Atomica

Atomica - Metropolitan - 2005 - Positron

A good lo-fi, electronic downtempo album. Atomica, soundwise, have been compared to Portishead, and Lamb. This album does not fall into the same class as "Dummy," or "What Sound," but it is nevertheless, well above the average quality of the hundreds of albums released in this musical genre. Many bands in this genre often, through an overindulgence in sound manipulation produce boring grooves that are forgotten very quickly. Because of this , most of these electronic/trip-hop style groups are inclined to all sound very similar. Not so with Atomica. The quality of the album is abetted by the great vocals of Lauren Cheatham, and the songwriting talents of Wade Alin. "Metropolitan" is refreshingly original, with catchy hooks and intelligent lyrics. There is also a very good jazzy vibe on the album which catches the listener's attention.

TRACKS

One Day in New York City
Delorian
Larsen
Salt
Recent
Quiver
Bittersweet
Sorrow
Pollen
Gun
Worry

MUSICIANS

Lauren Cheatham - Vocals
Wade Alin - Composer/Programmer
Percy Trayanov -Piano, Wurlitzer, Synthesizer, Bass
Matt Cordier - Drums
Elliott Randall - Guitar

REVIEWS

Featuring the haunting vocals of Lauren Cheatham, Atomica is a moody trip-hop project that recalls Portishead and Evanesence in atmosphere, while musically staking its own ground. Programmer and songwriter Wade Alin created this downtempo electronica with keyboardist Percy Trayanov providing expressive piano, Wurlitzer, and synthesizer playing to compliment the evocative mood. There's an orchestral feel to songs like the superb "Sorrow," wrapping Cheatham's intoxicating vocals in swelling strings and forlorn piano melodies. This is a lovely disc that has lasting emotional resonance and well-constructed musical soundscapes. Seek it out and soak it in. © Robbie Gennet © Keyboard

Downtempo vibes and beats are twisted with incredible female vocals for the next branch off of Portishead. Wade Alin is the main songwriter and programmer and he enlisted Lauren Cheatham to provide the backdrop of gorgeous vocals that help recall the aforementioned Portishead, as well as Lamb and Bjork. Trip-hop blended this well with electronica, downtempo, and orchestral rock isn’t often properly ordained. But Metropolitan is a new ministry at which to worship stunning and powerful music delivered with a subtleness that betrays its true gifted clout. © J-Sin, Smother.net

Trip-hoppy and kind of jazzy, very stylish electronics and female vocal. Addictive hooks and sophisticated delivery, redolent with meaning. If I didn't loathe the commercial music industry so much I might smell a "hit" here. Alas, I lack sufficent weaselhood to make that proclamation. This is the real shizzle though. © Andrew Fenner, Morbid Outlook

Chicago-based New York City-originating eccentric project Atomica will trigger memories of the best record of urban downtempo, orchestral trip hop and female-fronted pop-electronica that the nineties have given us. The trio's bold and nonchalant approach to the matter evokes rapturing scenarios of fresh yet nostalgic tunes enriched by intense and passionate vocals and visionary lyricism. Portishead, Conjure One (these two above everyone else), Lamb, Bethany Curve, Taxi, Drop the Fear, Rebro and other bands of that type jump to mind immediately, but their music is so un-derivative and eclectic that I am sure you'll be thinking of loads more names that would complement that sentence quite nicely. Atomica have a lot of potential. Emotional and truth-transpiring lyrics, skilled and well-rounded song-writing, powerul and full sound... © Marc Urselli-Schaerer, Chain D.L.K.

