GRAYBEAT "ELEMENTAL RHAPSODY" REVIEW
GrayBeat returns on his first full length album, Elemental Rhapsody, which continues the saga that began on the Whaelstrom EP. Elemental Rhapsody is best experienced in full, each song introducing a new idea and expanding on it fully. You are taken through the life of Graylien, the Astrarian from Xul, as he goes on his adventure, experiencing the unknown that lies ahead. The album is split into different elements as moods shift and new atmospheres are developed. The entrancing downtempo beats and hypnotic melodies will grab hold as you immerse yourself in each track.
The journey starts with “Waterlogged”, introducing an alarming and pulsating synth. More synths and percussion keep layering on top of each other to create a slow and steady groove. The smooth, angelic sounding pads sound very blissful in the mix complimented with the complex beat. Halfway through the track there is a transition period before switching to a mysterious section with some plucky synths and what sounds like a violin that beckon you to see what else there is to discover. “Fisherman’s Gambit” continues the mysterious tone with echoing and pitched up alien-like vocals. The slow repeating bass line and vocals lull you into a trance. The sounds swirl around you as the steel drums come in, adding to the hypnotic effect. Just when you think the song has ended, there is a final encore of all the previous sounds in a burst of energy before quickly fading into nothing.
“Element G” makes me feel like I’m walking in a crystal cave with the upbeat pulsating bass kick and clap combo, the occasional ringing chimes, and the spacious and echoing synths. Each part of the song is built from the same sounds, but transformed in different ways, like you’re being guided through different sites in the cave and discovering new beautiful structures. Next up is “Airship,” a bright song filled with more echoing synths and includes more natural elements like a guitar. The plucked guitar under the uplifting sounding pads repeats through the track like a lullaby under the warm sun. This is the last bright and happy spot on our trip before “Air Busking” which is a slow and mellow track featuring a grave sounding piano. The piano gives the otherwise relaxing track an ominous feel to it, like danger is coming. The track has some elements of modern lo-fi hip hop and is the one I would most love to see feature a vocalist if a deluxe version were to ever come out.
“Under The Surface” is a spacey track featuring hip-hop style hi-hat trills and percussion fills. The melody that comes in halfway sounds like it’s from an alien evil circus and adds to the dark theme as it gets chopped up and manipulated. The energy crescendos until the peak when there seems to be an overload as the beat repeats manically. The dark bass and drum combine to create the backbone of the spacey jam “Crucible”. This song is most comparable to modern industrial midtempo electronics artists like Gesaffestein or Rezz but less focused on the bass elements and more focused on his storytelling. “Emerald Topaz” continues in a similar dark tone and gradually eases the tension created while moving the story along.
The album ends on “Rocks”, an upbeat playful and bouncy song that is sure to get you moving. The ‘80s style keyboards duet with each other along with a gliding synth to create the final act of the story. It sounds like when the credits roll at the end of the story and you see the highlights of the hardships the protagonist went through. The end of a hero’s journey. Although the story has come to an end, the journey has just begun as there are more worlds to continue exploring as the piano and pitter patter of claps play Graylien off stage.
The album features no vocalists, but is paired with poetry to highlight the message GrayBeat is trying to send. I would love to see a music video interpretation of the album to see each of these stories more vividly, but the movie is rarely ever as good as the book.
Check out GrayBeat’s album “Elemental Rhapsody” and the video for “Rocks” below and let us know below what you think!
GrayBeat:
Robin Sedivy (He/Him)
(Melodic Noise) How's your day going?
(GrayBeat) Just peachy.
(MN) What is your formed/origin story?
(GB) The short version is that I’ve been in African and Symphonic ensembles, Jazz groups, Rock bands & a Reggae band. Starting out as a percussionist & drum set player lent itself to me having various experiences recording to cassette & reel-to-reel tape. Flash forward many years and many recordings, live gigs and experience playing many different genres of music later, I found myself on a multi-year hiatus from playing drums. I thought it would be therapeutic and fun to use my knowledge at home making some beats by transforming my web development laptop into a music making machine. I ended up finding my true self again, embracing the scientific art of audio engineering and making a lot more than just beats.
(MN) Genre?
