The band consists of brothers Brandon Smith (vocals, guitar, keyboards, bass, programming) and Logan Smith (drums) as well as long time friend Chris Dinger (Guitar). The band was conceptualized in early 2000 as an electronic rock band taking most of its influence from Depeche Mode’s heavier live set performed during the “Violator” Tour. The group played the Hollywood circuit of popular rock clubs for several years without any success. The difficulty the band faced was due to the combination of fusing together two opposing genres: synthesized electronic music, with massive alternative anthem rock. Rock fans were generally turned off by the electronic backbone of the music, and electronic fans turned away when hearing the punishing rock elements. The band stuck with this formula however and continued developing their sound, writing hundreds of demos and playing countless live shows over the next 8 years.
In 2008 The Anix signed a deal to record their first full length studio album titled “Demolition City” on Chamberlain Records. The album was produced by acclaimed rock producer Thomas Costanza who pushed the band to focus more on the rock side of their inspiration. The album received mixed reviews in the press and disappointed their core fan base that preferred more synthesizers and less rock. The album did however reach a new mainstream audience that were more accepting of the more traditional rock sound scape. The group vigorously toured the US back and forth in a van and trailer until eventually burning out due to unpredictable show attendance and difficulty funding the tour. The Anix then landed a deal with The Diesel Management Group and toured throughout Europe on the “Rocket Science Tour” with electronic masterminds “Apoptygma Berzerk”. The tour was the first time the band experienced success and generated a large following in Germany, Switzerland and Austria as well as positive press reviews of the album and live performances. On the last day of the tour before flying home to the US, their equipment was stolen which sent the group into a downward spiral, almost ending the band altogether due to the incredible devastation experienced with the loss.
While on tour, Brandon met the owner of Cleopatra Records, Brian Perera. The two shared similar visions of a new album concept and in 2011 signed a record deal together to record their second studio album titled “Sleepwalker”. This was the first major release where the band had full control over the concept, sound, packaging and music videos. The sound of the album was extremely raw, violent, dark and electronic while following the same central theme of ultra massive rock choruses. The title was derived from Brandon’s recently developed sleep problems and several of the songs were idealized in the pseudo dream like state which would occur during the sleepless periods he was facing for 10 months. Brandon kept an audio recorder next to him to capture the ideas developed during this state and ended up developing 3 of the recordings into songs on the album, one of them being titled “Sleepwalker”. The title track on the album was then remixed by a new electronic artist named “Invader!” and became extremely successful online and began attracting a new group of followers for the band that were fans of electronic/techno music. The first single on the album was “Glass” and featured a dark, futuristic music video which highlighted the band’s cinematic art direction and attracted new fans from the comic book and anime world. Next, Sony picked up the song “Warning Signs” for a new DC Comics video game on Playstation and featured the song in their TV ad campaign on mainstream television. This was soon followed by the same song being used for the “Mass Effect” anime movie which lead to a substantial increase in new fans from around the world who were largely interested in fantasy, video games and technology. “Burn” was a cover song on the album originally written by The Cure for the motion picture soundtrack “The Crow”. The original song is credited by Brandon to be one of the greatest sources of inspiration of all time. Cleopatra Records released their cover of “Burn” on vinyl as a limited edition release included with a book written about “The Cure” which became an instant collectors item amongst fans.
In 2016, The Anix began the process of reinventing themselves. The idea was to use 3 instruments and create their most simple sounding, synthesizer based album to date. The guitars were now used sparingly as atmospheric overtones, while the lead instruments became a Moog synthesizer and overdriven Fender P Bass ran through a guitar amp. The drums are programmed electronic beats with live acoustic drums overlaid in certain areas to add width to the sound. The vocal style is also approached differently on the album and now has a smoother, more melancholic tone. The use of a Vocoder is not new to the band, but is now a lead component in several tracks compared to their older albums which buried the robotic voice in the background. After a full year of development, the group emerged with “Ephemeral” set to release in March 2017. The album style is largely influenced by the underground techno/house music scene and artists like Trentemøller, Maceo Plex, Crystal Castles, Gesaffelstein, Moderat and Phon.o. After nearly 16 years, The Anix remains true to their overarching theme of combining different genres to cement their unique sound in the music world.
