‘Babylon’ is a song about a controlling man corrupted by the pursuit of money and power. Heavy topic, I know :)
The mythology surrounding Babylon is popular amongst sci-fi enthusiasts and conspiracists alike – the genesis of reptilian humanoids, the Babylonian Brotherhood who supposedly control the world and other fanciful ideas. So it was the perfect metaphor for describing what we’ve all witnessed – a man losing his humanity in his “fight to be king”. The song was written from the point of view of an innocent bystander and in the middle 8 section of the song (“Going to Babylon…”), the bystander’s attempt to escape from this corrupt Babylon.
The music has an energetic but appropriately sinister quality, and it’s the first electro-rock track I’ve done in quite some time. There’s something in the dark feel of the song which reminds me of Depeche Mode. The chorus release is a bit of a Duran Duran trick, and of course, the subject matter is Muse’s favourite topic.
I love the retro Star Trek-esque female vocal sound which is courtesy of the 1950s Chamberlin keyboard – a forerunner to the Mellotron in the 60s and both being precursors to the modern sampling keyboard. Each key triggers its own tape recorder playing a tape loop of a note being played by another instrument. The original tape libraries for these instruments where recorded in the day, are noisy and a bit out of tune from the tape loop stretching – so they instantly add retro charm!
From a songwriter’s point of view, the nice thing about this song is that the verse, chorus and middle 8 all stand on their own as melodies but they still connect nicely.
Next week I have my favourite synth ballad to share with you, but for now, I hope you enjoy Babylon!
UPDATE: Feb 2013 – replaced demo with album mix