Anthem Facility Announces Release of Trace EP

Anthem Facility, a NYC-based musical collective headed by producer and musician Stephen Herman, was created amidst unusual circumstances; before it had even officially existed, the participants involved were responsible for music for an immensely popular Dell Inspiron computer commercial that went viral. Now, a formal entity that has teamed with vocalist Melati Malay (Young Magic), the group is excited to announce the release of their debut EP, Trace, as the first official release from Hermann's brand new label, exro.FM.

The creation of Anthem Facility further changes the perception of where and how people discover new music and solidifies the notion that the public will indeed go out of thier way to search for something that moves them, no matter how unintentional the original purpose of it was. A quick YouTube or Google search for varying combinations of the terms "Dell commercial," "Inspiron," and "Trace," will reveal over a dozen homemade videos newfound fans created using "Trace" as the audio bed, most with tens of thousands of views, and filled with comments from people wanting to know who made the song and where they could buy it.

In 2010, Dell Computers contracted Stephen Hermann's music house Explosion Robinson to create a track for their next commercial. The former member of the lo-fi pop group Sukpatch (Grand Royal Records) chose Melati Malay, the Indonesian-born, NYC-based songstress, to give the 30-second song a distinct voice. The overwhelming internet chatter of new fans of the song from "that Dell commercial" was so positive that Hermann decided to expedite the release of the full 2:30 song "Trace" as a single. "Even after we recorded the short version of 'Trace,' I was determined that we needed to do more," says Hermann. "I fell in love with Melati's vocal style and delivery."

"Trace," along with the other four songs from the EP, showcases Hermann's musical dexterity and displays Malay's special, dreamy vocal characteristics. Other standout tracks on the EP include the faster-paced "Plans Are Shattering," the gentle, chorus-free "Left To Defend," and the dense and moody "Paradise Now," the latter of which led Hermann to a small epiphany. "The lyrics are only three lines that repeat three times," Hermann recently discovered. "I worked on that song for months and only recently realized this. Melati makes it seems like she is saying much more."

The video for "Trace" is a dream-like sequence that blurs reality with crowbars, cake, vinyl record Twister, and over 500kgs of pink powder. According to director, Monique Ah-Sue, the concept was based on Melati's lyric, "Blind from control/ Deaf from a breeze." "If you exert too much control or rigidity in life," explains Ah-Sue on his interpretation of the lyric, "you are blind to spontaneity. If you let your mind go, something as quiet as a breeze can ignite your imagination, and 'Trace' celebrates this idea – beauty, wonder, and adventure in the otherwise mundane."

Anthem Facility's Trace is currently available for digital purchase, and a limited edition vinyl release (< 500 copies) of the EP will be available in late September.

Watch Entourage to hear "Trace" during the next episode, airing this Sunday on HBO. You can purchase it here on iTunes.