Transmission (The Tea Party album)

Transmission

Studio album by

the Tea Party

Released| August 19, 1997 (1997-08-19)
Studio| Alkemical Studios (Montreal), NRG Studios (Los Angeles), Le Studio (Morin Heights)
Genre| Industrial rock, hard rock
Length| 49:34
Label|

* EMI Music Canada
* Atlantic

Producer| Jeff Martin
The Tea Party chronology
| Alhambra
(1996)  | Transmission
(1997)  | Triptych
(1999)

|
|

Singles from  Transmission

1. "Temptation"
Released: July 1997
2. "Babylon"
Released: September 1997
3. "Release"
Released: April 1998
4. "Psychopomp"
Released: 1998
5. "Gyroscope"
Released: 1998

Professional ratingsReview scores

Source| Rating
Allmusic|  link

Transmission is the fourth album recorded by the Canadian band the Tea Party, released in 1997. AllMusic described the album as "Sounding a lot like a Nine Inch Nails of the north... Full of hard rock thrust with industrial edge".[1]

While still using several exotic instruments and maintaining the "eastern" influence in the recording, many songs also include samples, sequencers and loops alongside the traditional acoustic instruments. The album makes lyrical references to the afterlife ("Psychopomp"), the dystopian works of Aldous Huxley, George Orwell, Yevgeny Zamyatin ("Army Ants") and Giovanni Piranesi's 'Imaginary Prisons' ("Alarum").

Transmission continued to build on the momentum generated by The Edges of Twilight, receiving a 1998 Juno nomination for "Blockbuster Rock Album of the Year". An edited version of the single "Temptation", as well as an instrumental version of "Babylon", can be found on the PlayStation game Road Rash 3D, from the same year.

## Commercial performance

[edit]

Transmission reached #3 on the Canadian Albums Chart.[2] It was among the top 60 best-selling albums in Canada in 1997.[3] In 1999, the album was certified Double Platinum in Canada.[4]

## Track listing

[edit]

No.| Title| Length

|
|

1.| "Temptation"| 3:25
2.| "Army Ants"| 3:33
3.| "Psychopomp"| 5:17
4.| "Gyroscope"| 2:56
5.| "Alarum"| 4:58
6.| "Release"| 4:05
7.| "Transmission"| 5:17
8.| "Babylon"| 2:50
9.| "Pulse"| 4:09
10.| "Emerald"| 4:51
11.| "Aftermath"| 5:43

### Hidden tracks

[edit]

Transmission contains two hidden pieces of music, both hidden in the pregap:

* An untitled piece consisting solely of electronically processed voices and sounds is located between tracks 6 and 7, lasting approximately 15 seconds
* An instrumental piece entitled "Embryo", lasting approximately 2 minutes, can be found between tracks 8 and 9

## Personnel

[edit]

Production

* Produced and recorded by: Jeff Martin
* Recording assistants: Don Hachey and Lee Moro
* Recorded at: Alkemical Studios (Montreal), NRG Studios (Los Angeles), Le Studio (Morin Heights)
* Mixed by: Jeff Martin
* Tracks 2, 3, and 6 mixed by: Jeff Martin and Adam Kasper
* Mixed at: NRG Studios (Los Angeles), Studio Morin Heights (Morin Heights)
* Mastered by: Bob Ludwig
* Mastered at: Gateway Mastering (Portland)
* Assistants: Don Hachey, Brian Virtue and Robert Carranza

Design

* Cover painting: "The Earth We Inherit" by Stuart Chatwood
* Concept: Stuart Chatwood and James St. Laurent
* Art design: Verve Graphic Design Consultants Inc.

