New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Darkwave act DISSONANCE has announced the release of their new maxi-EP, Trials; the second in a series of three EPs. The visualizer for the track, "Trials" (Origin Mix) made its premiere on ReGen Magazine on August 9th.
"A friend I love was in pain. I was, also, because it hurt me not to be able to alleviate his pain. There was nothing I could say or do. It was torture for me to know he was angry and hurting and I was helpless to do anything about it. I wrote this song for him." - Cat Hall (Dissonance)
"Continuing to evolve beyond the parameters of electro/industrial that originally defined the project, Cat Hall takes Dissonance into more solemn territory with "Trials," a song that truly showcases her skills as a vocalist. Layers of succulent harmonies set to a pensive and introspective backdrop of Justin Burning's steely synths, breaking rhythms, and resonant pianos take the band back to the sound of Void, while also setting its sights beyond the ether of the cosmos into something more ethereal and mystical." -Ilker Yucel
DISSONANCE began in the early 90's as part of the
Texas synthpop scene, playing live at Dallas venues such as the Lizard Lounge, Curtain Club, Galaxy Club, Trees, and Arcadia. Cat's vocals have been described by several as a "siren song," "compelling," and "angelic," layering several harmonies and textures in a unique manner. DISSONANCE caught the ear of Paul Robb (INFORMATION SOCIETY) who was forming his label Hakatak International, and was signed in 1996. Her first self-titled release, Dissonance, produced by Robb, came out in 1997.
The style was edgy electronica/darkwave with Cat's distinctively layered vocals. 1998 saw Cat working with Paul Robb on a more aggressive solo project Cat Hall - Come To Mama, also available on Hakatak. The second release from DISSONANCE came in 2000 with Reincarnate- on Nilaihah Records.
After this, the band focused on individual pursuits until 2015 when Cat revived DISSONANCE and began work on new material. Void, a much darker, more atmospheric album, was released on Hakatak in 2017.
More recent releases include: Sycamores, a darkwave/atmospheric maxi single, with mixes by Paul Robb, Federico Balducci, and Jack Alberson. This was released on the Hakatak label in 2018.
Ascent, an energetic darkwave record produced and co-written by Jim Marcus (DIE WARZAU, GoFIGHT) and featuring Kurt Larson (INFORMATION SOCIETY) was released on Hakatak in 2019. Remix maxi-singles of "Poison Kiss" and "Starstuff" followed the Ascent release on Hakatak in 2019, featuring mixes by Erie Loch, Ian Staer, Brian Graupner,
Danny Saber, and Jim Marcus.
Thus far in 2020, Cat collaborated with Bug Gigabyte of SINTHETIK MESSIAH on his Split
Damage release, providing lyrics and vocals for "Languish."
As of August, 2020, Cat Hall / DISSONANCE is releasing three new maxi-singles for DISSONANCE: Precipice, Trials, and Ephemeral. These include remixes by JOE HAZE, SINTHETIK MESSIAH, DIVERJE and more.