Bill Leeb - Demons
Hard-edged electronic music maverick Bill Leeb presents 'Demons', a song rooted in the inherent darkness and malevolence we see around us, where humans constantly deal with adversity while seeking purpose, joy and creativity. Reflecting on the omnipresence of technology and the internal battles we wage, this is ultimately a defiant anthem of perseverance.
This is the second taste of Leeb's debut solo album 'Model Kollapse', out on September 13 via iconic alternative music label Metropolis Records.
Based in Vancouver, Bill Leeb is the mastermind behind highly influential electro-industrial scene mainstays Front Line Assembly and ambient-pop duo Delerium, having gotten his start with Skinny Puppy. He is also a key member of other occasional recording projects, including Noise Unit, Intermix and Cyberaktif. Almost four decades on, his new album was recorded and produced in Vancouver, Toronto and Los Angeles with assistance from Vancouver/Toronto-based production duo Dream Bullet and long-term FLA/Delerium cohort Rhys Fulber, plus regular mixing engineer Greg Reely.
"The song is inspired by how much darkness and evil exist in the world. How we have to carefully navigate ourselves through all of this on a day-to-day basis and still try and find a reason to get up, be happy to be alive, and try to be creative. Technologies are here to stay. Demons exist everywhere in our minds, in our hearts, and every aspect, so we have to fight," says Bill Leeb.
An instant industrial-EDM classic, 'Demons' plunges listeners into a menacing, synthetic underworld. With a career spanning back to the early 1980s, Leeb's signature blend of creeping electronic darkness and high-octane energy once again delivers an adrenaline-fueled sonic assault.
Not long ago, Leeb shared the first single - ‘Terror Forms’ featuring Shannon Hemmett of Vancouver post-punk quartet ACTORS (and also LEATHERS), exploring the intricacies of artificial intelligence and the very survival of humanity itself. Quite fitting with the overall theme for this album, which explores the dystopian, nihilistic world we have created in so many different ways, ultimately asking the question "When will the human voice be lost to AI and technology....or will that be what saves us in the end?"
Based in Vancouver, Bill Leeb is the mastermind behind highly influential electro-industrial scene mainstays Front Line Assembly and ambient-pop duo Delerium, having gotten his start with Skinny Puppy (under the pseudonym Wilhelm Schroeder). He is also a key member of other occasional recording projects, including Noise Unit, Intermix and Cyberaktif.
Four decades on, his new album was recorded and produced in Vancouver, Toronto and Los Angeles with assistance from Vancouver/Toronto-based production duo Dream Bullet and long-term FLA/Delerium cohort Rhys Fulber, plus regular mixing engineer Greg Reely. This album also involves contributions by LA-based artist Mimi Page, a long-term Delerium collaborator, and Jason Corbett of ACTORS and Jacknife Sound Studio.
‘Model Kollapse’ marks Leeb's first solo venture since the mid-80s days of Front Line Assembly, when he used to make recordings in his bedroom and released them on limited edition cassette format. This record reflects the dystopian, nihilistic world we have created in so many different ways, ultimately asking the question "When will the human voice be lost to AI and technology....or will that be what saves us in the end?"
Caustic yet melodic, danceable and very much song-oriented rather than soundscape-driven, 'Model Kollapse' carries traces of hard-edged electronic dance music pioneers such as Front 242, DAF, KMFDM and Skinny Puppy.
The term "Model Collapse" refers to a phenomenon in artificial intelligence where trained models, especially those relying on synthetic data or AI-generated data, eventually degrade over time. Leeb posits the notion that “as we forge forward on an unprecedented technological scale, it makes me wonder how much longer we can remain in control of various aspects of our lives. Automation has already taken over many industries. With technology running much of the world, will the entire planet eventually be vulnerable to a Model Kollapse? Chaos would surely ensue.”
Leeb formed Delerium in 1987, exploring dark ethereal ambient trance and pop. Since debuting with the 'Semantic Spaces' album, Delerium has enjoyed two Juno awards and many collaborations, involving Leigh Nash (Sixpence None the Richer), Lisa Gerrard (Dead Can Dance), Kirsty Hawkshaw (Opus III), Emily Haines (Metric), Jacqui Hunt (Single Gun Theory), Matthew Sweet and Kristy Thirsk (Rose Chronicles). Their worldwide hit 'Silence' with Sarah McLachlan reached #1 in numerous countries, its remixes also hailed among the greatest trance songs of all time (the Tiësto remix was voted the 12th-greatest dance track of all time by Mixmag readers).
‘Demons’ is out now everywhere digitally. On September 13, the full ‘Model Kollapse’ album will be released on vinyl and CD, as well as digitally.
