Earlier today, Tech Funk Manifesto posted a photo of Justice “unplugged”, which lead to a whirlwind of linkage & emails circulating like wildfire across the internet.
The allegations and rumors . . . BUSTED!!! . . . Justice doesn’t play live?!?!?
So it seems to come down to a simple case of, ooops, my cord came unplugged, shit happens.
Justice responds to the allegations, with an “official statement” and explanation of the mishap . . .
“Yeah, shit happens! I remember the story, I couldn’t remember the city but i think it was in Manchester. I didn’t noticed at first, because as you can see i was looking at the computer to launch the next vocal hook and right after i realised that the blue screen went black, so there was no way possible it could work, so i plugged it back in, big deal! and the next thing you know is this picture.” - Gaspard Augé - Justice
To enter, simply send an email to: TICKETS@TRASHMENAGERIE.COM use “JUSTICE 2008” in the SUBJECT LINE and in the email LIST your Top 3 of 2008 in each category listed below . . .
Top 3 Artists of 2008
Top 3 Tracks of 2008
Top 3 Events of 2008
You can only enter once, winners will be selected by random, and we’ll be giving away 1 pair of tickets a week, leading up to New Year’s Eve, starting November 28th.
We’ll also compile and share everyone’s top 3 2008 ARTIST, TRACK, & EVENT picks when it’s all said and done, and have a little fun with it.
And if you’re not in the loop, there is yet another Justice contest currently running on Vimeo.com - it’s not to late to enter or vote for your favorite video submission of what was “Great In 2008.”
I have to begin this post with a confession: until about a little more than two years ago I almost didn’t listen to electronic music. I mean, I liked the Infadels and some Daft Punk, but I liked indie rock and folk a good deal better. (And of course I liked Justice’s remix of Simian’s “We Are Your Friends” when it first surfaced.) But what won me over for electronic music, especially for dancing, was this one guy who helped his girlfriend play some electro music (MSTRKRFT and similar) to a crowd of kids at a weekly indie rock party in Budapest. (The owner of the venue had rented the place out for a high-school kid’s birthday party which nobody of the indie crowd knew and so I ended being asked for more R’n'B when I played Wolfmother (so sad they split!) and the likes. But that’s another story.) Anyway, I had always had a weakness for pop and electronic elements in rock. But this guy, who goes by the name of TMX truly went beyond my ideas of electronic music. He played rough, he played dirty, and he played sweet.
It turned out that TMX was one third of Kollektiva, a DJ collective who frequently organizes parties in selected venues of Budapest (like Merlin, an old theater all painted in white) to which they invite DJs and acts from all over Europe. Their past bookings are quite impressive. When in Budapest, I try not to miss any of their parties because they’re always a lot of fun. The two other guys on Kollektiva are Popbitch and Fullstereo.
Of course I was delighted when I heard that Popbitch is now also running an artist management agency called Ektiv with a - as of now - all-hungarian roster. Some of their artists/DJs have received quite some attention in the blogosphere before. Alright, alright, enough talk for now. Ladies and gents, dear readers of Trash Menagerie, let me give you…
We Plants Are Happy Plants: Born Peter Bergmann, this young man from Budapest has done fabulous remixes of Radiohead and others. He just recently finished work on a remix of Jean Michel Jarres’s “Oxygen”. His original work should get people’s attention too as he is currently unsigned.
Headshotboyz: I love their remix of the Backstreet Boys’ “Everybody” which apparently got airplay on Kissy Sell Out’s radio show. They now come with a remix of my fellow Swiss Cryptonites’ “Can’t Give You Up”, which they give a bit of a B-More touch.
Tits & Clits: They don’t look half as naughty as their name suggests. They’ve been around for some time - accelerated liquid age time, that is. The duo is offering a remix of Le Batman’s “Killer Defos” as well as some original work. New Geeks On The Blog is currently hosting a remix contest for their “Attack of The Living Dead”.
Dirty Monkeez: They are the latest addition to Ektiv’s roster. While I’m not sure I like their work on Justice’s “Stress”, I certainly love what they did to Robyn and the Bloody Beetroots’ version of “Cobrastyle”. The two guys from Veszprém (kinda close to Lake Balaton) have also produced some original tracks “She’s On Drugs” has a wobbly bassline and is almost pure techno.
Finally, TMX: As mentioned, he’s one third of Kollektiva. This guy really loves what he does. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anybody so enthusiastic about electro music and playing to a crowd that goes nuts. Except maybe for his partner Popbitch. His remix of “Sing Hallelujah” just destroys it and “Far Out” gets a nice treatment to. He’s really into piano loops, it seems.
