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Celldweller

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Celldweller

Celldweller is a Detroit, Michigan-based electronic rock project that was created by multi-instrumentalist Klayton, former frontman and songwriter of the bands Circle of Dust, Argyle Park, Angeldust (with Criss Angel), and many more. Celldweller's music is multi-faceted, often labeled electronic rock and more commonly being described as a combination of rock and trance.[3] Celldweller songs have frequently appeared in movies, trailers, television shows, and video games.

Biography

Precursors: Circle of Dust and Angeldust, 1997-2001

Klayton had gained a devoted cult following in the mid 90s because of his industrial metal band Circle of Dust. After the dissolution of that band, Klayton concurrently released both a posthumous collection of reworked Circle of Dust leftovers titled Disengage and an album for a new project, Angeldust, created in conjunction with illusionist Criss Angel.[4] Both albums demonstrated Klayton's shift away from industrial metal and towards more goth and darkwave influences, incorporating richer electronic instrumentation and greater emphasis on melody. This change in style was a major step toward the sound that would come to define Celldweller's output. Klayton began demoing songs for the Celldweller project in 1998/1999[5] and released a limited edition EP of three early Celldweller demos and two solo trance tracks, which quickly sold out. Klayton and Criss Angel parted ways in 2000 after three albums' worth of material had been completed, allowing Klayton to devote all of his time to Celldweller.[6]

Eponymous debut album, 2003

Klayton worked in earnest with producer Grant Mormhan (formerly of Leaderdogs For The Blind) on the debut Celldweller album, which was slated for release in February 2001. Unfortunately, various delays kept pushing the release date back.[7] During this time, Klayton kept fans up to date with numerous Celldweller Logs through his website and via email and, in 2001, released raw files of the song "Symbiont" to give fans and fellow musicians a chance to remix Celldweller's music.[8] Eight remixes were chosen and uploaded to the original Mp3.com, most of them making it to the top of the Electronic and the Electro-Industrial charts. All the exposure led to over 500,000 song plays on Mp3.com.[citation needed] The "Symbiont" remixes became a digital EP six years later.

The self-titled debut album saw release in early 2003 and debuted at #17 on Billboard's Internet Sales Chart.[9] Celldweller included a guest appearance by Taproot drummer Jarrod Montague. In 2004, the album took home seven 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") and Best Industrial Rock Song ("Switchback"), and also took runner-up in Best Industrial Song with "Stay with Me (Unlikely)" and Best Rock Song with "I Believe You".[10] Later, the song "Switchback" was included in the list of Extreme Mode songs for the popular iPhone OS game Tap Tap Revenge.

The Beta Cessions

In 2004 Klayton put together a double disc release called The Beta Cessions Volume 1. The first disc contained a re-recording of the last Circle of Dust song, "Goodbye", alternate mixes of "Switchback", the Klayton tracks from the initial Celldweller EP, and demo versions of debut Celldweller songs. The second disc contained the full debut album in instrumental form, with a few of the instrumentals being slightly edited.[6] Klayton has stated that he plans to release Beta Cessions to coincide with each of his major albums to collect outtakes, demos, and other rarities.[11]

Take It & Break It

In the years following the release of the first Celldweller album, various remix EPs were released, culminating in the conception of the Take It & Break It Celldweller Remix Competition in 2006.[12] Expanded off the fan remix concept that Klayton first toyed with in 2001 with the Symbiont remixes, the Take It & Break It competition saw the creation of its own website on which unlimited numbers of fans could register, download and remix the individual recording files of various Celldweller songs, and then submit their remixes. Thus far, three rounds of the competition have been completed, with multiple-disc collections of Celldweller remixes being released at the end of each round. In 2008, the Celldweller Remix Competition evolved into the FiXT Remix Competition where fans, remixers, and musicians have the opportunity to remix songs of not only Celldweller but other FiXT Music artists as well.[citation needed] Subsequent remix compilations completed in 2009 have not been released under the "Take It & Break It" banner.

Soundtrack for the Voices in my Head, 2008

In December 2008, Klayton released Soundtrack for the Voices in My Head Vol. 1, a collection comprised primarily of short, instrumental score-based compositions. The songs were culled from the hundreds of demos in Klayton's extensive archives and represented work that he felt was not suited for a premier Celldweller album but rather for theatrical use.[13] Celldweller's management has sought to have these songs placed in media, like those on the debut album, and several have already been heard on film and television and in video games.[14]

Wish Upon A Blackstar, 2009

Writing and recording for the second Celldweller album has been underway since 2005. Originally slated to come out in the summer of 2006, the album has been delayed numerous times, with Klayton stating in late 2008 that "I would love to just tell everyone 'The album will be done by this date,' but I’ve learned my lesson on that one. It’s hard to predict when it will actually wrap up. I can tell you that I am thinking about alternative methods of releasing this album altogether, but I won't say anything until I’m ready to commit... that always gets me in trouble."[14] In March 2009 Klayton announced that the title of the album is Wish Upon a Blackstar.

