Amon Tobin’s long awaited new album will once again reinvent what is possible with sound and music. Here’s an excerpt about the upcoming album from amontobin.com:

“Amon is hunkered down in his studio deep in the redwoods of Northern Californian and has begun work on a new album. In addition to researching and developing new production tools and techniques of his own, he’s ensconced himself in a whole new array of gadgetry from the past and the future that will help continue to push the boundaries of what is possible with sound and music. Tour dates and outside projects have been put on the back burner for now – Amon recently turned down a lucrative high profile scoring opportunity amongst other things—in order to focus solely on what can best be described as an auditory space walk.”

Everyone has a favorite artist/producer whose music they collect. Mine used to be Pearl Jam, then it was Nine Inch Nails (I broke my perfect streak after halo 19) and ever since 2001, it’s been Amon Tobin. Eight years ago, a friend of a friend left Supermodified at my apartment for my roommate and I to check out. I knew almost immediately that this guy was it—the most creative and talented electronic DJ/producer—at least as far as I was concerned. I picked up all his previous material, including Adventures in Foam, by Cujo, and got Out From Out Where as soon as it was released in 2002—and almost everything else since. While digging for some new music this afternoon, I found some remixes by Tobin that I had never heard. I picked em’ up from iTunes to complete the collection as far as I know it.

The first track by Pongá is called “Pick Up the Pieces of Saturn (Mosh Mix by Amon Tobin).” Pongá is an experimental jazz band that got its start in Seattle. Their latest release, The Remixes, has some great tracks on it including remixes by Spacetime Continuum, Capsule 150 and Even Schiller. This particular tune resembles the music from Chaos Theory—TONS of aggressive breaks.

The second tune, by Baikonour, is called “Coca Sun (Bhangratronic Mix by Amon Tobin).” This one sounds like it could have been an extra track off of Out From Out Where or Chaos Theory. Baikonour’s music is a blend of downtempo and ambient. Think Bonobo meets Explosions in the Sky and sprinkle that with some Hefner.

The most recent track, “Aksak (Amon Tobin Remix),” is by Omar Faruk Tekbilek, an incredibly talented Turkish/Middle Eastern musician. Their styles blend perfectly to create a sound similar to that of the Infamous soundtrack, a recent video game score co-produced by Amon Tobin.

The last track I picked up, “Chicken in the Wind (Amon Tobin Remix),” is by Airto Moreira & The Gods of Jazz. The original is an improvised jazz track released in 1993. Definitely not for those seeking classically composed jazz. Because the remix was done in 2000, it most resembles music off of Permutation.

Tobin is currently working on new material for Two Fingers with producer Doubleclick. If you haven’t already heard it, check out the self titled debut album, Two Fingers. Also, Amon Tobin will be playing a few gigs in the US and Canada starting in August.

MP3: Baikonour – Coca Sun (Bhangratronic Mix by Amon Tobin)

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Amon Tobin recently collaborated with Sony’s music team and composers Jim Dooley, Mel Wessen, Jonathan Mayer and Martin Tillman on an incredible score for the new open-world game, Infamous. The game, created by Sucker Punch Productions, combines elements from Grand Theft Auto, Crackdown and Assassin Creed all set within a modern metropolis after a devastating explosion to the center of the city. The hero, Cole McGrath, not only survives the blast but walks away with superhuman powers.

Now Cole is on a mission to destroy a gang of wraith-like creatures who also inherited super powers. The players can decide whether to use Cole’s powers for good or to go on a destructive rampage, destroying literally everything and everyone in sight. There are countless side missions and objects to collect throughout. The game is packed with violence, mass destruction, secret packages, hallucinations and lots and lots of electricity.

In order for the score to work, the team decided to create fresh recordings of city sounds, found objects, stringed instruments and metal scraps. Cello bows were used as drum sticks while terra cotta pots were used as drum heads. Musical elements were made non-musical and vice versa. An example of one of their sounds was a bungee cord wrapped around a bass drum, covered in dry beans. When they snapped the cord, the beans reverberated on the drum head, creating an awesome gritty rumble.

The soundtrack is great alone but I bet it’s 10X better during game play. This isn’t Tobin’s first crack at a video game soundtrack either. In 2003, he created the score for the game, Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory. The score turned out to be a huge success making him one of the most desired video game composers. In 2006, he created an original score for the Hungarian short film, Taxidermia.

At the end of June, Tobin will begin a tour throughout Europe and North Amerca. To keep up to date on new projects and tour dates, visit Amon Tobin on MySpace.

MP3: Amon Tobin & Jim Dooley – Meet the Reapers

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