Officially A Podcast host Bill Reese sits down with Brooklyn band, Communication Corporation and discuss their new EP, which was produced by Dan Romer. Take a listen to the interview above and read Reese's article on the band below:
Communication Corporation Break Long Silence with New EP
By Bill Reese
If you’ve only heard The Communication Corporation on headphones, you’re only seeing the tip of the iceberg. The Brooklyn-based 3-piece is unique not only for their Keytar/Bass/Drum setup, but also because their bombastic live shows add a complimentary visual component to their already dazzling sonic experience.
ComCorp, as they go by for short, is the brainchild of Ronen Codor (keytar) and Jason Randall (bass). Birthed from the fertile womb of the SUNY Purchase music department, ComCorp released their self-produced debut I.P.O. in 2007. Since then, the band has barnstormed through dozens of venues in NYC, bringing their sensational stage show with them. Your typical ComCorp concert is complete with black lights, neon outfits, lasers, balloons, background dancers, and their unofficial mascot who has been known to join in the crowd’s dance party.
With the 4-song EP Set in Motion, the band breaks a prolonged silence. The EP was produced by fellow alum Dan Romer, who has put together records for the likes of Ingrid Michaelson, Bess Rogers, as well as the mixing for I.P.O. Codor had used one keytar for the sounds on the group’s debut, but for the EP, he used different instruments to create a fuller sound.
“The first album felt too small to me,” he said. “Dan recommended that I get a bunch of synths, and I spent hours and hours experimenting, driving myself nuts.” The songs on Set in Motion use a variety of synths and keyboards to create a sound that has equal parts indie pop and sleek dance pop.
The opener, “Time Bandits”—which Codor admitted was somewhat inspired by the campy Sean Connery film of the same name—is a synth-pop gem, with Codor’s vocals booming over sharp keyboard hooks and the disco bump of Randall’s bass. (Listen to the interview with Communication Corporation below and hear the World Podcast Premiere of “Time Bandits”) The opener is followed up by the wall-of-sound synth bombardment of the title track, Randall’s booty-rocker “Shake It,” and the epic finale, “1929,” complete with big, choral-hall style gang vocals.
After playing with several drummers over the last several years, the band recorded the sessions for the Set in Motion EP with skinslayer-extraordinaire Adam Christgau, who’s toured or recorded with Jenny Owen Youngs, Ian Axel and Brandon Flowers.
“He came in and just knocked it out in a matter of hours,” said Codor about Christgau’s contributions to the record.
The group hopes that their EP will be the first shot they fire, with more new music soon to come. “We want to leave the audience wanting more,” says Randall. “I think that’s what we achieved.”
ComCorp are giving Set in Motion a spectacular release show at Bushwick, Brooklyn’s House of Yes during an evening of music, acrobatics, and burlesque. While the band plays, aerial artists from The House of Yes will perform on silks and ropes dangling above the stage.
“I think it’s going to be dazzling,” said Randall about the circus aspects of the aerial acts that will perform as the band plays.
Codor added that the band’s association with this unique venue allows them the opportunity to create a live experience that they can’t always duplicate at a regular venue. The CD and the live show are “two different art forms,” he says. “The thing we like about the House of Yes is that we get to do our show there. We get to do whatever we want.”
The EP can currently be heard in its entirety on ComCorp’s BandCamp page
ComCorp.bandcamp.com
The EP release show will be this Friday, February 24 at The House of Yes, 342 Maujer Street in the Bushwick section of Brooklyn, NY.