“Electrical" is the first song that came to be from our upcoming album “As Above, So Below.” While we were in the middle of a summer 2019 tour, we lucked out one night by staying at a hotel that happened to have a hot tub. In proper AL1CE family fashion, we decided to all slap on face masks and proceeded to spend hours hanging out and talking, after what had been a really long and tiring (albeit very awesome) tour. We were exhausted, but that moment represented an example of what a family our band is. I find that inspiration comes to me in strange and special moments. While everyone else was going to bed or getting ready, the first verse came to me in a moment of inspiration that I refer to as “the whispers,” when I literally hear the whispers of lyrics and melody. I grabbed my phone and snuck into the stairwell to sing the first bits, barely able to sleep from the excitement of hearing the song for the first time.
After we came back from tour, I played around with it on the piano before sharing the idea with Scott. He, in turn, began to shape a deep groove and beautiful electronic production around it. As a band, we began to flush out the song at Steve’s studio (our drummer). We finalized the whole thing when we went on a creative retreat in Joshua Tree, home to many moments of inspiration for us. We had managed to put together 17 songs during the week we were there, and this was one of them. The song to me was an example of AL1CE’s beautiful creative process that has been so organic and natural for me. Someone comes up with an idea…clay for the table, if you will. And then everyone jumps in to help shape it into whatever it becomes.
When we shot the music video in October 2020, we were still in the middle of the pandemic. Many LA artists during this chapter used the extra time to really dive into creative projects, and our dear friend, Bryan Forrest (fellow creative and amazing human!), had built a rain machine in his backyard. The Alice Project community has been a family and home for us, where we have a safe place to all come together, express, create, and somehow make sense out of life, even when life can be so crazy…like during a pandemic. We did 2 shoots in the rain machine with the band, actors, and dancers. I remember being so blown away by watching my dear friends dancing, singing, and playing in that rain with all their passion and heart that they had to give. We all were living through such a heavy and dark time, and getting to make this video together, gave us hope and something to hold onto. I remember Gordon singing at the top of his lungs in the rain, unphased by the water, the dancers dancing their heart out, Steve and Scott playing their hearts out, Carl relentlessly capturing shot after shot in the cold rain, and Sasha directing us all with such joy. When I envision this video and time, it collectively represents our way of making art in spite of all odds. We were all wearing masks at the time, and it was particularly difficult to breathe while the water was soaking our masks…think waterboarding… ;)
As with all our creative projects, we learn something new each time we dive down a new rabbit hole, and we learned that we needed certain equipment to properly capture the rain footage in the way we were envisioning. We thusly had to shoot in the rain twice….and it was very cold. :P. Scott, our guitarist, even seriously injured his hand in the second shoot from the numbing cold in the water. In spite of the physical and technical (and pandemic challenges), we managed to get a massive amount of footage from these shoots. There was still something missing from the story we were trying to tell, and here enters the amazing Clint Carney chapter.
Clint Carney, long-time friend and collaborator, came up with the storyline of the animated robots in the cave for the music video. As in the allegory of Plato’s cave, the robots represent the call to find truth in the world of illusion. The tethered chains from the robots play into the over-arching theme of “As Above, So Below” in the breaking of chains and finding of freedom. He brilliantly put together the animation and editing to seamlessly tell this story.
credits
released July 1, 2021
Tash Vox / Gordon Bash / Scott Landes / Steve Kefalas / Sasha Travis
AL1CE is a blend of electronic dance, dark wave, and rock music. With surrealistic and fantastic imagery, AL1CE creates a
dreamy, intimate, and dark yet cathartic experience for fans, exploring themes of the sacred feminine and masculine, yin and yang, challenges and transcendence. Their influences range from Pink Floyd and Nine Inch Nails, to modern dark electro pop and the heavy vibes of Tool....more
Saw Kanga last night in Houston , instantly was entranced by her sound , sucked me into the Kangakult vortex , so glad I got to see her live , should have looked into her sooner as Gary Numan was so supportive of her on the Revolution tour , oh now it’s time to catch up and get further involved Callum Gray
Fueled by dreams and nightmares about the nuclear age, Scottish experimental rockers rework music recorded for a BBC documentary. Bandcamp New & Notable Feb 10, 2016
I have been able to see KANGA live twice, and very possibly a 3rd. The Under Glass release is particularly strong. I ordered the vinyl , currently listening as I write this. Very smoothly intertwined vocals and synth music. Her vocals are refreshing and presented with an ease that I am fond of. Good recording.
- Br3nt ( Brent Brent Richeson