Music
Press
"All too often the world of dark electro-industrial music finds itself preoccupied with being noisy and heavy for the sake of being noisy and heavy. It is then a pleasant change to hear someone taking a different approach to this genre.
Cylab are essentially a male / female duo, albeit with the recent addition of a live percussionist. They manage to create a refreshing hybrid of dark trip-hop, electro and industrial, on this, the follow-up album to their 2004 debut. The songs have a beautiful, melancholic air to them, thanks to SeVerina X Sols gorgeous tones and the coherent, slick production.
If you had to imagine a mood or situation to put with these sounds, it would have to be driving through a dark rainy night with the one you love, escaping to a new life and leaving everything else behind.
One of the highlights of this album is the drifting, washing pleasure that is Embryo Time. Lustrous pads sweep over a mechanized beat. This is smooth and dark like the first espresso of the day.
Kundalini is the gem of the album though this is a menacing slice of noise, with enough kick to fill any dancefloor, and unbelievable hooks.
Forget the world of genres, scenes and clicks - Cylab have the potential to make it really big. This is the stuff of mainstream success. It is not often that something this good comes along. Grab a piece of this dark beauty while you can." - Grave Concerns Magazine
"...Sexy dark electro that comes alive through the angelic voice of SeVerina. The seduction continues when Percy sings the title track with his deep voice amidst EBM and synths..."
- Outburn Magazine
"...Unparallel universe is a sensible collection marked by the diverse musical influences of Percy and Severina. Dark, yet easily accessible, Cylab successfully presents raw emotions put into music..." - New Music Magazine
"No matter what genre your particular tastes fit into these days, it's not hard to argue the fact that the electronic music scene in general is devoid of groundbreaking material. Then, Cylab came along with their followup to 2004's "Unparallel Universe" and unleashed the complex beauty that is "Satellites". From start to finish, it's impossible to put this album into one particular niche. In taking structures from various electronic forms, Cylab have managed to do the unthinkable: create a solid album worthy not only of an honest listen, but sincere praise.
While both the excellent production and music from Percy Trayanov and dynamically velvet vocals from Sevrina X Sol could easily stand out in their own right; It's the two of them coming together that makes "Satellites" such a great album from one track to the next. There is an almost seamless narration that I followed throughout it. Sol candidly wears her heart on her sleeve in songs like "Content" in which she openly expresses the sacrifices ("I know I prayed for this storm...I knew what I had to do") and resolute happiness ("For the way we walk foward not back, there's essential truth in light...With every breath I hope you'll stay here, we are content within the rhythm of life") that each partner brings into a relationship. In fact, one couldn't help but assume that true love was her muse in writing it.
While it explores the vast realm of relationships, there is plenty of introspection contained throughout, as songs like "Path" succeed in illustrating self-discovery ("There is a larger purpose, that I am aware, there is a piece in here...A collective in time, of which we're all a part"). Other gems include the Siouxsie-esque anger in "His Lost Reflection", fan favorite "Dented Halos" and pulsing classic alt-rock melody you can't ignore in "Kundalini": the latter of which took me right back to the days of listening to Shirley Manson breaking through the speakers on killer b-sides like "Butterfly Collector" and "Subhuman".
Again, this is an album anchored by its ability to blend various elements in electronic music, solid production and sincere, autobiographical lyrics. Cylab pull it off like nothing I've heard in a long time. It literally took three weeks until I could get the cd out of my car, and had it in constant rotation on almost every drive." - Elemental Reality Webzine
Discography
Cut & Coil 2010 Whispercore Music
Disseminate 2007 Whispercore Music
Satellites 2006 Whispercore Music
Unparallel Universe 2004 ADSR Musicwerks
Photos
Bio
Tired of the same old EBM beats and electro bass lines? Looking for a touch of the experimental on the dance floor of your favorite club? CYLAB is here to answer your prayers. Formed in 1999, Cylab is based on the foundations of dark electronic music and intermingling various styles and structures that defy strict categorization. Now in 2010, the band releases its third, most diverse and most accessible record: Cut & Coil! Furthering the band's trademark blend of dark electro, synthesized melody, and intelligent sound design as demonstrated by the dance floor stomp of "Skin," the mix of glitchy industrial and somber piano on "Cocoon," and the breakneck punk-like speed of "Trigger," and featuring a frenetic remix by post-industrial IDM act Totakeke, Cut & Coil is Cylab's most energetic and musically frenzied album to date; no less melodic and no less experimental, simultaneously fulfilling the needs of any rivethead club-goer and any explorer of sound and atmosphere.
Already recognized in Europe as being among the elite of classically trained pianists, and having lent his remixing and production talents to such artists as Collide, Atomica, and Agonized by Love, as well as playing live bass with New York glam rock act Acey Slade, Percy Trayanov's method with Cylab is a unique one that incorporates all his musical and production skills to bring elements of experimental sound design into melodic song structures that are as mysterious as they are enticing. Varying modes of electronic music - from the intricately controlled chaos of IDM to the dance floor friendly simplicity of EBM and the atmospheric chill of ambient - all come together in Trayanov's compositions. While a capable vocalist, Trayanov needed an element that would allow the lyrical magick to manifest...this came in the form of vocalist SeVerina X Sol. As a founding member, lead vocalist, and co-producer of renowned underground act Diva Destruction, in which she was widely recognized by artists and press alike, and as the lead vocalist in coldwave/electro act Fockewolf for five years, SeVerina X Sol brings an unparalleled emotional core to Cylab's music without which the power of the songs would be diminished. At once cold and distant, warm and inviting, her hypnotic voice complements the airy, eerie ambience of Trayanov's compositions, acting as much as another instrumental component and a lyrical relay for the musical balance between destruction and creation. Adding to this brew of industrialized darkwave is live percussionist Dre Robinson - a.k.a. Databomb. An alumni of such groups as CTC, Noisebox, and most recently Skinny Puppy, Databomb's percussive contributions bring yet an even more organic element to Trayanov's synthetic atmospheres, which in tandem with X Sol's voice balances the human element in Cylab's dark electronic compositions.
Cylab went on to release Unparallel Universe in 2004 on Seattle label A.D.S.R. Musicwerks. The album, produced by Wade Alin of Chicago's Christ Analogue, featured the first examples of the band's mix of melodic electro and dark IDM-inspired song structures, creating a vibe not dissimilar to the more experimental works of Haujobb and Android Lust. The 2006 follow up of Satellites found the band continuing further down this exploratory path, as evident in the offbeat rhythms, expansive sonic landscapes, and despairing lyrical ambience of such songs as "Satellites," "Parting Fields," and "Tides." Satellites also marked the band's first release on their own Whispercore Music label, followed by the 2007 remix album Disseminate, which featured remixes by such luminaries of the underground electro/industrial scene as Haujobb, Combichrist, Imperative Reaction, and Interface. Disseminate also featured a mesmerizing cover of Nirvana's hit song "Heart Shaped Box," transforming the original's grungy angst into a blistering electronic display of dark melody and dance floor aggression. Since the band's inception, Cylab has performed alongside such prominent and diverse acts as And One, Covenant, and My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult, as well as appearing at the 2007 Eccentrik Festival with The Gothsicles, The Last Dance, and Meg Lee Chin. With the release of Cut & Coil in 2010, Cylab stands ready to take its place alongside the top bands in the electro/industrial underground with a sound that is as accessible as it is adventurous.
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