About The Band: RKYVZ (pronounced however you like) is a synthesizer-obsessed one-man progressive art rock band founded in the Summer of 2004 by Baltimorian educator Richard Vaughn. Conjuring a broad range of influences, from the analog-laden excess of early Emerson, Lake and Palmer to the down-driven hypnotic trip-hop grooves of Portishead, Vaughn began recording in a shoddy makeshift studio built in a squat he secured in the heart of Baltimore's arts district. With the dream of producing a trilogy of full-length concept albums dealing with dark, apocalyptic themes, Vaughn dodged landlords, the police and street thugs while he successfully recorded his first LP, "Janucide", using secondhand toy keyboards, musical instruments from Goodwill, pots, pans, trash cans and bones to create a truly unique and sometimes terrifying sound. The studio itself has been changing shape and moving locations constantly, but Vaughn has been boldly recording music with whatever noisemakers he could get his hands on at any given point, and he's been doing it for nearly a decade. The time has come to release the material to the public. In late 2013, Vaughn is leaving the country to volunteer for a year at an orphanage in Nepal, where he will be providing care-giving as well as teaching English to impoverished youth. He plans to continue to record and produce his unique brand of experimental art rock as he travels abroad. About "Paint Chips EP" This 13-minute EP was recorded during the Summer of 2012 in a basement apartment on Lake Ave in Baltimore, MD, deep in the city. It is a concept EP which tells the story of a family of ghosts who search desperately for one another after perishing in a horrific car accident. While the theme is dark, the overall message is positive, and ponders age-old questions of individuality, identity, connectivity and synchronicity. Its style is rap-oriented, although trip-hop elements are noticeable, and the influence of industrial metal is obvious. "Paint Chips EP" was recorded over a three-month period with an Arturia Analog Laboratory MIDI controller, using Sonar Cakewalk and Audacity software. It features two instrumental tracks and three full-length songs with vocals by Richard Vaughn, who describes the EP as "absolutely terrifying."