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Death in Vegas Death in Vegas While its title may suggest more of the same dark rock-meets-darker dance compositions Death in Vegas have become so well known for, Satan's Circus is actually something quite different. For one thing, where past releases were littered with them, there are no high-profile guest stars this time around. In fact, aside from a bit of texture, there are no vocals at all. "The main reason we made this an instrumental album was because after Scorpio Rising, we were kind of tired of it being so much about who we worked with," explains Fearless. "Everyone just kept talking about the collaborations, when underneath there was a great body of music. So there was a conscious decision at that stage to make the next album instrumental." That's just where the surprises begin, however. The album's other most distinctive feature is hinted at by a number of its song titles, most notably the telltale "Sons of Rother" - a reference to one of the key figures in the history of German electronic music. "I've always been very much inspired by a lot of German music," explains Fearless, name-checking bands like Neu!, Harmonia, and Kraftwerk (all three of which featured the aforementioned Michael Rother as a member). But while that influence has always been somewhat apparent in past DiV releases, on Satan's Circus it has become one of the driving themes. The album's second track, "Zugaga," even sees the group re-playing a part from Kraftwerk's legendary "Trans Europe Express." "We never try to hide things that are influencing us," Fearless admits. "We try to lay them pretty much on the surface, instead. That's why we re-played the Kraftwerk bit - it's a homage." For the duo, the German connection is one that goes back at least as far as when Fearless and Holmes officially cemented their partnership circa The Contino Sessions. "I think it all started with a track called 'Watussi' by Harmonia," Fearless reflects. "Pretty much every time we'd go into the studio, I would always play it. If you listen to that song, and you hear what's going on with the time signatures and the repetition, you can just see how influential it is on our music. And when you discover a band like Harmonia, it leads you to groups like Neu! and Faust - that late-'70s discovery of electronic music, with Kraftwerk coming out of it, and Can. It's like psychedelic drug music. It's hypnotic; it's got elements of dub in it. That's where our own heads are at, really." Not that Satan's Circus is all pastiche. In reality, it's the act's most original work to date. The album may wear its influences proudly, but by incorporating everything from dub to ambient and experimental elements, along with scattered live instrumentation and markers of all that has led to this point, its mesmerizing magic functions in a way that is uniquely Death in Vegas. It's something that can only be explained by the fact that Fearless and Holmes simply let this record happen. "This was probably the most fun we've had making an album. It was almost like therapy," confesses Fearless. "It was the most organic, natural writing process we've ever had - probably because we didn't have to involve anyone else. This time, it was really just Tim and I. Other people did play on it, but that's how it was written." Meanwhile, a more intense focus on the music isn't the only reason for the lack of vocals on the disc. There's a philosophy behind it, as well: "What I like about it is that it creates a lot of space for the listener," explains Fearless. "You listen to stuff with vocals and it really ties you down. This is a very visual album. I find myself conjuring up whole scenes, and whole scenarios, because there's so much space in there. And that's really important, I think, from music." Which isn't to say that just because there are no words, there are no themes. Whether it's in the more light-hearted romp of "Ein Fur Die Damen," the disarmingly lucid dream-state of "Heil Xanax" or the swirling, guitar-laced "Head," the dichotomy that has occupied Death in Vegas' music continues to pulse with life. "It's about, I think, the attraction of seeing something beautiful in something sinister - light coming out of darkness," says Fearless. "It's an attraction to the underbelly of society or life. We've always been fascinated by that kind of dark side, but there's a beauty in all of that. And that's kind of what we're trying to get with what we're doing musically - just to show that there's light in the dark." Clearly, this is something Death in Vegas have consistently proven. It was always evident in the act's previous material - which is spotlighted on the special live album recorded at London's Brixton Academy and included as a bonus disc with this release. Satan's Circus, however, offers not only a reinforcement of the light-from-darkness concept, but also a statement of intent. It's the product of a group that is much more concerned with artistic expression than expectations. And it's the sound of a band that knows exactly where it's going. "There's a certain feeling that goes on in Death in Vegas' music, and we'll work on a song until we get that," Fearless concludes. "Sometimes it can take months, sometimes it can be a day, but something happens. This album, basically, has got that. It's very true to us. It's a fan's album - a Death in Vegas fan's album. It's got all the best components of what we put into music." Death In Vegas' new album "Satan's Circus" is released May 24, 2005 on The Lab.
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For more info contact: Sioux Zimmerman © 2006 Magnum PR & Management
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