New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Indie singer-songwriter Krief (full name Patrick Krief) is set to release his new album, Chemical Trance, simultaneously in the U.S. (Rock Ridge Music), Canada (Indica), and Germany (Popup Records) on August 14, 2020. The first single, "I Am the Pillar of
Darkness in Your Life," was released on June 26, 2020, and the song and video premiered at Glide Magazine on June 24th. Fans got another sneak peek at Chemical Trance via the second single, "Never Without You," which was released on July 24, 2020, and the video premiered at Indie88 the same day. A third track and video, "I Love You Just the Same," bowed at The Big Takeover on August 12, 2020.
Chemical Trance is a psychedelic masterpiece of secular shamanistic humanism. The Montreal-based musician taps into that holy intersection of divine and mortality, confronting his own vulnerabilities in a beautiful cacophony that, at times, recalls Pink Floyd, late-era Beatles, Leonard Cohen, and Radiohead. And just like the artistic epochs of those great musical masters, the new album is at its best when Krief digs deepest into his most personal moments.
Chemical Trance (the follow-up to his 2019 release, Dovetale) was recorded at Krief's home studio just outside of Montreal. While Krief helmed most of the drums, bass, piano, guitar, keys, and vocals across the nine songs that comprise the album, joining him on the record were: Kate Maloney (violin), Justin Wright (cello),
Lorraine Muller (tenor and baritone sax),
Philippe Brunet (trombone), Tony Albino (drums on "Chemical Trance") and
George Donoso (drums on "Line Stepper"). Chemical Trance was produced and mixed by Krief himself. To maintain a feeling of raw "old-school/off-the floor" performances, most of the instrumentation was recorded in one or two takes. The vocals were performed live with an instrument (piano or guitar) and a commitment was made to not using tuning or editing.
While Krief is known for dream pop, shoegaze, classic pop/rock, and folk, he pictured Chemical Trance to be more psychedelic in nature, like an Ayahuasca trip. "It's like you've taken the drug and you're confronting your whole past - all the darkest stuff," Krief says. "But you're not reliving it in a normal way, it's hyped-up: emotions as demons, that sort of thing."
The album, conceived to be one continuous listen, is bookended by Krief's two extremes. Opener "I Am The Pillar of
Darkness in Your Life" plays like Dante's Virgil guiding the listener through the first circle of hell, in this case representing Krief's own crippling anxiety. By album closer, "Gyp Million Star," salvation appears in sight. "The idea is by the end of the album it's beautiful," Krief says. "Not dark. Peaceful." Along the way, there's a sonic journey of truly maximalist proportions - oscillating at will between aggressive, progressive, and groovy ("Line Stepper," "The Light Between Your Eyes"), and fragile and intimate ("Never Without You"). Yet for all its bombast, there's a total freedom of spirit that envelops Chemical Trance.
When he began the recording process in November 2019, Krief decided that he wanted to make an album that took him on a journey in which he could heroically confront his demons and completely escape reality. It is fitting, then, that he will release the album to the world in the midst of a pandemic that leaves many wanting to escape reality themselves. Rooted in exploring anxiety and depression, two states that have become rampant in today's world, Chemical Trance is a well-timed aural getaway for those who need it most. "When I was a teen cooped up in my room feeling completely isolated, and misunderstood, I used music as an escape," Krief says. "I still do to this day. Just art, and catharsis, for my ears only. That quickly became the only goal in making this record."
Continues Krief: "I sat with the idea of releasing for three months. I was riddled with self-doubt about it, as I'd never imagined releasing something so transparent and personal. It's flawed, it's lo-fi, and it's full of the nicks and scratches that usually get buffed out in bigger productions. That is how I like to hear music, as most of my favorite albums were tracked to tape, but it's always been scary to try and release something that is made that way. My wife convinced me that this music could make other people happy, and that I should share it."
Nothing short of a reinvention for the Montreal singer-songwriter (who is known by many as the former co-writer for Montreal's "Orchestral Pop Noir" Band The Dears), Chemical Trance is an assertion of artistic autonomy. "Unlike my previous work, I wanted to write an album that was built out of a vibe - one continuous listen," Krief explains. "To do that, I brought myself back to the point of being lost in music; just having fun, making art because it pleases me. The songs made me feel young."
On past releases, American Songwriter called his songs "deeply personal," Brooklyn Vegan praised his "anthemic, widescreen sound," while
Clash Music lauded his "confident, mature songwriting." Bsides & Badlands declared his tunes are "a smokey kind of elixir… [they] carve deeper into the complexities of human nature." The Waterloo Record proclaimed, "Krief's music is dark, intelligent, and sonically opulent. His deep voice is a like a hypnotic instrument as he takes the listener through an aural opus of intertwining emotional scenarios." Exclaim! dubbed his music an "honest musical take on life," and Jam Magazine called it "a gorgeous listening experience."
www.krief.ca
