lynn and Scott were joined by drummer Christy Davis, who has been playing for over 30 years with a wide variety of NYC artists, including Beastie Boy Adam Horovitz, downtown avant-garde artist Rebecca Moore, and political activist Reverend Billy.
“Christy’s drumming helped change our sound significantly. She helped open everything up. With her we were able to record these songs as live, single takes more than we ever have before. This made Monte happy when it came to both recording and mixing, not because it made his life easier, but because he thought it served the music better,” says Julie Lynn.
As of April 3, ‘Rose’ is available across online stores like iTunes and streaming platforms like Spotify. The full ‘Berths’ album will be released on June 7. Their record release show will take place on June 12 at the Make-Out Room in San Francisco with support from Steilacoom and Forest Bees.
LINKS:
http://slownessmusic.com
https://slowness.bandcamp.com
https://www.facebook.com/slownessmusic
https://twitter.com/slownessmusic
https://instagram.com/slownessmusic
https://www.youtube.com/slownessmusic
https://soundcloud.com/slownessmusic
https://itunes.apple.com/mt/artist/slowness/415521709
https://open.spotify.com/artist/1GJER0KO8CLQK1VpI6mCdy?si=G2cZKXx8TfawFtcBUBppBw -
Dave Grohl – PLAY
‘Play’ by Dave Grohl celebrates the rewards and challenges of dedicating one’s life to Playing and mastering a musical instrument. Part one opens with narrated behind the scenes footage featuring a discussion of the love of Playing music and the lifelong relationship with an instrument, and detailing the process and challenges of recording and filming this unique performance. ‘Play’ film then segues to the titular 23-minute, one-man-band instrumental recording on which Grohl Plays all seven instruments on the track, all live.