Now, after you’ve sucked down all this music, go give the guys some love on myspace, all of them!
We’ll probably hear a lot more of Ektiv’s roster - especially WPAHP - and Kollektiva. If you ever go to Budapest, go to one of their nights and have a good time. TMX and Popbitch will certainly party hard. T and K, way to go!
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!
Friday night, October 31, 2008. The weather was crisp, the girls were mostly naked, and the streets were lined with youths waiting to get into the HARD Haunted Festival. After a very thorough security search (including a pat-down on the chest), I was finally admitted in. One hour later the entire place was jam packed with smelly, sweaty bodies and loud sounds of amazing music vibrating throughout the festival grounds.
Navigating this place was a nightmare! There were four stages, and to get to two of them you had to go through one. People were scrambling and stumbling back and forth all night in a constant stream of, “I need to get to this stage where so-and-so is playing next!” while attempting not to trip over the semi-lifeless bodies of candy kids rolling like the ’90s still existed.
I ended up seeing 2 Many DJ’s throw down a killer set for my first show. Amazing. The crowd was enjoying it so much that even girls with too many rolls to be naked started peeling off their shirts and throwing them on stage! Fast forward to behind a different outdoor stage…
The Soulwax boys were getting dressed up for their show, and donning their white suits. There was velcro present and masks reminiscent of Dia de los Muertos. Justice was running around in the midst of it all trying to keep from being vandalized by a 16 year old girl with braces and a penchant for going overboard on drugs and screwing headliners. The Crookers gave me lessons in Italian, Simian Mobile Disco was wrapping up on stage, and my own search for booze went incomplete.
Their show in a word: fantastic. The kids were jumping, singing along, and the vibe was, for a small amount of time, pure music enjoyment.
After their set was done I followed the Belgians back to their tour bus and jumped into champagne, a Lucky Strike, and an interview to discuss their docu-film “Part of the Weekend Never Dies”. To put it into perspective for those of you unfamiliar… Take the energy of rock and sex appeal of electro, put it in a blender and that is SOULWAX, the Belgian group composed of David Dewaele, Stephen Dewaele, Stefaan Van Leuven and Steve Slingeneyer.
Most of us are familiar with Soulwax by their work as related to the band, 2 Many DJs, Radio Soulwax, and most recently, their docu-film “Part of the Weekend Never Dies“. It was an incredible film that captured the essence of life on the road, life in the party, and everything that encompasses the in-between. Commentary in the film includes the likes of Justice, Busy P, LCD Soundsystem, and the editing is done so well that when watching, your adrenaline shoots up and you feel like you’re back in the show with killer music and crisp colors.
And now, a brief discussion with Soulwax…
bisouK: How long did it take to edit “Part of the Weekend Never Dies”? David: I’d say six (6) months.
bK: What has the reception been like thus far from audiences and fans? DD: One of the things about the way the industry is changing is that I don’t think you get any bad response because now there’s so much output from everywhere that people who don’t like it just won’t see it.
bK: How did your performance ensembles come together? DD: We think when people go on stage they should make an effort. And because it’s white it’s a source of light because when you put light on white, it reflects. And the tuxedos is because we like things to be classy.
bK: The girls shown in the film kind of give off a 60’s free love vibe, was this intentionally shown or is that really the feel? DD: Honestly I don’t know the answer, we are visually influenced by so many things from that era, but it wasn’t a conscious effort.
bK: Are you guys feeling more of Soulwax right now or 2 Many DJs as far as work is concerned? DD: Right we now I’m feeling food…but yeah it changes every day. Things happen, you don’t know why things happen…We don’t pretend like we know what we’re doing.
bK: Is it safe to say this film was your way of doing a film like a DJ set, based on the editing of the images and sounds? Was this the goal? DD: Great. Thank you, that’s an intention. That’s actually, when we had all the footage of 18 months of this, it’s very hard to make something exciting that would stand the test of time and cover all the bases of what we wanted to explain… the show the boredom.. we wanted to show the other sides.. All these kids are here and they’re watching Justice now and they must think “Wow, to only be in that position would be incredible”. We tried to show that it’s not that incredible… It’s heavier, maybe, than people imagine. Especially the way we do it… There’s not many people that produce and DJ and play all at the same time. But, it’s logical.
