Summer
Channel
contributed by East Music Group
What is left to do after being on top of the electronic
music industry for more than a decade, what achievement
outshines traveling the world performing in front of hundreds
of thousands of people at venues like Red Rocks and 3-Com
Stadium, remixing Madonna (twice both #1 on Billboard),
Paul Oakenfold (twice), Seal (#1 on the Billboard), Frank
Sinatra (The first official estate commissioned electronic
remix ever), David Bowie, America, Curve, The Crystal Method
(#2 on Billboard), BT, Keoki, Carl Cox & Markus Schulz?
What could be more rewarding than being featured on MTV,
and producing tracks for Sandra Collins, D:Fuse, and DJ
Rap? What can you do to top mountains of critical and popular
acclaim in magazines like Rolling Stone and URB, barely
being edged out for a Grammy nomination and a Dance Star
award, licensing tracks for films like Tomb Raider and Bad
Boys II, television powerhouses such as Buffy The Vampire
Slayer and CSI, and spicing up video game soundtracks for
Gran Turismo 4 and SSX 3?
You start all over again.
J. Scott G's new Summer Channel venture is a direct answer
to the continued enervation of the dance music industry
that he helped impel as one half of seminal beat rockers
Deepsky. As Rave culture enters its twilight and clubbers
become jaded by mountains of listless deep-prog-idm-breakcore
tunes, the party-going public has subconsciously clamored
for something fresh and exciting with shrinking event attendance,
drooping CD and record sales, and a palpable malaise about
club nights once considered massive. Enter Summer Channel.
“No one seems to write songs anymore,” says
Scott. “Now it's the 'How many stutter edits can I
cram into a track to get into the Guinness Book of World
Records?' mentality. It seems like people have forgotten
that music is supposed to be about something instead of
about the technology itself. A wise man once told me (about
over using the 303 during it's heyday), 'Use it as your
salt and pepper, but don't make your dish out of it.' I
think the same can be said about music technology in general.
Some people use it as a substitute for good songwriting.”
Songwriting ability is one trait that Summer Channel has
in spades. Tastes of songs from the debut album The Sweet
Sound of Inevitability showcase Scott's survivor mentality
and wry sense of humor about the music industry, loss, perseverance,
fortune, and life. The first single, A Thousand Miles, is
an emotionally wrought memoir on the trappings of stardom
and the imminent rebirth that success compels. Industrial
strength guitars trade blows with tech savvy synth jabs
to form a whirling cloud of cross-pollinated soul sustenance,
topped delicately with breathy, heartfelt vocals from guest
siren Kathy Fisher.
Not quite a solo project, Scott has enlisted the talents
of several choice performers to make Summer Channel a reality.
“The thing that's made this record amazing so far
are all of the people I've chosen to work with. My guitarist,
Cameron Morgan (www.cameronmorgan.com) is a fucking prodigy.
He's been the piece of the puzzle in every song that's made
it go from just an electronic track to a 'live' sounding
masterpiece. I've also had the amazing luck of finding astounding
vocalists like Rebecca Coseboom of Halou who sang on 'I
Am Persuaded' (www.halou.com), Patrick Scott (www.patrickscott.com)
who sang on “Soulmate In Every City” and a forthcoming
track you'll hear soon called 'Undertow.'”
Summer Channel is not merely a culmination of fortunate
circumstances; rather it is an evolutionary step on the
path to a modern and refreshing force in a world dominated
by stale ideas and hyper-processed pop drivel. It is also
an energizing catalyst for those that may feel new music
has nothing to offer them. “Honestly I can’t
remember the last time I actually bought a CD,” Scott
laments. “But when I write music now, I always imagine
that it's going to be played to a huge crowd. Its part of
the reason I have a hard time writing anything that isnt
epic in nature. And as silly as this sounds, I still jump
around the room and dance like a freak when I have a wicked
groove going. Its still as exciting now as it was when I
was programming my first drum tracks, holed up in my bedroom
at 16. I had no idea how far it could go.”
For more information check out SummerChannel.com
!