What happens when Altsounds.com owner Chris “MUG5″ Maguire uses the Altsounds recording studio (Screamadelica.co.uk) down days to create music with no constraints and that is completely genre spanning? Bleed Electric, the Cardiff based, genre spanning Hip-Hop / Alternative / Electro band is the result. Consisting of MUG5, SILK and SIEGE, Bleed Electric has been working hard in the studio solidly for the past year and although Bleed Electric started as a solo project for Chris “MUG5” Maguire, the addition of SILK and SIEGE has changed the entire dynamic for the better and Bleed Electric as an entity will always need to include all three members as it is the collective of MUG5, SILK and SIEGE that make Bleed Electric what it is today. What has resulted, although all of which are still works in progress is not one, not two, but three full length albums. What?! You heard me right! Let me introduce you to the unorthodox world of Bleed Electric where the band is responsible not only for the recording, production, mixing and mastering of the music but also the entire video and art direction due to having Multimedia Specialist Chris “MUG5” Maguire at the creative helm. Everything you see or hear from Bleed Electric was done entirely by the band to allow Bleed Electric to be depicted both sonically and visually exactly how they see and hear it in their heads.

The first and key album is “The Butterfly Effect” which is a concept album depicting a movie based storyline throughout. It focuses on the key character Andy Turner who works a dead end office job and the storyline showcases some terrible incidents on the night of his birthday which result in a complete landslide of his soon to be finished life. We’re talking drug taking, schizophrenia, murders, strip clubs, cop chases, hostages, SWAT teams, love, lust, death, suicide and everything in between above and beyond. This is not your happy ending and Bleed Electric does not tread lightly on “The Butterfly Effect.” Far from it in fact, whilst listening you are likely to feel uncomfortable at various points as you are transported sonically into the scenes themselves hearing things you wish you never had - not in a “this music is bad” way but in a “I can’t believe the gore in that” horror movie kind of way. Due to the artistic and adult oriented nature of “The Butterfly Effect,” Bleed Electric quickly realized that they needed some more radio friendly tunes to help get their concept album out to the biggest audience possible and thus the second, more radio and all ages friendly album “Radio Friendly Unit Shifter” was born. Ironically titled after the Nirvana track of the same name from their In Utero album, its purpose is to be the major tool to get “The Butterfly Effect” concept album out to the masses on the back of a polar opposite pop song. Lulling the listener in with some smooth pop vibes, before whacking them in the face with a dose of “The Butterfly Effect” reality!

Each of the two aforementioned albums will contain the exact same amount of tracks. Why is that you ask? Because Bleed Electric will be marketing the whole thing differently to everyone else too! Bleed Electric will release each song off both albums as double A-side singles over a period of 18 months, changing the meaning of the word “single” and the purpose of them within the music industry. As Bleed Electric believes in the power of music as a product each single will contain music videos for both the “Radio Friendly Unit Shifter” and “The Butterfly Effect” A-Sides. Each “Radio Friendly Unit Shifter” video will be real music videos whereas each “The Butterfly Effect” video will be much more like a movie with some small performances and subtitled dialogue. Whilst we are on that topic, the A-Sides released from “The Butterfly Effect” will be released in a non chronological order so that the story is never completely revealed until the CD / DVD album combo is released at the end of it all. Every song on “The Butterfly Effect” will be released with roman numerals depicting its place in the story and when combined together the concept album will be revealed in movie form finishing off the story for everyone! Kind of like collecting cards, you will want to collect all of the videos and songs so you can start listening to the story running into one another.

The first example of this is the first double A-Side single that will be released on Altsounds Records in January 2010 which features ‘The Last Night of 1989,’ a song that sees SILK, SIEGE and MUG5 being transported to December 31st 1989 to “party like a rockstar.” You see the guys playing cosmic synths in the Bleed Electric HQ, rocking out with our friends and even performing inside the flux capacitor of a Black Delorean, we kid you not. Where the fuck is Doc Brown anyway?

