Ego Likeness

"Steven Archer" redirects here. For the video game character, see List of characters in the Syphon Filter series#Steven Archer.

Ego Likeness
Ego Likeness poses for their album Breedless
Background information
Origin	Baltimore, Maryland
Genres	Industrial rock
Years active	1999–present
Labels	Metropolis Records
Website	[1]
Members
Donna Lynch - vocals, piano, words and music Steven Archer - guitar, programming, vocals, music and words Mindcage Rick - Live drumming Mike K Johnson - Live drumming
Past members
Justin "Dingo" Sabe - keytar, synths, noise Adam Goode- bass Tim McCracken- keyboards Dave O'Donnell- drums Jenny Mettee- guitar, cello Stephanie Kim- violin Jerome Lintz- drums Nick "Konchog Nyima" vonZoll -drums Dan Mullen- guitar Amanda Mason- keyboards, backing vocals Shaun Mason- guitar Magpie Killjoy- drums

Ego Likeness are an American darkwave/industrial rock band from Baltimore, Maryland. They were formed in 1999 by artist Steven Archer and writer Donna Lynch.

History

Early Work

Taking their name from Frank Herbert’s classic science fiction novel Dune,^[1] Ego Likeness began as an experimental/ dark trip hop project. A demo called ‘Songs from a Dead City’, recorded on a four track and self-produced by Archer and Lynch, was released in 1999. ^[2]

In 2000, Archer and Lynch took the project in a darker electronic/ dance direction, resulting in a self-released full length album entitled 'Dragonfly' under EL's own label, Angelfall.

Dancing Ferret Records

After a short hiatus from recording, a lengthy period of trial, error, revision, and many live performances, Ego Likeness signed with Dancing Ferret Discs for the 2004 release of ‘Water to the Dead’. This album featured the band’s electronic roots while exploring a bit of a heavier rock sound.

In 2005, Ego Likeness toured Germany, Luxembourg, and the continental US with Dancing Ferret label mates The Crüxshadows, as well as performing at several festivals on the east and west coast, including Convergence 11 (San Diego CA), Dracula’s Ball (Philadelphia PA), Black Sun Festival I (New Haven CT), Freaks United (DC), Eccentrik Festival I (Raleigh NC), Dragon Con (Atlanta GA), Ring Con (Fulda, Germany) and others.

Their first album, Dragonfly, was also re-released on Dancing Ferret Discs in 2005.

In 2006, Ego Likeness released their third full length album, ‘The Order of the Reptile’, which ventured back into the realms of heavy electronica, a bit of trip hop, some goth rock, and darkwave.

2006 also saw the release of Where's Neil When You Need Him?, a tribute to writer Neil Gaiman, featuring the song ‘You Better Leave the Stars Alone’, written for the book Stardust. The band toured Germany once again and the US with The Crüxshadows and Ayria throughout the winter of 2006-2007.

In 2007, Ego Likeness toured Germany, Poland and the UK with Ayria and Angelspit. They also performed at sci-fi/fantasy convention Dragon Con.

The Compass EPs

In 2007, Ego Likeness began self-releasing the first of four EPs, collectively titled "The Compass." The first, South, featured new songs and old remixes.

2008 brought about the second of the Compass EPs, West, as well as their single, The Lowest Place on Earth. This was supported by a US tour throughout late winter and spring.

In 2009, the North EP is released, featuring duet with The Dark Clan and a cover of PJ Harvey's "Down by the Water." Ego Likeness also embarked on a tour as a supporting act for Combichrist and Julien-K.

Metropolis Records

In 2010, Ego Likeness were signed to Metropolis Records and released their newest album, Breedless, on April 13, 2010.^[3] The album received critical acclaim from music magazines ReGen^[4] and Reflections of Darkness.^[5] Ego Likeness also appeared as one of 83 artists on the cancer-benefit compilation, Electronic Saviors.

Additional Background

Ego Likeness have also shared the stage with Voltaire, The Damned, Chris Connelly, Collide, Razed in Black, Bella Morte, Das Ich, Rasputina, The Start, Iris, Decoded Feedback, The Azoic, More Machine Than Man, In Strict Confidence, Combichrist, New Model Army, Attriton, The Last Dance, Peter Murphy, and many others.

Archer and Lynch are also the creators of the experimental/instrumental/spoken word outfit The Trinity Project. Archer is the creator of the atmospheric electronica project Hopeful Machines.

Personal lives

Archer and Lynch have been married since October 1999 and currently live in Maryland with their hairless cats.

Lynch has written a dark fiction novel entitled Isabel Burning, released through Raw Dog Screaming Press in 2008. She has also released two collections of poetry, "In My Mouth" (2000), and "Ladies and Other Vicious Creatures" (RDSP, 2007).

Archer has released a children's book entitled Luna Maris and a steampunk fable chapbook titled Red King Black Rook in 2008. He is an accomplished visual artist whose collage-based work has appeared in numerous galleries and in Weird Tales magazine. He periodically DJs at venues in Baltimore and DC, and performs with the DC industrial band BlindTillNow. He is also the creator of the electronic/ noise project Hopeful Machines and continues to show art in various venues on the east coast. Additionally, Hopeful Machines was signed to Washington, DC based label Radio-Active-Music in late 2008. Hopeful Machine's first hard copy album, ::Skinless::, was released in December 2008.^[6]

Discography

Studio Albums

• Songs from a Dead City, Demo, 1999
• Dragonfly, 2000; Re-released 2005
• Water to the Dead, 2004
• The Order of the Reptile, 2006
• Breedless, 2010

EPs

• South 2007
• West 2008
• North 2009

Singles

• "The Lowest Place on Earth" 2008

Remixes by Ego Likeness

• "When I Cared" - The Perfects on the rerelease of the album Future Automatic
• "Cassandra" - The Crüxshadows on the album Fortress in Flames
• "Terribly When" - The Last Dance on the album Reflections of Rage
• "Tarnished" - Black Tape for a Blue Girl on the single "The Scarecrow"
• "Inside of You, In Spite of You (Ti Bon Ange Mix)" - ThouShaltNot on the single "The Projectionist"
• "Vena Cava"- Angelspit on the CD Krankhaus
• "Demon"- Hypofixx on the album After December
• "Mantra (Shades of Grey version)"- The Machine in the Garden on the album XV

Guest appearances

• "Little Drummer Boy" - With Nicki Jaine on the CD Projekt Records' Holiday Single 1
• Then and Again - Voltaire
• "The NeverEnding Story" - The Dark Clan on the Goths on a Boat EP.

Compilation appearances

• Asleep By Dawn Magazine Presents: DJ Ferret's Underground Club Mix #1
• The Best of Radio Free Abattoir
• Dancing In The Dark: 10 Years Of Dancing Ferret
• Dancing In The Dark: 2006
• Where's Neil When You Need Him? 2006
• Electronic Saviors: Industrial Music to Cure Cancer

References

1. ^ "Ego likeness" definition on Dune Wiki
2. ^ Ego Likeness biography on Metropolis Records
3. ^ Ego Likeness Official Site
4. ^ ReGen Breedless ReView
5. ^ Reflections of Darkness Breedless Review
6. ^ Ego Likeness Official Site

External links

• Official Site
• Ego Likeness on Myspace
• Ego Likeness Live Journal
• Hopeful Machines: Steven Archer's Atmospheric Electronica side project