Mikoto Signs with Torque Records, New Album Announced

Orange County, CA melodic hardcore act, MIKOTO, have announced today a deal with Torque Records who will release their debut full length, WE ARE THE ARCHITECTS, on October 14th.  The band - Ray Harkins (vocals), Matt Moody (guitar/vocals), Martin Diaz (guitar), Kelly Orr (bass), and Max Cuzor (drums) - have posted two songs from the forthcoming album on their MySpace.

MIKOTO has built a fervent buzz since their inception in late 2004 with relentless touring alongside Horse The Band, Misery Signals, Saosin and Chiodos to name a few.  In 2005, the band released a self-titled EP via Level Plane garnering positive critical acclaim from outlets such as Decibel (”…the band’s sound, while employing popular elements like singing and screaming, defies categorization”), Alternative Press (”Not only are their hearts in the right place, but so is their musical ability… refreshing in a scene that’s become watered down”) and Punknews.org (4 out of 5, “Mikoto rips through these 5 songs with the ferocity of a rabid lion loose on an antelope farm”).  The band didn’t stray too far from their sound on the EP when it came time to write WE ARE THE ARCHITECTS.  “It’s an obvious extension of what the band was doing on our EP,” said Harkins.  “It is pretty similar, but with this record we have definitely utilized Matt’s clean vocals a lot more.  These songs still represent the same kind of ’sound’ we’ve had, just a bit more well structured,” added Diaz.

The five-piece recorded WE ARE THE ARCHITECTS in just 25 days with producer & Saosin guitarist, Beau Burchell (The Bronx, Name Taken, The Bled) amidst his busy touring schedule.  “We would send him demo recordings online and he would listen to them on tour and give us his feedback,” Harkins described the process.  “Beau was instrumental in the process of getting this record together.  The record would have sounded drastically different if we recorded with anyone else.”  In agreement, Diaz expressed, “Beau helped us look at each song as a whole and not the parts individually.”

More than just an album title, Harkins elaborated, “WE ARE THE ARCHITECTS was inspired by the idea that we as individuals build, create and attempt to mold our lives into better versions of what they used to be. We wanted to visually capture the idea of each person being an ?architect? and creating their own future and destiny.”  Through their lyrics, the band addresses the current music scene and how it has affected them.  “There are those who really are passionate about what this music scene is about and should not let the bad things outweigh the positive aspects.”

Even with MIKOTO’s many options for releasing WE ARE THE ARCHITECTS, Harkins explained, “Torque was really supportive and above all enthusiastic about our band and releasing the record. They really just want to spread our name in a very organic manner.”
Sharing the love, Torque Records owner, Kevin Gales, stated, “Mikoto is a world-class band who has created an unforgettable record.  The guys had a bunch of options open to them and we?re far beyond fortunate for this opportunity.”