bK: Who are you currently remixing and when can we expect those out? DD: Honestly, it’s tough but we had to turn down some people that we really would have loved to have remixed and we turned down some really big names that would have been nice to remix.. but we did “Night Versions“, which is remixes of ourselves… basically the last two years all we’ve done is remixes. We’re a little remixed out, but who knows maybe in three months we’ll come out with something.
bK: What are the basic energy level differences in the crowds of the different countries you play in? DD: Not that big of a difference. I’ll say that there are two exceptional ones: States and Japan. Not good or bad, exceptionally different.. for example here I feel like it’s really something of it’s time. For example, if we do a Radio Soulwax gig in Barcelona, it’ll be sold out and there’s a sense of understanding. These people know where we come from they’ve supported us from the beginning, and they’ll probably be there in two years time. But here in the States it’s like all of the sudden, they’ve seen footage of how kids in Europe are doing it, and they think, “This is how we should do it”. That makes for something you don’t really trust that much. I have a feeling we could come back in a year and people will be like whatever. And in japan it’s almost the reverse in respect but also similar in that it’s new. But they’re so obsessed in every detail. It’s not a bad thing, though.
bK: Who was most involved in editing with Kurt Augustyn? DD: Steph did most of the editing for the whole film and then Steph and I did the music.
bK: Did he have more or less free reign or was there a specific set of parameters? Or he start editing and then you came with Yes or No? Stephen D: A little of both. There was a lot of stuff I said no. At one point Kurt had done something and I had really really liked it. And we used that as a starting point and just went from there.
bK: Outside of music, what art/fashion influences what you are doing and/or who you are as a band? DavidD: The truth is that everything influences you. It’s hard because we have, Steph and I, absorbed so much pop culture. We buy so many DVDs and books that it’s hard for me to say just one thing.
bK: If you had to give advice, after doing Soulwax, Radio Soulwax, POTWND, and 2 Many DJs…what would you say to those out there aspiring to be on such a level? DD: Don’t do it! We don’t know anything about how it happened, things just happen. Either you go ‘once upon a time’ or you have no idea how things came to this.
bK: So after 120+ shows, one camera, editing, premiers, etc. is there the possibility of another Soulwax film? DD: Nothing like this, nothing about us. We really want to get into multimedia. In fact, old media is what we’re interested in.
And with that the tourbus took off to Mexico.
Can’t get enough of HARD Haunted Mansion debauchery? Check out these fun photos by LA kid Caesar Sebastian…
deadmau5
Justice
Boys Noize
DJ AM
*Special thanks to the Soulwax group, Michel, Hugo for the Luckys, Maarten for helping me get around, Dana at Biz3 PR, and Caesar Sebastian for the use of his photos.
Dorothy’s Gallery located in Paris’ Bastille neighborhood has put together a collection of Obama inspired art with 30 French and American artists, viewable from the 3rd of October through the 17th of November.
Take a look at the Global Electoral College, What if the whole world could vote, featured on the The Economist, and the support Obama has around the globe. Viewing the world map really shows just how much the rest of the world is in favor for Obama. If this election were to happen in Europe, he most definitely would win by a landslide!!!! Hopefully for the U.S. we’ll do the right thing.
Dorothy’s Gallery
27, rue Keller, 75011, Paris
tel: 01.43.57.08.51
Open Tues-Sat, 1-8pm, Sun 4-8pm.
“…I guess music is more about making decisions than having skills. We are not great musicians. We are not great producers. We are not great songwriters. We are just nothing, but we have clear ideas of what we want to do, and even more what we don’t want to do.” – JUSTICE
Extraordinary things always happen when unexpected. French duo Justice spent 18 months touring following the release of their debut LP “CROSS“, and for the last 3 weeks of the tour, a film crew traveled with them 24-7, capturing those moments no one will believe or get the essence of, if you told them about it, unless they were there.
As Justice were about to embark on their second tour of the US, they enlisted multi-award winning directors and intimate friends, Romain Gavras (”Stress” director) and So Me (”D.A.N.C.E.”, “DVNO”) and taped every second of the 3 week tour. The documentary is about life on the road, the real deal, and about the extraordinary and unexpected things that can happen along the way.
“A Cross the Universe” live CD + DVD drops December 9th on Atlantic Records and will include recordings of Justice’s signature headbanging live sets along with show footage and various hijinks captured as the band toured the US in March 2008.
