CLASH/PIL FOUNDER MEMBER'S NEW PROJECT

Tuesday, November 4, 2014 - PUNX.UK

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (3 Nov. 2014) Keith Levene’s “Commercial Zone 2014” the so-called “Lost 4th PiL album” drops on November 23, 2014 or exactly 35 years to the day when PiL’s masterpiece “Metal Box” was released.

Levene was a founding member/shareholder of Public Image, Ltd. or “PiL” which organized operations as a bona fide limited liability company in 1978. Over the course of the next five years, Levene was the company’s musical composer and guitarist – amongst other corporate titles held by him. During his tenure, PiL released the highly regarded albums First Issue, Metal Box and Flowers of Romance.

However, creative differences over the fourth PiL release Commercial Zone resulted in Levene’s resignation from the organization in 1983 just as PiL – considered by many to be the first post-punk band – was about to embark on a tour of Japan that Levene helped to arrange.

Fast forward: Its now 30 years later and thanks to a successful Indiegogo crowd-funding campaign that reached almost 200% of its target, Levene has now finished what he started in his early 20s at Park South Studios in Manhattan. Only this time the location is Faust Studios in Prague, “CZ” and Levene has done it his way.

His way includes unique hand-painted and numbered cover art designed by Levene himself to accompany the CDs that Indiegogo project backers who selected this perk will get.

“I cannot tell you what came first: the music or the art; the visual or the sounds because they emerged together,” says Levene. “I sat at my desk in the white room at Faust Studios with my guitar in my lap and a paint brush in my hand surrounded by all these bright colors that seemed to bring the music to life. I painted as I composed. As I played guitar these abstract vibrant inky images popped into my head and I painted them. So the music and art took shape at basically the same time.”

Commercial Zone 2014 includes completely new music composed by Levene who is also the producer on the project. Nonetheless where the marriage of Levene’s art and music is concerned, some things remain the same. Levene used his vintage Travis Bean metallic guitar on the project the same one used 35 years ago on Metal Box.

Additionally “One of the best known tunes from the Commercial Zone 1983-1984 project is called ‘the Slab.’ It was about this huge slab of black concrete which a well-known graffiti artist painted on. I guess you could say art in the early ‘80s in Manhattan inspired me to write my music. Same is true today – only it’s my own art now,” Levene explains.

Levene is currently putting the final production touches on the album. He has released a few sneak peaks on his YouTube channel teenageguitarist76. Commercial Zone 2014 is available exclusively through Levene’s website www.teenageguitarist76. For further information contact the CZ2014 team at teenageguitarist76@gmail.com

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