Color Theory
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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This article is about the musical alter ego of Brian Hazard; for the theory of color, see color theory
| Color Theory | |
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| Years active | 1993–present |
| Genres | Synthpop Piano rock Electronica |
| Labels | 11th Records |
| Members | Brian Hazard |
| Website(s) | colortheory.com |
Color Theory is the musical alter ego of American singer-keyboardist-songwriter Brian Hazard. Hazard, the sole member of Color Theory, began studying the piano at the relatively late age of thirteen. He took lessons on and off through his high school years, while playing piano in the school jazz band and mallet percussion in the drumline. In 1992, Hazard was awarded a Bachelor of Music degree in Piano Performance from California State University, Long Beach. The following year he enrolled in songwriting and recording classes at Golden West College, and began writing songs for the first Color Theory album.
Sketches in Grey was a local success when it was released in 1994, quickly selling out the first pressing. But it wasn't until fledgling label A Different Drum included "Heart Like a Doll" on its first release, Rise! America's Synthpop Underground, that Color Theory was exposed to the small but dedicated modern synthpop scene. Hazard began performing Color Theory material live after the release of 1997's Tuesday Song, which includes "The Perfect Song", first performed as a proposal to now-wife Michelle. Hazard still considers 1999's Perfect Tears his best work to date, representing the culmination of the "electronic piano pop" sound he'd worked six years to refine. 2001's Life's Fairytale explored mostly piano-less electronic textures, representing a significant change of course from earlier material. But the biggest change came with 2002's Something Beautiful, a fully acoustic recording featuring legendary drummer Jonathan Moffett, fretless bassist Baba Elefante, a string quartet, flute, harp, and Hazard on piano and vibraphone. Twenty-six weekly demo recordings were posted on the web as part of the “Bad Song of the Week” project, which allowed fans to vote for their favorites and decide which songs would ultimately be included on the album. These demos were released as a limited edition two-disc set entitled Like Clockwork. 2003 brought another sharp directional change with Color Theory presents Depeche Mode, a one-man tribute to Depeche Mode. In addition to eleven Depeche Mode covers and two new instrumental interludes, the album includes "Ponytail Girl", a Color Theory original that was mislabeled and widely circulated on file sharing networks as a Depeche Mode track from their yet to be released Exciter album.
Currently, Hazard is at work on his seventh studio album, scheduled for 2007 release. In addition to producing his own material, Hazard owns and runs Resonance Mastering, a CD mastering house in Huntington Beach, California.
[edit] Discography
- Albums
- Compilations, Collaborations, and Remixes
- Rise! America's Synthpop Underground "Heart Like a Doll" (1995 - A Different Drum)
- Mix Rinse and Spin "Never Realized (Laundered Mix) (1996 - A Different Drum)
- Transmission "Softer Than Sleep" (1997 - Starmode Productions)
- Transmission "Entirely" (1997 - Starmode Productions)
- ::CatClaus:: "My Gift To You" (1998 - Control-Alt Delete)
- United Synthpop of America "Just Who I Am (Tinmen Mix)" (1998 - Synthphony Records)
- Y2K Compliant "April's Bonfire" (1999 - Control-Alt-Delete)
- Now Music for Pop People Volume 1 "Stare Out the Window" (1998 - Lexicon Magazine)
- Kinetic Instinct "Guilt Reflected" (1999 - DSBP)
- Mix Rinse and Spin 2 "New Year's Eve (Ambitious Mix)" (1999 - A Different Drum)
- Re.Flexion of Synthpop 2 "Outside Girl (Make-Believe Mix)" (1999 - Re.Flexion)
- Now Music for Pop People Volume 3 "I Felt the Pain" (1999 - Lexicon Magazine)
- Electricity "Everything I Thought I Had To Be" (2000 - Ninthwave Records)
- In Need "Fade So Fast" (2000 - A Different Drum)
- Automata 2.0 "April's Bonfire" (2000 - Flaming Fish Records)
- Messages: A Tribute to OMD "Hold You" (2001 - Ninthwave Records)
- Shadow Dancing - 2nd Movement "Ponytail Girl" (2001 - A Different Drum)
- KickOff2002 video game "Cheerleader (KickOff Mix)" (2001 - ANCO)
- Pure Sessions Volume 3 "Let Me In (Color Theory Unmix)" with Cosmicity (2002 - A Different Drum)
- Synthetic Broadway "Johanna" (2002 - A Different Drum)
- XRV "Vinyl Bliss (Color Theory Unmix)" with The Dignity of Labour (2004 - A Different Drum)
- Electro Culture Volume 1 "I Stand By My Mistakes" (2004 - Kiss My Asterix)
- Listen to the Future "Survivor's Guilt" (2004 - A Different Drum)
- Too Many Miles Between Us "Forbidden Fruit (Color Theory Unmix)" with Opium (2004 - A Different Drum)
- Elektrocuted "Nothing Else Matters" (2004 - Kiss My Asterix)
- Red Letter Day "Gabriel's Message" (2004 - A Different Drum)
- The Fixx: An Electronic Tribute "One Thing Leads to Another" (2005 - Section 44)
- MODEified 6 "Sister of Night (MODEified Mix)" (2006 - MODEified)
- Bright Lights, Dark Room: An Electro B-Side Tribute to Depeche Mode "Surrender" (2006 - Cryonica Records)
- Sector 1 "Behind the Rhine (Intuition's Alternate Radio Edit)" (2006 - Section 44)
- Electricity III "In An Hour From Now (Inbox Remix)" (2006 - Ninthwave Records)
- Setup "In An Hour From Now" with Virtual Server (2006 - A Different Drum)
- Silver Echo Vol. 1 "Behind the Rhine" (2006 - Silver Echo Records)
- Utopia "Be My Lover Now" (2006 - Cohaagen Records)