"Real" jazz, I mean good jazz, has the ability to be simultaneously current and timeless. It provides opportunities for innovation, and serves as a soundtrack for urban life. Atomica takes that aesthetic to its modern incarnation, adding beats and instrumentation unheard of in the days of the Bop, but which still have that city rhythm. While it would be easy (see "lazy") to write this off as "trip hop", that would be associating it with music that often had more superficiality than brains, which makes so much of that ilk sound dated now. No, this album is another breed. This is deepest emotion laid bare on the floor, with the heart as a centerpiece. With titles like "Quiver", " Bittersweet", "Sorrow", and "Worry", it's obvious that the passions displayed are being melded with a good dose of urban existential alienation... © Haakon Nelson, VIRUS! Magazine

Atomica is one of those groups that convince me to not give up on trip-hop - passionate, melancholy, just yummy. Lauren Cheatham has a rich and lush voice, similar to Tracey Thorn. This band does so much right - the mixing is sweet and clean, and their music is even released under a Creative Commons license. From the 2005 album Metropolitan. © Comfort Music

...Atomica makes lovely, layered, atmospheric, dream pop. These songs are very melodic for this genre. Usually bands such as this tend to rely too much on the toys they're working with and less on actual songwriting. Not so for this band. The melodies are enchanting and haunting. But the toys make lovely sounds as well. This is a great trip-hop, dreamy pop record. © Amy Lotsberg, Collected Sounds

With Atomica, Christ Analogue's Wade Alin and singer Lauren Cheatham have created perhaps the first trip-hop project truly worthy of being compared to Portishead. The similarities are apparent from the laid-back bass groove of opening track "One Day in New York City" to the slow rhythmic throb of "Gun," but Atomica are no slavish imitators. Where Portishead was minimal and beat-driven, letting the vocals carry the melody while the programmed parts confined themselves to the drums and bass line, Alin is much less reticent to add interesting instrumental arrangements. For example, "Larsen" incorporates lush arrangements of sampled strings, while "Salt" adds a hint of vibraphones for a jazzier feel. "Recent," one of Metropolitan's most achingly bittersweet pieces, adds bluesy guitar riffs to the vintage fuzz and electric organs, while "Pollen" and the exquisite "Sorrow" focus on soft piano. Cheatham's contributions as lyricist are also essential to Atomica's distinctiveness, ranging from the concrete melancholy of urban landscapes in "Delorian" to the surreal but evocative wordplay on "Quiver." About as far as can be from Alin's work in Christ Analogue, Atomica is just as intense, albeit in a much subtler way, and Metropolitan is no less than a musical masterpiece. This is mandatory listening for anyone with an interest in trip-hop, chill-out music, and down-tempo grooves.© Matthew Johnson, ReGen Magazine

BIO

Atomica is a union of downtempo beats and stunning female vocals, amplified by an organic warmth generally absent from electronic music. Devised by programmer/songwriter Wade Alin, the writing for Atomica's debut album, Metropolitan, is heavily influenced by his experiences living in New York and by the tone of the city. After relocating to Chicago, Alin began to execute his vision for Atomica and was fortunate enough to happen upon evocative vocalist Lauren Cheatham. Together they began recording the preliminary tracks for Metropolitan, ultimately adding keyboardist Percy Trayanov and drummer Rey Guajardo to the mix Metropolitan maneuvers effortlessly through genres, incorporating elements of trip hop, orchestral, downtempo, and lo-fi, all the while illustrating a compelling story of loss, affliction, collapse and recovery through Alin's unadorned writing approach and Cheatham's impassioned delivery. While fans of Portishead, Bjork, and Lamb are certain to appreciate, Metropolitan introduces a sound that is distinctly Atomica. Copyright © 2008 Atomica. This site is a member of the posiNET network. www.theatomicaproject.com/bio/index.jsp

8mm

8mm - Songs to Love and Die By - 2006 - Curb Appeal

A great indie rock album, with the electronic touches of Zero 7, Portishead, and Morcheeba. Juliette Beavan's smoky vocals are surrounded by incredible soundscapes created by the great multi-instrumentalist, Sean Beavan. A wonderful album, full of addictive hypnotic, and catchy sounds. Highly recommended by A.O.O.F.C. Check out their debut EP, Opener.