Of 50 songs, he has narrowed it down to the 10 that will comprise the album. In a recent blog posting on his website, he elaborated on wanting to release the album in 'chapters' with each chapter consisting of 2 songs. He finally revealed the tracks Blackstar would contain: So Long Sentiment, Louder Than Words, Eon, The Best It's Gonna Get, I Can't Wait, The Lucky One, Blackstar, Tainted, Birthright, and Against The Tide.[15] Many of the leftovers will be on the second vol. of The Beta Cessions: "In fact The Beta Cessions II (when I ever get around to working on those tracks) will be primarily new material and not a bunch of remixes and alternative versions of songs from the sophomore ... album."[14]

The live show

During the early formative years of Celldweller, Klayton conceptualized a live show very unlike that of a typical rock band. While most bands play songs in a fairly straightforward manner, one after another, a Celldweller show would essentially be a live remix session that incorporated performance art and exclusive audio/visual material.[16] Much of the influence for this came from Klayton's time collaborating on Criss Angel's theatrical magic shows.[6] Klayton has expressed immense dissatisfaction with his initial Celldweller tours and with the concept of touring in general, and had made it known that it was unlikely he would tour with Celldweller again; however, in a recent interview, he stated that he has revisited the idea of touring and may do it as a "one-man multimedia show" in the future.[14]

Former touring band members have included:

  • Del Cheetah - guitar, multi-media (though Del helped Klayton form the initial live concept, circumstances prevented Del from actually participating in any Celldweller shows other than some private showcases)
  • Chris Gramling aka Tweety - guitar, multi-media (though Chris helped Klayton form the initial live concept, circumstances - Klay moved to Detroit - prevented Chris from actually participating in any Celldweller shows other than some private showcases)
  • Sparky - drums (for showcases with Del & Chris)
  • Dale Van Norman - electric guitar, keyboards, percussion, backing vocals
  • Kem Secksdiin - bass guitar, keyboards, percussion, backing vocals
  • Kenny James - drums (first tour)
  • Trent Duckworth - drums (played when James was unavailable)

The name "Celldweller"

The name "Celldweller" is derived from the terms "Cellar" and "Dweller", a reference to his early years of being a "basement dweller". Klayton'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.[citation needed]

Discography

Further information: Celldweller discography
Major releases

Awards

The debut Celldweller album won seven awards in the 2004 Just Plain Folks Music Awards[10]:

  • Best Hard Rock song - "Fadeaway"
  • Best Industrial Song - "Switchback" (with "Stay with Me (Unlikely)" in second place)
  • Best Metal song - "One Good Reason"
  • 2nd place, Best Rock Song - "I Believe You"
  • Album of the Year - Celldweller
  • Producer of the Year - Klayton
  • Best Industrial album - Celldweller

References

  1. ^ http://www.fixtremix.com/artist/921fed0134b1/
  2. ^ http://www.fixtstore.com/page/21/celldweller
  3. ^ "Keyboard Magazine Celldweller Music Makers Feature". Keyboard Magazine. 2006. Retrieved 2009-04-13.
  4. ^ "Klay Scott Interview with Carpe Noctem". Carpe Noctem magazine. 1997. Retrieved 2009-04-12.
  5. ^ Diamantis-Fry, Sophie (2003). "Klayton Interview with DELIRIUM". Retrieved 2009-04-12.
  6. ^ a b c "Klayton Interview with 1340 Mag". 1340 Mag. 2003. Retrieved 2009-04-12. Cite error: The named reference "1340interview" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  7. ^ "Celldweller current info 29 October 2002". Archived from the original on 29 October 2002. Retrieved 2009-04-12.
  8. ^ "Celldweller current info 1 June 2000". Archived from the original on 1 June 2000. Retrieved 2009-04-12. {{cite web}}: |archive-date= / |archive-url= timestamp mismatch; 9 December 2000 suggested (help)
  9. ^ Celldweller ranking at Billboard
  10. ^ a b "2004 Just Plain Folks Music Awards". 7 November 2004. Retrieved 2009-04-10.
  11. ^ "Klayton Was Here... (artist's blog) 06-10-2005". 6 October 2005. Retrieved 2009-04-12.
  12. ^ "Celldweller To Launch Groundbreaking Remix Contest". September 2006. Retrieved 2009-04-11.
  13. ^ "Klayton Was Here...(artist's blog) 5-10-08". 5 September 2008. Retrieved 2009-04-12.
  14. ^ a b c d Burkart, Gregory S. (10 December 2008). "Klayton interview with FEARnet". FEARnet. Retrieved 2009-04-11.
  15. ^ Scott, Klayton (20 April 2009). "Does This Smell Like Chloroform? (04-20-09)". Celdweller.com. Retrieved 2009-04-20.
  16. ^ "Celldweller live". Archived from the original on 29 October 2002. Retrieved 2009-04-12.
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