Digisaurus

James Allison’s new video for “I Don’t Feel Alright” features Fran Litterski of Columbia Records’ Magic Man in its re-imagination of his own live shows. The song was produced by Mike Landolt, whose engineering chops include Maroon 5, Spin Doctors, OAR and more. The video was directed by Evan Spencer Brace, who has a background with Phantogram, White Arrows, Taking Back Sunday, and The Mowgli’s. Experimental lighting effects and a complete artistic abstraction gleam retro and futuristic vibes as you move through the video.

For a split-second, you can hear vocal elements from Allison that almost mirror the pace and delivery of RHCP. Outside of that, “I Don’t Feel Alright” is a fairly light and accessible track that lives up to the genre. It wouldn’t be surprising to see the song finding traction following its release.The talent that Digisaurus brought in for the production and editing is rather clear — it all comes off as very clean and well-made...Digisaurus gets a lot of things right with the music video, making it worth the watch and listen. - Impose Magazine

Digisaurus would like to welcome you to the future. Conceived by multi-instrumentalist James Allison, the Columbus-based "future-pop" are gearing up to release their debut EP, No More Room For Love, and if their latest single is any indication, we're in for a real treat. Today we're excited to premiere "Without Me," a track that hits you hard with romping bass and crunching electronics from the get-go (think Big Data). Once Allison's smooth, baritone vocals kick in it's hard not to try to sing along, even upon first listen. Stream the incredibly infectious tune above.

"The EP we're putting out in June, No More Room for Love, is centered around the dismissal of love and its effect on the human psyche," Allison explains. "I was thinking a lot of Freud's psychic apparatus of the id, ego and super-ego when we were writing this song. 'Without Me' is supposed to represent this penultimate battle between the id and the super-ego. Musically, the song is completely based around that opening guitar riff. My roommate at the time, Dennis Tanner, had come up with it and had been playing around with it for a couple days. He then handed it off to me as a sample and came back with this song based around it the next day. He loved it, so we went back in the studio and re-recorded with the rest of the group. I love how simply it started off, but it's probably the most in-depth production I've ever been a part of in the studio."

Keep your eyes peeled for No More Room for Love next month, and get yourself a copy of "Without Me" over at iTunes.
News - Purevolume.com

Featuring wicked falsetto singing reminiscent of Jimmy Somerville and a fun take on disco and funk similar to the Scissor Sisters, the Columbus, Ohio project Digisaurus combine elements both new and old to create a sound that’s both classic and contemporary. Helmed by musician James Allison, the band has just released their energetic and very catchy debut EP No More Room For Love, which we’re more than happy to present here at PopMatters.

“Do yourself a favor with this EP,” says Allison. “Tell everyone around you to shut the hell up. Put on a silly hat, turn up your speakers, press play, and get up on a chair, table, desk or whatever and just fucking dance your ass off. If no one else is dancing with you by the end of the first song…get some new friends.” - Pop Matters

DIGISAURUS' NEW UNSETTLING MUSIC VIDEO
TUESDAY, JUNE 16, 2015 | POSTED BY: NIKO DEMETRIOUDigisaurus' New Unsettling Music VideoIt feels like the three-piece future-pop rock group that is Digisaurus is hiding something. We haven't heard much from them even though the way they bring modern soulful rock rhythms to funky 70's vocals is something satisfyingly smooth. With the upcoming release of their first EP, their new video for "Without Me" shares this mysterious feeling. We never quite get a good look at the group as their images are overlaid, distorted and manipulated over various surfaces and body parts. This creates something very unsettling, a feeling that agrees with the disquieting lyrics. The guitar screeches and wails along with the vocals, but we never get to see either clearly. Digisaurus may keep things hidden here, but the sound is more than present and "Without Me" is one powerful track. - Baeble Music

With juicy bass and dazzling stage effects, Digisaurus, a self-described "futurepop" band, teleports audiences into a new universe of nightlife. - Victoria Advocate

JJames Allison AKA: Digisaurus has premiered his new single “I Don’t Feel Alright,” the track features Fran Litterski. The single will be available on November 1st.

Digisaurus had this to say about the song:

“How this song came together was very different than most Digisaurus songs. Personal circumstances found me in a new city with lots of time on my hands, so I was writing by myself for the first time in a long time. This is actually the first Digisaurus song where I’m the sole songwriter.