TRACKS

"No Way Back" – 5:03
"Bones" – 3:37
"You Know" – 3:43
"Stunning" – 4:35
"Never Enough" – 4:15
"Liar" – 2:48
"Quicksand" – 3:25
"Angel" – 3:21
"Give It Up" – 6:30
"Forever And Ever Amen" – 9:46
"Unjustified (The Outlaw Song)" - Hidden track written by Sean Beavan. In spirit, it is an homage to Johnny and June Cash.


PERSONNEL


Juliette Beavan
Sean Beavan


REVIEWS


When the new review assignments were posted for this week, I found there were a whole lot of really great discs assigned. Brendan got MXPX, Matt McGraw got My Chemical Romance and Liz got hooked up with the latest Copeland effort. But I was assigned a group called 8mm. At first I was kind of bummed but all I had to do was listen to the first track off their self-released effort, titled “Songs to Love and Die By,” and I knew I was hooked. Combining delicate melodies and transparent guitars this husband and wife team churns out a solid group of indie rock masterpieces that are a perfect soundtrack for the grey months ahead.

The title of the album is perfect. Each track displays so much emotion that the listener can not help but identify with the words and melodies entered their ears. Mainly played on piano, the songs are driven by lead vocalist Juliette Beavan with her husband and long time Nine Inch Nails producer Sean Beaven taking on most of the musical aspects of the effort. The two work out to be a perfect combination. The songs are pretty stripped down and transparent yet they do not seem daunted by that. The couple seems to embrace it by making their music inherently catchy, and I applaud them for doing more with less. Listen to the track “Stunning” and I guarantee you will be humming the melody all day. Each aspect of the music is extremely deliberate. “Now way Back” is a perfect microcosm of this disc. A vocally driven track accompanied by a piano and some ambient production leaving a lot of open space in the music yet the song is still contained through the vocals and piano.

Each track is a delicate and flowing journey into Juliette’s mind. “So here we are / I have seen this place before/ you look at me as though I am incomplete” she swoons in “Never Enough.” Juliette moves seamlessly from note to note so smoothly that is no wonder the whole band is set up around her fantastic voice. Her voice is also so dynamic that it she goes from sounding like Poe on “No Way Back” to The Dresden Dolls on “You Know” to Azure Ray on “Never Enough.”

If you are a fan of indie rock with a female lead singer, you need to check this out. This was definitely a welcome surprise and has made my top 10 of the year so far. © Alex Drumm, © Emotionalpunk.com 2001
The music of 8mm is a mix of triphop and melancholy, acoustic pop whose sound betrays any number of possible influences, from Massive Attack and Portishead, to Beth Orton, Zero 7 and even Nine Inch Nails, but ultimately 8mm delivers a unique blend that's two parts sexual tension, two parts emotional melancholy, and a dash of dark mystery with equal parts Los Angeles and New Orleans...and they've got a smoking torchy image to match. Sean and Juliette took a minute to answer some questions on finding each other, discovering 8mm, and what guides their music. Enjoy! © 2005-2007 Properly Chilled. All Rights Reserved
8mm wrap us in a thick, smoky, cinematic beauty that has been described as a cross between Portishead, Massive Attack, Aimee Mann and Mazzy Star – but they are definitely a sound of their own.
Femme fatal frontwoman Juliette Beavan’s voice portrays an intimate combination of vulnerability and sexuality that one feels almost voyeuristic listening to. Wrapped around her vocals is a smoldering soundscape created by multi-instrumentalist producer/mixer and 8mm co-founder, Sean Beavan.
Sean helped forge the Nine Inch Nails sound from stage to studio and is known for the groundbreaking sonics and contagious hooks that have underpinned career-defining records with artists as diverse as NIN, Marilyn Manson, No Doubt, Kill Hannah and Thrice.
After quietly self-releasing their debut EP, Opener, through their website, the band quickly generated a local underground buzz in Los Angeles, attracting the attention of the LA Times. Internet word-of-mouth led to tremendous organic support, including critical acclaim from both artists and influential tastemakers like Nic Harcourt of KCRW. Following a string of television placements, 8MM made their cinematic debut on the "Mr. & Mrs. Smith" soundtrack with their sultry version of the James Bond classic, "Nobody Does It Better." They have maintained a Top 3 position in Trip Hop and Down Tempo on myspace throughout 2005-6, while their plays range from 2,000-7,000 per day.
"Songs To Love and Die By" is one of those classic albums that fits comfortably in any record collection. © 1996-2007, Amazon.com