Justice Tour Dates:
10/28/08 - MONTREAL, QC - METROPOLIS
10/29/08 - TORONTO, ON - CIRCA
10/30/08 - NEW YORK, NY - WEBSTER HALL
10/31/08 - LOS ANGELES, CA - HARD FESTIVAL
Confirmed Screenings:
10/30/08 - NEW YORK, NY - IFC CENTER @ 7PM
Additional screenings of the film will be held in each city around the DJ sets late October.
On the horizon, Justice & So Me land in Chicago for New Year’s Eve 09 . . .
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!”
Here’s a great video from Chicago’s, Hey Champ a hot new trio in the scene making some fresh tunes. The video is for the band’s new single “Cold Dust Girl“. This is one of those sneaky songs that you hear at night and wake up in the morning with its melodies still infecting your thoughts. Then you immediately want to hear it again. It’s just that fresh.
The first exposure to the world for the trio was when a blog accidentally posted their remix of Scenario Rock’s “Perfect Love Antidote” as Ed Banger’s distorto super producer Sebastian. When the remix was discovered that it was really Hey Champ, the trio’s take on the song was strong enough to gain plenty of acclaim. It is even available on itunes (Europe only) and was put out by a major label Sony.
Their sound can easily be compared to the likes of Van She, Cut Copy, Fred Falke and Les Rhythmes Digitales. Mixing rock with elements of house all based over an abudant amount of synth action. Sometimes playing out as a full band and sometimes doing dj sets, Hey Champ is paying their dues quickly. Already featured in UR Magazine with an upbeat, good times mix. Gaining bookings more and more and even getting rapper Lupe Fiasco attention enough for him to write about them on his blog. It is also entirely possible that the group will be scooped up at anytime by a record label.
Enjoy the video and the mp3 and check the groups myspace to keep updated.
Who doesn’t enjoy a good Bordeaux, especially when it comes to music? Boxon Records is Julien Minet’s dirty sexy record label out of Bordeaux, France that features prominent music artists (Tom Deluxx, Eclier, Toxic Avenger, Philipe de Boyer, Pro7, etc), and the incredible graphic designer Anem.
If you like teeth grinding, head banging, body shaking electro-trash music then this next one is for you. Coming out in late September, I had a sneak peak at the new Boxon album and it is fanfreakintastic. There are two separate and distinctive mixes of Tom Deluxx’s “Mushion Heroes” on here and they are both pure goodness. Who are the faces behind them?
First is Philipe de Boyar, the Suisse DJ/Producer who does a mixture of House/Electro/Breaks. He’s not a newbie to the scene, having already had tracks popping up in MIXMAG and is set to have releases on Erase Records, Hammarskjoeld Records or his own digital imprint Rockville Music as well as other labels. His version of “Mushion Hereos” is slap-in-your-face hard and reminiscent of the same energy you get with the Toxic Avenger.
The other version is by Pro7, an international party player who has already tricked with the likes of Sebastian, Teenage Bad Girl, TTC, and more. His version is very slightly lighter than the de Boyar one, with a little funky feel. Caution: these two tracks are not at all to be confused with each other, even if they stem from the same original! They are completely different takes and both quite enjoyable. I wouldn’t be surprised to hear them both pounding in clubs in the next 2-3 months.
Also from Boxon as of late, the latest video from Paris production company Born To Film of the Toxic Avenger’s “Bad Girls Need Love, Too”. It captures perfectly the style of Toxic — edgy electro with a rock feel. Tattooed ladies and Lolita like nymphs are in the video rocking out in this beautifully shot video clip with amazing color saturation. C’esttellement sexy et j’adore!
In other news, Boxon veteran Tom Deluxx has a new EP coming out this October, and I’m on the edge of my seat to hear it, especially if it sounds anything like the remix he sent us, “Fake” by GRS Club, who also have an EP arriving this October!
Putain c’est la classe! Anem is doing the artwork for the album. Including the fresh preview up top Boxon sent us!
French artist extraordinaire Franck Rivoire, producing under the moniker Danger, has become notorious amongst many and recognized for his exceptional synth heavy production, that he describes as ‘French Touch new electro’. His music evokes complexity and a sense of darkness, stirring the emotions of his devotees, causing an insatiable desire for more. I’ve often envisioned Danger’s music playing in the background to an Osamu Tezuka anime, which seems quite fitting given his childhood influences.
