Anthony Pedroza may be a man possessed. As the creative center of the art rock / dream pop outfit Fellow Robot, the singer songwriter seems to dream (with eyes closed and open) about bodies electric, twisted dystopian futures or pasts and glowing presents you may not want to open. The band is a collaborative effort between drummer Luis Renteria and other friends / musicians brought into the creative fray. As often is the case with possessed artists they dream big, really big. Pedroza conceived an ambitious work consisting of 3 concept albums "The Robot's Guide To Music Volumes 1, 2 and 3. As if that is not enough adrenaline to drip feed into one's veins, Pedroza is also penning his debut Sci-Fi novel about a 140 year old robot called "The Robot's Guide to Music" as a literary companion to the album series. It would not surprise me if there was a cartoon or film to follow.
Speaking of films, Fellow Robot is putting out accompanying videos to each project / volume starting with the animated "Tools Of War" from album 1, "The Robot's Guide to Music Vol 1" released earlier this year. But for now, let's turn our goggle covered eyes to the latest offering, the Official video for the track Golden Man. Of the song Pedroza reveals:
"Golden Man was written and recorded with my son, Desmond, on my lap as the world around us went crazy. This song was written as a reminder to myself that even in the worst of times there is always something to be grateful for. No matter how shitty and pessimistic we feel about the climate around us, everything we need isn’t far from reach."
Director Stimson Snead has a keen eye for inherent beauty in the decay and fragility of life. The song, Golden Man, with it's cinematic sweep, thumping rhythm that could be a robot's heart, lilting hopeful melodies and almost Western waltz of droning string sounds has a true sense of romance and that romantic heart (decaying or not) is at the center of Snead's vision. Of the video he says:
"The video the band and I created takes the most extreme conceivable version of despair, the post apocalyptic wasteland so common to media that you can imagine it without any aid from me- but uses it instead as the setting of a family… just being a family. The problems of siblings fighting and yet loving each other. Enjoying a meal together and indulging in a little fandom. To us it is a post apocalypse, but to them. It’s a life, and a good one. That simple loves, simple joys, and yes even a love of a particular can persist in spite of horror and that optimism still has a place is a message a lot of people need."
Fellow Robot hails from Long Beach, California and are Anthony Pedroza, Luis Renteria, Michael Adams, Jon Zell and Roberto Escobar.
Golden Man is featured on the forthcoming "The Robot's Guide to Music Vol. 2" which drops in early 2019.
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Robb Donker
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