Amy in the studio #2

Source: twitter.com/amyleeev

Billboard.com article

Evanescence Recording New Album, Plots Summer Tour

by Gary Graff, Detroit  |   March 26, 2010 4:22 EDT

After just over three weeks in the studio in New York, Evanescence's Amy Lee says she feels "like I'm making the best album of my life."

"I know that seems weird to say, but I wouldn't be here in the studio making another record if I didn't think it was going to be better than anything I've ever done," Lee -- who came to fame with Evanescence's seven-times platinum 2003 debut "Fallen" and continued with 2006's double-platinum "The Open Door" -- tells Billboard.com. "I feel like so much has already happened. I don't even know where to begin to try to describe it...'cause it's just so many things at once. I'm really excited."

Lee began writing for the as-yet untitled album -- which is due for a fall release, with a first single out in the summer and a tour to follow -- more than a year ago, then accelerated the process when she began working with percussionist and producer Will "Science" Hunt (not to be confused with Evanescence drummer Will Hunt), who's been her chief collaborator on the new songs. The result, Lee says, is "a lot of electronic influence -- industrial is a better word for it," but she promises it's not going to be a wholesale reinvention of the Evanescence sound.

"It wouldn't be an Evanescence album if it didn't sound somewhat like Evanescence," explains Lee, who's incorporating the harp, which she learned to play between albums, in several of the new songs. "I feel like our band has always had programming and inspirations from Bjork and Depeche Mode and Massive Attack and that kind of thing. It's not like we're making one of those records; it's just, like, that is playing a bigger role in the sound of Evanescence this time. Those little nuances and hints come in in ways that are cool. The sound that we're going for as a group is to fuse synthetic instruments with organic instruments and create something that sounds like a whole new place. It just sounds larger than life."

Lee says the group -- which also includes guitarist Terry Balsamo and bassist Tim McCord -- and producer Steve Lillywhite are currently recording about 16 songs and is "still working and...finishing writing here and there. Some of them aren't finished lyric-wise or writing-wise, but I really feel like it's mostly there." Some of the songs, Lee acknowledges, are compositions for potential film projects that weren't used.

Lee confesses to being a bit apprehensive after the long gap since "The Open Door," but she says a pair of one-off shows during November in New York and Brazil gave her confidence that Evanescence's following is still intact. "I was really nervous 'cause it had been so long," she says, "but it was amazing to see how many fans there still are that are waiting for us after all this time. It's really inspiring, and it makes me excited to show them how much we've grown."

Source: Billboard

Amy Lee to appear on Steve Lillywhite's radio show

Evanescence Front Woman, Amy Lee, on The Lillywhite Sessions, 3.23 at 2PM ET

When Evanescence front woman Amy Lee confirmed that Evanescence was working on their third studio album with EVR DJ and Grammy Award-Winning producer Steve Lillywhite, it made quite the splash; for an inside look at how this particular bit of magic is being created, check out The Lillywhite Sessions today at 2PM ET — as Amy joins Steve in the booth.

“I can’t explain how excited I am to make this record,” said Amy Lee. “Over the past year and a half these songs have become the center of my life, and I can't wait to hear what they grow into in the studio. I think our sound is evolving into something that will surprise people, in a very good way. I feel, as always, that growth can be an incredible, limitless thing if you let it. I never want to make the same album twice.”

Source: East Village Radio

Amy & Steve in the studio

twitter.com/amyleeev

New splash page

Evanescence.com has updated the splash page:

 

Themes of the new album

Some inspirations: unknown worlds, the ocean's abyss, life within dreams, strength, detachment, love and liars....

twitter.com/amyleeev

Twitter updates

Amy's updates on the albums sound:

Lot of 'electro' talk regarding our new album. That doesn't sum it up. Influences include: Rock, electronica, pop, classical, hip hop...Industrial, eastern, dark soul...

Source: twitter.com/amyleeev

Amy Lee = Iamamiwhoami?

