- Mind.in.a.box
-
mind.in.a.box Origin Vienna, Austria Genres Futurepop
Progressive TranceYears active 2002–present Labels dependent
Metropolis RecordsAssociated acts THYX Website mindinabox.com Members Stefan Poiss
Roman Stift
Gehard Höffler
Adam Wehsely-Swiczinskymind.in.a.box is Austrian electronic music band which includes Stefan Poiss (vocals), Roman Stift (Bass), Gehard Höffler (Drums) and Adam Wehsely-Swiczinsky (Guitar) . Their "technopop" sound can be described as a cross between futurepop and progressive trance.
mind.in.a.box is currently working on their 5th studio LP, which was intended for a 2010 release.[1] In January 2011, the album was stated to be "nearly finished" and seeking a new label to publish it. In March 2011, Stefan Poiss released the debut single from his new side project THYX.
On October 13, 2011, it was announced that the next album entitled "Revelations" is to be released on January 10, 2012.[2][3]
Contents
Band history
Stefan Poiss and Markus Hadwiger were childhood friends in their native Austria. Over the course of their adult lives, they had collaborated on creating a number of computer games. In 2000, Poiss had decided to create a music album. With Poiss writing the music and performing the vocals and Hadwiger providing the lyrics, mind.in.a.box' debut album Lost Alone was completed in 2001. After approaching dependent, the album spent another year being tweaked and marketed before it was finally released in 2002. Lost Alone was an immediate success and soared to the number one spot in the Deutsche Alternative Charts where it would stay for five consecutive weeks.[4][5]
The story
For their first three albums, their songs feature monologues, snippets of audio logs and conversations that combine to tell a story that spans the albums. Together, they form a mysterious epic that draws on science fiction, fantasy and noir fiction.
Chapter 1: Lost Alone
Waiting: This is a series of phone calls, in which Mr. Black talks to a man that he has attached a trace to. Black is spying on Him. The man is concerned about a woman and is trying to get into contact with Her. Just before he is able to get a hold of the woman, Black calls his contact and agrees to take some sort of action against Him that will leave Him unable to escape and not interrupt the trace.
Forever Gone: Another series of phone calls between Black and someone. Black has lost Him. The trace on the man has been broken and Black has no idea where he has gone. The Speaker tracks Him through a scrap of paper with an address to a bar. When Black arrives at the bar, he finds Him. The man's body is lifeless and has all of his (unspecified) "gear" with it, although all the data on his gear has been erased. The Speaker comes to the conclusion that the man must have "switched over" to "the other side".
Chapter 2: Dreamweb
Tape Evidence: Black says that he's been constantly dreaming and that even reality appeared dream-like. He was briefly snapped out of his dreaming by a door bell. When he went to answer the door, he found an audio tape.
Dead End: Black is talking with White over a radio. White's side of the conversation cannot be heard. He is surveiling a club, trying to find Her. He loses his patience and goes inside. He finds the woman and is instantly assaulted by his dreams. He runs through hallways and down stairs trying to get away from the music. The music rises in intensity and the woman is still in front of him. He continues fleeing to escape the music and when he bursts through a door, he finds himself back in the club before he passes out.
Reflections: An audio log sums up the search for Her. After Black wakes up in the gutter, he does not understand what happened to him and cannot contact White over his radio. He finds White who has gotten a tape from a man at the club. He goes home and still hears the music before falling asleep.
Chapter 3: Crossroads
Introspection: Black awakens in a tank of water, with Night and The Friend watching him from outside. They break the glass and free him. He wakes up in an apartment with the knowledge that some people known as the Sleepwalkers helped him and that the events in the past two chapters were misleading; that White is not his friend and was actually trying to erase his identity.
Amnesia: Reeling from the realization that his partnership with White was a lie, Black realizes that he doesn't know who he is and is suffering from amnesia.
Into the Night: Snippets of Black's side of conversations detail his investigations into what really happened in the club in Chapter 2. He discovers that his name is Black and finds a clue pointing him to the Sleepwalkers.
The cast
Black: Black is the point of view that the story is told from. It's unknown what his motives are and until Crossroads even his name was a mystery. He is working for White, doing mostly surveillance. He seems to be some sort of a government or corporate agent, with little qualms about killing.
White: White is Black's direct supervisor. White is the only member of the story who has been named. While he had been assuming a sort of controller role in Lost Alone, he makes a physical appearance in Reflections, making it clear that White is comfortable with field work.
Him: The unnamed man, who is the target of investigation in Lost Alone, is only referred to by male pronouns. It is implied that he is some sort of a hacker, possibly even a decker or cyber-cowboy. At the end of Lost Alone his body is dead, although it is strongly believed that his mind still lives and he has transferred his consciousness into the Internet.
Her: The unnamed woman, who is the target of investigation in Dreamweb, is only referred to by female pronouns. She seems to have had some sort of relationship with Him. It is revealed that she "knows how to get there", suggesting that she knows what happened to Him and how to replicate it. At the end of Dreamweb, she has escaped surveillance and has triggered something in The Speaker's mind.
R.E.T.R.O.
In 2010, mind.in.a.box released R.E.T.R.O., a new album separate from the story lines of Lost Alone, Dreamweb and Crossroads. R.E.T.R.O. pays homage to the days of computer gaming on 8-bit computers, with some remixes of classic game soundtracks as well as songs themed around 8-bit computing. All the tracks feature synth sounds styled after the sound capabilities of the Commodore 64 home computer and other machines of its day.
Following positive reception of the album, the song "8 Bits" was released on a limited edition EP.
Discography
EP
- Certainty – dependent (2005)
- What Used To Be – dependent (2007)
- 8 Bits – dependent (2010)
LP
- Lost Alone – dependent (2004) / Metropolis Records (2004)
- Dreamweb – dependent (2005) / Metropolis Records (2005)
- Crossroads – dependent (2007) / Metropolis Records (2007)[6]
- R.E.T.R.O. – dependent (2010) / Metropolis Records (2010)
- Revelations Metropolis Records (2012)
References
- ^ http://vampirefreaks.com/content/comment.php?entry=463&t=Interview+with+Mind+In+a+Box Interview with Vampire Freaks
- ^ http://www.blackvector.se/after-r-e-t-r-o-mind-in-a-box-announce-new-album-revelations
- ^ http://www.metropolis-mailorder.com/product.php?prodnum=MET+780
- ^ Interview with Side-Line magazine
- ^ http://www.movementmagazine.com/0105/music_0105.htm Interview with Movement Magazine
- ^ http://www.mindinabox.com/moments/main.php mind.in.a.box's news page
External links
Categories:- Austrian musical groups
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