Just five years back, Danger was a self-proclaimed chiptune geek, creating game music. His direction changed and his music has flourished since the days of past and in recent months, Danger has remixed tracks for Midnight Juggernauts, ‘Into the Galaxy‘ and Sébastien Tellier, ‘Divine‘. But it was his first few brilliant productions, ‘11h30‘, ‘14H54‘, ‘19H11‘, that paved the way for what was to come. Signed to the Parisian label Ekler’o’shock, Danger continues to push the limits of his craft, taking us into the future. As a long time favorite of mine, I wanted to know what is behind the mind of Danger, so a few months back, I exchanged a bit of Q&A with him. After a long delay and the responses properly translated, here you have his answers in French and English.
Lovestar: Who is Danger? Please give some background history
Danger: Je suis illustrateur et graphiste, je suis très imaginatif et j’aime raconter des histoires, et communiquer des sensations. J’ai passé une certaine partie de ma jeunesse devant des écrans d’ordinateur , des livres, et des consoles de jeux, je fais des bandes dessinées, j’adore le cinéma, l’art, les jeux vidéos et les synthétiseurs.
I’m an illustrator and graphic designer, I’m very imaginative and I love to tell stories, and convey sensations. I passed part of my youth in front of computer screens, in books, and game consoles. I do comic books, I love cinema, art, video games and synthesizers.
Lovestar: Tell us about the music that you are producing
Danger: J’imagine mes musiques comme des émotions simples. Mon avenir c’est de continuer à suivre simplement ce que j’ai envie de faire ressentir. Beaucoup d’entres nous parlent à “l’enfance” en faisant ce genre de musique, je m’en rends compte et j’ai d’autant plus envie de donner une vision de l’enfance qui est la plus fidèle à ce que je suis et à ce que j’ai été.
J’essaye de ne pas penser qu’à la musique quand je compose mais aussi à des images et à des sensations, d’ailleurs le fait que je sois graphiste et illustrateur m’aide à m’écarter du seul chemin musical, qui n’est pas le mien.
Je vais faire pas mal de lives dans un futur proche dans lequels j’utiliserai la vidéo et l’animation plus d’autres surprises mystèrieuses.
I picture my music like simple emotions. My path is to continue to follow that which I have the desire to experience again. A lot of other people talk to us about “childhood” in making this kind of music. I realize this and I really want to give a vision of a childhood that is the most faithful to that which I am and that which I have been.
I try not to think about just the music when I’m composing, but also the feelings and images. Otherwise, the fact that I’m a graphic artist and illustrator helps separate me from a single musical path that’s not mine.
I’m going to do a few live shows in the near future in which I will utilize video, animation, and other mysterious suprises.
Lovestar: Your tracks are all named with numbers and letters. Are these random or do they have meaning?
Danger: Disons que je pense qu’une heure est aussi évocatrice d’un sentiment qu’un titre littéraire. Je passe ma vie à faire attention à l’heure et je trouve sincèrement qu’un 20h45 ou un 14h porte déjà en lui tout un tas de sentiments, alors imaginez 14h54, c’est un truc de fou.
Let’s say that I think that an hour is just as evocative of a feeling as the title of a piece of literature. I go through life paying attention to the hour and I really find that no other time than an 8:45 PM or a 2 pm already brings a whole barrel of feelings… so imagine 2:54 PM, it’s something crazy.
Lovestar: Are you still working as a graphic designer and do you create your own artwork?
Danger: Yes still drawing :) It’s important for me to be sure to create what I want to communicate.
Lovestar: What went into creating your latest EP, 09.14.2007?
Danger: A first step for me…:)
Lovestar: Your music has a lot of expression to it, I could see it being played in a Japanimation movie or a Speed Racer scene – Do you know of Speed Racer? Have you ever thought of scoring your music in a film?
Danger: It would be great, that’s a long time dream.
Lovestar: What was it about the label Ekler’o’shock that made you want them to represent you?
Danger: I really liked the Ekler’o’shock artists.
Lovestar: A comment left by a fan on the Ekler’o’shock My Space said that “if Daft Punk and Justice had sex, their lovechild would be Danger”. What do you make of this?
Danger: Je pense qu’on a raison de comparer les artistes entre eux et de leur trouver des ressemblances mais généralement ces ressemblances viennent plus de références communes plus anciennes mes references viennent des jeux videos de ma vie, des films que j’ai vu et je pense pouvoir raconter d’autres choses que Justice et Daft Punk, des artistes que j’aime beaucoup pourtant.
I think that we’re right to compare artists between themselves and find their resemblances but generally these similarities come more from common references that are older. My references come from the video games of my life, the films that I’ve seen, and I think the ability to relate about things other than Justice and Daft Punk, artists that nevertheless I like a lot.