BIO

Somewhere in the heat of New Orleans you'll find that life is lived differently. It's a place of ghosts and celebration, a place where music hangs heavy in the air and all the music and all the souls that have ever played it there somehow remain, alive and buoyant in the humidity. The thickness this gives the air slows things down a bit, and when you breathe it in it soaks through your bones and settles in the marrow. There is an ethereal wave, a pulse really, that you can ride through the chaos. It becomes part of your blood and your eyes begin to change. You will never see this world the same. You will never feel the same about this city or this life. It has taken part of you and given something beautiful and painful back. This kind of enchantment is the reason that people are drawn to New Orleans. It's as if the city wakes and surges to the surface just enough for you to hear her heart beat, hear her breath.

The city itself is curved into the shape of a crescent moon by a dark and muddy river that would drown you as soon as let you swim in it. Moss hangs from ancient oak trees that look down on their dark reflections in cracked and wet asphalt. In this city, beneath their gaze, there was Juliette, her heels clicking, marking time on the make shift mirror. In this city, she met Sean.

Sean had moved from the post industrial age wasteland of Cleveland, Ohio to this haunting land of jazz funerals and brass bands with Trent Reznor and the band Nine Inch Nails. As Trent's longtime engineer, co -producer, and musical director, Sean helped forge the sound of NIN from studio to the stage. Finally having a home base for various projects, Sean and Trent set about building a studio in an old abandoned funeral home in the heart of uptown New Orleans. It was during this time that, being a mortal man, Sean succumbed to the whimsy and sway of a southern girl and met his muse in Juliette. After finishing mixing Marilyn Manson's epic Antichrist Superstar, Sean left the NIN camp and followed up with Manson's "Mechanical Animals" During production of which Sean and Juliette moved to the land of stars, scars and broken dreams: Los Angeles.

While Sean was producing the Atlantic Records band "Kill Hannah" the request to add a female voice to a chorus led him to ask the lovely Juliette to add some vocals on the last day of recording. When Juliette started to sing, the texture and dynamic of her voice bewitched both Sean and his engineer "Critter". Inspired by her ethereal voice, Sean immediately set about to write the music for the song "Never Enough" almost as an experiment. He gave Juliette the music and asked her to write lyrics and a vocal melody to it. The resulting confessional story with the plaintiff refrain "I'll never be enough for you" became a blue print for the tapestry of sorrow and beauty in the works that followed.

The two decided to become 8mm, a name that reflected the tone of their songs. The image of an old 8mm projector whirring in a clandestine back room called to mind innermost secrets and forbidden desires. The kind of thoughts we keep to ourselves, the hidden motives that drive our public lives. Very much influenced by the pulse and undercurrent of the haunted and haunting New Orleans and the bluster and underlying power plays that accompany even a simple "hello" in Los Angeles, 8mm has opened our diaries and shown us how alike we are.


Following several years engineering and mixing for Nine Inch Nails, Sean Beavan formed trip-hop act 8mm along with wife Juliette. He had spent time in the studio in New Orleans with NIN's Trent Reznor, working on such NIN recordings as The Downward Spiral. Through Reznor, Sean had also worked on Marilyn Manson's Antichrist Superstar and Mechanical Animals. While in New Orleans, he met his future wife and the two relocated to Los Angeles. While producing a record for Kill Hannah, Sean brought in Juliette to add some vocals and liked her voice enough to form 8mm along with drummer Jon Nicholson. An EP in 2004 was followed by the debut LP Songs to Love and Die by..., released on Curb Appeal Records in September 2006. © Kenyon Hopkin, All Music Guide