Marcus Rezak Recruits Members of Umphrey’s McGee, The Disco Biscuits, and SunSquabi for a Prog-Fusion Color Red Single “Neutron Orbiter”

Article Contributed by Leah Concialdi | Published on Tuesday, September 17, 2019

Marcus Rezak is a seasoned veteran at opening the gateway to galactic collaborations. He has shared the stage with the heaviest hitters on the jam scene including members of Umphrey’s McGee, moe., Lotus, STS9, and more. Couple that with the worldly talents of Frank Zappa and David Bowie band members and add the icing from the likes of Stanley Jordan and Fareed Haraquee on top of Berklee-educated cake and you have an artist with limitless possibilities. In November 2018, Rezak took his first steps as a solo artist releasing a stellar shoegaze jam-rock debut album Gateway to the Galaxy. Wanting to release a single to preface a sophomore album he called upon ‘GTTG’ collaborator Joel Cummins to do a track at Color Red Studios during this summer’s Umphrey’s McGee run at Red Rocks. From there, he filled out the session with Allen Aucoin (The Disco Biscuits) on drums and Josh Fairman (SunSquabi, Analog Son) on bass.

Color Red, an entertainment platform & record label founded by Eddie Roberts of The New Mastersounds, gives artists a platform to call in like-minded musicians to push boundaries and break barriers. Having a prior working relationship Fairman (one of the partners of the label who also engineered & produced the session) and wanting to release a single anyway, it made sense for him to bring Cummins and Aucoin in and record the tune during Umphrey’s Red Rocks run. Cummins had already hinted that Color Red was a natural fit and bound to happen. His wife had previously tour managed The New Mastersounds for two years and the group actually ended up playing their wedding in Jamaica.

“Neutron Orbiter” is the result of four titans of cross-genre music producing a monster progressive, jam fusion, shred-fest magnum opus. Each musician lends a special sound as you hear hints of masterful guitar, layered synth work, pocket bass, and a healthy mix of both time and breaks on the drums. Not only do you hear the signature sound that’s reminiscent of work in their respective projects, but everybody has a chance to shine as an individual. The group entered the studio with no prior outline and composed the song organically. It was recorded straight to tape on a Tascam 388 and later fleshed out with guitar overdubs at Fairman’s studio Scanhope Sound and keyboard overdubs at Eric Krasno’s studio in Los Angeles.

"Neutron Orbiter" is an epic musical journey that is a true extension of my musical direction combining multiple sounds to create one whole sound. This track was written and recorded live in the studio with no previous preparation resulting in a purely organic musical development of the track with later overdubs of sonic layering enhancing what was already recorded. Some keyboards were recorded later at Eric Krasno's studio in LA. I'm really happy with the overall sound of the tracks mix and sonic layers throughout,” Rezak remarks on the final product.

The September 17th single release coincides with Rezak’s aggressive fall touring schedule with several solo dates, artist-at-large engagements, and one-offs with his projects Katharis (ft. members of The Motet, Dopapod, and RAQ) and Supernatural Beings. This release comes ahead of Supernatural Beings’ hit at Resonance Festival September 19th-22nd that also features Joel Cummins alongside bandmate Kris Myers of Umphrey’s McGee.

A full list of dates can be found here: marcusrezak.com

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