Anti Body Language, the debut full-length album by TRACE AMOUNT, will be released April 15th via Federal Prisoner, the label founded by multi-disciplinary artists Greg Puciato and Jesse Draxler. Stream the official music video for the album’s first single, “Anxious Awakenings,” above!
Trace Amount is the solo project of Brooklyn-based producer, vocalist, and visual artist, Brandon Gallagher. First conceived in 2019, Trace Amount took shape during the early stages of the pandemic, inspired by the grim realities of life in New York City at that time, and has evolved at a lightning pace ever since.
The sound is a harsh strain of industrial music, evoking apocalyptic dread through primal rhythms, layers of synth and noise, and Gallagher’s distorted moans and screams. Decibel Magazine has hailed Trace Amount as a “one-man sonic demolition unit”; CVLT Nation has termed it, an “experimental industrial onslaught”; Post-Punk.com has warned, “Trace Amount is not for the faint of heart.”
Influenced by the daily grind of urban existence and paranoid visions of a hyper-technological world, Trace Amount sets a dark tone, but on Anti Body Language glimpses of color appear from within the void. Oppressive bangers like “Anxious Awakenings” are balanced by tracks like “Tone and Tenor,” featuring the sumptuous vocals of industrial-pop chanteuse KANGA, and the album’s closer, “Suspect,” which sees a sanguine saxophone weave its way into the mix.
Gallagher states: “Trace Amount falls under the industrial umbrella, but truthfully I get inspired by a lot of hip hop and experimental ‘pop’ music as well. Putting all electronic music under the same umbrella, I think you’re limitless as to where you can go with songwriting. I love Skinny Puppy and Nitzer Ebb, but I also love M.I.A., Ghostemane, and Eartheater. It seems like an insane combination but I was heavily influenced by all of these artists and I think you can hear all of their influences through my music, one way or another.”
Anti Body Language was co-produced by Fade Kainer (Statiqbloom) and mixed by Ben Greenberg (Uniform) at Circular Ruin in Brooklyn, NY. The album was mastered by Kris Lapke (Alberich).
Of equal importance to the music is Trace Amount’s visual dimension, expressed through graphic design and video work created by Gallagher himself and by collaborators of his choosing, illustrating a mix of real urban decay and sci-fi fantasy that intersects with the sonic assault to complete the picture. Gallagher states: “I started off as a graphic designer, but as I’ve progressed I’ve gotten more into video editing and animation. With Trace Amount I would describe the whole visual aspect as art direction. The beauty of it being a solo project is that I get to work with whomever I want depending on where I see it fitting.”
For the Anti Body Language album cover, he teamed up with none other than Federal Prisoner co-owner and world-renowned artist, Jesse Draxler. “I began working on Anti Body Language in early 2021 and by the end of March I had the record fleshed out instrumentally and most of the lyrics were written,” he says. “Since this was my first full-length with this project and I was really proud of how the songs were coming along, I wanted to aim high and work with a bucket-list level artist. For me that was Jesse Draxler. I felt his style would nail the overall attitude I was aiming to achieve with Anti Body Language, and it absolutely did.”
Anti Body Language is Trace Amount’s first full-length but it follows a slew of other recent releases
Gallagher has been barreling forward in high gear for the past year. Some highlights of the past twelve months include: the release of Under the Skin, a remix collaboration with Pig Destroyer’s Blake Harrison, released via Deathbed Tapes; the release of Alien Dust, a collaboration with Qual (William Maybelline of Lebanon Hanover), released via Faktor Music; a US tour with Black Magnet (20 Buck Spin); and the release of Endless Render 2.0, a redux of Endless Render, which features the drumming of The Dillinger Escape Plan’s Billy Rymer, as well as a new B-side featuring remixes by Kontravoid, Qual, Michael Berdan (Uniform), and Misery Engine.
A testament to the power of collaboration; an example of the ways in which sound and vision can complement each other; a beacon of sheer drive and work ethic; Trace Amount is an exciting new force in the scene of industrial music and beyond.
No limits.
Upcoming shows:
Mar 7 – Brooklyn, NY @ Saint Vitus w/ Thou, Uniform
