Secret Machines have shared the new track “Everything Starts,” the second single from their upcoming LP, Awake in the Brain Chamber, the band’s first new album in over a decade. The record will be available globally, on all streaming platforms, beginning Friday, August 21. Limited-edition vinyl will be available this Fall (pre-order here). Check out the track below…
Featuring guitar by founding Secret Machines member Benjamin Curtis, who left the band in 2007 and passed away from T-cell lymphoblastic lymphoma in late 2013, “Everything Starts” originated from a demo Brandon Curtis recorded nearly a decade ago, and later revisited with drummer Josh Garza. Part love song, part memory-soaked dreamscape, the song is a tribute that reunites Secret Machines on a sonic plane eerily reminiscent of their earliest music.
“Some place in the back of my mind I guess I was hoping I could write a Fleetwood Mac song. But It kept coming out all weird. I read a quote from Wayne Coyne, something like ‘If you are writing a song and you immediately like it, it’s probably no good. But when it sounds weird or if you just don’t know about it, that ’s the good stuff.’ Well, for some insane reason that has stuck with me. So I called my brother to see if he could play something that Lindsey Buckingham would play and he came back with what we have here. Sort of saved it from my own worst inclinations, or at least that’s my opinion,” says Brandon.
“Awake in the Brain Chamber is as much about new beginnings as it is about honoring and appreciating the past. When I close my eyes and listen to “Everything Starts” I see three guys in a room playing music. I see Ben, Brandon and me… we’re all playing our instruments, we’re all smiling and it’s probably a bit too loud,” adds Garza. “For a brief and infinite five minutes, I’m taken to a sonic landscape that is special and unique, with a sound that only Benjamin can deliver. I’m glad we’ve been given this chance to honor his legacy in this way, and to fold this final collaboration into a new chapter for Secret Machines.”
Featuring the experimental, space rock sounds that are revered and beloved by fans and critics alike, Awake in the Brain Chamber is an album that has been through many versions and incarnations. It has become a symbol of rebirth, presenting a new narrative and territory for the stories left unsaid. In the decade since the Machines’ hiatus, a lot of life has happened, from marriage and children, to the tragic, untimely death of Brandon Curtis’ brother and former band member, Benjamin Curtis, in 2013, whose sonic fingerprints are all over the record.
“I began writing these songs at a time I remember feeling alone and lost, and I think the songs have that in their DNA,” says Brandon. “I started sharing early versions with Benjamin who gave me notes as well as encouragement. I am sure that without his influence this album would never have seen the light of day.”
Brandon continued to produce and develop the tracks, ultimately recording several demos throughout 2011 and 2012. In 2013, Benjamin was diagnosed with cancer. “While reworking the tracks, Josh and I were careful to retain whatever influence Benjamin had as a sort of living tribute to him. I know that Josh and I both feel very fortunate to have had this opportunity to work with him again, albeit posthumously. I know we are both very proud to present this as the first Secret Machines music in over a decade.”
