ALAN VEGA
In The Red Records To Release Previously Unreleased New Album, Insurrection
Produced And Mixed By Jared Artaud And Liz Lamere
Out May 31 Pre-Save/Pre-Order
Produced And Mixed By Jared Artaud And Liz Lamere
Out May 31 Pre-Save/Pre-Order
Second Single, “Cyanide Soul” Available Today
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Photo: Adrian Boot
In The Red Records will release the previously unreleased new album from Alan Vega, entitled Insurrection, produced and mixed by Jared Artaud and Liz Lamere, on May 31. Vega’s name is synonymous with uncompromising creativity, from the late 1950s, through his years playing in Suicide, and all the way up until his death in 2016, Vega was constantly creating. This process inevitably led to a wealth of material that didn’t see the light of day immediately when it was recorded, which came to be known as the Vega Vault. Insurrection is the second in a series of archival releases from the Vault that follows 2021’s lost album, Mutator (Sacred Bones). Insurrection was recorded with his longtime collaborator and wife Liz Lamere and discovered in the Vault in 2022 by both Lamere and Vega’s close friend and confidante Jared Artaud (The Vacant Lots). Soon after they mixed and produced the songs into the visionary album that was lurking within ADAT tapes. Today, the record’s second single, “Cyanide Soul,” which hits like a modern day “Frankie Teardrop,” is available.
Speaking of "Cyanide Soul," co-producer and mixer of Insurrection, Jared Artaud said: "Discovering another album’s worth of unreleased Vega tracks was shocking and there is so much material to continue to go through. After we produced and mixed “Mutator,” we found these unfinished songs on ADAT tapes that had not been mixed. One of them was Cyanide Soul. This track really struck me by its minimalism and its dark and haunting beauty. My objective with Vega’s material is always to curate and finish the work in a way that Alan would have been proud of. There are a number of artistic decisions that go into putting these albums together and it’s an honor to be able to release and share this music.”
Vega's longtime creative ally and Insurrection co-producer Liz Lamere adds, “Cyanide Soul is a very special track to me. I can clearly remember recording some of the keyboard lines, and I especially remember what it felt like to hear him performing this whispered somewhat tortured vocal. Alan always performed the vocals in one take after the music was completed, and I was mesmerized by this one."
Listen to “Cyanide Soul”
The visual artist, musician, and poet Alan Vega was born in Brooklyn in 1938. He co-founded the massively influential avant-garde band Suicide with Martin Rev in 1970, with whom he performed off and on throughout his life. Suicide’s groundbreaking debut album was included among Rolling Stone’s list of the 500 greatest albums of all time, and it was a formative work in the invention of synth-punk, post-punk, art rock, industrial music and is considered one of the most influential albums of all time.
The visual artist, musician, and poet Alan Vega was born in Brooklyn in 1938. He co-founded the massively influential avant-garde band Suicide with Martin Rev in 1970, with whom he performed off and on throughout his life. Suicide’s groundbreaking debut album was included among Rolling Stone’s list of the 500 greatest albums of all time, and it was a formative work in the invention of synth-punk, post-punk, art rock, industrial music and is considered one of the most influential albums of all time.
Vega would go on to have a prolific career as a solo artist. His hit song “Jukebox Babe” led to a contract with Elektra Records, who released two albums including the cult classic Saturn Strip, produced by Ric Ocasek. From there, rejecting the commercial machine, he went back to his roots, doing a deep dive into experimenting with sound in the studio. This era resulted in new solo records coming out consistently throughout the next several decades; starting with Deuce Avenue, continuing through Dujang Prang (on Henry Rollins' 2.13.61 imprint), and culminating with his masterpiece It. Vega considered the albums from this period the audio counterpoint to his visual art that reflected the world around him while simultaneously delving into universal themes. It makes his work as relevant today as it was then.
It was during this period that he began working with Liz Lamere, who became his wife and the most crucial collaborator of his solo career. Lamere, along with fellow Vega collaborator Jared Artaud discovered in 2019 the lost Vega album, Mutator, which they co-produced and mixed. The 11 songs on Insurrection showcase the unparalleled vision and uncompromising force from one of the most influential artists of all time.
Artaud says, “It’s an incredible experience spending countless hours producing, mixing, and curating Vega’s music. Both “Mutator” and “Insurrection” required a lot of time to dig through the tracks, arrange them all and finish them. Discovering the songs on ADAT tapes was just crazy. We transferred the tapes and found these amazing songs to work with. There is so much more material left in the Vault. When Alan told me that “I am ending, you’re beginning, I’m passing down the torch to you” I took that very seriously. And one of the last times I saw him we made a pact. So I feel in many ways I am living up to that today and trying to honor that with maximum loyalty. Insurrection hits hard and shows the power and intensity of Alan Vega's visionary solo work. It feels like he was always striving to break new ground. There's always a kind of magic that goes into working on Vega's music. I feel like he was tapped into some other dimension. One hand in the gutter and one hand in the stars. We discovered this cluster of songs on ADATs that were in the Vega Vault, shortly after releasing Vega's lost album Mutator. Half the time I feel like a producer and the other I feel like some kind of archeologist. It's an incredible experience working on this material with Liz. It feels like this album belongs in the world right now."
On the new album, Lamere says: "Insurrection was created circa 1997/98, after Mutator, and prior to Vega’s release of “2007” in 1999. It captures the intense energy of NYC in the 90s rife with crime, killing, hate, fascism, racism, and moral bankruptcy. You can hear the tortured souls floating through this album. Post-Gulf War angst and premonitions of terrorist attacks in our homeland enveloped Alan. The upcoming birth of his son raised further awareness of the state of our world. All these emotions are mirrored in the sounds he magnetized. Yet, true to Vega form, there remains hope and empowerment coursing through the tracks. In the nearly three decades in the studio with Vega, we recorded significantly more material than the seven albums released. Vega’s intention was to experiment with sound which would become the canvas for the poetry that reflected his vision of the universe. Often full sessions would be spent creating a single sound. Because the goal wasn’t to make albums, he had no timeline or constraints and would freely follow new paths uncovered along the way.”
Lamere and Artaud spearhead the Vega Vault project, which aims to bring rare, unreleased and back catalog work spanning Alan Vega and Suicide’s career to the public for the first time. Lamere says. “After Alan and I worked on the split 10" single for Alan Vega's "Nike Soldier" and The Vacant Lots’ ("Mad Mary Jones" Alternate Mix) followed by the remix of The Vacant Lots "6 AM" track, Alan spent many hours with Jared discussing music, art, philosophy. Knowing there was so much more recorded material in the Vault, Vega believed Jared and I would make a great team producing this music and building his legacy.”
Recently, Jared Artaud co-produced alongside Hedi Slimane the exclusive soundtrack - an extended mix of Suicide's "Girl" - for Celine's Le Palace FW23 runway show, released The Vacant Lots fifth full-length album Interiors, and is currently co-curating a new Alan Vega art exhibition, Cesspool Saints, opening May 16 at Laurent Godin Gallery in Paris.
A new biography "Infinite Dreams - The Life of Alan Vega,” co-written by Liz Lamere and Laura Davis-Chanin, with a foreword by Bruce Springsteen, will be published on June 18 by Backbeat Books and Lamere will be releasing her second solo album, “One Never Knows”, on June 14 via In The Red Records.
Pre-Save/Pre-Order Insurrection here.
INSURRECTION TRACKLIST:
SEWER
INVASION
CRASH
MURDER ONE
FIREBALLER FEVER
GENOCIDE
CHAINS
JET LORD
FIREBALLER SPIRIT
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