New York-based producer Stephen Hermann and vocalist Meltai Malay are the duo behind Anthem Facility.
In 2010, Hermann was formerly the curator of an album project called Explosion Robinson. The project was hired by Dell Computers to compose original music to be used in a marketing program for the company's newest line of laptops. According to the band's publicist at Audible Treats, Hermann was searching for "a distinct sonic identity" for the campaign and approached Indonesian-born singer Meltai Malay for the vocalist position.
Spending several hours in the studio, Hermann and Malay wrote a 30-second track titled, "Trace," which featured a soothing and compatible mix of Malay's vocals over Hermann's instrumentals. Following the production of the track, Hermann and Malay felt that working together would yield benefits for both musicians. "Trace" was then re-worked and stretched to a full three-minute song.
The track was featured in a number of Dell commercials that led to a public interest in Anthem Facility. As a result, "Trace" was pushed to release via iTunes and became the band's debut single.
Spending the majority of 2011 in the studio, Anthem Facility recently released their debut five-track EP, Trace, through Hermann's new label Exro.FM, just in time for summer's end.
Check out Anthem Facility's "Trace" below: