Fresh off appearing in Australia for Big Sound, Mike Shinoda has shared a new solo single Already Over. Presenting a visceral and personal vision, Shinoda notably wrote, recorded, sang, and performed every instrument on the track.
Powered by kinetic live drums, coarse distorted guitar, and his uncanny vocal delivery, Already Over channels the signatures of the sound he pioneered with Linkin Park.
Speaking about the song Shinoda shared "'Already Over' came to me as I was sitting with my favourite guitar in my hands—the same guitar I used on songs from ‘What I’ve Done’ to ‘In My Head.’ There was a familiar DNA to the song that I think Linkin Park fans will recognize. For me, it creates a bridge from the past to a blurry but exciting future.”
So far, half the fun of the release has been in its ancillary fan activities. Shinoda debuted the campaign with cryptic Tumblr-style mood images online to set the tone for the new chapter.
Chopped-up song snippets leaked out in different online locations for fans to collect and piece together themselves; unreleased stickers began popping up, only attainable from the hands of Shinoda himself, in person; and beginning next week, an online game will appear on MikeShinoda.com, teasing fans with a new sci-fi horror narrative. "In the bigger picture,” Shinoda says, "this release takes some of my favourite things about releasing music and assembles them in a different way—with more music, games, challenges, great things to watch, and lots of new art on the way.”
Listen to Already Over
In many ways, the track picks up where Shinoda left off on In My Head [feat. Kailee Morgue], which debuted in the blockbuster sixth instalment of the iconic Scream franchise, Scream VI.
Following a prolific season producing music for the likes of Demi Lovato, Justus Bennetts, Grandson, PVRIS, Sueco, and more, Already Over continues a vibrant creative chapter for Mike Shinoda.
Shinoda recently surprised the audience at a Sydney G Flip show by hopping up on stage to perform a live mashup.
Shinoda, who was down under to deliver a keynote speech at Big Sound joined recent songwriter partner G Flip onstage at Sydney's Enmore Theatre, performing a mashup of Linkin Park's In The End and G Flip's Worst Person Alive. The two songs blended together perfectly, with Shinoa and G Flip giving their all to some energetic vocal deliveries while G Flip's backing band went all out with the instrumental arrangement.
Watch triple j's video of the full performance below.
The live duet would come as no surprise to attendees of Shinoda's keynote speech (which Maniacs attended). During the discussion of his production and songwriting work, he revealed he had co-written with G Flip recently, however, they decided not to release the resulting track as they were simply "good and not great".
The discussion of those writing sessions did include hints from Shinoda that more co-writes could be on the horizon for the pairing. "We spent the most time on one song; I feel like that song is good. Georgia and I get along great, and I know we can write good things together. So, just because we didn't do it yet, it doesn’t mean we won’t in future. And that's the same for other artists I've worked with — some artists that we did some things that we didn't release, and those aren't going to come out. But I try and treat those relationships as ones that haven't come together just yet.”
2023 has quietly morphed into a renaissance for both Mike Shinoda and Linkin Park with music, content, and total immersion for fans worldwide.
Linkin Park released the epic 20th-anniversary edition of their game-changing second album Meteora earlier this year.
Released in various configurations, including a Limited Edition Super Deluxe Box Set, Deluxe Vinyl Box Set, Deluxe 3-CD, and Digital Download, all of which are available to purchase via Maniacs now, Meteora|20 is a Linkin Park fan's dream.
To celebrate the arrival of Meteora|20, Linkin Park unleashed the third previously unreleased track from the collection, the visceral More The Victim. Debuted via The Howard Stern Show More The Victim followed Lost and Fighting With Myself as the crown jewels of a highly sought-after collection. Shinoda personally mixed and architected the final product, keeping it true to the initial intention. “What I like about this trio of songs is that they’re all very different from one another,” said Shinoda. “They all showcase a distinct approach from the band at the time.” More The Victim and Meteora|20 arrive at a time when the music and cultural phenomenon of Linkin Park are bridging generations.
Lost the lead single from the Meteora|20 collection has taken over rock radio across the globe, while dominating streaming charts by amassing over 100 million streams, and 33 million YouTube views.
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