The arp is a legendary instrument in the echelon of dance music culture, and what better legendary group than The Crystal Method to emphasize its brilliance. However, The Crystal Method is no longer a group, per se… With “Holy Arp,” TCM’s Scott Kirkland gives the first flashes of the cohesive sound that will shape their next studio album, the first helmed by Kirkland alone since co-founding member Ken Jordan retired from the music business.
“Holy Arp” is a total throwback track, of course utilizing the arp as well as a blistering breakbeat rhythm that harkens back to some of the group’s earliest work. The modern mastering and clean production on the track signify a progression in style that still stays rooted in the classics, which is just what we like to see from TCM.
“As soon as I got that track going, I knew I had found the direction for the new album,” Kirkland says of the song. “It reverberates with the sound of Crystal Method classics like ‘Name of the Game’ and has some of the gnarliness of ‘Vapor Trail.’ It’s an angry, ballsy, bombastic trip down the inner workings of the vintage ARP 2600 synth.”
The Crystal Method’s new album The Trip Home is out September 28 on Tiny-E Records. Check out the first single, “Holy Arp,” below.