(GB) This is highly dependent on the song. Whaelstrom fit easily into the Downtempo Electronic genre and many songs from Elemental Rhapsody do as well. However, Elemental Rhapsody also includes Indie/Alternative Rock, Art/Prog Rock, Instrumental Trap/Hip-Hop, & World.
(MN) Label?
(GB) I self-publish my own material only under GrayBeat.
(MN) What is the story behind the album's name?
(GB) The four elements, Fire, Water, Air, Earth, symbolize this inherently cosmic connection we have with our surrounding environment. Different cultures over history have tried to sort out what we experience with our senses, attempting to articulate the cosmos better, and so there are many parallels to these four elements found in various cultural mythos. The name, “Elemental Rhapsody”, just kind of came to me before I even started working on the album, and it stuck.
(MN) Lyrically what stands out on the album?
(GB) I’ve created lyrics for all nine songs that tell a poetic story about Graylien’s experience on Earth. It’s about Graylien surviving cataclysmic events over the course of over a hundred years. I used animal symbolism heavily in order to narrate the internal emotional journey of Graylien. Instead of talking about outer space, this time I wanted to talk about the beauty of our everyday world and remind us of the importance to us of all our Earthly cohabitants.
(MN) What was the inspiration behind the album?
(GB) I knew I wanted to create a story that happens on Earth and to make a statement about the value of being custodians of our environment, and its people. Even though I would be creating a concept album, I thought it would be fun for the concept to diverge into a cornucopia of different flavors. Each song belongs to one of the four elements, except for the song, Element G, which is its own, fifth element, a superposition of all four elements together. I considered how each song might fit into these elements while I was composing and engineering the songs. I also considered the physical setting of each song and how each song fits into the chronological story of Elemental Rhapsody. For example, Fisherman’s Gambit takes place during a torrential rainstorm on a lake and it’s a Water song. Emerald Topaz is an Earth song that sounds like it takes place inside a mysterious cave. Under the Surface & Crucible take place during and after a volcanic eruption and lava flow, respectively.
(MN) What do you hope people take away from the album?
(GB) Appreciation for art and the inspiration to see greater value in those who create art. There’s great music, artwork, poetry and video here for the betterment of society. I want to create a memorable moment for my peers that brings together all these elements. Because I can produce my work independently, my message isn’t diluted by external interests. At its core, music is transcendental, but it’s sort of the intersection of the audio, visual & literal elements where my message finds its originality, and therefore it’s greater creative influence. In the album’s story, “Element G”, that fifth element, represents the intangible, alien force that is the glue, or soul, inside us that allows our art, music & poetry to come together into a unified message and experience.
(MN) Is there something that connects the songs together?
(GB) All the songs are performed entirely by myself using only virtual instruments and audio samples and I engineered the audio using only software-based effects. Some songs may sound like they have live recorded instrumentation of some sort. I assure you that I recorded nothing with my microphone. In fact, I used an extremely minimal amount of hardware. I like to make syncopated beats and instrumental patterns that overlap in unconventional ways, to create unique and compelling rhythms and textures. I value a sound that’s accessible to the general public’s ear. Listen passively, and you’ll be able to enjoy and understand the song just fine. I also value a full and multi-layered sound and I like to play with harmonic overtones in subtle ways throughout each song. Listen closely, and you’re likely hear different layers in the music for months and even years to come.
(MN) Are you locals or transplants?
(GB) Local. I moved here from Northern Minnesota to attend Macalester College in 1997 and I’ve basically lived down here ever since.
(MN) What are some of your influences and Minnesota influences?
(GB) Producers: Prince(MN), Jimi Hendrix, Chaz Bundick, Timbaland, Kevin Parker, Alan Parsons Contemporary: Sowah Mensah(MN), Dave King(MN), Bobby McFerrin(MN), Dan Snaith, Ratatat, Yeasayer, Boards of Canada, Smashing Pumpkins, Grimes Classic Rock: Yes, King Crimson, Todd Rundgren Jazz: Tony Williams, John Mclaughlin, Larry Young Symphonic: Debussy, Václav Nelhýbel
(MN) Who are some of your favorite current Twin Cities artists?
(GB) Poliça, Heartbones, Lazerbeak, Martin Dosh, Yam Haus, Bad Bad Hats, Hippo Campus, Arcturus V, Warren Thomas Fenzi, Dan Tanz, SYM-1.
