Beloved Sydney electronic dance band Art vs Science release their long-awaited new album ‘Big Overdrive’ today. The vibe-packed record, written and recorded over the past decade includes their recent dancefloor ready single ‘I Saw You’, ARIA club hit ‘SWEAT’ produced by Kim Moyes (The Presets) and their new single ‘Check The Boombox’, which was produced by Dan McNamee and Dan Williams.
Rich in melodies, synth stabs and classic Art vs Science experimentation, ‘Big Overdrive’ is a collection of songs that captures the heights of the trio as a groundbreaking alternative dance band, pushing musical boundaries with crafted multi-layered bangers.
Sonically ‘Big Overdrive’ lives and breathes in a way that can be played live to an intimate club audience or to a festival crowd. It’s also a celebration of the band’s longevity performing together for fifteen years. The music was recorded in studios all around Sydney, with a heavy emphasis on DIY. The bulk of the album was tracked at Dan Mac’s parents' old place in Dural, in a sweaty hotbox near the attic, using a handful of microphones and a bucketload of vibe.
The band explained, “In the course of selecting the music for this long awaited album, some of these rare sessions were uncovered, and the joy and fun embedded within were plain to hear. Of course, lots of love and expertise came from actual outside experts such as Kim Moyes (The Presets), Alex Gooden (Mix Engineer, SAFIA), Sam Ford (Tone City Records), Joe La Porta (Mastering, Sterling Sound), and Guy Davies (Mastering, Electric Mastering).”
Festival ready single 'I Saw You' explores a quiet-verse loud-chorus dynamic, with soaring synths and thumping drums. New single 'Check The Boombox'' was recorded at a friend's house in Wilsons Creek in the Blue Mountains near Sydney. A full arsenal of old stereo equalisers, a terrible mixing desk, and dusty guitar amplifiers went into this track.
'How 2 Stay High' was recorded in one session at Dan Mac’s house in Thirroul, whilst 'Sweat' saw the band recruit Kim Moyes from The Presets to beef up and bangify. The band added, “Joe La Porta was enlisted to give 'SWEAT 'its beautiful sheen and thump, while Guy Davies was chosen to make 'DANCE' the most thumping it could be”
Dan Mac produced many of the tracks on ‘Big Overdrive’; finding weird locations and setting up mics in bedrooms and kitchens to capture Dan W’s epic drum performances. Jim as always provided the solid synth bass lines and creative counterpoint that makes the band more than the sum of its parts.
The band continued, “Big Overdrive is a celebration of jamming and making music which is fun, different and experimental. It’s a collection of tracks written over most of the band’s lifespan, with an emphasis on songs which we think are beautiful in their weirdness. The themes of the songs span love, loss, exuberance, life, death and passion. And dancing.”
Connect with Art vs Science,
