Thank you for your listens, downloads, playlist adds, and shares of Proof of Concept!
It's a bit of an odd one, isn't it? The voices are washed in echoes like a distant memory, lingering just on the edge of awareness. The secondary vocal line is intended to be the voice of the mind, a running commentary on the pronouncements of the main vocal.
This was the very first track I composed on the Elektron Syntakt, hence the title. While every track on the album is 100% Syntakt beyond my voice, the Arturia MiniFreak is responsible for the post-chorus lead line here.
I planned to continue the heavily effected, intertwining vocal lines through the rest of the album, but after Disappear, things took a different direction, both sonically and thematically. Case in point: Where Tigers Are Said to Roam.
If you haven't had a chance to check out Proof of Concept yet...
ffm.colortheory.com/proofofconcept
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Why do new ideas come wrapped in self-doubt?
Every act of creation is an act of courage, a delicate balance of ambition and anxiety.
ffm.colortheory.com/proofofconcept
The Bandcamp download of “Proof of Concept” includes the extended mix and instrumental versions of both the original and extended mix, for a grand total of 18 minutes of conceptual abandon.
colortheory.bandcamp.com/album/proof-of-concept
Thank you for your support! 🙏🏻🖤
Brian
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“Proof of Concept” is a prequel of sorts to my upcoming album, This Bright Circumstance. It was originally crafted as a sonic experiment to explore analog hardware.
You can pre-save it on Spotify, Apple Music, or Deezer, and even elect to have all my future releases automatically added to your library.
ffm.colortheory.com/proofofconcept
As always, email subscribers will hear it first! You can subscribe at colortheory.com.
Brian
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It seems “The Last Time” is making a lasting impression!
Mark Buckley of AnalogueTrash writes that the single is “an incredibly moving song, framed in a light, intricate, retro-infused synth-pop arrangement.”
ReGen Magazine featured The Last Time in a recent news post alongside a new single from Second Complex and said the song “appropriately ruminates on the finite nature of human experience.”
R más praises the track as “a dark, magnetic track that mixes synthesizers, gothic, dark-wave, and synth-pop into an atmospheric production.” (translated from Spanish)
Cosmonauta Radio remarks that the song “employs incredibly fresh sonic ideas… creating a high-value synth-pop track that completely captivated me.” (translated from Spanish)
Karl Magi aka Synthwriter80s notes how the song “explores time’s fleeting nature and the need to live in each moment.”
Lesley Aeschliman of AeschTunes concludes, “I really loved The Last Time on my first listen, and I think it’s one of the strongest tracks I’ve heard from Color Theory.”
Thank you for your streams, shares, saves, and playlist adds! 🖤
You'll find the track on your favorite music platform here:
ffm.colortheory.com/thelasttime
Oh, and a bonus latecomer:
Last Day Deaf writes that Undone is “smart, stylist, and quietly devastating in that unmistakable Color Theory way.”
More soon...
Brian
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15 years ago today, I released my eighth album, The Sound.
Standouts include “Extroverts at Play,” which became a bit of a cult classic (on the smallest scale imaginable), “Two,” a progressive-house-adjacent eight-minute ode to betrayal, and “A Safe Distance,” a straight-up retelling of a dream I had.
Have a favorite?
to.colortheory.com/sound
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Hot on the heels of the single release, here's a wonderful remix of “The Last Time” by our very own @mattmancid!
www.patreon.com/posts/last-time-matt-135151434
A friend compared it to Music for the Masses and that sounds about right to me.
The cover art was what I was planning to use for the single release, up until the day before I submitted it to distribution, when I thought to try out some other ideas.
The idea is that she's stored moments of her life in jars and is looking back on them fondly. I'm not sure how well that comes across... 😅
It's available exclusively to Patreon members, which could be you for as little as $5!
patreon.com/colortheory
Last week, patrons helped me nail down the cover art for the next album. I'm starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel!
Brian
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Every time you do something, there’s a very real chance that you may never do it again.
What would you do differently if you knew it was the last time?
ffm.colortheory.com/thelasttime
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Hot on the heels of my last one, here's a press round-up of “The Rehearsal”!
Johan Arenbo of Zero Music Mag calls it, “A melancholic synthpop gem that blends Depeche Mode-style harmonies with danceable beats.” (translated from Swedish)
ilsantino had this to say in a (viral?) Instagram post: “In a streaming landscape drowning in algorithm-friendly banality, The Rehearsal is a stark reminder that electronic music can still have a soul.”
R más describes it as “A dynamic, expressive slice of synth-pop that channels the energy of synthwave and darkwave into a hypnotic sound-world.” (translated from Spanish)
Karl Magi aka Synthwriter80s says, “Color Theory's silken voice trembles with uncertainty as the low end throbs.”
Finally, Leslie Aeschliman of AeschTunes writes that it's “sweeping, dramatic, and nearly hypnotic… another winner from Color Theory.”
Thank you for your streams, shares, saves, and playlist adds! 🖤
You'll find the track on your favorite music platform here:
ffm.colortheory.com/therehearsal
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I'm proud to present the last single for the album! 💿
Well, potentially for the album. I still need to narrow down the tracklist from 14 tracks to 10 for it to have any hope of fitting on vinyl.
You can pre-save “The Last Time” on Spotify, Apple Music, or Deezer, and even elect to have all my future releases automatically added to your library.
ffm.colortheory.com/thelasttime
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I mentioned a few weeks ago that when I opened my last box of Color Theory presents Depeche Mode, it was half full of Lucky Ago!
That’s my 11th album, inspired by Depeche Mode and The Cure, with each song highlighting a different superstition.
Now they're almost gone...
If you'd like one of the remaining 9 CDs, you can get it for free here:
colortheory.com/checkouts/free-majesty-cd
You'll have to cover the shipping, $5 in the US, which is less than it costs me to get it to you.
And when they sell out? I'm done with e-commerce!
Of the thirteen albums I've pressed on CD, I'll be down to one: Perfect Tears. I've still got about 400 copies, most of which I'll likely take with me to the grave.
Unlike Lucky Ago, it's not a great introduction to my work or any sort of potential “loss leader” to hook people on my music.
While I look forward to being a digital-only artist, I'm still exploring ways to release my next album on CD and even vinyl, with someone else handling the sales and fulfillment.
I'm thinking October, but you know how these things go. 🤷🏼♂️
Brian
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Somehow I never outgrew the 80s