In the rapidly shifting contemporary landscape, lines blur quickly between musical genres, between musical roles (music fans create their own re-mixes now), and between platforms for cutting edge music (a MySpace page or a television commercial may be where it's at). The very idea of a "record" is nearly obsolete. Enter a new kind of artiste, a producer/musician/songwriter who assembles a visionary work from many fluid assorted parts. Harking back to more halcyon days in the music business, a time when the likes of Arif Mardin, Al Kooper, and Isaac Hayes made ground-breaking records, Robin Danar steps to the fore at a propitious moment. With ALTERED STATES, (Due out on Shanachie Entertainment March 18, 2008) Robin Danar's debut recording as an artist, he is a true auteur, shaping a soundtrack for some unmade film out of disparate and surprising elements created in dozens of time/space modules-a distinctive group of highly talented artists both known and emerging, a set of mostly well-known songs radically re-imagined, and evocative arrangements and production. The cutting edge artists - Rachael Yamagata, Pete Yorn, Inara George (The Bird And The Bee), Paul Buchanan (The Blue Nile) and others - are asked to go far outside of their normal genre as they enter Robin's world and his re-interpretation of much loved songs. Lisa Loeb sings on an acoustic-punk rendition of The Damned's "Video Nasty" for instance, while Pete Yorn collaborates with Kinky in the reconstruction of Bill Withers' "Use Me."

Robin Danar knows about scenes. For many years, in New York he was doing live sound and recording at CBGB's for the likes of Blondie, Television, Patti Smith and The New York Dolls, during its glory years at ground zero for one of the most influential music scenes ever. At the same time, he was engineering studio sessions for such mentors as Steve Lillywhite, Phil Ramone, Gary Katz and Russ Titelman on artists as diverse as Paul Simon, Donald Fagen, Chaka Khan, Billy Joel and Material. Danar's credits also include house sound mixing on tour for such artists as Suzanne Vega, Shawn Colvin, Cyndi Lauper, The Church, The B-52's and more. The hot-house creativity of the New York scene was unbeatable but at a certain point producer/engineer/musician/songwriter Robin felt it was time to make a move-to New York's polar (some would say spiritual) opposite - Los Angeles.

"In New York City," Robin says, "people were on a page with each other and a lot of people were-and are-very creative but at a certain point only able to be known in the East Village. They're playing to each other's fans and friends. In LA a major difference is things get heard here. And KCRW is a major reason for that. The radio station is a hub for listening to new music. People want to get heard here....they want to be understood and their creativity appreciated. The scene is scattered but people do get together."

In his new role as technical producer of many special events, such as KCRW's "A Sounds Eclectic Evening," which has featured the likes of Beck, Norah Jones, Beth Orton, Zero 7, Coldplay and Franz Ferdinand among others, and the Shortlistofmusic Award, Danar has formed relationships with an extraordinary array of artists, both established and emerging. Inspired by the array of musical creativity he was hearing in Los Angeles, he decided take the initiative to get them heard by a larger audience as well as making a creative statement himself. "I wanted to get a lot of these artists heard by more people," he notes, " One way to do that was to use really well-known songs as a vehicle to get attention but one of the rules was that it would sound nothing like the original version. I also wanted the artists and musicians to get to know one another, because often they didn't."

Another key to Robin's approach was to record spontaneously and organically wherever was convenient. None of ALTERED STATES was recorded in a studio. "We didn't go into a studio for any of these tracks," he says. "Everyone in LA has a two-car garage with pre-amps. Basically the studio was a fire-wire drive that I carried around." The final element of Robin's vision for the album was that it would reflect a cinematic sensibility.

"One of the things I thought of when making this record is that everyone has had something in a film or commercial. There's a new generation that hears new music in films, on television and in commercials and buys music by the song. I'm fine with that."

ALTERED STATES has the flow and textures of a film soundtrack, even if the film does not yet exist. The surprising twists and turns in the music come from taking the artists out of their comfort zone and trying things they might not try on their own.

"Everyone said they didn't have the pressure of their own record so they were open to things and got into character," shares Robin. "Rachael Yamagata had never heard the Stones' "2000 Light Years From Home." Lisa Loeb doesn't usually fit into KCRW's format so I chose the Damned tune for her. I had Inara George do Johnny Mathis' "Chances Are" the way Patsy Cline would do it. With Quincy Coleman, we worked on a Pink Floyd song as an Andrews Sisters tune...but being a Pink Floyd tune it's like the drugs kicked in half way through and things got a little crazy."

But even the cover song concept was not sacrosanct as there are two original compositions on ALTERED STATES. ""Yell" came about because Jesca Hoop is a brilliant artist and I always wanted to do something with her that took advantage of her sense of rhythm and harmony and using her voice as an instrument. I brought her a track that I wrote and we started messing with it."

Considering the variety of songs and the diverse group of collaborators, ALTERED STATES plays through with remarkable coherence as a true album, best experienced in one listen. It begins and ends with dreamy, romantic atmospheres on "Chances Are" and "The Last Waltz/Such A Night" respectively. In between, the tracks ride peaks and valleys of edgy rock textures and evocative electronic atmospherics, telling an unfolding story that different people will interpret different ways. "In the end," Robin Danar says, "it is not about LA but it is about the creativity on the LA scene."