Rumor #3: Amy Lee Is Totally Behind This
I've received emails about this. People point to a new interview the frontwoman of Evanescence gave to Spin in which she says the band's new songs feature "no organic instruments" and are very much in "a Portishead or Massive Attack direction." They also bring up the repeated use of the number six in the videos (six strawberries, six dogs, the fact that there have been six clips to date) and the fact that the letter "Y" seems to have taken on added significance in recent weeks (in the latest clip, it's visible as a branch next to six graves, and our heroine does look directly into the camera and says either "Why" or "Y"). Amy Lee's name is six letters long, and if you take "Y" and replace the sixth letter of "Iamami" with it, you get "I Am Amy." Still, the Spin article says the new Evanescence album is due in September, and it's hard to imagine any record label having the promotional budget — let alone the wherewithal — to launch a viral campaign for an album some 10 months before it's due. I'm not buying.

 

Source: MTV

String segues?

From Evthreads member, DEVD:

"EEEEEEK!!!! Did anyone listen to Steve Lillywhite's Radio show on March 2nd?

He says the new new album will have 30 second string quartet links between the songs...kinda like the segue between Tourniquet and Imaginary!"

Source: Evthreads

Special guest

Questlove, drummer of The Roots is a guest on the new album.

Spin: Amy Lee on the New Evanescence

Evanescence singer Amy Lee is over the drama.

"There's a lot of bull**** related to that band name for me," Lee tells SPIN.com, "but I'm ready to move past it. I've realized that Evanescence is who I am."

She's not kidding about the bull****. Since their 2003 Grammy-winning, multi-platinum debut Fallen rocketed the Little Rock, AR, natives to world stardom, the group have been plagued by in-fighting and lineup changes, beginning with the departure of co-founder Ben Moody. In a very public 2006 spat, the last remaining original members -- guitarist John LeCompt and drummer Rocky Gray -- left or were fired, and soon joined Moody to form We Are the Fallen with ex-American Idol finalist Carly Smithson on vocals.

Evanescence is also moving on. The goth-rock outfit will release their first album since 2006 this September, with a new lineup -- and a new sound.

Lee, guitarist Terry Balsamo, bassist Tim McCord, drummer Will Hunt, and the band's newest member, producer, songwriter, and studio whiz Will "Science" Hunt (that's right -- the band has two guys named "Will Hunt"), are recording the album in a New York studio with producer Steve Lillywhite (U2, Rolling Stones). And they're taking Evanescence's characteristically heavy, goth-rock sound in an electro-pop direction inspired by Lee's favorite bands: Massive Attack, Bjork, and Portishead.

"The album has sounds that are distorted, changed, reversed," says Lee. "There's a lot of that fun stuff going on."

Below, she tells SPIN.com more about the record, her former bandmates, and her favorite hobby: painting.

How did you get a second guy named Will Hunt in your band? That's freaky.
[Laughs] Well, part of getting back to Evanescence was the new Will Hunt. I met this Will -- I call him Will "Science" Hunt because he does a lot of programming and beats -- when we recorded "Sally's Song" for Nightmare Revisited.

Evanescence took about two years off. Why return now?
For a long time I didn't know what I wanted to do. I really love scoring film and that was definitely where my head was. I took a few stabs at doing that, but then I started writing more songs. I had such a good time in the studio with Will "Science" Hunt recording "Sally's Song" -- it was a cool, free, creative space. So we thought, "Why don't we just try writing an original song?" He has a studio in Forth Worth, TX, and we spent two days down there writing and a new song came out that was so different -- it was dark and inspiring. It was a groove that I hadn't found in a long time. So we spent all of last year writing like crazy and somewhere halfway through I said, "You know, I think we're writing an Evanescence album."

Tell us about that first song you guys wrote
"Hi-Lo." It's a working title. It's going in an electro-pop direction -- there are no organic instruments. It's a Portishead or Massive Attack direction, and lyrically it's about moving on, but in a very non-confrontational, non-angry way. It's just, "Hey, everything that happened, I'm over it and I'm not mad at you."