All this crazy shit and unrelenting swagger makes for a must see music video in “The Last Night of 1989.” ‘The Last Night of 1989’ is an 80s inspired electro hip-pop track whilst it’s polar opposite, double A-Side from “The Butterfly Effect,” ‘XII. Special Weapons and Tactics’ is a song that mixes Death Metal and Hip-Hop and discusses the situation of the main character Andy Turner who is stuck in a Motel room with four hostages while the SWAT team get in their positions to “take out” the perp. It’s an action packed introduction to “The Butterfly Effect” and will get you wondering what happened before and what will happen next. This single will also feature two remixes but again breaking the mould, Bleed Electric won’t be including remixes of the single tracks but will be releasing two remixes on each single that showcase other up and coming singles making each of them so packed to capacity that it is almost bursting. Bleed Electric believes in artwork, video / film and music as a package and thinks that the digital world is slightly ruining all of this and they are trying to retain and introduce this quality of product and workmanship in the digital realm.

So WTF is the third album you mentioned then? Well, Bleed Electric love collaborations and their third album “It’s a Brand Name” is basically a remix double album from all of their favourite underground remix artists. Some they found through listening to the remix artists other remixes or original work, others were found through remix contests and “It’s a Brand Name” is a collection of other people’s interpretations of Bleed Electric songs. Phew. LESSON OVER! There was just so much that needed to be said to explain the whole idea behind Bleed Electric, their up and coming albums and what they have been (and are) doing here. So now you know the score, what is this video we were talking about?

Well, in preparation for Bleed Electric’s debut single ‘The Last Night of 1989 / XII. Special Weapons and Tactics’ released in January 2010 on Altsounds Records. Bleed Electric and Altsounds.com have just released the debut video for ‘The Last Night of 1989′ which as previously mentioned was HD filmed, directed, edited, special effected and everything else by Bleed Electric over four days. The video cost just £150 pounds to make and shows the band taking their careers into their own hands. Consisting of 40 dancers, DJ Raheem from KISS’ scratch tactics, an airport, green screen action from the virtual Bleed Electric HQ, the inside of what they a black Delorean’s flux capacitor would look like, to space and back this video is a thrilling hip-pop ride from start to finish.

Watch ‘The Last Night of 1989′ Video right now:

The ‘XII. Special Weapons and Tactics’ video will be shot at the end of this month (October 2009) and if all goes to plan you will see a Post Apocalyptic Bleed Electric rocking out with the Seven Piece Metal band Kryophere, Burlesque dancers, fire breathers, SWAT teams, blood, brutality, beatings, pit bulls, hostages and “The Butterfly Effect” movie cut scene footage which will make for a complete opposite for what is on display in ‘The Last Night of 1989’ music video.

It is the hope of Bleed Electric that judgements will be made by critics and music listeners that they either love or hate Bleed Electric based on ‘The Last Night of 1989′ and its associated video just to be hit sideways by ‘XII. Special Weapons and Tactics.’ Being left wondering WTF just happened to them and turning the initial lovers into haters and/or vice versa. Bleed Electric will always keep you on your toes and will not be defined by a genre although one thing that always remains is that no matter what genre Bleed Electric work with the unmistakeable and original Bleed Electric sound is retained meaning that once you are a fan of Bleed Electric you will always be a fan at the same time expanding your musical horizons.

The next two years will see a great journey for Bleed Electric so keep your eyes and ears peeled here for all the latest Bleed Electric updates. And always remember that you heard and saw it here first!

The Last Night of 1989 / XII. Special Weapons and Tactics – Double A Side Single

Tracklisting:
A.The Last Night of 1989
AA. XII. Special Weapons and Tactics
B. IV. Birds as High as Planes
C. Eight Years Late For Dinner

To hear more Bleed Electric music go to their myspace page right now by visiting Bleed Electric.com.

VIDEO INFORMATION AND CREDITS:
All music recorded, produced, mixed and mastered by Bleed Electric
All video, art direction, special FX and editing by Bleed Electric

THAT’S RIGHT FOLKS…..WE DO IT ALL OURSELVES!

Thanks to:
Richard Shelton for various camera operation, pinkpunkblue for his beat detection animation, DVJ Million for some background animations, Fahrenheit Dance Studios / Stereotype Cardiff Wales for providing the dancers and choreography particularly Leighton Wall and all the solo dancers, Callum Glover for his crazy ass dance moves, Seven Clothing, KISS DJ Raheem for his Scratch Tactics, Richard Jackson for the venue and John Sims for the pimp mobile.