The band consists of brothers Brandon Smith (vocals, guitar, keyboards, bass, programming) and Logan Smith (drums) as well as long time friend Chris Dinger (Guitar). The band was conceptualized in early 2000 as an electronic rock band taking most of its influence from Depeche Mode’s heavier live set performed during the “Violator” Tour. The group played the Hollywood circuit of popular rock clubs for several years without any success. The difficulty the band faced was due to the combination of fusing together two opposing genres: synthesized electronic music, with massive alternative anthem rock. Rock fans were generally turned off by the electronic backbone of the music, and electronic fans turned away when hearing the punishing rock elements. The band stuck with this formula however and continued developing their sound, writing hundreds of demos and playing countless live shows over the next 8 years.
In 2008 The Anix signed a deal to record their first full length studio album titled “Demolition City” on Chamberlain Records. The album was produced by acclaimed rock producer Thomas Costanza who pushed the band to focus more on the rock side of their inspiration. The album received mixed reviews in the press and disappointed their core fan base that preferred more synthesizers and less rock. The album did however reach a new mainstream audience that were more accepting of the more traditional rock sound scape. The group vigorously toured the US back and forth in a van and trailer until eventually burning out due to unpredictable show attendance and difficulty funding the tour. The Anix then landed a deal with The Diesel Management Group and toured throughout Europe on the “Rocket Science Tour” with electronic masterminds “Apoptygma Berzerk”. The tour was the first time the band experienced success and generated a large following in Germany, Switzerland and Austria as well as positive press reviews of the album and live performances. On the last day of the tour before flying home to the US, their equipment was stolen which sent the group into a downward spiral, almost ending the band altogether due to the incredible devastation experienced with the loss.
While on tour, Brandon met the owner of Cleopatra Records, Brian Perera. The two shared similar visions of a new album concept and in 2011 signed a record deal together to record their second studio album titled “Sleepwalker”. This was the first major release where the band had full control over the concept, sound, packaging and music videos. The sound of the album was extremely raw, violent, dark and electronic while following the same central theme of ultra massive rock choruses. The title was derived from Brandon’s recently developed sleep problems and several of the songs were idealized in the pseudo dream like state which would occur during the sleepless periods he was facing for 10 months. Brandon kept an audio recorder next to him to capture the ideas developed during this state and ended up developing 3 of the recordings into songs on the album, one of them being titled “Sleepwalker”. The title track on the album was then remixed by a new electronic artist named “Invader!” and became extremely successful online and began attracting a new group of followers for the band that were fans of electronic/techno music. The first single on the album was “Glass” and featured a dark, futuristic music video which highlighted the band’s cinematic art direction and attracted new fans from the comic book and anime world. Next, Sony picked up the song “Warning Signs” for a new DC Comics video game on Playstation and featured the song in their TV ad campaign on mainstream television. This was soon followed by the same song being used for the “Mass Effect” anime movie which lead to a substantial increase in new fans from around the world who were largely interested in fantasy, video games and technology. “Burn” was a cover song on the album originally written by The Cure for the motion picture soundtrack “The Crow”. The original song is credited by Brandon to be one of the greatest sources of inspiration of all time. Cleopatra Records released their cover of “Burn” on vinyl as a limited edition release included with a book written about “The Cure” which became an instant collectors item amongst fans.
In 2016, The Anix began the process of reinventing themselves. The idea was to use 3 instruments and create their most simple sounding, synthesizer based album to date. The guitars were now used sparingly as atmospheric overtones, while the lead instruments became a Moog synthesizer and overdriven Fender P Bass ran through a guitar amp. The drums are programmed electronic beats with live acoustic drums overlaid in certain areas to add width to the sound. The vocal style is also approached differently on the album and now has a smoother, more melancholic tone. The use of a Vocoder is not new to the band, but is now a lead component in several tracks compared to their older albums which buried the robotic voice in the background. After a full year of development, the group emerged with “Ephemeral” set to release in March 2017. The album style is largely influenced by the underground techno/house music scene and artists like Trentemøller, Maceo Plex, Crystal Castles, Gesaffelstein, Moderat and Phon.o. After nearly 16 years, The Anix remains true to their overarching theme of combining different genres to cement their unique sound in the music world.
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