Will fans of Evanescence's heavy sound be surprised?
Well, it's definitely still heavy. Like The Open Door, the new songs are a rainbow of sounds. But this album spreads out even more. There are moments that are amazingly heavy, but then there are moments that are completely stripped down.

Did you write the entire album together?
Most of it. He was definitely my big inspiration and co-writer. Some songs I wrote by myself, and I wrote a little bit with Terry [Balsamo, guitarist] and Tim [McCord, bassist] as well. I have a studio in my home and I flew Will "Science" out here a lot. And we'd work by ourselves then email each other ideas to play with, sort of like a Postal Service method. The songwriting and sound is inspired by a lot of our mutual loves -- Bjork, Nine Inch Nails, and music with a lot of programming and sounds that feel larger than life.

How did you hook up with producer Steve Lillywhite?
We decided it would be good to have another brain in the room to provide some perspective, since we've been living with the demos for so long. Steve Lillywhite randomly called my record label said, "Hey, what's Amy Lee and Evanescence doing? I'd really like to work with her." I thought that was really interesting. I honestly wouldn't have thought of him if he hadn't called. So we went to lunch and I showed him some of the songs. He really loved them and wanted to do it!

It's an interesting fit, considering his work with U2 and the Rolling Stones.
True. And this album isn't going to sound like either of those bands, that's for sure. It's not an organic record. Our idea is to take synthetic and atmospheric sounds and find a way to blur the line between organic and synthetic.

Is this direction a byproduct of listening to any new music?
I think so. There is something really cool happening in music right now. There are bands that sound like they're from another time -- it's like '80s throwback music with analogue synthesizers and Moogs. I love it. I've been listening to a lot of La Roux.

Is there a lyrical theme?
I write about what I'm going through at the time. There are moments of, "Hey, I'm over it and I'm good" and others of fun sarcasm like, "Hey, everything's not the most dramatic thing in the world." But it gets really, really, really deep in places, too. That's probably why it's been really hard to pick an album title. [Laughs] But lyrically, it's a more real version of myself. I'm saying things that I would've been afraid to say before. I'm more confident and more comfortable.

When we last spoke in 2008, you were writing Celtic inspired songs for a solo album. Any plans for that?
I was in a very different creative space then, before hooking up with Will "Science." I wrote a couple of songs that are good, but in a totally different direction. Nothing from that period is making it to the new record.

Other than music, what does Amy Lee do in her spare time?
I love to paint. I've been working on this one painting for a year and a half. It has a lot of tiny sea creatures and I keep going back to it, but it has become this daunting project. When I need to free my brain, that's one of the things that I do. I have also been playing the harp. When Evanescence took time off, I bought a big concert harp and started taking lessons like I was in high school again, which was really, really fun. I felt like I was learning again. I'm definitely going to use it on this album.

What are your thoughts on We Are the Fallen?
I don't have any. I doesn't have anything to do with me or Evanescence.

Would it be safe to say that you haven't talked to Ben, John, or Rocky?
Oh yeah, that's very safe to say.

It sounds like you've over the drama and revitalized.
I am, definitely. I'm in a new headspace. I'm good with me and I don't need everybody else's approval.

Source: Spin

Rolling Stone: Evanescene Go Electro

Evanescence Go Electro As Lee Has “Fun With Music” on Next LP
3/2/10, 9:44 am EST

On Monday, February 22nd, Evanescence started recording their upcoming third album in New York with famed producer Steve Lillywhite. Singer Amy Lee tells Rolling Stone the new disc is going to be a mix of “sarcastic aggression” that will show a new side of the band — a distinct electro influence. “A lot of bands I’ve always been inspired by are just coming into play a little more,” says Lee, citing the future-shock sounds of Depeche Mode, Massive Attack, Portishead, CSS, La Roux and MGMT. “There’s a lot of stuff that doesn’t sound like Evanescence, but the heart of the band of still there. This is a really, really, rhythmically driven record. So there’s tons of drum-programming fused with live drums; drums we’re renting a day at a time, like Japanese taiko drums.”

