Soundlab I

VINYL FORMAT. After spending years playing around the world with acclaimed bands, the Frodus Conglomerate International (FCI) decided to dissolve their partnership in 1999, but not before focusing their anger, confusion, sorrow, and disillusion onto the creation of their acclaimed record, And We Washed Our Weapons in the Sea. FCI members continued to work on various artistic projects after the band's dissolution, and in 2001, Fueled By Ramen Records agreed to release the album to the public. The album spread like wildfire over the internet and the FCI Digital Generation was born. These highly sophisticated and technologically advanced music enthusiasts became the FCI's biggest supporters. Fast forward to the beginning of 2009. America was held hostage by the greed of corporate terrorists. Jobs were lost, small businesses had been shuttered, banks failed, and the housing market collapsed. A fan petitioned the FCI to re-issue the vinyl version of Frodus's diatribe against American corporate excess, Conglomerate International. Months later, the Swedish Embassy in Washington, D.C. flew in FCI Swedish affiliates, The Division of Laura Lee, to celebrate the fine craftsmanship of Swedish denim. During the first song, the PA stopped working, and the band's equipment broke. Enraged, the band threw their instruments and stormed off stage, leaving a wake of feedback. Founding members of the FCI Jason Hamacher and Shelby Cinca were in attendance. With a wall of feedback killing the celebration, a friend pushed Cinca and Hamacher toward the stage and suggested they play. The two stormed the stage, and Hamacher started playing the drum intro for the Frodus classic, "Invisible Time Lines." An old friend picked up the bass, and the three played a short, loud, and noisy rendition of the song for the first time in ten years. The audience was shocked into confusion, but when Cinca began playing guitar, the crowd erupted. The event's spontaneity and mayhem embodied the original energy that led to FCI's formation. Cinca and Hamacher decided to reunite in Hamacher's Washington basement and attempt to play a set list from 1999. Hamacher photographed the reunion, and Cinca posted a photo online. This FCI incarnation entered the Frodus Sound Laboratories and produced two aggressive, sophisticated, and complex songs, a combination of aggression and subtlety. Hamacher and Cinca have since decided to create a series of sonic experiments under the moniker Frodus Sound Laboratory. Each experiment will have a revolving cast of musicians, friends, and associates with the core members as Hamacher and Cinca. Future experiments might involve members of Refused, Darkest Hour, Engine Down, Sleepytime Trio, Norma Jean, and Converge. Control is Always Automatic. Enter Frodus Soundlab 1.