Twenty One Pilots are known for their high-energy live shows and heart-on-their-sleeves lyrics, but they’ve taken another step in the right direction partnering with former tour-mates MUTEMATH for a new EP that reimagines five of their tracks.
Mutemath supported TØP on the tour’s first North American leg and would regularly join the duo during their set.
In the TOPxMM Mutemath Sessions, Twenty One Pilots’ sound is re-calibrated with a MUTEMATH filter, slowing down and stripping back some tracks, while re-energizing others with pulsating electronics and a booming drum-off. Combining the two artists’ talents certainly worked–and it’s a direction that Twenty One Pilots should steer toward on their next release…a more mature, edgier, less-Top 40 sound.
TOP frontman Tyler Joseph told AP:
“Mutemath has been one of our favorite bands for a while, and having them come on tour with us was a dream come true. The most amazing part of that experience was that they were unbelievably nice, talented and grateful guys. They were literally thanking us for having them on our tour. It felt weird hearing that from a band that we looked up to, to interact with us in that way….We didn’t want the experience to end there, so we thought about doing some sort of thing together. Paul [Meaney, Mutemath frontman] did a remix of ‘Stressed Out’ and it’s one of my favorite remixes that anyone has ever done of one of our songs. So we had this idea where we’d go into the studio and kinda see what happens reimagining a few songs. It’s really a great thing for our fans to take in. Hopefully they’ll enjoy it because we had a blast doing it.”
Here’s the tracklist and a video where you can check out the full EP. It’s also available on Spotify and other streaming services. Further below, MUTEMATH’s Paul Meaney shares a special note about his band’s connection to TOP that really shows the power of art and collaboration.
TOPxMM Mutemath Sessions tracklisting:
“Heathens” from the Suicide Squad soundtrack
“heavydirtysoul”
“Ride”
“Tear In My Heart”
“Lane Boy”
