Fever 333 and Night Verses drummer Aric Improta and Tool‘s Justin Chancellor collaborated in the surreal, high-octane song, “EXU.”
Improta explained in a statement that at the beginning of his pandemic lockdown blues, he built an infinity room. Inspired by Panos Cosmotos’ films Beyond the Black Rainbow and Mandy, he knew the room would be used for musical works and collaborations, but without knowing exactly what. He reached out to Chancellor and sent him a video of the room, who then wrote back, “I’m in, I don’t even need to see the clip.” By inspiration of yet another film, Chancellor demanded Improta to watch Bruce Lee’s Enter the Dragon before his participation in the new project.
As a result, the five-minute-long rock out “EXU” was born. “Justin is honestly one of the most open-minded artists I’ve worked
with, and all of his ideas were distinctly unique,” Improta said. “I’d say those are the 2 qualities I hold in the highest regard when working with musicians, so it made the process that much more rewarding.”
with, and all of his ideas were distinctly unique,” Improta said. “I’d say those are the 2 qualities I hold in the highest regard when working with musicians, so it made the process that much more rewarding.”
The two were accompanied by Improta’s good friends, Greg Johnson and Night Verses’ Nick DePirro, on the heavily bass and drum focused track. DePirro mixed the project, and Chancellor’s friend Bob Ludwig (Nirvana, Daft Punk, Led Zeppelin) mastered it. The “EXU” video filming, recording, and production was completed by another friend and long-time collaborator of Improta, Kevin Garcia, and his team at MixOne Sound Studios.
“I love where it ended up and want to continue these audio/visual demonstrations in the future,” Improta said. “… this evolved throughout the process and ultimately transformed into something I never would have expected. I love the challenge of creating through new processes and really appreciate working with people open to doing the same.”
