Arcadea (Band)

Arcadea is an American progressive synth metal band from Atlanta, GA., formed in 2015, by Mastodon drummer Brann Dailor, Zruda guitarist Core Atoms, and guitarist Raheem Amlani. ^[1] Arcadea’s self-titled album was released on June 16, 2017, on Relapse Records.^[2]

Arcadea was founded in 2015, by upside-down guitarist Core Atoms ^[3] and drummer Brann Dailor in Atlanta, Georgia. With the addition of guitarist Raheem Amlani, the three-piece began recording tracks at Amlani’s Orange Peel Studios in Atlanta, GA in 2015.^[4] The result was an 11-song album which was released on Relapse Records on June 16, 2017. Arcadea is the second music collaboration between Rochester, New York natives Atoms and Dailor who played in the progressive funk trio Gaylord, in the late 1990s. ^[5]

For all three band members, Arcadea was a departure from previous music projects in both concept and sound. While Atoms is known for his unique guitar playing style, ^{[6] [5]} Arcadea’s premier album features no guitars—both Atoms and Amlani play only keyboards and synthesizers.^[7] For Dailor, it was an opportunity to sing lead vocals on the majority of songs in addition to drums. In an interview for Prog-Sphere Atoms explains, “Since we all have our own bands with more traditional instrumentation, we wanted to do something different but still rooted in our love of prog.”^[8] Both Dailor and Atoms credit Stevie Wonder, early Genesis, and other 70s progressive rock as influences for Arcadea.^[5][8]