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The Frequency Conspiracy / Quarantine Covers led by the impressive Carry On Wayward Son

The Frequency Conspiracy, a project fronted by Joel Maitoza, have just released the album Quarantine Covers via So Cal Records/Alliance Entertainment. Maitoza told MetalTalk the project’s inception was in 2020 and involved Last In Lines Andrew Freeman.

“When the pandemic hit, bands stopped touring, and the world shut down,” Joel says, “I decided to contact some musicians I’ve always wanted to work with and record an album of cover tunes with a hard rock/Metal vibe. The songs are some hand-picked favourites of mine that I thought everyone involved could have some fun with, and the fans would enjoy hearing.”

Joel Maitoza, The Frequency Conspiracy
Joel Maitoza. Photo: Chris Brody

The impressive Carry On Wayward Son was one of the first tracks released, with The Frequency Conspiracy’s version a superb high energy take on the Kansas classic, led by Freeman’s vocals.

“We released two videos in 2020 featuring Last in Line/Lynch Mob vocalist Andrew Freeman, and it just took off from there,” Maitoza says. “I recorded the drum tracks in the studio by myself without any music, just a click track and the arrangement in my head. Then I sent the tracks out to the individual musicians I wanted to perform on the songs.”

Andrew Freeman, from Last In Line
Andrew Freeman, Last In Line. Photo: Steve Ritchie/MetalTalk

“The artists recorded their parts in their home studios and sent the files back to me. It was cool to hear how each musician interpreted and performed their parts. The songs just evolved. The creative process was absolutely fascinating, and I think we captured some amazing performances on this album.”

Individual tracks, recorded around the world, raised a challenging issue. “It’s much more cohesive when an entire band is all working together in the studio and bouncing ideas off each other,” Joel says. “This was a bit more difficult because the individual tracks were recorded in various studios all over the world, so the overall mix of each song sounds a little different, even though the engineer and I tried our best to keep everything consistent.”

Joel says he took a chapter from the Steely Dan playbook as his inspiration for working with different musicians. “I could distinctly hear each chosen artist performing each song in my head prior to recording the track. It took some time to figure out who would play on what, but I think everyone did a great job working together and making their individual parts fit like a glove.”

Hella Rock Festival

The Frequency Conspiracy name comes from an article Joel read some years ago. “I’m not really into conspiracy theories in general,” he says, “but in a nutshell, standard instrument tuning is 440 which was standardized in 1953. If you tune the A string to 432, it’s known to have more healing properties, easier to listen to and more in tune with nature.

“It was suggested that the monopolization of the music industry features this imposed frequency (440) that is ‘herding’ populations into greater aggression, psychosocial agitation, and emotional distress predisposing people to physical illnesses and financial impositions profiting the agents, agencies, and companies engaged in the monopoly.”

The Frequency Conspiracy, Quarantine Covers
The Frequency Conspiracy. Quarantine Covers

As the pandemic eases globally, a possibility of a short run of dates in the US may be on the cards. “Nothing is set in stone yet,” Joel says, “but I have been receiving some show offers scheduled for summer 2022. It also depends on the pandemic. We’ll see.”

Quarantine Covers – Track Listing

1. Carry On Wayward Son
Christophe Godin – Guitars
Jaimie Scott – Bass
Andrew Freeman – Vocals
Joel Maitoza – Drums

2. Hell Bent for Leather
John Gallagher – Vocals, Bass
Joshua Jones – Guitars
Joel Maitoza – Drums

3. Locked Out of Heaven
Jason (JMR) Richardson – Vocals, Guitars
David Pastorius – Bass
Joel Maitoza – Drums

4. Words Get in the Way
Craig Soderberg – Guitars, Vocals, Keys
Jaimie Scott – Bass
Joel Maitoza – Drums

5. Rock Candy
Joshua Jones – Guitars
Andrew Freeman – Vocals
Rick Skatore – Bass
Joel Maitoza – Drums

6. Turning Japanese
Craig Soderberg – Guitars, Vocals, Keys
Jaimie Scott – Bass
Joel Maitoza – Drums

7. Shapes of Things
Jason (JMR) Richardson – Vocals
Joshua Jones – Guitars
Miguelon Rodriguez – Bass
Joel Maitoza – Drums

8. Sailing
Craig Soderberg – Guitars, Vocals, Keys
Jaimie Scott – Bass
Joel Maitoza – Drums

9. Life in the Fast Lane
Craig Soderberg – Guitars
Miguelon Rodriguez – Bass
Joey McCaw – Vocals
Joel Maitoza – Drums

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