Monolithic is a
synthpop
Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a subgenre of new wave music that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s a ...
music project started and maintained by Michael Babbitt. Its music includes subgenres such as
breakbeat
Breakbeat is a broad type of electronic music that tends to use drum breaks sampled from early recordings of funk, jazz, and R&B. Breakbeats have been used in styles such as hip hop, jungle, drum and bass, big beat, breakbeat hardcore, and UK ...
,
trance
Trance is a state of semi-consciousness in which a person is not self-aware and is either altogether unresponsive to external stimuli (but nevertheless capable of pursuing and realizing an aim) or is selectively responsive in following the dir ...
,
EBM,
techno
Techno is a genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempo often varying between 120 and 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central rhythm is typically in common time (4/4) and often ch ...
,
industrial
Industrial may refer to:
Industry
* Industrial archaeology, the study of the history of the industry
* Industrial engineering, engineering dealing with the optimization of complex industrial processes or systems
* Industrial city, a city dominate ...
, and
downtempo. Monolithic's music has been described as "intense", "meaningful", "emotional", and "powerful."
In January 2006, Babbitt announced that he was canceling his then-upcoming Monolithic album ''Evil Behind Smiling Eyes'' to focus on other projects.
MIDIhead
Michael (MIDIhead) Babbitt is sole member of Monolithic. He started his music career at the age of 14 when he went to a Battle of the DJs with a box of cassette tapes. He did poorly at his first performance, coming in last place, but he learned from the experience and later trained under more experienced DJs. At eighteen he helped a friend start a nightclub called The Ivy Tower which was housed in a
former church. In 2000, Babbitt released his first solo album under the moniker of Monolithic. This album won Best Album of 2001 at the American Synthpop awards in Hollywood. His award was presented by former Information Society frontman, Kurt Harland at the famed Hotel Rosevelt Hotel ballroom.
Babbitt has worked on
remixes,
TV, and
motion picture trailers, such as
Access Hollywood,
MTV
MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...
,
The Matrix Reloaded
''The Matrix Reloaded'' is a 2003 American science-fiction action film written and directed by the Wachowskis. It is a sequel to ''The Matrix'' (1999) and the second installment in the ''Matrix'' film series. The film stars Keanu Reeves, Laure ...
,
Dark Angel,
America's Next Top Model,
Prison Break
''Prison Break'' is an American serial (radio and television), serial drama television show, television series created by Paul Scheuring for Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox. The series revolves around two brothers, Lincoln Burrows (Dominic Purce ...
,
Dexter
Dexter may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* Dexter, the main character of the American animated series ''Dexter's Laboratory'' that aired from 1996 to 2003
* Dexter, a fictional character in the British Diary of a Bad Man#Main, web series ''Diar ...
to name a few, as well as multiple
Dance, Dance, Revolution video games.
In addition to writing and producing music, Babbitt also has experience in sound design and has created patch libraries for
Spectrasonics Omnisphere, distributed by ILIO.
His latest release called "Anthology" is a collection of 32 songs, spanning 20 years of songwriting under his Monolithic moniker and can be found at many online music streaming and digital download providers.
Discography
as Monolithic
Full-length albums
* ''Power Undiminished'' (2000)
* ''Dividing Asunder'' (2002)
* ''Fall Awake - EP'' (2010)
* ''Evil Behind Smiling Eyes'' (2014)
* ''Illumina Tenebris'' (2016)
* ''Anthology'' (2018)
Singles
* ''Lulling Us to Sleep'' (2002)
* ''House of Joy'' (2002)
Other
* ''Evil Behind Smiling Eyes - Collection 1''
imited MP3-only pre-release of the full-length album(2005)
* ''In My Eyes (Midihead Remix)'' (2004) Original song by
Akira Yamaoka.
as Midihead
* ''Midihead EP'' (2009 Fixt)
References
External links
Official Web site
American synth-pop groups
Video game musicians
{{US-pop-band-stub