The Anix is a former American rock band and currently a solo electronic project run by Los Angeles-based music producer Brandon Smith who was originally the band's frontman.

The Anix
Brandon Smith seen in his studio in 2020
Brandon Smith seen in his studio in 2020
Background information
OriginLos Angeles, California, U.S.
Genres
Years active2001–present
Labels
  • One Iron Records
  • Chamberlain Records
  • Cleopatra Records
  • FiXT (current)
MembersBrandon Smith
Past members
  • Oscar Gutierrez
  • Bryan Lareau
  • Chris Yarber
  • Nik Lawhorn
  • Logan Smith
  • Greg Nabours
  • Chris Dinger
  • Nikolas Musolino
Websitehttps://theanix.com

History

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Formation and release of "An Illusion of Time" and "Play.Dance.Repeat" (2001–2007)

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The Anix was formed in 2001 by Brandon Smith, Bryan Lareau and Oscar Gutierrez.[1] The band made various albums along the first two years of their existence (A Division of You, Digital Rock etc.) but they didn't receive much recognition.[2] The band released their debut album, titled "An Illusion of Time" in 2004. The band's first label released album was "Play, Dance, Repeat" released in April 2005.[1] The band then underwent multiple lineup changes before entering the studio in 2006 to record their next album.

Gaining recognition with "Demolition City" and release of "Sleepwalker" and "Ephemeral" (2008–2017)

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The Anix's first critically acclaimed album was "Demolition City". The album was released in 2008 under Chamberlain records. A review was published about the album on Billboard Magazine's vol.120 no.22 issue.[3] It praised the band's style of using 80's music as an inspiration.

The band played live shows in Illinois and Chicago with artist's Cromwell, Comasoft. In 2009 the band first played in overseas.[4] Along with Apoptygma Berzerk, the band played various live shows in Germany.[4]

The band then signed with Cleopatra Records and released their next album - "Sleepwalker".[citation needed] Released in 2011, the album received praise in the gaming community. The song "Warning Signs" was included in the soundtrack of Mass Effect: Paragon Lost.[citation needed] Smith said that the band is often inspired by film adaptations of graphic novels, like The Dark Knight and Sin City.[5] They embarked on a North American tour with Cromwell in 2012.

The band's next album "Ephemeral" was released in 2017.[citation needed] The album contained elements from techno and dance music; a first for the band.

Turning into a solo project and subsequent releases (2018–present)

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Logotype of The Anix (2018-2022)

After the release of "Ephemeral" the band turned into a solo project with Brandon remaining the sole band member. He signed with electronic music label FiXT and released his debut single "Fight the Future". His sixth album, titled "Shadow_Movement", was released on 18 October 2018.[citation needed]

After releasing various singles Brandon released his seventh studio album "Hologram" on 10 October 2019.[citation needed] He released his eighth studio album, "Graphite", on 26 June 2020.[6]

The Revenge LP, with 15 tracks, was released January 14, 2022. It includes guest appearances by Julien K, InHuman, and Amir Derakh (Julien K, Rough Cutt).

On July 15, 2022, Demolition City was remastered and released.[7] The album contains all the previous songs (including "The Lowdown of a Fool", which was released under the name "Double Zero") and previously unreleased demos and songs.[8][9]

On June 2, 2023, The Anix released its tenth studio album "Nightvision". On February 22, 2024, The Anix released a new single called CRAWL featuring Amir Derakh of Julien-K as a part of his upcoming tenth studio album "Voltage". On April 15 and May 28, "Gravity" and "Shadow" were released as the second and third single of The Anix's upcoming album.

Members

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Current members

  • Brandon Smith – vocals, guitar, keyboards, bass, programming (2001–present)

Former members

  • Oscar Gutierrez – drums (2001–2005)
  • Bryan Lareau – guitar, bass, backing vocals (2001–2006)
  • Chris Yarber – bass, synthesizer, backing vocals (2004–2008)
  • Nik Lawhorn – guitar (2004–2008?)
  • Logan Smith – drums (official member: 2005–2018, live member: 2022)
  • Greg Nabours – synthesizer, backing vocals (2008–2011)
  • Chris Dinger – guitar, backing vocals (official member: 2009–2018, live member: 2022)
  • Nikolas Musolino – guitar (2013?–2017?)

Discography

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Studio albums

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Title Album details
An Illusion of Time
Play, Dance, Repeat
  • Released: April 15, 2005
  • Label: Universal Records
  • Format: LP, CD, digital download, streaming
Demolition City
  • Released: January 1, 2008
  • Label: Chamberlain Records
  • Format: LP, CD, digital download, streaming
Sleepwalker
  • Released: August 30, 2011
  • Label: Cleopatra Records
  • Format: LP, CD, digital download, streaming
Ephemeral
  • Released: March 31, 2017
  • Label: Cleopatra Records
  • Format: LP, CD, digital download, streaming
Shadow_Movement
  • Released: October 19, 2018
  • Label: FiXT
  • Format: LP, CD, digital download, streaming
Hologram
  • Released: October 11, 2019
  • Label: FiXT
  • Format: LP, CD, digital download, streaming
Graphite
  • Released: June 26, 2020
  • Label: FiXT
  • Format: LP, CD, digital download, streaming
Revenge
  • Released: January 14, 2022
  • Label: FiXT
  • Format: LP, CD, digital download, streaming
Demolition City 2022 Remaster
  • Released: July 15, 2022
  • Label: FiXT
  • Format: LP, CD, digital download, streaming
Nightvision
  • Released: June 2, 2023
  • Label: FiXT
  • Format: LP, CD, digital download, streaming
Voltage
  • Released: November 22, 2024
  • Label: FiXT
  • Format: LP, CD, digital download, streaming