Lee is co-writing the album with old friend and new collaborator Will Hunt, a producer, programmer and drummer from Fort Worth, Texas. The pair decided to start writing together after arranging “Sally’s Song,” Amy Lee’s addition to 2008’s Nightmare Revisited album and spent all of 2009 writing together in New York and Texas, crafting a handful of already-recorded electronic programming that will end up on the forthcoming record. “The sounds and influence he brings to the table — programming outer-space awesome sounds you can’t even recognize. I went through a phase where I didn’t know if it was solo time, or go write score music, or what,” says Lee. “And then once we wrote together, I realized this is totally Evanescence.”

The album is also the band’s first with veteran producer Steve Lillywhite, who’s produced for the Rolling Stones, Dave Matthews Band and, most notably, worked on eight U2 albums. Lillywhite, who approached the band, is co-producing the album with Hunt, and has been working with them since day one. “He’s not the kind of producer that would leave during the day and then come back to see what we’re doing,” says Lee of Lillywhite. “He’s part of the team, a big part of the team.”

This is Evanescence’s first record since 2006’s platinum The Open Door. In the time off, Lee got married and started taking harp lessons — and she assures that the plucky fruits of her labor will definitely appear on the LP. As for the rest of the band, guitarist Terry Balsamo and bassist Tim McCord are back on board; Dave Campbell will once again handle string arrangements; and live guitarist Troy McLawhorn is tentative depending on his schedule with his band Seether. Hunt will be doing most of the drumming, but Lee doesn’t rule out an appearance by Evanescence’s last live drummer — coincidentally also named Will Hunt. “This is going to be really hard to get across without people getting confused because they have the same exact name,” says Lee. “But we’re actually doing a two-drummer thing for the next tour. Basically Thing 1 and Thing 2 — we’re gonna have figure out some kind of plan for just knowing who’s who.”

As for the change in direction, Lee says it’s more of an aesthetic homecoming. “I’m just at a place where I know who I am,” says Lee. “I’m not trying to prove anything this time. Last time I had a lot of weight on my shoulders. This time I’m just having fun with music.”

Source: Rolling Stone

Evanescence Taking Electro Direction

(RTTNews) - Evanescence singer Amy Lee has revealed that the band's upcoming album will feature new influences and a distinctly electro feel.

The singer cited groups such as Depeche Mode, Massive Attack, Portishead, CSS, La Roux and MGMT as influences for the band's latest style.

"A lot of bands I've always been inspired by are just coming into play a little more," Lee said in an interview with Rolling Stone. "There's a lot of stuff that doesn't sound like Evanescence, but the heart of the band of still there. This is a really, really, rhythmically driven record. So there's tons of drum-programming fused with live drums."
 
Lee also expressed her enthusiasm for the project, saying, "Over the past year and a half, these songs have become the centre of my life, and I can't wait to hear what they grow into in the studio."

Evanescence started recording new material for the currently untitled new album on February 22. The band is working with famed producer Steve Lillywhite, who has also worked with Dave Matthews Band, the Rolling Stones and U2.

by RTT Staff Writer

Source: RTT News

Evanescence is back

Evanescence is Back
Fri, 26 Feb 2010 10:52:20

The multi-platinum rock band returns with album number 3…

Evanescence will be taking over 2010 with their highly anticipated third studio album due for late August/early September release date. Front woman, Amy Lee confirmed that Evanescence will be entering the studio this week to begin work on their third album with Grammy Award Winning producer Steve Lillywhite.

One of the coolest things I ever saw at a Disney event was when Lee took the stage at Nightmare Before X-Mas 3-D at Hollywood's El Capitan theater two Halloweens ago for an entrancing, engaging and endlessly awesome rendition of "Sally's Song" from Nightmare Revisited. She's grown immensely as a vocalist, and this new album promises to be one of the most important rock records of the year.

