Celldweller
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| Celldweller | |
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| Background information | |
| Origin | Detroit, Michigan, USA |
| Genre(s) | Electronic rock, industrial metal, nu metal |
| Years active | 1999 – present |
| Label(s) | FIXT Music |
| Associated acts | Circle of Dust Argyle Park Criss Angel |
| Website | Celldweller.com |
| Members | |
| Klayton | |
Celldweller is a Detroit, United States based band that was created by Klayton (formerly created music as the 90's project Circle of Dust), who writes all of the music and performs the majority of vocals and instruments on studio recordings. Celldweller has previously performed live with Klayton (vocals, guitar, keyboard, percussion, programming) and a full line-up of backing musicians. The band's sound can be described as electronic rock that incorporates elements from rock, heavy metal, techno, and electronica.
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[edit] Biography
[edit] Limited Edition EP
In 1999, Klayton released a 250-copy limited edition of a self-titled EP featuring 5 tracks ("Symbiont", "Own Little World", "Fadeaway", "Beginning of the End", "Kemikal"). The first three tracks were demos of songs that were later completed and released on the self-titled debut CD. The last two tracks were later made available on the double CD set The Beta Cessions.
[edit] Eponymous Debut
The self-titled debut LP Celldweller was released in 2003 on record label Esion Media (currently known as FIXT Music) and Position Music after being sold exclusively via the internet on Celldweller's own website and CD Baby, then later on iTunes. The album debuted at #17 on Billboard's Internet Sales Chart. In 2004, the album took home five awards at the Just Plain Folks Music Awards, winning Album of the Year, Producer of the Year, Industrial Album of the Year, Metal Song of the Year ("One Good Reason", the instrumental version of which is available on the Need for Speed: Most Wanted soundtrack) and Best Industrial Rock Song ("Switchback"), and also took runner-up in Best Industrial Song (to its own song) with "Stay with Me (Unlikely)" and Best Rock Song with "I Believe You".
Every song on Celldweller has been licensed at least once for a movie, video game or another form of media with titles including Doom, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, Supercross, XXX: State of the Union, Spider-Man 2, Constantine, Catwoman, The Punisher, Paycheck, Timeline, Mindhunters, National Security, Bad Boys II, Redline (film), Project Gotham Racing 3, NHL 2003, Enter the Matrix, XGRA: Extreme-G Racing Association, The Hills Have Eyes 2, Crackdown, Need for Speed: Most Wanted, America's Next Top Model and Pimp My Ride. This is a feat that has been accomplished by only two other artists; Moby and The Crystal Method.
[edit] The Beta Cessions
A two-disc LP titled The Beta Cessions was released in 2004. The first CD contains new recordings (such as a re-recorded version of the final Circle of Dust song "Goodbye" and two earlier alternate versions of the song "Switchback" with different lyrics) as well as remixes and demo versions of songs from the debut album. The second CD includes slightly reworked instrumental versions of each song from the debut album.
[edit] Digital Releases
On October 4, 2005, Celldweller released "Frozen (DJ RiB Mix)" and "Goodbye (Klayton Revision)" to iTunes and other companies that sell music over the internet. Although artwork was made for the release, there was no official CD release. The remix of Frozen is also available on the double-CD compilation "Dark Trance vs Neo Goth V1 / Nonstop Mix" (2005).
On November 8, 2005, Celldweller released "Shapeshifter" to iTunes and other companies that sell music over the internet. This song features the vocals of alternative rap group Styles of Beyond. Although artwork was made for the release, there was no official CD release. The song is also available on the in-game soundtrack for Need for Speed: Most Wanted (2005). There is also an instrumental version of Shapeshifter available entitled "Transistor".
On April 24, 2006, Celldweller released "Tragedy" to iTunes, BuyMusic, Napster and several other companies that sell music over the internet. Tragedy was originally performed by The Bee Gees and spent two weeks at #1 in 1979. Although artwork was made for the release, there was no official CD release for this single. An instrumental version of the song was also available for purchase.
On November 2, 2006, Celldweller released "Switchback (Klayton Revision)" and "Own Little World (Remorse Code Remix)" to iTunes and Rhapsody. The Remorse Code Remix was done by Celldweller's sound engineer, Thomas Covert, (Mixing, Sound Design, and Synthetic Elements) and Bret Autry (Vocals, Guitar, and Drum Programming). An instrumental version of each remix was also released. Although artwork was made for the release, there was no official CD release.
[edit] Second album
Celldweller is currently working on a second album. It was originally slated to come out in the summer of 2006, but the album has been delayed several times. Of the fifty songs Klayton has written, he has narrowed it down to eleven or twelve that will comprise the album. The anticipated tracklist may include the following songs: "Blackstar", "Tainted", "Tragedy", "So Long Sentiment", "The Lucky One", "The Tide", "The Best It's Gonna Get", "Shapeshifter", "Louder Than Words", "Pursuit of the Hunted", "Eon", and "Baseline" (currently titled "Birthright"). Klayton officially said on Youtube TV Cellout that the second album will be released in 2009.
