Electromatrix Records ìAwakenî Hits Stores November 6th, The First Electronic Music Album To Utilize 5.1 DVD Surround Sound, Album Features Rabbit In The Moon, Divine Styler, King Britt And More!

17-Jan-02

Youíve always known it. You experience music through more than your ears; you experience the thrill of a gut-wrenching bass, the electricity along the back of your neck during a transcendent high. More than your ear, your entire body is attuned to sound, reacting to it, resonating with its energy.Electromatrix Recordsí DVD and CD release Awaken is a full-contact listening revelation. Set for release in November, it features 12 visionary compositions by Rabbit in the Moon, Apl, Divine Styler, King Britt, Poet Name Life and others, the music of Awaken is delivered via six independent audio channels, allowing arrangements impossible with traditional equipment and instrumentation. More than what the artist might hear, DVD surround sound offers what the drum hears, what the microphone feels - the very threads weaving the sonic tapestry. Awaken also features multi-format video and audio clips, interviews, and thumping, sweat-inducing visuals.Executive Producer Richard Dashut, well known for his work on Fleetwood Macís classic Rumors album, has seen other attempts to create immersive sound. ìPeople have tried to expand the listening experience before, but the technology was too primitive. With DVD, we can finally deliver a product that takes us beyond stereo, into something completely and truly stunning.îBut what makes Awaken special is that its technology is more than matched by its artistry. ìThink of this DVD technology as a tool, a paintbrush,î continues Dashut. ìIn ordinary hands it paints a house. In the hands of genius, it produces a masterpiece. So when it came time for Awaken, I thought ëletís take this technology, hand it to the most artistically dynamic composers we can find, and see what happens.íîWhat happened was Awaken, an album of incomparable energy, beauty, and diversity. From Divine Stylerís ìTerraformî onward, Awaken pulsates with the creative motions of exploration and discovery. Many of these artists are better known in the music industry than to the public at large, as producers, collaborators, and DJs. Co-producer Peter Torres smiles, ìThere was a lot of interest in the project. We could have featured higher profile names, but we wanted artists who could best use this technology. Itís not easy - just because an artist is successful in an old format, it doesnít mean that they will be successful in the new. Like when movies first had sound, Hollywood changed because the new technology demanded a new breed of artist.îPoet Name Life is such an artist. The composer/musician/producer was asked not only to contribute to Awaken, but to coordinate the music for the entire project. ìPoet made this album,î says Torres, ìwhen you hear the album, each track seems to embrace the next, but theyíre also totally independent visions and statements. It seems impossible, but then again, thatís Poet.îìI spent a long time visualizing what I wanted this album to be,î says Poet. ìAwaken is the first album completely conceived in surround sound - weíre making more than an album, weíre making history. I want our kids to pick this album up, smile, and go, ëso this is where it all beganÖîìI knew some artists would be featured - Rabbit in the Moon was like, ëWeíve been waiting for this for so long,í Others were a complete surprise - like ëthis came from who?í But each track was selected because it offered something transcendent - a music that was too intricate, too dynamic, too powerful for traditional CDs.îAnd yet, Awaken is more than music. Although he often works with musicians and DJs, this is graffiti and spray can artist KOFIEís first opportunity to create the visuals for an entire album. To the project, the painter brought his own, uncompromising philosophy and style. ìLight moves faster than sound,î says KOFIE. ìRegardless of whether itís a computer screen, an art gallery, or a brick wall, images and color are what first impressions are made of. It has to be good, and it has to be real. At first, I wasnít sure of how it would go - thatís how I create, I always leave room for the music - but as I listened to the tracks, I just cut loose, because I knew this was going to be special.îAccompanying the music and images are multimedia videos, clips, and interviews supplied by DVD producer A.J. Lara. Dashut says, ìA.J.ís simply the best. With all of Awakenís great artists, the project needed someone familiar with the technology to take the elements and bring them into focus. And A.J. did a tremendous job.îìI wanted Awaken to be like a neighborhood,î says A.J. ìA place you can explore to over and over. A DVD holds almost 15 times more information than a CD, so thereís room in there for all sorts of stuff.îWhen asked what that ìstuffî might be, A.J. grins, ìYouíll seeÖîPoet, A.J., Torres, and KOFIE credit Dashut for letting them create Awaken. Dashut in turn says, ìWhen I first told John Trickett (CEO of Electromatrix parent company 5.1 Entertainment Group) about this project, he believed in us and the concept. That kind of professional trust is so rewarding,î he smiles as he continues, ìalmost as rewarding as seeing his reaction and the reaction of other listeners when they Awaken to what these amazing artists have done.îLook for Awaken, to be released on both DVD and CD on in November by Electromatrix Records, and welcome to the new world.

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