"I can't expain how excited I am to make this record," said Amy Lee. "Over the past year and a half these songs have become the center of my life, and I can't wait to hear what they grow into in the studio. I think our sound is evolving into something that will surprise people, in a very good way. I feel, as always, that growth can be an incredible, limitless thing if you let it. I never want to make the same album twice."

The band, famous for hits like "Bring Me to Life", "My Immortal," "Going Under" and "Call Me When You’re Sober", promises to stay true to the core Evanescence sound while integrating additional new sounds to create "another world." The music's core, which ranges from whisper- soft to painfully aggressive spans sounds of rock, goth and classical, led by Lee's passionate vocals.

Evanescence is founder Amy Lee on vocals, piano, keyboards and harp; Terry Balsamo on guitar; Tim McCord on bass; Will Hunt on drums; and new collaborator Will "Science", who will provide programming and drums, as well as additional production.

Evanescence has sold nearly 20 million records worldwide, more than 8 million in the U.S. alone, and won two Grammys® with their major-label debut Fallen, and a Grammy® nomination with their second album, The Open Door.

—Rick Florino
02.26.10

Source: Artist Direct

3rd studio album details

Posted via Facebook:

After much anticipation, Evanescence front woman, Amy Lee confirmed today that Evanescence is in fact going into the studio this week to work on their third studio album with Grammy Award Winning producer Steve Lillywhite. The band’s new album is scheduled for a late Fall 2010 release date.

“I can’t explain how excited I am to make this record,” said Amy Lee. “Over the past year and a half these songs have become the center of my life, and I can't wait to hear what they grow into in the studio. I think our sound is evolving into something that will surprise people, in a very good way. I feel, as always, that growth can be an incredible, limitless thing if you let it. I never want to make the same album twice.”

Outer-space themed?

Fort Worth Producer Will Hunt Helped Co-Write Upcoming Evanescence Album

By Pete Freedman, Tuesday, Mar. 2 2010
 
​Many thanks to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram's Preston Jones for reading Rolling Stone news items about Evanescence so we don't have to, because, as Jones notes today, the band is currently recording a new album in New York and the bulk of the songs it's laying down today came from a writing session with DFW's own Will Hunt, who in the past has worked with The Burning Hotels and Odis.

Makes sense, I guess: According to Rolling Stone, the new disc from the hard rock band is influence by the likes of MGMT and new wavers. Apparently it's all outer-space themed or something (seriously). So there you go.

source: Dallas Observer

Lyrics to the intro song from 2009 show

The words I was singing in the intro were:

 

"Lost whispers
awaken within me
and fly...

 

Kind of like a prayer to reconnect to the old music, my old self. Calling it all back to me.
I'm glad we were able to use at least just a minute of new music. Terry and I wrote that a few months ago and its been in the "half done" bin for awhile. I think it turned into a beautiful intro."
-Amy

Amy Lee's twitter updates from 2009

"Another positive meeting/listening session down! Everybody loves the music and I can't wait to get in the studio ;D Its drinky time! CHEERS!"

"Stayed up all night writing and finishing demos to show to the label tomorrow. Its 5:47 am and I'm WIRED- To sleep, or not to sleep...??"

"Every time I break through and the song starts flowing out- every time this year- I stop the music and realize is raining again..."

"Making crazy epicness out of a song from the trash. Hell yes."

"I love the dark, beautiful groove we're working on right now"

"Getting creeped out by my own music. Time to go to a happy place!"

"Sitting under my steps in the rain writing kickass lyrics. Now I'm glad I locked myself out!"

"Working on a song about the dream world..."

twitter.com/amyleeev

All about Evanescence's new album

Though I'd start a little blog about the upcoming Evanescence record, which has a tentative fall release. The album is currently being recorded as I type this and I thought it would be a good idea to compile articles, interviews, updates and anything related to the album. Peace.