Previews of tracks slated for the album have been made available sporadically. Birthright (titled as Baseline) was uploaded to the band's MySpace page on April 9. The original version of Birthright was used in a T.V. spot for Spider-Man 3 and the current version was used in the second Theatrical Trailer for Speed Racer and a T.V. spot for Iron Man. In December 2007, Klayton posted Birthright on the band's MySpace and PureVolume pages. Along with Switchback Razorblade mix, Frozen, The Last Firstborn, and Halloween [a tribute song to the Halloween series].
On December 24th, 2007 Klayton posted a blog at MySpace containing a link for downloading a demo version of the song Birthright, via FIXT Store. It is available for download at FIXT Store.comunder the "New album pre-release mp3 Birthright Demo Download" link.
On May 30th, 2008, Klayton posted a blog at MySpace containing a viral widget for downloading a 16 Free Songs, containing Birthright, Switchback, Frozen, Own Little World and a collection of remixes from the FiXT Remix Competition Rounds 1-3. It is available for download at FIXTonline.com.
[edit] Beta Cessions II Speculation
It is also rumored that some of the leftover recordings done for the second album will end up on a different release.
"If things work out the way I'm anticipating, you will all be able to get a whole full discs worth of unreleased songs when the Beta Cessions II comes out. (I make no promises, but simply offer potentially false hopes.)"
- - Klayton, November 13, 2005
"There are actually only 4 songs to date that are definitely making the next Celldweller CD. 'The Way She Wants To Die', 'Blackstar' and 'Tainted' are in. Then there is that mysterious 70's disco song I covered that will most likely be the fourth track to make it. Now, there are another 4 tracks that I think will make the cut but need more work before that can be determined. Then I'll have 2 more songs to create or flesh out to finish the track list for the disc. This currently leaves around 16 tracks for 'The Beta Cessions 02' (or whatever it will be called.) The reality is that I won't complete all of those either but rather pick the best of the bunch to finish for the TBC 02."
- - Klayton January 28, 2006
[edit] Discography
- Celldweller (EP, 1999, Self-released / Esion Media)
- Celldweller (LP, 2003, FIXT MUSIC / Position Music)
- The Beta Cessions (2xLP, 2004, FIXT MUSIC / Position Music)
- Frozen/Goodbye Remixes (EP, 2005, FIXT MUSIC Web release)
- Shapeshifter (EP, 2005, FIXT MUSIC Web release)
- Tragedy (EP, 2006, FIXT MUSIC Web release)
- Switchback Vinyl (EP, 2006, Baroque Records)
- Switchback/Own Little World Remix EP (EP, 2006, FIXT MUSIC Web release)
- Symbiont Remixes 2001 (EP, 2007, FIXT MUSIC Web release)
- Take It & Break It Vol. 1: Own Little World Remixes (2xLP, 2007, FIXT Music / Position Music)
- Take It & Break It Vol. 2: Frozen Remixes (3xLP, 2007, FIXT Music / Position Music)
- Second Studio Album(EP, 2008, FIXT Music / Position Music)
[edit] Style
Celldweller's music is extremely multi-faceted; while it can largely be considered as Electronic rock, Celldweller wanders into a large spectrum of musical genres - as an example, the song "The Last Firstborn" has various extreme (but consistent) changes between metal, anthem trance and goa trance.
The Celldweller live show is a "fusion of performance art, rave culture, and the raw energy of a rock show", rather than the standard rock performance. Each show is a complete audio/visual experience with projected video and lighting designed to be part of the music.
[edit] The name "Celldweller"
The name "Celldweller" is derived from one of Klayton's earlier projects, Brainchild. On Brainchild's Metamorphosis album, one of the tracks is titled "Heldweller". After the album was released, his musician friends joked about the inordinate amount of time he spent in his studio, and as a play off "Heldweller" started calling him "Celldweller". He began using the moniker as producer on Argyle Park's Misguided album (he also participated in this project under the aliases "Deathwish" and "Dred"), released in 1995. His first track recorded as Celldweller (at the time spelled as two words: Cell Dweller) was an ambient reworking of "The Abyss", an instrumental originally recorded by Christian metal band Stryper. Klayton's version of the song was included as the intro on a tribute album to the band, Sweet Family Music: A Tribute to Stryper, jointly released by Liquid Disc and Flying Tart Records in 1996.[citation needed]
The meanings of both Celldweller's name and lyrics have been a topic for much debate. Celldweller's official statement is that the name "Celldweller" refers to both "personal and cultural bondage" as well as the way that Klayton closes himself off from the outside world at times. Klayton typically no longer explains the meanings and purpose behind his music and chooses to let listeners decide for themselves.
[edit] Live Band members
- Klayton - vocals, guitar, keyboards, percussion, eyris, programming
[edit] Previous live band members
- Dale Van Noreman - electric guitar,keyboards, percussion, backing vocals
- Kemikal - bass guitar, keyboards, percussion, backing vocals
- Cais - acoustic and electronic drums, percussion
- Kenny James - acoustic and electronic drums, percussion
- Del Cheetah - guitar, keyboards, percussion
