Binary Sea
NEWS   Compass has been released! You can now purchase it from iTunes Plus or from our online store! Check out our site for more info!
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play lo-fi play hi-fi  Stomp and Twirl
play lo-fi play hi-fi  Under the Gazebo
play lo-fi play hi-fi  Watch the Sun Rise
play lo-fi play hi-fi  Foresight is Half the Battle
play lo-fi play hi-fi  Crimson Heart
play lo-fi play hi-fi  Main Theme
play lo-fi play hi-fi  Projected Patchwork
play lo-fi play hi-fi  Twin Roads
At the heart of Binary Sea's melodious, synthesizer-driven sound is an awareness of the power of musical storytelling through rich instrumental compositions. The band consists of Shayne and Jared White, two brothers from heart of the Sonoma County wine country. With backgrounds in traditional acoustic European genres, combined with a love of cutting-edge pop styling and electronic soundscapes, Shayne and Jared have created the perfect soundtrack to the music lover within.

2008 heralds the release of Compass, Binary Sea's first official studio album. Each track on Compass is a finely-tuned, thematic, and pulsating journey into an expansive world of dance-friendly beats, introspective atmospherics, and evocative refrains. The album has a cohesive and unified flow, yet there is a element of variety and spicy playfulness as the music progresses that will leave its audience refreshed and inspired.

The Compass project began in early 2007. Says Jared: "After trying to launch into a viable album project several times, only to see each one wither on the vine, I began working on what became the track 'Saving Grace' with an entirely different goal in mind. Almost by accident, I arrived at the beginnings of the Binary Sea sound when attempting to compose a background jingle for Grace Fellowship, the church I attend. I had shot a welcome video and needed to add music, but I quickly realized as I began composing this track that it was far more ambitious than a quick soundtrack. I ended up creating another little piece for the video, but I couldn't get this style out of my mind."

Shayne teamed up with Jared to complete 'Saving Grace' and further compositional adventures ensued. "I had seldom composed anything in a Major key before," Shayne explains. "I had always tried to 'innovate' to the point of sounding disorganized and overly bizarre. But suddenly, overnight, it all changed -- probably because we were seeking the Lord's guidance more often. Then we had a vision, a sound, a single idea of what we were supposed to do. Jared and I, who had previously been working separately and alone, were able to mix together our own elements and interpretations of proposed concepts seamlessly, each lending to each other a little bit of something the other lacked. The resulting product was polished smooth from beginning to end with, hopefully, no apparent shortcomings."

And now, as Compass makes its way into the hands of electronica aficionados worldwide, what is next for Binary Sea? "We are first and foremost synth geeks to the extreme," Jared states emphatically. "We really, really love synthesizers. You'd laugh if you saw how Shayne and I dance around our studio whooping and hollering just because we found a single patch or sample that we'd heard on some old 80's record. So I think it's safe to say that our intention for Binary Sea is to continue to create catchy, intricate, and vibrant music in the electronica genre that will appeal to fans of both the classic styles as well as the modern dance scene."
Why this name?
The music we create flows through our equipment as digital bits, and the idea of swirling, flowing bits coming together to form a whole that translates to beautiful music inspired our band's name.
Do you play live?
It's wonderful to perform EM live, as it's always really special to see the interaction between the artist and the technology on stage. We did some performances in Northern California in 2006, and we're hoping to do so again once we've purchased some more portable equipment. Lugging two large desktop machines around is pretty cumbersome!

We have also performed acoustically with Distant Oaks quite frequently. We've toured throughout the Western USA and have also performed in Scotland and Ireland.
How, do you think, does the internet (or mp3) change the music industry?
There is no way we could have found the breadth of exciting music that we've discovered in niche genres by artists in all corners of the earth without the Internet and online music downloads (free or paid). It rocks.
Would you sign a record contract with a major label?
Only if they allow our to keep the copyright to our music and guarantee to promote our music fairly along with the label's other acts.
Your influences?
Tangerine Dream, Jerome Froese, Jean Michel Jarre, Vangelis, Ulrich Schnauss, Paul Ellis, Bjorn Lynne, Global Communication, The Orb, Hybrid, Robyn Miller, Frank Van Bogaert, Vince Clarke, Genesis, Mike Oldfield, Men Without Hats, Enya, Stuart Price, Ronan Hardiman, Howard Jones. To name but a few. :)
Favorite spot?
Sonoma County in Northern California. It's the most wonderful place anywhere, in our humble opinion.
Equipment used:
Logic Studio 8, Reason, Sonic|Core Scope, many softsynths like FM8, PPG Wave, Atmosphere, and various effects (particularly the Nomad Factory Blue Tubes and Essential Studio plugins). Plus our phat baby, the analog modular synth from Synthesizers.com!
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