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NEW RELEASE

Litter to Society, the latest collaboration from Del Marquis and Embryoroom, is slated for a May 26th release. Buy it on iTunes.


Condemned to Rock and Roll says,

"It’s been quite some time since the last Scissor Sisters album, and admittedly, they weren’t top of my mind for the past year or so. I was also completely unaware that their high-trousered lead guitarist, Del Marquis, was involved in several solo outings, including his latest collaboration with Embryoroom, a multimedia group headed by writer/director/producer Edward Quist and Michael Wargula. This album, called Litter to Society, will release digitally on May 26 via delmarquis.com and comes on the heels of two recent projects in the same series entitled Hot House and Character Assassination, respectively. Interspersed with regular instrumental interludes and featuring “shadow” tracks, which are meant to represent an ulterior personality of the work, Litter to Society is a continuation of a larger narrative; this work, along with the preceding other two, come alongside a video element, which follows Marquis as the character, Viz, “who has been abducted by a mysterious force and taken into a world where he is seemingly ‘dissected’ emotionally and psychologically, therefore forced to confront his fears.” Marquis describes the theme for Litter to Society as “an account of depravity in modern life, told through songs about urban and social decay. Within each moment, there is hope, the ‘child inside’ and the possibility of redemption.” Treading a Blake-like dichotomy of innocence and experience, Marquis and Embryoroom take this romantic notion and give it a sci-fi, existential gloss.

In some ways this record is bright and shiny with the biggest, 80s-style production, flouncing about in bolshy excesses; then at other times, it is highly subdued and the brashness is tempered either into a subconscious humming or a glistening renewal. The record opens with the title track, which begins with a chorus of soulful female vocals. Rather than mere icy electro, this song is raw with funk and scratchy grooves, and its refrain of “child inside” acts like a dream-like wake-up call to the id, inciting debauched freedom rather than reflecting the innocence of childhood. Marquis’s vocals leap from seductive, low tones to higher, soul-inflected cadences (reminding me a bit of George Michael in places), revealing the struggle between gritty experience and wispy purity; however, this dialogue ends while the last minute features pared back instrumentation and old-style crooning. There is then a rather brief instrumental interlude called Backroom, which sounds like the rough hum of laser bars on an electronic cage, pulsing to a tribal rhythm and surreptitious approach. The suspense lifts to display the first “shadow” of the piece: Litter to Society Shadow, a darker re-imagining of the first track. This time, the track features liberal use of vocoder and the brass section is replaced by angular shades of synths and drum machines. There is a more mechanistic, industrial feel that recalls Depeche Mode, and rather than explosions of sonic colour, the new version, filled with distortion, moves like a re-animated automaton sparking with a network of cold, blue lightning. Freewheeling hedonism seems to be replaced with a pervasive economy of movement and rigid, clinical enjoyment.

Another instrumental interlude appears as AKL Shadow brings the high-gloss synth-funk back with bass and brass. Instead of the tension of Backroom, this track feels lighter and freer, and it reaches its climax in the following song, Any Kind of Love, a strutting, preening piece backed by a full, soulful chorus of female backing vocals. As horns wail and synths squeal, it feels like the room is awash in a mardi gras of flavours and influences, and all inhibitions are drowned out by the sheer size of the sound. The other, colder side of the album reappears with Bug and its use of cleaner, stuttery beats. A vocoder surges like a misfiring circuit beneath the clicking rhythm until the last quarter takes a melodic turn, sending light haloes of sound puffing into the air like laconic smoke rings. Entitled Backroom II, the next track does, indeed, act as a sequel for Backroom with its sonic slices and whistles sounding like the whetting of some neon blade or an ensuing duel in the dark. The brief, weaker reprise of “child inside” precedes the metallic battle sounds as though the bacchanalian party is becoming a distant dream. The rapidly dissolving reverie continues to the last minute of the song as a nearly monotone voice declares, “there is only time and space and the gap between them.” The album concludes with I Believe In You, a surprisingly vulnerable ballad of acoustic guitar and piano with a tender vocal performance from Marquis. The dirty female chorus is replaced by angelic voices as the narrator appears to re-discover himself and find the latent spring of self-worth. In its wide-eyed, earnest prettiness, its contrast with the slick excesses and the mechanical conflict of the earlier songs feels like the dispelling of a swarm of black butterflies.

While I no doubt enjoy the styles of music Litter to Society explores (this kind of soulful synthpop is right up my alley), what truly grabs me about it is how it is attached to a much larger concept, which has obviously been carefully crafted and encompasses multimedia elements. Using massive production and a brilliant mixture of the earthy and glacial, Marquis takes on some fascinating existential and moral quandaries while telling a bildungsroman for the postmodern paranoid. I’m now very curious to explore the earlier installments of this series and look forward to seeing how the fourth and final installment unfolds."



LITTER TO SOCIETY PRESS RELEASE from Musebox,

"A formally trained furniture designer, Marquis had no intention of becoming a musician. “I practiced a trade and loved to build things, that is one of the main reasons I started playing guitar, it is such a beautiful object.

Things didn’t go as planned and Del joined the fledgling nightclub act, Scissor Sisters. “In NYC, September 11th left so many people in a state of confusion; what you thought was your future path, was very much uncertain. I think those events allowed me to take a risk, and see what might happen with music.”

As lead guitarist in Scissor Sisters, Marquis has seen two world tours culminating in three sold out shows at London’s O2 arena. Scissor Sisters have sold in excess of 4 million albums worldwide.

Marquis felt it was necessary to make music of his own after so much time touring and recording as a band. “I had an idea to do a pop album, but paired with darker themes than what felt comfortable on a SS album. I wanted the music to be melodic and the production to be big, in that I referenced 80’s production, and the records that most successfully incorporated the dawn of digital gear with analogue techniques.”

