What connects Norwegian death metal, French club anthems and London super-producer Paul Epworth? It sounds like a particularly intractable example of the six degrees of separation game. However, these seemingly irreconcilable points on the musical compass are linked by French dance rock four-piece Black Strobe. A simple enough answer. The explanation is going to take a little bit longer.
Not as long as it took the band – Arnaud Rebotini (vocals and programming), David ‘Siskid’ Shaw (guitars and keyboards), Bastien Burger (bass and keyboards) and Benjamin Beaulieu (drums) – to record their debut album, however. Burn Your Own Church is a record ten years in the making. Happily, it’s worth the wait. Few bands manage to combine guitars and electronics as successfully as Black Strobe.
Friday May 8th, 2009
BLACK STROBE (dj set)
ARNAUD REBOTONI (live)
JORDAN Z. (resident)
HOSTED BY: KDM, EVERYONEISFAMOUS & JEAN KELLY GO BANG! @ SONOTHEQUE CHICAGO
NO COVER – FREE COLT 45 FROM 9 TO 10PM
w/ RSVP TO:RSVP@GOBANG.BIZ
Thursday May 14th, 2009
BLACK STROBE & REBOTINI LE POISSON ROUGE NEW YORK
Raphaël, the lead singer of Minitel Rose who along with College are at the spearhead of the Valerie “movement”, has sent over the latest two demos of his solo project Pegase. If you are familiar with the stuff that’s been coming out of France lately, this might surprise you a bit. “Wherever You Are” is a huge (as in awesome) piece of melodic rock. This is not a song, this is an anthem!
Freak You who has been featured on this blog recently sent over his latest work. Franck has given his touch to “Eagles Don’t Sparkl” by fellow frenchmen we are ENFANT TERRIBLE. This trio hails from Paris and is still unsigned. That might change pretty soon though as weEF are playing Club NME both in London and Paris in February.
While the original is a stomping electronic rock song with spooky vocals, the remix is haunting like New Order in their most melancholic moments. Freak You makes the song faster and adds a more driving beat. Nice work, though not for the light at heart.
Don’t let the artwork fool you. This guy is only teasing. He doesn’t mean any harm!
Freak You is Franck from southern France who has been making electronic music for 10 years now (under a different moniker). He names Aphex Twin, Vitalic, Extrawelt, Georgio Moroder, and Cerrone as his influences. But also “a lot of classical music, new wave like “Frankie goes to Hollywood or Eurythmics”…”and sentimental with Serge Gainsbourg, Jewel …” Thus, this man means pop! And he’s got talent.
Oh, and he has a wine shop! How cool is that: good music and good wine! They go together really well, the French know. And as if this wasn’t enough to make everyone jealous: Franck also runs his own label On The Fruit Records with a really awesome roster of artists: Worship, Oldschool Reunion and Junior Bondage, just to name a few.
Here’s my favorite track off Freak You’s EP, which will appear pretty soon. Franck says he has written “From Nowhere” with a broken heart. Sorry man, but if this is the result of trouble with your sweetheart I really want to hear the music you make when love is going well for you!
Generously, Franck has also sent over a remix he did for Lovelorn Graduate, a mysterious project supposedly from Pennsylvania who we’ll all learn to love soon…
Are you ready for a love letter? OK, since we’re in digital fields here I’ll do a love post. (Not very poetic, I know).
I am madly in love with the work of College from the famous Valerie gang. The vibes he produces in his tracks with awesome synths, mellow vocals and great 80s references altogether just gives me warm and fuzzy feelings. And here’s what’s even better: College also gets the best people to remix his tracks, sometimes turning them into great dancefloor fillers, sometimes approaching them with a more laid back attitude.
Here’s the latest remix posted on Valerie’s blog. It’s by Keenhouse from the other west coast. So, so good!
College, I love you. Keenhouse, I love you. But don’t tell anyone!
Julien Minet and his crew are quite possibly in the top 2% of most productive people in France. In addition to running Boxon Records (Tom Deluxx, Toxic Avenger, DilemN, Elcier, etc.) and working on the new EP they have coming out in January, he’s also started a Tech-House genre sub-label called Synch Records.
Already supported by Technasia, Renato Cohen, and Jack de Marseille, Boomka “EP” is the first release of Synch Records. It shows four tracks from Dj/producer Finzy, resident of the club “Le 4 Sans” in Bordeaux (France).
Julien is sharing with all you lovelies a track from this release called “Hi Derrick!” which is really quite danceable, fun, and definitely reminiscent of old school drug filled nights in ginormous clubs with loud music and free flowing cash money. It’s something that would make for a great Saturday night party or a sweet drive.
The whole album is available for download on itunes.
I saw the New York premiere of “Justice’ A Cross the Universe” last week. It’s a documentary of the band shot & produced by award winning directors Romain Gavras (”Stress”), and So Me (”D.A.N.C.E.”, “DVNO”) during the last 3 weeks of their Myspace sponsored tour in North America.