(MN) What is your favorite venue to play and see shows at in Twin Cities?
(GB) First Avenue will always have my heart for seeing shows. Almost all my best show memories are there and it’s still one of the more intimate venues around to see the best artists. Plus, I know bands love to play there and the staff is great. When the band is excited about playing a historic venue and engaging with the audience, it just makes for a super memorable and positive experience for everyone.
(MN) What can fans expect when they come to your shows?
(GB) When GrayBeat hits the stage for the first time, in the near future, I will just say that my tendency toward live instrumental performance will be apparent. I don’t want to give away too many surprises, but I am creating an experience that is going to be different every time and the music and visuals that I create on- the-fly will only be available as a live show.
(MN) Do you have a favorite or crazy memory of playing a show?
(GB) Quite a few, haha. This was before GrayBeat, but, one that just kind of immediately stands out was, let’s call it ‘The Attack of the Mayflies‘. Those are not small insects. Picture this: you start to play the drum set for a show on a big stage down by the river, the lights come on and you are immediately swarmed by hundreds if not thousands of excited Mayflies, just flying right into your entire body from every angle. Obviously, we had to continue the show. We managed the music fine, but man, it was a difficult distraction. Just trying to keep the beat going with my drumsticks was a collateral death-sentence for any flies near me and it just got bloody and gross. We eventually got the lights moved away from the stage and dusk settled, but I had bloodstained drumheads for a while after that. Otherwise, my favorite show was maybe either opening for Steve Malkmus & the Jicks in his hometown of Omaha, NE, or playing African music for the National Teacher Conference.
(MN) Who are your dream tour-mates?
(GB) Erez Eisen and Amit Duvdevani. Our sounds aren’t too similar, but I was just hoping that they could tell me on the tour bus all about their approach to music, audio tech, stage tech and sound design over the years 😊
(MN) Other hobbies?
(GB) Disc Golf, Video Games, Fantasy Sports
(MN) What do you like about living in the Twin Cities?
(GB) Diversity, entertainment, friends, art, trees & lakes
(MN) Is there anything that sets the Twin Cities scene apart from places you've toured?
(GB) There’s an art to finding and consuming music. For many years, I think the Twin Cities has been a beacon for a wealth of intelligent and savvy artists and listener-artists. That’s what makes you feel at home and comfortable here, I think even if you’ve never toured here before. It’s also that type of community that inspired me to feel comfortable producing music of my own when I started GrayBeat.
(MN) What are your favorite places to grab food or drink in the Twin Cities?
(GB) People’s Organic in Minnetonka. Say, ‘hi’, to Teresa for me.
(MN) What are the band's plans for the future?
(GB) I’m going to be working on the creation of the live show experience I mentioned in the previous question and continuing to promote my album to new listeners. I’ll also be coming out with a couple of additional singles off the album. After a few months, I’ll also be releasing the 15-minute bonus track, Ancient Artifacts & Ideal Forms. It’s a special track based on Elemental Rhapsody that I created exclusively for fans who engaged with my album launch experience over the last week or so.
(MN) Is there anyone you'd like to thank or shout out?
(GB) I want to thank anyone working in the art & music industry, including staff at all the local publications and venues, as well as the deejays and tastemakers. I think we’ve gotten a taste of what it’s like living without all of these great services. I hope in the future we hold these enterprises in higher esteem, much like we would any other essential service. Art is essential in any free society, and great art is as invaluable as it is timeless. I also just wanted to thank anyone who has been supportive of GrayBeat since its inception a couple years back, especially my family. Thanks to my Dad for the amazing album artwork. Thanks to my wife for the invaluable feedback on everything and for honestly just putting up with hours and hours of me making this album and making a lot of noise in the house at all hours, pretty much every day. Finally, thanks to everyone who provided some initial feedback on my songs, which helped me gain invaluable outside perspectives on my work. Oh, and thanks to some of my favorite companies: UAD, PC Audio Labs, Native Instruments, Guitar Center, IK Multimedia & Sonarworks.
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Review by: Jeremy Bayer, Writer @BeatsBungalow
Interview and edited by: Andrew Perrizo, Owner @PlaylistTC
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