After coming up with the demo, I took it to my co-producer, Mike Landolt, and we spent about a week just focusing on the rhythm and samples with drummer, Jeff Martin, to get the feel right. I wanted this really tight groove with the guitar and bass in the verses that could rival any Chic song. We also ended up interspersing a bunch of “Dancing Queen” type piano parts to really brighten things up a bit.

On the demo, I did all the vocals, but it sounded pretty contrived with me responding to my own calls. I knew I wanted a female voice on the track . . . Landolt suggested Fran after we talked about it, and she was spot-on in what I was looking for. Her voice is so pretty and delicate, and mine’s pretty aggressive on this track. She adds really interesting dynamic. She also gave me a lot of little vocal nuggets that I manipulated into these little pieces of ear-candy scattered over the choruses. I’ve never really thought of Digisaurus as an electronic act before, but a lot of the people I talk to after shows describe it that way. In this song, I’m embracing that without sacrificing the funk, pop, and disco elements that have shaped Digisaurus’ sound.”

DIGISAURUS is the project from artist and producer, James Allison. Featuring some of Ohio’s best musicians and visual artists, Digisaurus is dedicated to the evolution of music and art through technology and collaboration. Digisaurus’ sound fuses 70’s funk, 90’s guitar rock, and modern-soul undertones while drawing influence from artists like Mark Ronson, Nine Inch Nails, and Gorillaz.

James Allison began his musical journey with piano lessons at the age of six in his native city, London, England. After growing discontentment with the strict, regimented environment of music education, he became a self-taught guitarist and moved to Columbus, OH. For the next eight years, he performed with several bands across the country, opening for Weezer, Crystal Castles and J Roddy Walston & The Business. In 2014, Allison began to open up his writing sessions to various musicians, creating a constant flux of collaborators. The process’ freedom to expand across several forms of musical artistry and performance led to the Digisaurus concept and the release of the debut EP, No More Room for Love, in 2015. - Northern Transmissions

Here is Jayson’s DJ pick for this week, “Without Me” by Digisaurus – have a listen and let us know what you think in the comments below, on twitter or Lightning100.com using ‪#‎L100DJPicks‬ - Lightning 100.3FM Nashville

It's The Separation Of The Spinning Inner Head...(Live Session) - Daytrotter

Digisaurus just dropped their following featured single, “Without Me”, from their upcoming No More Room for Love EP. Paleolithic rock ethics here get hurdled into the digital post-millennial common era, where an exercise in self-effacing activities dish out everything from self doubt, to embracing the hesitant honesty of uncertainty. Concepts of togetherness, and untogetherness bend and break to the parade of synths, and well styled noise makers that allow the audience to ponder the high drama of the with and without conundrums. The trio described to us some hints and insights about their forthcoming EP with the following:

The EP we’re putting out in June, No More Room for Love/ is centered around the dismissal of love and it’s effect on the human psyche. I was thinking a lot of Freud’s psychic apparatus of the id, ego and super-ego when we were writing this song. “Without Me” is supposed to represent this penultimate battle between the id and the super-ego. Musically, the song is completely based around that opening guitar riff. My roommate at the time, Dennis Tanner, had come up with it and had been playing around with it for a couple days. He then handed it off to me as a sample and came back with this song based around it the next day. He loved it, so we went back in the studio and re-recorded with the rest of the group. I love how simply it started off, but it’s probably the most in-depth production I’ve ever been a part of in the studio. - Impose Magazine

(translated from French)

Synths electrified guitars intertwined with that slide on a subdued rhythmic pop to groovy soul, infused rock bursts, Digisaurus with Without Me, shook the emotions in a constellation of notes to amber sweetness.

Alternating movements and swaying stormy breaths Digisaurus offers stormy hooks loops to bass and electronic crackling. Under the haunting song of James Allison, leader of this singular group, the rhythms of Digisaurus snatch hearts, without respite, with very punctuation Funk 70 'guitars and rock swept 90s.

Adding touches of a modern soul groove, them, Jeremy Fina, Lizzy Morris, Dennis Tanner, Derek stinging, Ben Rohletter, Eric Groseclose and Jeffrey Martin slam harmonies with an angry and darkly shaded shine breath, waiting for output their first EP No More Room For Love 23 June.