The screening was supposed to start at 7, I got there 20 minutes late, I thought I was going to miss it, but it was just starting. Members of the Ed Banger gang were in attendance, Busy P, So Me, SebastiAN, Amandine, of course Justice – Xavier and Gaspard.
I really thought one of best “characters” was the enduring, Christian bus driver. 100% Americana, 55 – 60 years old, reminiscing about singing in the church choir, practicing his vocal exercises, snapping shots of mountains with his camera phone, dealing with blown tires, and “crap” . . . literally.
Now throw the bus driver in with Justice, and their tour manager, “Bouchon“, English translation = bottleneck, stopper, plug. Bouchon has an obsession with guns, (I swear on one occasion he was in a Walmart shopping for one.) I think he is the most “gangster” French person i’ve come across in awhile, if ever. He’s definitely over the top.
And last but not least, Justice. Some of my personal favorite moments – Xavier & Gaspard kissing – Gaspard having sex with an Asian girl that allegedly looked like Xavier. The duo shopping for 8 mil homes. (Can they really afford that?)
Lots of drunk girls freaking out, singing “We Are Your Friends” at the top of their lungs, lots of “OMG I love you guys!”, puking, fights, blood, and hotel room pillow fights. I learned that Xavier can play the piano, and quite well, he is also caught on film serenading Anthony Keidis from Red Hot Chili Peppers with his band’s own song “Under the Bridge“. The look on Keidis’ face is priceless. There are also cameo appearances by Diplo (using the bathroom), the Ed Banger clan, and various other “scensters”.
It was an entertaining movie, certainly one for the fans, and it gives you more or less accurate inside look at what it’s like on tour in the land of Justice. It’s well done, considering the time restrictions it took to film, produce, and release the documentary by December 9, 08. The tour they were shooting ended in April of 08. Gavras and So Me do a great job of capturing the intensity of Justice‘ live performances. Quick cuts from revving up back stage to being right in the middle of a live dynamic sonic assault.
After the premiere, everyone headed over to hear Justice DJ at Webster Hall with SebastiAn and Busy P, who rounded out the night with old school Chicago House. Fun was had by all, and I felt like I was living a scene right out of “A Cross The Universe“.
If you live in Chicago, there is a screening of “A Cross The Universe” at The Metro on Nov. 14th, there are other screenings to coincide with their DJ gigs around North America, for more info visit UR CHICAGO.
As we speak, there is a contest running “Justice for All” – win a trip to Chicago on New Year’s Eve to hang out with Justice and So Me and party at Revolution Number 9, or take home cash. All you have to do is create a video, and get the most votes. The final winner will be chosen by Justice, So Me, Busy P, and other special folks. Maybe they will like your work so much you’ll shoot their next documentary?
Sign up and get full info at www.industreate.com/contest, create a video of what you did that was “Great in 2008“, then upload your video to www.Vimeo.com and tag it with “JST4ALL” and “TRASHMENAGERIE“.
As Big Stereo points out – “This is a contest for us too! We wanna hang out with you in Chicago so this is important, ha!*”
* Trash Menagerie note to Big Stereo and the rest of ya’ll, may the best blog win!
This is what Trash Menagerie was throwing down during the month of September. Features, interviews, parties, and plenty’a mix and MP3 download. We’re snuggling in for the busy month of October. Have you started thinking about your Halloween costume yet? We’re looking for ideas, so please hit us up and let us know if you’ve got any. Last year we gave you a heads up on how to MAKE YOUR OWN DAFT PUNK COSTUME. Hipster Runoff offered up a bit of inspiration, “WTF SHOULD I B 4 ALL HALLOW’S EVE”, But is it “ok” to be a Justice this year, if you were a Daft last year?
A truly scary option, the United States Vice Presidential Republican
Candidate and current Governor of Alaska – Sarah Palin.
Hmm, I guess she didn’t get understand the memo regarding last year’s Halloween Party. It was a Nordic theme. Looks like she still won anyway, even though she didn’t really come close to qualifying.
Sarah Palin 7 Months Preggers “I can hide my belly in a sexy, yet sophisticated, little black business suit.”
Goodness, her belly is HUGE, she looks like she’s going to pop any day now, right?
This is what Demi Moore looked like when she was seven months preggers . . .
Photo: Vanity Fair
Sarah Palin’s Witch Doctor . . .
Other potential options – “Sarah Palin Mayor of Meth”, “Sarah Palin Miss Alaska”, “Sarah Palin Soccer Mom”. Wow, and to think, the election isn’t even over yet, we’ve still got a few weeks to go . . . goodness, i’m sure we’ll have so many more choices to choose from. Maybe i’ll pull off one of those “couple costumes,” and we can go together as “Foreign Palin Policy“. One of us will be Russia, and the other Alaska, and we’ll stand on opposite sides of the room and say “I can see ya over there, behave yourself!”
