The Attraction to All Things Uncertain
It all started with the painting on the cover of the album. From the serpentine, shadowy slither of the opening track, "Linoleum,"  through complex soundscapes that float slowly into a kind of light, not  the light of day, but the filtered glint that leaks through yellowed  windows. Grammy® Award-winning artist, producer, and remix virtuoso  Chris Vrenna takes us on a journey through The Attraction to All Things  Uncertain.  A little background. Chris Vrenna has been a prominent figure in  alternative music since he began hammering drums and programming beats  with Nine Inch Nails. After leaving the band he soon became one of the  hottest studio wizards in the business. His credits are vast: David  Bowie, Smashing Pumpkins, Marilyn Manson, Green Day, The Wallflowers,  Hole, Rob Zombie as well as Xzibit featuring Dr.Dre and Snoop Dogg. In a  recent one-month period alone, he provided U2 with their "Elevation  (Tomb Raider Mix)" for the summer blockbuster Tomb Raider, and provided  remixes for Nelly Furtado, Weezer and Poe. In addition, he produced the  recent album for Cold, whose CD is nearing gold status.  Even coffee, Vrenna's admitted drug of choice, isn't enough to fuel this  furious pace. Every now and then, he's gotta get out, take a walk, and  prowl the art galleries of L.A. "I'm an art enthusiast," he admits. "So one day I went into this gallery  and saw this painting of a sad little guy staring at an empty  typewriter, with a cup of coffee on the table. His hands are folded.  He's got these big glasses on. It practically brought me to tears. The  expression on his face, and the feelings that the painting evoked were  just amazing. I went back to that gallery every week for six months and  just stared at that painting. Then, finally, a dear friend bought it for  me – they said they couldn't let anyone else own it." The painting, created by Joe Sorren, now hangs in Vrenna's living room.  Previously, it hung on his studio wall, an apparition whose silent,  eloquent presence he used to inspire this latest project -- an  inspiration so direct and demanding that Vrenna even borrowed from the  painting's title, Elliott's Attraction to All Things Uncertain, for his  album. In moments grabbed between freelance projects, or in long late-night  stretches with only Elliott as his witness, Vrenna assembled a  compelling sequence of pieces, bristling with electronic effects, swampy  slide guitar, and stadium-sized slammin' beats that alternate with  moments of intimate introspection. Each note plays a role in Vrenna's  grand plan to tell the story of Elliott, a kind of lost Everyman, whose  life, if everything works out, will lead not to triumph, but to a kind  of resolution born from resignation and acceptance. To help guide the story along, Vrenna recruited three guest vocalists to  add words at four critical junctures. Each received musical material, a  reproduction of the painting, a summary of the plot, and instructions on  what Vrenna hoped they would contribute. The results surpassed his  expectations. On "Linoleum," the opening track and single featured on  the EP, David Sylvian's haunting baritone brings us quickly to the heart  of Elliott's fearful confusion. A woman's voice asks "Why?," which only  emphasizes his uncertainties. Will Oldham's (of Palace Music and Bonnie  'Prince' Billy) contribution to the album on "Happy Child" is the  turning point of Elliot's story. As the music shifts from a murky tread  into a breathless suspension on "The Drive-bye," it's the only part of  the album where no drums or percussion pulse. It then falls to Craig  Wedren of Shudder to Think to deliver the two final vocal tracks. His  voice stretches like a bird emerging from its egg on "Take Me Alive" and  soars over a chorus of massed harmonies, unchained yet not quite free on  "After All," singing "I do not fear this after all/Not quite so fearless  after all." The 50-minute EP of "Linoleum," the first single from tweaker, features  remixes of the David Sylvian track from Josh Wink, Wamdue Project, King  Britt, Teargas & Plate Glass and Paul Leary of the Butthole Surfers,  along with rare non-LP tracks. The 12" vinyl contains remixes from Josh  Wink, Wamdue Project and King Britt. Recorded under the name tweaker, which Vrenna adopted when he began work  on this project three years ago, The Attraction to All Things Uncertain  will be at long last released this fall. And that's just the beginning:  Look for American McGee's Alice, featuring his music for the popular PC  game based on the darker side of Alice in Wonderland, later this year.  This collaboration between Vrenna and game designer American McGee is a  match made in virtual heaven. As the genius behind Doom and Quake, McGee  possesses a dark and brilliant vision that perfectly complements  Vrenna's sonic imagination. For Alice, Vrenna concocted a haunting score  played mainly on toy instruments and sweetened with female choir,  strings, and effects. It is not a game for the faint of heart, but then, neither is the music  of Chris Vrenna. Have the courage to enter the world of Alice and The  Attraction to All Things Uncertain -- you're guaranteed to come back  safely, and with a decidedly different view of the world around you.  Both albums will be out on Six Degrees Records.