// ABOUT RAILWRX

BACKGROUND

RAILWRX was birthed from the steel womb of the once great manufacturing hub, Pittsburgh, PA, and raised with the serenade of the pounding heartbeat of soon to be silent machinery and the ghostly wails of the rail echoing through the valleys.

In the shadow of this once great machine, the biomechanical seeds of RAILWRX were nurtured and grown. The brothers-in-law duo of George Cicci and Ross Beall had a brief collaborative stint in the mid-90s with ambient industrial act, bLaCKlaNDs (distributed by Metropolis Records.)  In mid 2021 they once again joined forces to pay tribute to the deceased machine spirit of their nativity, drawing inspiration from late 80’s / early 90’s industrial acts such as: Front Line Assembly, Nitzer Ebb, Front 242 and Schnitt Acht. Their debut EP, "Emergence" was released in September of 2022. 

EMERGENCE EP

"Up From The Depths," starts the EP off with a post apocalyptic dramatization of their 28 year pause in activity after a producer drove a wedge between them the early 90's. The song is narrated by AI and tells the story of the two putting their differences aside and dedicating their lives to family and career.  Ultimately the track concludes with them "emerging" to find a world on fire - a year not unlike 2021.

"Emergence," the second song on the EP,  starts off with the sound of their bunker door slamming open. The lyrics deal with Beall and Cicci's interest in the 10,000 year cycles of catastrophism that periodically wipe the planet clean of civilization. They draw parallels to the current world.   

"Corridor" is a mid tempo track that has had the most play from DJ's. In it they talk about the repetitive nature of human existence and the universal need for enlightenment and a cessation of suffering. Throughout the song there are samples that reference fallen civilizations whose citizens experienced the same need for stability in turbulent times. 

"Column," the final track on the EP,  was originally on their first demo recorded in 1991. Beall completely re-programmed every aspect of the song by ear using only the original tape as a reference. Once he handed it off to Cicci it went in another direction. Speed and intensity were ramped up and the duo added layer upon layer of sampling and sound design to increase the chaos, no doubt reflecting the turbulent condition of the United States in 2021. 

OTHER WORK 

Cicci, on top of a brief period of producing esoteric ambient industrial noise as Ordo Templi Sonica, has a long history of professional sound design innovation from art installations to video games to mobile devices as well as trailer music with Monolith Music.

Ross Beall’s early 2000’s solo project, “Simulator” (Cohaagen Music) bridged the gap between hard edged industrial and synth pop that would have sounded right at home playing on a spinner’s radio as it glided between the buildings of Bladerunner’s Los Angeles. Fans of the era’s sound are no doubt familiar with his countless remixes for the most popular bands of the era. 

Together, the duo has also provided sound design and mixing for several short horror films for Burnt Mill Road including Mallet Street and Mr. Tranch.