Marquis settled on the concept of a multi-media project that would roll out in smaller doses all leading toward a large, complete vision. Working this way allows the project to evolve and take spontaneous turns en route to the finish.

The releases aren’t all retro synths and British homage; Embryoroom multimedia group concepted another side to the project.

Together, Embryoroom and Marquis worked on the idea of the ‘Shadow,’ an ulterior personality of the work. “We wanted to show a darker side to pop music, how the same song can be reinterpreted to represent a different style and emotion.” These versions are called ‘Shadow tracks” and are featured as separate tracks in each installment.

The final element of the project is an episodic Science Fiction video, entitled ‘Hazmazk,’ this visual narrative (often starring Marquis as Viz, a character subjected to examination and abduction) is filled with striking motifs and dark content.

Says Marquis, “Its important to have strong visuals as an identity beyond the sound, and although we didn’t necessarily want to create music videos as the sole representation for the project People don’t absorb things in two or three dimensions anymore, its 5.1 sound verses a stereo mix. I feel the project is unlike anything that is currently available commercially, especially given that it is DIY to the core.

Following the first two well-received installments – Hothouse, released in December and March’s Character Assassination, Del is gearing up for the May 19th release of Litter To Society. The 9-track work continues his experimentation in blending emotional themes and a forward-thinking vision with a classic synth-soul-pop palette that recalls pioneers of the sound such as The Human League and Tears for Fears merging with more experimental instrumentals.

“Litter To Society is the most intense thematic release of the series,” says Del. “It would be impossible to divorce one element from the other, i.e. the visuals, the songs, the interludes; each element works together to tell a story.”

“It is an account of depravity in modern life, told through songs about urban and social decay. Within each moment, there is hope, the ‘child inside’ and the possibility of redemption.”

See Del Marquis.com's Litter to Society page.

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THE THIRD RAIL CHARTS

The Third Rail reaches number 7 in SciFi/Horror on Amazon on Demand and number 61 over all in digital download.


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MASTERING AT UNIVERSAL

Del and Embryoroom mastering Litter to Society at Universal Mastering Studios.





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CHARACTER ASSASSINATION

Character Assassination had its national network debut on the Viacom networks Easter Sunday.
See some of Del's interview on IDFLD here, and on Logo's site here where he hosted NewNowNext PopLab.

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Pop Matters premiered the video for Character Assassination, by Embryoroom. See it here.
or see it in High Quality here.
It is also available from iTunes here.
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POPJUSTICE covers the release of Character Assassination.


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LIVE SHOW AT THE ENVOY GALLERY

Del Marquis and Embryoroom performed a live set at the Envoy Gallery to a warm reception.
Visit their site here.

From left to right, Michael Wargula, Del Marquis, and Edward Quist
.



See more.

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RELEASE OF CHARACTER ASSASSINATION



Embryoroom releases "Character Assassination EP"

Character Assassination
is the second release in a series from Scissor Sister guitarist, Del Marquis. The EP was released on March 3rd by Embryoroom.

The first in the series, the Hothouse EP, was released in December 2008. Character Assassination showcases another side to Marquis’ talents and offers a greatly different collection of songs from the Hothouse EP.

The themes of the songs on Character Assassination reflect the music’s diversity, and Marquis delves into such off-the-beaten-track subjects as the thin line between happiness and despair (Character Assassination), the thoughts of a murderer and their victim in a nightclub (Raise The Level) and the fragile state of the human ego (Harmony Park).

The EP features a host of impressive guests, with Vula and Sharlene from Basement Jaxx on Raise The Level and Joan Wasser (otherwise known as Joan As Police Woman) on Untitled.

Also included are two ‘Shadow’ tracks by Embryoroom and Marquis. These tracks re-envision the idea of the remix as complete reinterpretations of the tracks Character Assassination and Raise The Level. From production to instrumentation, the Shadows present a darker and decidedly less pop approach to the songs.


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CHAMBER OF AVERSION

As before, Character Assassination will be released alongside the latest installment of digital motion ‘Intersodes’ which will come in an episodic form with each EP.

The second Intersode, Chamber of Aversion, picks up where we first left Viz, the character played by Marquis. In the midst of his abduction, we follow Viz through a dark world where he is examined physically and electronically, emotionally and psychologically.

The second Intersode, The Chamber of Aversion, was released in conjunction with Del's second EP, and is available on iTunes in a ten minute edit, available here.





The Intersodes are descibed as such,
"--In nearly all modern cultures the "abduction phenomenon" has been reported. Abductees or "experiencers" have varied, many, and often far flung explanations of what is being done to them or by whom. While the true nature of these events remain a mystery and scientifically unconfirmed, the anecdotal evidence of the phenomenon is overwhelming.

These experiences share some or all the following phases.

Capture.His journey is marked by distinct episodes of his abduction.
Examination He is taken from earthly surroundings to other worldly environs
Conference He is subject to scientific and medical procedures.
Tour He is spoken to by non-human entities, and shown around his place of captivity.
Loss of Time He has missing time, and is returned.
Theophany While unsure if this experience is malign or rewarding, he is closer and at one with the universe.


Here we follow VIZ, in the midst of his experience. Abducted by non humans, experimented on and brain washed, Viz continues his dark journey in the bowels of mysterious place that seems to have no beginning or end. He is examined physically and electronically, emotionally and psychologically. His strange captors speak. Though the language is his, he is only bewildered by the conference.
His heart beats madly, an is once again pushed to the brink of life and death."

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KUVAPUTKI SCREENINGS

An excerpt of Kuvaputki was screened at the
Ikon Eastside, Birmingham. UK.






Kuvaputki was also shown at the Kunsthalle Wien in Vienna.



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