Remix albums

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  1. Change (Remixes) (2003)
  2. Dangerous (Remixes) (2005)

Compilation albums

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  1. Rare And Unreleased (2009)
  2. Glass (Deconstructed) (2012)
  3. Black Space (Deconstructed) (2019)

Others

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Title Album details
A Division of You
  • Released: 2001
Digital Rock
  • Released: 2002
Double Zero
  • Released: 2003
Order / Disorder
  • Released: 2019

Singles

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Song title Release date Album
"Take My Future" 2011 Sleepwalker
"Cry Little Sister"
(Gerald McMahon cover)
"Burn"
(feat. Apoptygma Berzerk)
(The Cure cover)
"Glass"
"Sideways" March 10, 2017 Ephemeral
"Mask" March 31, 2017
"This Machine" May 25, 2018 Shadow_Movement
"Come Back Down" June 28, 2018
"Fight the Future" August 1, 2018
"Incomplete" August 18, 2018
"Interchanger" September 5, 2018
"Black Space" January 29, 2019
"Techunter" February 7, 2019 Hologram
"Chrome" April 15, 2019
"Everlasting Love" May 9, 2019
"Talking In My Sleep"
(feat. Emmanuella)
June 7, 2019
"Disappear" July 11, 2019
"If This World Is With You" January 15, 2020 Graphite
"Still Standing" February 28, 2020
"Give It Up" March 25, 2020
"Parasite"
(feat. GXG)
April 17, 2020
"Hideaway" May 8, 2020
"Die With You" June 3, 2020
"Unveil" November 8, 2020 Revenge
"Want U Like I Do" January 29, 2021
"My Eyes" March 4, 2021
"DSPTCH" March 25, 2021
"Your Lies Are Like Fire"
(with Julien-K)
May 10, 2021
"Follow" June 25, 2021
"Don't Let the Outside Win" August 6, 2021
"Antilife"
(with Julien-K feat. Amir Derakh)
September 22, 2021
"Quicksand"
(with Inhuman)
November 12, 2021
"Pretend"
(with Intrelock)
December 3, 2021
"Below" December 10, 2021
"Army of Me"
(Björk cover)
April 1, 2022 Nightvision
"Spit You Out"
(solo or with Daedric)
August 26, 2022
"See Nothing" October 28, 2022
"Just Like You" November 17, 2022
"Frozen Waves" December 9, 2022
"Bleach" February 3, 2023
"Cut Me" April 14, 2023
"Missile" May 4, 2023
"Tethered" May 26, 2023
"Crawl"
(feat. Julien-K)
February 22, 2024 Voltage
"Gravity" April 15, 2024
"Shadow" May 28, 2024
"Panic" June 18, 2024
"X-Ray" July 18, 2024
"Sinking Alone" August 20, 2024
"Locked Door" September 30, 2024
"Go" October 17, 2024
"Disarm" November 5, 2024
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  • Pers Mantrum - Loading 99
  • Fury Weekend - Illumination
  • We Are Pigs - Brazen
  • Julien-K - Desperation Day
  • Nouveau Arcade feat. Cordélia - Apart
  • HU3M3N - T3MPT3D
  • Intrelock - Reminisce
  • Fury Weekend - Delirious
  • Void Chapter - Our Time Is Now
  • Main-De-Gloire - Come Alive

Music videos

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Year Song Director(s)
2005 "Held Apart" Monte Carlos
2005 "This Game"
2009 "Half the World Away" Kurt Nishimura
2011 "Glass" Chris Do
2012 "Glass"
(Deconstructed)
2013 "Resident One" Unknown
2017 "Mask" Ruslan Pelykh
2018 "This Machine" Unknown
2019 "Black Space" Ruslan Pelykh
2020 "Die With You" Brandon Smith
2021 "Your Lies Are Like Fire"
(with Julien-K)
Oscar Gutierrez
2022 "Spit You Out"
2023 "Missile"
2024 "Crawl"
(feat. Julien-K)
Brandon Smith and Julien-K

References

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  1. ^ a b "The Anix interview by Maris The Great". MarisTheGreat.com. Retrieved 2021-11-24.
  2. ^ "Anix (The Anix)". Media-Club. Retrieved 2020-04-15.
  3. ^ Inc, Nielsen Business Media (2008-05-31). Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. {{cite book}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  4. ^ a b "The Anix Gigography, Tour History & Past Concerts – Songkick". www.songkick.com. Retrieved 2020-04-17.
  5. ^ Gomez, Adrian (March 9, 2012). "Get the right visuals, and you'll have the right music". Albuquerque Journal. Retrieved 24 April 2020.
  6. ^ "GRAPHITE - The Anix". Bandcamp. Retrieved 2020-10-27.
  7. ^ "THE ANIX announces re-release of 'Demolition City', out now on FiXT". R o c k 'N' L o a d. 2022-07-17. Retrieved 2022-09-27.
  8. ^ Demolition City, 2008-01-01, retrieved 2022-09-27
  9. ^ "Demolition City (2022 Remaster), by The Anix". The Anix. Retrieved 2022-09-27.