Prior to starting Assemblage 23, Shear experimented with music under the name "Man on a Stage", beginning in the early 1980s. Most of Shear's music at this point was instrumental, as he lacked the confidence to sing; the quality of the music itself was highly questionable by his own admission. Shear eventually began to add vocals to his music; at the same time, Shear was also playing bass in a punk band called the "Advocates".
Assemblage 23 got its start in 1988, when at a "Depeche Mode" concert, founder Tom Shear heard the opening DJ spinning industrial dance music. Prior to hearing this type of music, Shear had been creating primarily synthpop and post-punk type music.
Hearing industrial music for the first time proved to be something of an epiphany for Shear, as he had finally found a form of music that combined the electronic sounds he loved from his synth-pop background with the heavier, darker aggression punk represented. Even so, the project was more of a hobby for Shear at this point; it took until 1998 for Assemblage 23 to gather enough positive acclaim to attract the attention of record labels.
Shear signed a deal in 1999 with the Canadian label Gashed! for a full-length album, "Contempt" (released in November 1999). A second album, "Failure", followed in March 2001 and was released by Gashed! in North America and Accession Records in Europe. A single from "Failure", "Disappoint", was released on Accession in October 2001. The song dealt with Shear's sense of loss after his father's suicide on October 28, 1999.
After falling out with Gashed Records following "Failure", Shear signed with US label Metropolis Records later in 2001; Metropolis re-released "Contempt" and "Failure" that November. A remix release, "Addendum", was also released in November only on Accession. By this point, Assemblage 23 had become fairly popular within the ebm genre.
The third studio album, "Defiance", was released in October 2002 on Metropolis and Accession, preceded by the single "Document" in September. October 2004 saw the release of a fourth album, "Storm"; two singles were taken from the album, "Let the Wind Erase Me" in August and "Ground" in November.
Almost three years later, in March 2007, Assemblage 23 returned with a new single, "Binary", which debuted at #21 on the Billboard US singles chart. This was followed by the album "Meta" in April.
In September of that year Shear released "Early, Rare, & Unreleased [1988-1998]", which is a limited edition collection of A23 tracks taken from the years 1988 - 1998, on his own label 23db records. This was followed in February of 2009 by a second collection "Early, Rare, & Unreleased: Volume Two", which was also limited to 1000 copies.
Late 2009 saw the release of "Compass". Both regular and deluxe limited 2CD editions were released in October 2009, preceeded in September by the single "Spark".
The latest album "Bruise" was released on June 12, 2012. It is also available in both regular and 2CD versions.
Shear also has a side-project, "nerve filter", which has been running alongside Assemblage 23 since 1995. However, no more albums will be released since the project is now open for remixes only.
Official website: www.assemblage23.com
I Ran
Assemblage 23 Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I never thought I'd meet a girl like you
Meet a girl like you
With auburn hair and tawny eyes
The kind of eyes that hypnotize me through
Hypnotize me through
I just ran, I ran all night and day
I couldn't get away
A cloud appears above your head
A beam of light comes shining down on you
Shining down on you
The cloud is moving nearer still
Aurora Borealis comes in view
Aurora comes in view
And I ran, I ran so far away
I just ran, I ran all night and day
I couldn't get away
Reached out a hand to touch your face
You're slowly disappearing from my view
Appearing from my view
Reach out a hand to try again
I'm floating in a beam of light with you
Beam of light with you
And I ran, I ran so far away
I just ran, I ran all night and day
I couldn't get away
And I ran, I ran so far away
And I just ran, I ran all night and day
I couldn't get away
The lyrics of Assemblage 23's song "I Ran" tells the story of a man who meets a beautiful girl with auburn hair and tawny eyes that he has never seen before. He is entranced by her and feels hypnotized by her eyes. However, despite his attraction to her, the man realizes he has to run away. He runs all night and day, but he cannot get away from the girl's aura. Suddenly, a cloud appears above her head, and a beam of light starts shining down on her. The man observes in awe as the Aurora Borealis appears. He eventually reaches out to touch her face, but she slowly disappears from his view. Finally, he is floating in a beam of light with her.
The overall message of the song can be interpreted in different ways. The girl with auburn hair and tawny eyes could be a metaphorical representation of an addiction or a bad habit the man is trying to overcome. He's fascinated by it, but at the same time, he knows he has to run away from it. The mysterious cloud, beam of light, and Aurora Borealis could symbolize the man's journey through life and the different obstacles he encounters along the way. The moral of the story is that when you run away from something, it may continue to chase after you.
Line by Line Meaning
I walk along the avenue
I am taking a stroll on the street
I never thought I'd meet a girl like you
Meeting someone like you is beyond my expectations
Meet a girl like you
Encountering someone with your unique qualities
With auburn hair and tawny eyes
You have captivating red-brown hair and golden eyes
The kind of eyes that hypnotize me through
You have an intense gaze that captures my attention
And I ran, I ran so far away
I felt a need to escape and I took off at full speed
I just ran, I ran all night and day
I kept running continuously throughout the day and the night
I couldn't get away
Despite my efforts, I couldn't distance myself from you
A cloud appears above your head
There's a cloud forming above your head
A beam of light comes shining down on you
A ray of light from above illuminates you
Shining down on you
I see a bright light radiating on you
The cloud is moving nearer still
The cloud is getting closer to your position
Aurora Borealis comes in view
The magnificent northern lights are now visible
Aurora comes in view
I can now see the colorful aurora borealis lights
Reached out a hand to touch your face
I extended my arm to feel your facial features
You're slowly disappearing from my view
Gradually, you're becoming invisible from my sight
Appearing from my view
I can no longer see you
Reach out a hand to try again
I stretch out my hand with another attempt to connect with you
I'm floating in a beam of light with you
I find myself suspended in a stream of light alongside you
And I just ran, I ran all night and day
I was constantly on the move, never stopping throughout the night and day
And I couldn't get away
Regardless of my efforts, I couldn't escape from you
Contributed by Skyler W. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@RobinNewbrough
Almost all of Tom's early vocals were heavily distorted. He didn't start out feeling very confident in his vocal talent. He's come a long way.
@MECHANISM-tm1ug
right back to you
@MECHANISM-tm1ug
It's slowly coming back to you...