This Sunday marked the first ever Brooklyn Electronic Music Festival, hosted by Street Attack, Famous Friends, andImpose Magazine. Covering local Brooklyn artists for some time now, Impose Magazine has come to be an important fixture in the Brooklyn community, and a trustworthy source for pithy coverage of the musical oasis that can be the Brooklyn neighborhood. Street Attack and Famous Friends, the primary hosts for this year’s BEMF, are an innovative and resourceful duo that pull all stops. So when the poster went up for BEMF recently, it should be no surprise that the list of sponsors ranged from Miller Lite to the Izze Beverage Co. Even less of a surprise though was the quality of electronic artists and DJs they culled to headline their very first electronic music festival.
Arriving in the late afternoon, just as the sun was letting up on a crowd of Sparks ignited Brooklynites, I felt what was a strong community of music supporters, friends artists, and the usual blog-league members making sure Ableton mixtapes sounded just as good live. Luckily for those drunk enough by the time Cobra Krames went on, it didn’t matter, as his blend of Blatimore Club and party mash-ups were perfectly crowd pleasing and genre-bending. Stringing together Top 40 Rap and Pop hits with his flavor of B-more stomp, I was surprised not to hear a Journey mash-up amongst his arsenal.
Following Cobra was The Glass, one of the live acts present that day. With their blend of slightly sweet electro-pop, they sung the kind of late-night drunken ballads you might associate with a group of Daft Punk loyalists, suffering from a night of blissed out synths. Unfortunately for The Glass, they spent too much time at the Sparks tent and not enough time at the Izze tent, and relied too heavily on their friends to hype their boozed-down set. Luckily Finger on the Pulse, DJ and producer of The Glass supplied a quick-set of Armand Van Helden remixes to give us a good taste in our mouths beforehand.
For BEMF attendees that day, Purple Crush was clearly a significant draw, and I too was excited to see fellow Islander (Bainbridge Island, Washington) Isla Cheadle and her beatman Jared Selter get freaky on stage in Neon and Nikes. Definitely a highlight of the evening, Isla brought the party, bar none, and got little girls to shake their money makers in feminine glory. Pairing slightly maligned synth-pop and chugging Madonna-disco, Isla rapped, sang, and hyped with a natural frontman femininity that won over the headier skeptics like myself. With tunes like “Fuck the DJ” and “Marry Me,” Purple Crush’s first album “Blog Party” is a must-grab in a sea of uninspired Justice-fallout.
After Purple Crush and after a French-house heavy set from Treasure Fingers, who by virtue of market forces or purely bass-blown ear drums, has been invited to join the ranks of the Fools Gold family, a tour de force in dance music’s finest. One third of Evol Intent, perhaps the State’s best and last contribution to Drum n’ Bass, Treasure Fingers had the presence of your classic UK DJ/producer: techy, cerebral, and an invisible hand on the feet of the crowd. And Treasure Fingers could have just pressed play and returned to the beer garden because his flawless set of ethereal electro had some long-time fans and a drunk-happy crowd brought to their knees that Summer evening at The Yard.
Best and last for me was Todosantos, the Venezuelan trio of young hearts, making the only progressive music that was played that day. Drawing on their love for the music of their hometown (Cumbia, Soca, Reggaeton), as well as the reverberations from abroad (Speed Garage, Baile Funk, Miami Bass, Bassline), Todosantos represents what M.I.A. could only start, and what people like Pharaoh (Todosantos producer), Mariana (Todosantos video editor), and their lead singer (?) are calling “Tukky Bass.” On the wave of their hit song and EP “Acid Girlzzz,” Todosantos brought on the warm-darkness of the night with a rip roaring set of colorful video editing from Mariana and a fiery collection of bass heaviness from Pharaoh. A part from their sing-along set of quick one-liners and hollers, they actually seemed in love with what they were doing.
With a diverse collection of musicians and extremely-well hosted party in a beautiful space, Impose’s first Brooklyn Electronic Music Festival has no doubt set the tone for an upcoming year of exciting music from the electronic sounds of the world. More than ever we’re seeing the synthesis of all things musical, and Impose, much like other music-forward artists and critics, see this synthesis as the great calling to unite under Summer sun, fueled by warm, thick beats and the nutrients of corporate money, an increasingly smart trick to support the arts. And stay posted with Impose Magazine as they post pictures of buckwild hipsters gettin’ down in the sun.
