Maiden, Mother & Crone

"Maiden, Mother & Crone" is a collaboration between Hungarian electronic musician DJ Double Garage and multi-national alternative rock duo Dresden & Bareilles, released as the third official single (fourth overall) from DJ's fourth studio album "Metronomy", as well as the seventh and final single from Dresden & Bareilles' debut album "Havoc & The Haven". The single was released September 13, 2010 and reached #4 on the singles charts. "Maiden, Mother & Crone" was originally supposed to be released as the second single from "Metronomy", but scheduling conflicts between the two acts delayed its release. The song is the album's only collaboration featuring male vocalists.

Background
"Maiden, Mother & Crone" was co-written by Gabriel Dresden and Jean-Luc Bareilles with DJ Double Garage in mind. After receiving a demo of the song, DJ met with the duo for a session in his home studio in Budapest. Like with many of his collaborators featured on the album, DJ wanted the song to stay true to the nature of his acts' styles and wanted both Dresden & Bareilles to approve or disapprove of any production effects he added to the final mix. Gabriel recorded live drums for the track which were edited into loops for the song, as well as live guitars. Jean-Luc contributed bass guitar to the mix.

The version appearing on "Metronomy" mixes trance beats in with the guitar rock sounds of Dresden & Bareilles. It is one of several songs on the album to contain live instruments as opposed to fully computerised sound loops; DJ hoped it would provide authenticity to the sound of his recordings. Gabriel also produced a completely re-worked rock version of the song using the original live elements recorded during their sessions with DJ, and emphasising Gabriel's guitar parts. This version was featured on the re-released edition of Dresden & Bareilles' album, and was included on the single release. Gabriel later recorded violin samples for an official remix of the song produced by Brian Transeau. Alternate spoken-word vocals by DJ were also recorded for use in the version of the song featured in the video.

Reception
"Maiden, Mother & Crone" was quietly praised when it was revealed as an album track, but when it was announced as a single appreciation for the track grew. Promotion was hampered by absences from DJ, who at the time was experiencing relationship difficulties with then-girlfriend Sandi Cohen, leaving Dresden & Bareilles to maintain the public's focus. A major selling-point for the single was its accompanying music video, with a viral campaign concerning cryptic messages hinting at the video making their way through the internet, until the 7-minute mini-movie was released. Ultimately, the single was overshadowed by strong competition on both sales charts where it opened in the top 5 and then spiralled down the chart, and on airplay where its reception was lukewarm for being too inaccessible for mainstream audiences. The single was not released outside of the UK.

Promo CD

 * 1) Maiden, Mother & Crone (Original Radio Edit)
 * 2) Maiden, Mother & Crone (Rock Mix)
 * 3) Maiden, Mother & Crone (Call-Out Hook)

CD1

 * 1) Maiden, Mother & Crone (Album Version)
 * 2) Maiden, Mother & Crone (Original Radio Edit)
 * 3) Within Me (DJ Double Garage Remix)
 * 4) Haunted Mouse (Vocal Version)

CD2

 * 1) Maiden, Mother & Crone (Rock Mix)
 * 2) Maiden, Mother & Crone (BT's Chaos In Tranquility Mix)
 * 3) Hatrium (DJ Double Garage's Rome Is Burning Mix)
 * 4) Hermit (Dresden & Bareilles' Rock Version)

Digital EP

 * 1) Maiden, Mother & Crone (Album Version)
 * 2) Maiden, Mother & Crone (Goddess Mystic Mix)
 * 3) Maiden, Mother & Crone (Brobot's Black Amazon Mix)
 * 4) Maiden, Mother & Crone (Retta's Screwed & Chopped Remix)
 * 5) Madmen, Mamies and Quixote (D&B vs. Paulo)

Music Video
The first 30 seconds of the video are silent; we see snippets from the collaborators’ previous videos; "Havoc & The Haven" by Dresden & Bareilles, and "Hermit" by DJ Double Garage and Kazimiera. We don’t see any clips of Kazi, we just see DJ DJ wandering around the forest, shirtless, in his khakis. From D&B’s video, we see images of Gabriel’s wedding, him and his bride fleeing from the Havoc inside the chapel, as well as him and Jean-Luc as vampires. In a new piece, we see what happens just after the events of D&B’s video, as Gabriel and his bride are separated, and he wanders out into the woods alone. Jean-Luc is nowhere to be seen. We learn that they were both infected by the Havoc even as they tried to escape, and now they’re both vampires for good. The chugging bassline from the rock mix of "Maiden, Mother & Crone" kicks in as we’re taken to a new scene; a girl (the Maiden) is seen on a motorcycle, without wearing any protective gear, roaring down a deserted road. Elsewhere, we see the vampiric Jean-Luc (we can tell from his incredibly pale skin) suiting up to ride on his own motorcycle. Elsewhere, we see DJ DG and Gabriel still wandering through the forest, lost and not knowing what to do. As Gabriel’s violin is added to the mix (specially recorded for the Brian Transeau remix) the camera takes us to the balcony of a fortress hidden among the trees. Standing on this balcony and looking out over the forest (and subsequently, DJ DG and Gabriel) is a young-looking vampire girl. But don’t be fooled – for she has been alive for centuries. This is the Crone – she is the physical embodiment of the Havoc, the original and the first vampire. With the backstory all introduced, we are then greeted with a title card. The music cuts out for this.