ALTERED STATES FEATURED VOCALISTS:

--INARA GEORGE "Chances Are": Daughter of Lowell George of Little Feat and goddaughter of Jackson Browne, Inara is part of the edgy duo The Bird And The Bee on Blue Note. The intoxicating vocalist has also released her own solo recordings and has collaborated with other bands. On ALTERED STATES, she brought a Patsy Cline vibe to Robin's version of the Johnny Mathis evergreen "Chances Are."

--JESCA HOOP "Yell": Tabbed by New York Times critic Jon Pareles as the best thing he saw at SWXW, Jesca's debut album has been released by Columbia. A KCRW favorite, she has a song featured on the soundtrack of the film Shoot 'Em Up starring Clive Owen and Paul Giamatti among others. "Yell," co-written by Jesca, Robin Danar and John O, is one of two original compositions on ALTERED STATES.

--PETE YORN/KINKY "Use Me": One most critically acclaimed and interesting singer-songwriters to emerge in recent years, Yorn has experienced major success via his three album releases for Columbia. Lately he has been touring with Crowded House. Kinky is a brilliant Mexican band known for fusing Latin music with rock and electronica. Robin used Yorn and Kinky together to help turn Bill Withers' funky classic inside out.

--HOLLY PALMER/ANDY LEVIN "Fool": After one solo album for Warner Brothers, Holly Palmer has been the vocalist of choice for many notable artists including Gnarls Barkley and David Bowie, while continuing a firm presence in NY and LA. Andy Levin is a new artist unheard of on the scene that had approached Robin as a producer. Together the duo delivers on a highly distinctive original composition.

--LISA LOEB/STEVE REYNOLDS "Video Nasty": Lisa Loeb has been one of the most successful and recognizable female singer/songwriters to emerge in the past fifteen years since her breakthrough hit song "Stay." The multi-talented singer/songwriter has been visible in film and on television in recent years, most recently with a children's television show. Joined by singer/songwriter and guitarist Steve Reynolds, who is known for his emotional lyrics and emotive and stunningly powerful voice, Loeb takes on Robin's rendition of a classic punk song by The Damned.

--PAUL BUCHANAN "Message Of Love": Paul Buchanan has been the lead singer/main songwriter of the critically-acclaimed cult ambient pop favorites The Blue Nile, known for integrating acoustic and electronic textures. Buchanan's songs have been used in many films and television shows. On ALTERED STATES, he delivers an unforgettable vocal on "Message Of Love," originally done by The Pretenders.

--QUINCY COLEMAN "Fearless": The daughter of actress Dabney Coleman, the LA-based singer/songwriter Quincy Coleman has had several songs featured in major motion pictures including the Academy Award-winning Crash and most recently the film Waitress starring Keri Russell. "Fearless" comes from the Pink Floyd canon.

--RACHAEL YAMAGATA "2000 Light Years From Home": One of the most exciting alternative singer-songwriters to emerge in the past few years, Yamagata's debut album positioned her as an artist on the verge of a major breakthrough. "2000 Light Years From Home" is one of the most successful songs from The Rolling Stone's brief 1967 fling with psychedelia Their Satanic Majesty's Request.

--JULIAN CORYELL "Don't Stop ‘Til You Get Enough": Singer/guitarist Julian Coryell is the son of legendary jazz-rock fusion guitarist Larry Coryell and has made his mark in a wide variety of musical contexts. Juilian has toured with everyone from Carole King to Jewel and Aimee Mann. Robin's version of Michael Jackson's "Don't Stop ‘Til You Get Enough" uses a drum loop that he put together and Julian's multi-instrumentalist skills to create a whole new take on Jackson's hit.

--MINIBAR "First of the Gang to Die": The UK rootsy blues influenced UK band Minibar have released two albums on their own and have been touring as opening act for Pete Yorn's national tours as well as backing him. Robin knew that a bunch of Brits would get the joke when it came to a warm version of a dark Morrissey song.

--JIM BIANCO "Life During Wartime": A rising singer-songwriter who often headlines the Hotel Café, and also the Hotel Café tours, Jim tours widely both here and abroad. He has toured and recorded with Tim Davies Big Band and was the winner the Los Angeles acoustic music competition, "Acoustic Live." Robin wanted him to sing The Talking Heads song "Life During Wartime" as an angry veteran of war and he did it justice.

--GARY JULES/SECTION QUARTET "Weirdo": Gary Jules scored a #1 pop hit in he UK with "Mad World" and had a well-received album on Universal in the U.S. Robin wanted Gary to sing on Weirdo because they're also faves in the UK. The Section Quartet, although active playing live and on everybody's records, hadn't done an industrial type track with electronic drums before. Their new album is out on Decca.

--JULIANNA RAYE The Last Waltz/Such A Night": Juliana Raye has been a highly visible singer-songwriter on the Los Angeles scene. She has been singing and touring with Rufus Wainwright and was opening act for two tours by The Eagles. Here Robin did a sort of "Last Waltz" tribute, melding two songs from The Band and Dr. John in an arrangement that he says "I wanted to be sung in a sexy, romantic mood while the girl is saying nasty things like "I'm gonna take you away from your bitch!"

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