Interior City – 4/5/13 - The Gabriel Construct

album_cover The Gabriel Construct’s debut album, Interior City, was released on April 5, 2013! It is a dark and atmospheric concept album written and performed by Gabriel Riccio and featuring Travis Orbin (ex-Periphery, Sky Eats Airplane, Of Legends) on drums, Thomas Murphy (ex-Periphery) on bass, David Stivelman (ex-Debbie Does Dallas) on guitar, Soren Larson on saxophone, and frequent collaborator Sophia Uddin on violin. It was engineered by Garrett Davis (Train, Shinedown, The Devil Wears Prada) and was mixed and mastered by Taylor Larson (Periphery, Sky Eats Airplane, Life on Repeat).

The album unites players from rock, metal, classical, and jazz backgrounds to create a sound which incorporates influences from a wide variety of genres, including progressive rock, 20th century classical music, extreme metal, and more. The album’s densely layered vocal harmonies, distorted pianos, dissonant chords, and complex rhythms envelop the listener in a hallucinatory wall of sound.

Just as the music of ‘Interior City’ attempts to overcome the limitations of genre boundaries, the album’s concept is concerned with overcoming the mental programming which holds each of us back. It is a story about paranoia and escapism, based on a simple idea: in a society which respects nothing, every individual learns that they are not worthy of respect. The album follows one person’s tumultuous journey to regain their self respect and their ability to fully engage with the world around them, in the process revealing the darkest thoughts that drive society as a whole.

Gabriel wanted “to create a work which encourages people to live with respect and compassion, both for the world around them and for themselves. In an increasingly globalized world, it is more important than ever to recognize how our actions and lifestyles affect others.” With ‘Interior City’, he has musically documented his personal journey towards manifesting that compassion.

Interior City is now available for purchase at:
Bandcamp (Physical, digital, full stream)
CD Baby (Physical, digital)
Amazon.com / Amazon MP3
Amazon.co.uk / Amazon UK MP3

More can be found on the Stores page.

The cover art was painted by Joseph Borzotta. His mission statement for his paintings reveals why he was the right artist for Interior City:

Many of these images explore peoples’ relation to society and themselves. How connected are they to what is happening around them, or right on top of them? The paintings are a visual exploration into existentialism – analyzing existence and the freedom, responsibility and isolation of the individual. Are they in environments that they created, or are forced to live in?”

Check out Travis Orbin’s thoughts on the Interior City sessions:

My involvement in this full-length album came about through an old friend from my local music scene, Garrett Davis, who has long since turned to producing/engineering. He told me about this guy who “might need some crazy drums” for his solo project, and within a couple of months I was writing parts for one of my favorite projects ever. I also helped round out the personnel, acting as a bit of a scout for Gabe and suggesting Tom as session bassist and, of course, my bud Taylor Larson for mixing/mastering.

I recorded all of ‘Interior City’ in early January 2012 at Garrett’s digs (West Main Recording) in Salisbury, MD. I used a wide variety of gear, switching out cymbals and snares — and even my rack tom for another floor tom on occasion — per tune. I also utilized a second ride cymbal on my right side. For the most part, however, I used my Pearl Reference Pure tom-toms and my Vision kick. I used Emperor coated heads on the toms, Controlled Sound on my brass snare and a coated Ambassador on the piccolo snare (stock head). Side note, but this was the first session I ever filmed supplemented with my Canon 60D.

Obviously, a part of being in the music business is developing relationships that are integral to your career. However, in my experience, most of the people with whom I work end up as friends, for contributing to their music is a unique, intimate experience. I’m proud to call Gabe, a fiercely talented individual, my friend and to continue to work with him on future projects – both as a sideman and a full-on collaborator. Dear audience, please heed these words: you’d do yourself a service by purchasing this album upon release, finding some headphones and a quiet room and relishing the journey.

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