Brutal and melodic, two words which often don’t go together, but which perfectly capture the music of Arcsin. Drawing on influences as diverse as Captain Beefheart and Devo, his patterns and textures allude to a time when drums were hot and synthesizers were cold. With a unique and distinct sound he is able to create music that tells stories while still providing that all too necessary head nod. That “Animal Beat Drums” as he calls it, is found in almost everything he touches, and is as true to New York as corruption and good bagels. By just allowing himself to make the music he feels needs to be made, rather than what others may expect, he’s able to stay fresh and innovative. Arcsin`s personal notes about Uprock Citizen: “The music on this record was made partly with the intent of bridging some of the gaps that exist between the techniques employed by a lot of urban composers and beat makers today, and those that are found in other styles and genres of music. The main theme behind the music was to basically storyboard some ideas about the future and society in general, and how we are all collectively being bombarded withdifferent chaotic elements and sound sources, i.e. cell phones, mp3 players etc. But out of all this chaos, there exists a melody and rhythm that is so dynamic that it‘s more often just taken for granted. Reliance on machines to play music everywhere, as well as the use of new forms of machinery in order to make it, connects in ways that people are just discovering. Whatever the outcome, the music I like to make and listen to will always have many layers to discover just like life. One dimensionality in music, art, and existence is just a void that I think nobody wants to find themselves in. “The Tomorrow People” is my attempt at representing this as best as I could. A building and plodding trip into what I feel will be the melody of people to come. It has some sadness, some happiness, and they both exist together in the chaos. And you‘ll be there if you want to be. “Uprock Citizen Brigade” is more of a New York homage to those who are trying to be part of a cultural movement, mainly Hip Hop, but they don‘t feel connected anymore to the people who are representing it now. It‘s basically an anthem to those who get a high off the smell of a fresh pair of fat-lace superstars. “Epileptic Velvet” plays on the same underlying theme of Uprock, but on a more subdued hand clap throwback note. It‘s the type of piece that will float through my mind at night on the subway, or on the bus seeing people randomly going about their business trying to connect themselves to the city. Weird stuff. I think it‘s necessary to slow down sometimes to really see and hear the emotion. “Jar of Mice” has a lot of meanings to me, which I tried to convey and hopefully did. Most importantly that of being trapped in something you cannot escape, and the sound of tension building, that‘s when the madness sets in. The song is filled with madness, anger, redemption… all of that good stuff that makes us alive. The ending is really just a beginning.“