La Folie Digisaurus almost here, with variations on love and conflicts of human psyche, enough to hold the hearts in their catchy harmonies, made ​​of plural collaborations and stormy hues. - Pause Musicale

Columbus-based indie future-pop/rock band Digisaurus recently released a new track called Make A Move from their debut EP, No More Room For Love. The EP is set to release in June 2015, featuring production from Mike Landolt (Maroon 5, Michael Franti, Mushroomhead). Digisaurus is a collaborative effort, led by frontman/producer James Allison, featuring some of Ohio’s most renowned musicians, including Jeff Martin (drummer for Angela Perley & The Howlin’ Moons). An ode to the evolution of music, the Digisaurus sound fuses 70’s funk, 90’s guitar rock, smooth trip-hop and modern-soul undertones. Their new age musical approach draws influence from artists like Nine Inch Nails, Mark Ronson and Big Data. - Indie Minded

When Digisaurus launches its first live set this month, they won’t need chrome robot suits or inflated mouse heads, fancy haircuts or projected cartoon versions of themselves to whip up the crowd. In Columbus at least, James Allison needs little introduction.

As a musician he’s made a number of stylistic curlicues, and most anything he’s a part of is anticipated. Digisaurus is another bold move. His upcoming No More Room For Love EP is a producer-driven collage of hyper-electronic dance music and festival-ready funk and soul. It’s evident what has inspired the switch.

“When I started I was listening to the Daft Punk record a lot,” says Allison of Digisaurus’ origins. “I think it was less about the music they were doing and more about the approach. They invited and included anyone they wanted into the studio and in their writing sessions. That really excited me, especially since the band I was in had just broken up.”

Since moving from Ealing, England in 2006 for school, Allison’s journey through the local music scene has been exemplar but also hard-luck. The defunct bands he was a part of make for a great CV of current edge and collaboration. Be it his first adventure with The Blastronauts, the synth-pop battles of The Town Monster, or the Spector-ish girl-group glitz of The Regrettes, he has had his sonic tentacles in many celebrated projects. That’s not to mention his steady work recording and filming those who have passed through the studio at Electraplay, where he crossed paths with a number of the musicians who appear as part of the Digisaurus collective (The Regrettes’ Lizzy Morris and Chelsea Automatic’s Jeremy Fina among them).

“I approached it more with a producer mindset, being the facilitator.”
Digisaurus, the name a portmanteau linking the past and the future, started casually. Allison was experimenting with in-the-round recording sessions, in which he would recruit different groups each Thursday night at his house, announce a “theme” and initiate a “try everything” attitude. That resulted in Allison piecing through hours of jams, adding and subtracting until each track came together. Just the latest EP alone was a tireless process that came from his desire to make every song “as perfect as it could be.”

“The idea of the band was romanticized for me, but I started to see over the years how limiting that concept was,” says Allison of Digisaurus’ more project-based alternative to the standard “band” logistics. “I didn’t want to keep writing with the same four people all my life. With Digisaurus, I approached it more with a producer mindset, being the facilitator and inviting in different people for the performance and different people for the writing. I don’t want anyone to think that they have to commit significant time to this unless they want to. I want it to exist forever.”

“Make a Move” is just the type of song Allison hopes will become timeless. It’s got a bit of everything, a disco-punk beat, a little ’70s air-conditioned pop in the chorus, the Bee Gee’s falsetto, and Daft’s skyward arpeggios—niche or not, in Columbus this type of music is not being made. It should turn many a rock club into a dance floor.

As far as contemporaries, Allison reps the Columbus hip-hop scene for a similar aesthetic. Though he’ll admit the two spheres are making different music, he’s inspired by that scene’s penchant for mixing and matching and not settling for small. He is at his most determined with the ensuing task of promoting Digisaurus. He designed the live show to be yet another dimension of what he composed in the studio. With a national tour, reputable publicists, and maybe a light show or two, Allison is poised to attack Digisaurus with an “all-in” attitude.

“I want this to be my last project. This is really me giving it a go,” he says. “I want a career doing this. So I definitely see this as something that I’ll take out on the road and hopefully everyone involved will be here for the entirety.”

Digisaurus releases their first EP with a Spacebar show on June 14. For music and more information visit digisaurusmusic.com. - 614 Magazine

Prolific Columbus musician and all-around ok guy, James Allison pulled together a loveable hodge-podge of CBUS area artists and came up with one of the funkiest singles of the year. Shoutouts to Electraplay studios and Tony Stewart. - CD102.5 FM