MTVoid, the duo of Tool bassist Justin Chancellor and vocalist Peter Mohamed, have announced their long-awaited sophomore album, titled Matter’s Knot, Pt. 1, arriving November 10th. The new single “MaBeLu” can be heard now.
It’s been a decade since MTVoid dropped their debut LP, Nothing’s Matter, and the abstract prog of that record is a good point of reference for newcomers to the project.
On “MaBeLu,” glitchy electronic beats and trip-hop atmospheres collide with Mohamed’s emotive singing, which ebbs and flows throughout the mix. While Chancellor is exploring a sound that’s quite different from his full-time band, Tool’s experimental ethos is very much in play here.
“It all started with a child weeping,” mused Mohamed regarding the inspiration for the song [via a press release]. “I heard it very early in between the notes, in between the noises. It was a fragile process that took me to all of those places that come crashing down, places that burn down to the ground leaving broken humans; lonely and sad children. It was at the time of the huge explosion in Beirut, and I was channeling my energy and trying to put myself in the mind of this child watching the catastrophe from under the ruins. The sound, the bass, the noises, and the beat all started to tell the story.”
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He continued: “Apocalypse Now… seeing the reality through the eye of cataclysm… I still believe we will get through this… we are falling off the cliff… Humanity needs that. This art drops right on the top of the wave that comes crashing and bringing the greatest transformation of our times. It’s terrifying and fascinating at the same time. ‘MaBeLu,’ I love you. I believe in you, and I will see you on the other side. Be strong.”
The album also includes contributions from friends of Chancellor and Mohamed: Aric Improta (Night Verses, ex-Fever 333) on “Propagator”; Isabel Munoz-Newsome of Pumarosa on “Drop-Out”; and Andy Morin (Death Grips), who contributed drums and production to the LP’s previously released lead single “Scanner Void.”
“Matter’s Knot, Pt. 1 is our pan-dynamic tapestry of sound and thought, twisted together and pulled taut, a connection of ideas remotely fused between Los Angeles, California and Swarzędz, Poland,” Chancellor stated in the press release.
You can pre-order Matter’s Knot, Pt. 1 on vinyl and other formats via Lobal Orning. Stream the video for “MaBeLu” and see the album art and tracklist below.
Matter’s Knot, Pt. 1 Artwork:
Matter’s Knot, Pt. 1 Tracklist:
01. Death Survives
02. Lilt
03. Propagator
04. Drop-Out
05. Scanner Void
06. MaBeLu
07. Magmaficent