LINKIN PARK's MIKE SHINODA Releases New FORT MINOR Single And Video 'Welcome'

June 22, 2015

It's been nearly ten years since artist and producer Mike Shinoda — founder of LINKIN PARK — released "The Rising Tied", the debut studio album from his solo project FORT MINOR. Inspired by his unforgettable experiences over the past decade and the artist within, Mike has just released a brand new FORT MINOR song and video titled "Welcome". Among the world's first 360-degree virtual reality (VR) music videos, Shinoda and his collaborators at The Uprising Creative in Los Angeles joined forces to fully leverage the power of VR. The result is a unique experience set in Venice Beach where everyone is invited.

"Welcome" will create a moment to bring together the underdogs, the outcasts, the shy, and the uninvited. To go against the overwhelming divisiveness in our world by inviting people in rather than pushing them away. Through a buoyant, tenacious, confident tone, "Welcome" speaks from the outsider to the outsider. It's a hip hop song with a punk, DIY ethos.

Shot in VR/360, the video captures the local community vibe of Venice Beach, where Mike painted a giant canvas mural with original design right on the infamous boardwalk. Director Jeff Nicholas and his colleagues at The Uprising Creative captured it all with a GoPro-based VR rig. The next day, the crew used a similar set up to photograph the finished 12x80 foot canvas in 360-degrees, with Shinoda playing drums, guitar and keyboards on the track. The mural was later broken apart into individual album sleeves signed by Mike, that will be used for the upcoming limited-edition release of the vinyl single.

Said Shinoda: "FORT MINOR is a solo project. It was born out of my earliest experience as a music and visual art fan. My influences were always outsider influences, songs sung by underdogs. I related to them because they were like me. And although LINKIN PARK was eventually embraced by millions, I eventually felt drawn back to the ‘outside' — to reconnect with my voice and aesthetic as an individual. It's modern DIY, fueled by technology, inspiration and ambition."

FORT MINOR will perform live at The Exchange in Los Angeles on June 29.

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