Butch Vig has the reputation and resume of a true music industry legend, having produced legendary records like Nirvana’s Nevermind, Smashing Pumpkins’ Siamese Dream and Sonic Youth’s Dirty, as well as created some phenomenal music himself with his career in Garbage. But, never the one to take a break, Vig has gone ahead and formed a new supergroup.
The outfit, dubbed 5 Billion in Diamonds, includes Vig, UK DJ James Grillo, and producer/keyboardist Andy Jenks. The band’s upcoming self-titled debut, however, will be featuring a whole lot more artists.
Just to mention a few, there is guitarist Alex Lee of Suede, bassist Sean Cook from Spiritualized and drummer Damon Reece, also from Spiritualized, Massive Attack and Echo and the Bunnymen. The album also comes with an array of guest vocalists, including Soundtrack of Our Lives’ Ebbott Lundberg, Helen White of Alpha, the Ocean Blue’s David Schelzel and Sandra Dedrick of the Free Design. Hear every one of these talented musicians when the record arrives August 11 via 100% Records.
To whet the appetite of fans, 5 Billion in Diamonds offers us “Gravity Rules,” which includes vocals from Lundberg and a phenomenally trippy new music video.
Apparently Vig and Grillo formed the project after cementing the band name, which he likened to a “cult Michael Caine B-movie thriller from 1967 or something.” Working with Jenks, they created a series of instrumentals, which they fleshed out after recruiting “dream vocalists.
“One of the first people that James wrote on there was Ebbot Lundberg from Soundtrack of Our Lives,” said Vig in a statement. “We’re huge Soundtrack fans. About four years ago when they were getting ready to break up, they did a series of shows up in Stockholm. We went up to see them. James, fuelled by many glasses of vino, just bum-rushed them [and] said, ‘Hey, Butch and I have a band, and we’d like you to sing with us,’ and he just [said], ‘Ja, I would like to sing with you.’ It really was that easy. He sang on like, four songs. That happened really quickly.”
Check out “Gravity Rules” for yourself below, along with information about the upcoming album.
5 Billion in Diamonds Track List
01. Gravity Rules
02. Better If
03. Traveling in Time
04. Broken Wing
05. I’m Becoming You
06. Moonbeams
07. Glider
08. Lost in the Sea
09. Paraphrenalia
10. Close The Door
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