Chromatics
Electronica / Disco
After five years, two albums and five singles, losing six members
while touring the U.S. repeatedly, Chromatics have successfully
distorted into a solid concept. Taking a cross section from 70's
horror films, a fixation with ancient societies, and a love for
percussive electronic music, founding member, Adam Miller, hooked up with Johnny Jewel in the summer of 2004 to start working on the third Chromatics album. The main goal apparently being, ...to not sound like any record weve done before... The following months saw the releases of the "Healer/Witness 12", the "Nite" Ep/Cd, and a trio of limited self released CDR's. During the summer of 2006, Chromatics
welcomed Ruth Radelet on lead vocals, and Nat Walker on percussion
and saxophone.
In spring 2007 Chromatics release the official version of "In the
City" on a 12" single. Bootlegs of the demo version have been
circulating across dance floors and internet radio all year. The
single features a radical remix of the song using a slow 808 beat fit
for a rap freestyle juxtaposed against a sparse piano arpeggio fit
for a European zombie flic. On the B-side, the band throws in a cover
of the Bruce Springsteen classic, "I'm on Fire." "In The City" is the
lead single from their forthcoming double album, "Shining Violence",
released this fall on Troubleman Unlimited Recordings. The album
features Ruth sharing the spotlight with occasional bursts of
vocoder. While the group experiments equally with outsider Electro
and melodramatic string arrangements, she sings a tense lullaby not
unlike Mia Farrow in Komeda's theme from Rosemary's Baby.
In a live setting, Chromatics keep it minimal. The synthesizers
handle the Cosmic elements, the guitar takes care of the moodier
edge, and the drums are stripped down to a dirty disco for dancing.
What's the end result? Well, to quote the group's own blog on
myspace, "Imagine if Michael McDonald accidentally crashed his yacht
into a disco off the shores of Italy while staring into the horse
head nebula."
-Daria Sylvetti 2007
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