## Charts and sales

[edit]

Chart performance for Transmission Chart (1997)  | Peak
position

|

Australian Albums (ARIA)[5] | 5

### Sales

[edit]

Region  | Certification | Certified units/sales

|
|

Canada  | —  | 200,000[6]
United States  | —  | 32,000[6]

## 20th anniversary tour

[edit]

Tx 20

EP by

The Tea Party

Released| October 19, 2017
Length| 17:44
Label| Eternal Discs
The Tea Party chronology
| The Ocean at the End
(2014)  | Tx 20
(2017)  | Black River EP
(2019)

|
|

In 2017 The Tea Party celebrated the 20th anniversary of Transmission with a world tour and release of a remix EP. The 20 Years of Transmission Tour was promoted on social media through hashtag #tx20. From February 2017 to April 2017 the band played 33 shows across Canada, Buffalo, NY and along the US west coast.[7] Six additional concerts were played in Australia October 27 through November 10, 2017. The Tea Party played Transmission in full, including songs never before played live,[8] then after a break they performed a second set of the band's hit songs."[9] Fans purchasing a concert VIP package could also receive a special limited edition Transmission coffee table book[10] containing a photo essay compiled by band member Stuart Chatwood that covered the album's release period.[8]

### Tx 20

[edit]

Tx 20 is a studio EP by The Tea Party containing four reworked modern versions of songs from Transmission. Preceding the Australian leg of the 20th anniversary world tour, the digital-only release first appeared on Spotify in the Australia region on October 19, 2017.[11] October 27 it was made available worldwide on streaming music services as well as lossless audio and MP3 digital downloads from the band's web site.[12]

### Track listing

[edit]

No.| Title| Length

|
|

1.| "Temptation" (Tx 20 Remix)| 3:29
2.| "Psychopomp" (Tx 20 Remix)| 4:57
3.| "Release" (Tx 20 Remix)| 4:00
4.| "Transmission" (Tx 20 Remix)| 5:18

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Chrispell, James. "Transmission – The Tea Party". AllMusic. Retrieved 13 February 2024.
2. ^ "The Tea Party: Chart History: Billboard Canadian Albums". [[Billboard (magazine}|Billboard]].
3. ^ "ALBUMS : Top 100 of 1997".
4. ^ "Gold & Platinum". musiccanada.com.
5. ^ "Australiancharts.com – The Tea Party – Transmission". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 20, 2022.
6. ^ a b LeBlanc, Larry (August 7, 1999). "Canadian Acts Struggle For U.S. Release". Billboard. p. 54. Retrieved September 10, 2023.
7. ^ "The Tea Party - Tour - previous events". Retrieved July 27, 2020.
8. ^ a b Dave Giffiths (October 16, 2017). "The Tea Party In "Transmission" Through Jeff Martin". Heavy Mag. Retrieved July 27, 2020.
9. ^ "The Tea Party 20 Years Into Transmission - Stuart Chatwood interview". girlatarockshow. November 2, 2017. Retrieved July 27, 2020.
10. ^ "Stuart Chatwood on Twitter". Twitter. January 3, 2017. Retrieved July 27, 2020.
11. ^ "Stuart Chatwood on Twitter". Twitter. October 19, 2017. Retrieved July 27, 2020.
12. ^ "The Tea Party on Twitter". Twitter. October 27, 2017. Retrieved July 27, 2020.

* v
* t
* e

The Tea Party

* Jeff Burrows
* Stuart Chatwood
* Jeff Martin

Albums|

* The Tea Party
* Splendor Solis
* The Edges of Twilight
* Transmission
* Triptych
* The Interzone Mantras
* Seven Circles
* The Ocean at the End

Live albums|

* Live at the Enmore Theatre
* Live from Australia

EPs|

* Alhambra

Compilations|

* Tangents: The Tea Party Collection

Singles|

* "The River"
* "Save Me"
* "A Certain Slant of Light"
* "In This Time"
* "Midsummer Day"
* "Fire in the Head"
* "Temptation"
* "Babylon"
* "Release"
* "Psychopomp"
* "Gyroscope"
* "Heaven Coming Down"
* "The Messenger"
* "Walking Wounded"
* "Soulbreaking"
* "Stargazer"
* "Oceans"

DVDs|

* Live: Intimate & Interactive

Related articles|

* Discography
* Roy Harper

Related bands|

* The Armada
* The Art Decay
* Crash Karma
* Jeff Martin 777

Related albums and DVDs|

* Live in Brisbane 2006
* Live in Dublin
* Live at the Enmore Theatre

Authority control databases |

* MusicBrainz release group

|

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