As the song properly begins, kick-starting with the first verse, we’re treated to a surprise – the spoken half of the first verse has been re-recorded by DJ DG, and we see him in the dark forest performing these lyrics. In the story, we see Jean-Luc crossing paths with the Maiden as they crash their bikes into each other accidentally – well, as far as the Maiden knows it was accidental. Jean-Luc leads her away off-camera, and we’re not entirely sure where he’s taking her. Elsewhere, we see Gabriel by nightfall, arriving in a populated area. A sudden arrival startles him into revealing his vampiric ‘game-face’, but his face reverts to normal when he discovers that it’s his bride (who we previously saw in "Havoc & The Haven"). We learn that Jean-Luc hasn’t gotten very far with the Maiden, as he is suddenly attacked by a pack of wolves. Jean-Luc’s reaction is extreme revulsion, and the Maiden finds out about his vampirism. One of the wolves glances over at the Maiden, and we see her reflection in an eye that looks suspiciously like DJ DG’s. Elsewhere, Gabriel’s bride has led him to a house where he meets up with a family of other vampires, and it is here that he meets the Mother. Her job done, the human bride disappears into the night, leaving Gabriel behind. Back with Jean-Luc, the Maiden is now on the run having been frightened by the vampire versus the wolves. Intercut through this are performance shots of Jean-Luc in the forest performing his part of the second verse.

The Crone, who has been watching over the forest from her fortress balcony, is displeased to see that the wolves have driven away the Maiden, whom she was watching. She turns and walks off through the halls, preparing to venture out into the forest herself. Elsewhere, DJ DG has gone to the Maiden’s home and is trying to talk to her through her bedroom window, and explain what’s been going on. He climbs through her window and stays the night. The next morning, Gabriel is sitting down with the Mother and her family, learning that he has to find and protect the Maiden, which is difficult now that the wolves are protecting her. Intercut are shots of D&B singing the chorus. Jean-Luc has been wandering through the woods all night, and emerges from the forest outside the Maiden’s house, being confronted by DJ DG. The Maiden remains inside and does not see this, even as Jean-Luc leaves. DJ DG takes the Maiden and carries her out into the forest where he joins up with the other wolves. Elsewhere, Gabriel is standing on a cliff overlooking the ocean with the Mother, who is stressing to him the importance of saving the Maiden from the wolves and keeping her safe. Gabriel and the Mother rejoin the other vampires, to be joined moments later by Jean-Luc. Meanwhile, the Crone is gathering her forces and preparing to make her move.

In the forest, the wolves transform back to their human form so they can confront the vampires face to face. We see a stand-off between Jean-Luc and DJ DG, those two having crossed paths before; but in general the atmosphere is tense, with all the vampires and the wolves prepared to go to war, with the Maiden as the prize. This fight never comes to pass, as the Crone arrives, emerging from a nearby river with her army of vampires. We see all of the wolves transform, and they take sides with Gabriel, Jean-Luc, the Mother and the rest of the vampire family to protect the Maiden from this new threat. Intercut are shots of Gabriel performing his lines of the third verse. Intercut with this last section are D&B and DJ DG appearing together in the performance set-up for the final chorus of the video. Meanwhile; with her legion of vampires behind her, the Crone commands that the Maiden be handed over to her, or her forces will strike. No-one is willing to hand the Maiden over, so the vampire army strikes, and the battle commences. We see the vampire family (plus Jean-Luc and Gabriel) teaming together with the wolves (led by DJ DG in his wolf form) tearing into the vampire army in an attempt to save the Maiden. Between the two sides, the Crone’s vampire army is decimated leaving her alone and outnumbered, with the Maiden safe. The music finishes as we see the Crone standing by herself, before the combined forces of the vampire family and the wolves. The Crone just smiles and says that she will return, and the video cuts to black.

Chart Performance
"Maiden, Mother & Crone" debuted and peaked at #4 on September 19, 2010, selling 79,545 copies in its first week. Despite falling short of top 3 predictions, it managed to earn the highest first-week sales to date for both DJ and Dresden & Bareilles; as well as achieving DJ's third consecutive top 5 single, and Dresden & Bareilles' sixth consecutive top 5 single. Dresden & Bareilles would go on to have bigger opening-week sales with releases from their sophomore era. The single did not see longevity on the charts, spending only three weeks in the top 20; it was certified silver after these three weeks. The single sold an additional 104,989 copies digitally, spending five weeks on the downloads chart. On airplay, the single received mild attention, being deemed too underground for greater exposure.

Chart Run
TOTAL: 166,815
 * Week 1: #4 - 79,545
 * Week 2: #8 - 36,543
 * Week 3: #13 - 24,563
 * Week 4: #21 - 13,875
 * Week 5: #30 - 7,562
 * Week 6: #39 - 4,727