Shai Azul remix
Shai Azul just released their single “Faith (Android Lust remix).”
Shai Azul just released their single “Faith (Android Lust remix).”
Interview with music blog Audio Cantrips.
Interview with NYT Bestselling author Yasmine Galenorn on her blog “Life on the Fringe.”
New interview with Rob Puricelli of Failed Muso.
This is a cover of “Cemetery Girls” by Schoolyard Heroes. This was chosen by a Kickstarter donor during the Crater Vol.1 campaign.
In the right mood, Crater has all of the aesthetics of a film noir score, delivering nighttime visuals through the horror-like environment. The instrumental tracks are polished to a sleek synthesis of a choir, working about their many stratums to deliver an experience both immersive and uncomfortable.
Having relocated from the east to the west coast and opting for a style more centered on sound design and atmosphere, the latest outing from Android Lust may take some getting used to for longtime fans. While Crater Vol. 1 presents all of the same elements that have defined the band’s sound, evolving from electro/industrial into more progressive areas of ambience and varied electronic musicianship, there is a discernible shift in focus and tone with this album. This disparity is especially notable in the sparseness of the vocals, which had been up to now a much heralded component of Android Lust, particularly in Shikhee’s ability to not only sing in a diverse range of emotions but to utilize her voice as an instrument as much as the standards of guitar, synth, and percussion. With Crater Vol. 1, the veritable impact on the listener can be felt as palpably as that of a planetary collision exuded by the title and cover image, making for a deliciously lush album that is as melodic and as edgy as the band’s past releases.
A collision leaves a mark. A planet’s surface is broken; a body, a heart, or a mind is left rent and torn. But trauma is only the initiation of change. Broken earth can fill with water, become a lake, host new life. Battered hearts can mend, forgive, forget. Whether jagged hole or fractured soul, a crater is a process, not a state of being.
This is the purview of Crater Vol. 1, the fifth studio album from Android Lust. After the success of 2010’s The Human Animal and the national tours that followed, singer/songwriter/producer Shikhee uprooted from her longtime home of New York City and settled on the opposite coast, in Los Angeles. The new surroundings were accompanied by a new method of songwriting. “I wanted to take a more linear approach to writing with a stronger emphasis on sound design, focus on mood pieces and let vocals take a backseat.”
That sound design has always set Android Lust apart from the pack, and Crater Vol. 1 puts the intricate electronic and acoustic instrumentations front and center; only three songs feature Shikhee’s memorable voice. Ambient soundscapes give shape to the void, while beds of processed field recordings provide grit and texture. Rhythmic melodies build like thunderheads but rarely break into outright storms, maintaining a pensive mood throughout. Crater Vol. 1 is an album for the aftermath of a traumatic impact, a soundtrack for the introspective journeys that bring new growth.
Pre-order “Crater vol.1” CD from the Android Lust official store at 20% off, or digital version from the iTunes store.

“Crater vol.1” is scheduled to hit streets on January 29th, 2013. Download of the album will be available sooner from this site. Stay tuned…