Milwaukee’s greatest thing since beer, cheese, and sausage is production duo, The Glamour. Comprised of strawberry stud Asher Roth and handsome hearthrob Richard Gray. The Glamour takes a bit of french touch, LA Electro, and midwestern party rap and mix them together for some good clean fun. Always pleasing their audiences with genre bending dj sets full of energy and presence. They are also some of the nicest and most hospitable dudes around. They got the attention of Urb magazine, who named them one of the next 100 and also IHEARTCOMIX put one of their songs on the nationally distributed Scion mixtape.
It was only matter of time for a group of their caliber, with their looks, talent and positive attitude that they would get scooped up by a record label and release there tunes “officially”. And what a label to be on, turns out the boys were signed to Calamity Jane.
Calamity Jane Recordings, is Strictly Rhythm’s newest imprint. Run by Scott Richmond and Dani Deahl, the label works in an interesting way where they find new artists and pair them with world-renowned remixers, and represent them with some of the most respected names in house music.
And on “Fly by Night” the label achieves exactly what they envision. The Glamour has 2 original tracks followed by remixes from The House Moguls, Tommie Sunshine, and Hatiras. The record is definitely a must have for both young and old.
Check out the sample that the record label provided and purchase this record HERE.
So I’d heard of Miss OddKidd before - on myspace obviously, I was taken with her a little but perhaps dismissed her ever expanding friends list as hype!
Ok so to fess up I just got these tracks, I like them alot and I’m particularly fond of the turbo-charged Drop The Lime Remix of ‘Don’t Be Afraid to Sweat’. To add to this I have been dancing around manically to the Goldielocks Remix….check them both out below.
This little lady has been working with alot of young producers namely Rowdy Superstar, and Steve Mason aka Black Affair. Released this autumn, ‘Don’t Be Afraid To Sweat’ is Miss OddKidd’s first real release. With performances at Glasto, Bestival and all across Europe she’s definetly ready to be heard - whether you like it or not guys and gals!
Don’t Be Afraid to Sweat - Miss OddKidd (Drop the Lime Hungry Hoovers Remix)
Don’t Be Afraid to Sweat - Miss OddKidd (Goldielocks Remix)
New Zealand is home to the flightless and ever so adorable kiwi, their national symbol, as well as Charlie ASH, the four-piece band with super charged, sexy vocals and music that encompasses dance, punk, rock, and pure fun.
The New Zealand music scene is thriving and Charlie ASH is exploding out from it. Formed in 2005, Charlie ASH consists of Rosie Riggir (vox), Mailee Mathews (bass and guitar), Dave Khan (guitar), and Ben Michelsen (drums). Currently in the studio, the band are set to release four EP’s this October. Yes you heard correctly, four EP’s! The first entitled ‘Lover‘, available everywhere in the world via iTunes. If you can’t catch them live, you’ll be pleased to know that they’ll also have videos and remixes for every tune!
Charlie ASH has supported New Young Pony Club, ChicksOnSpeed, Ladyhawke, OKGO, The Slits and Juliette Lewis & the Licks. On the gig front besides touring New Zealand, they’re headed to Australia two times before the year is up and planning their first European Tour for June 2009. They’ve been asked to play at the New Zealand Music Awards after party at the mighty Vector Arena this October in Auckland and Mailee says, “We’re thrilled!”
So what NZ acts should we be on watch for? Charlie ASH have given a list of a few familiar and unfamiliar acts, one band in particular, Bang! Bang! Eche! that I will be featuring shortly after this! Charlie ASH is keen on, The Ruby Suns, The Brunettes, Lawrence Arabia, Liam Finn, Ladyhawke, Cut Off Your Hands, So So Modern, Die Die Die, Bang! Bang! Eche!, Fat Freddys Drop, The Black Seeds, Greg Churchill, Magik Johnson, etc.
If you’re in the mood for listening to what New Zealander’s are listening to these days, then peep Mailee’s pre-recorded radio show ‘UPLOAD’, which goes out on George FM www.georgefm.co.nz. Mailee also plays host on an NZ Music TV Show on ALT TV called ALTearoa - every Thursday night 9 to 10pm (NZ Time). You can watch online www.alttv.co.nz.
You can be sure that we’ll be posting more on Charlie Ash as their new releases arrive. In the meantime, here’s your chance to break out those 3D glasses you’ve got buried next to the whistles and glowsticks, for a viewing of Charlie Ash’s “Ah-hA“, directed by Ed Davis. Purchase their Cd, ‘Can.Can‘ and listen to the hot tunes they’ve sent over!
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!
The LA electro/blog house/hipster music scene is a very strange place. I don’t think there’s anywhere in the world (that I’ve seen, at least) where the stereotypical bloghouse lifestyle has been more heavily adopted by youth culture. A vast number of our readers hail from LA, I’ve played for more kids on a tuesday there than when I play anywhere else on a weekend, and we get more “music” submissions from the absurd amount of young LA DJs who are the star of their tiny faction of the scene and feel that their MIA/Young Jeezy/Daft Punk mashup is going to rocket them to international stardom. Don’t get me wrong, LA is one of my favorite places on earth. Almost all of my favorite American producers/DJs/friends live and thrive there (Guns N Bombs, Acid Girls, Harvard Bass, LA Riots, Dirty Dave, Paparazzi etc.), the fans are the most fist-pumpingly excited fans I’ve encountered in this country and I’m out there pretty consistently soaking up the sun.
Imagine my surprise, though, when I receive an email from a young LA producer, Dskotek, and it contains two tracks that are not just passable as blog fodder, but are extremely original, well produced, clever and totally playable! I was so surprised, in fact, that I had to verify with a LA friend that this kid was real and it wasn’t some hoax. And sure enough he’s a staple at many of the club and warehouse parties scattered across SoCal. He keeps a local schedule that rivals many of the worlds biggest DJs (a feat only possible in LA).
As for the tunes, I’m providing you with two. The first is a remix of a tune by Mockin’ Bird (who doesn’t seem to exist anymore) called Hissi. The original’s a bouncy little electro-tech track and Dskotek maximalized it adding subtle trancey stabs, well placed edits and filters and looping the thing to death. In the end, it reminds me of something DJ Dan might do. The second is an original work called Sinfonia which proves that Dskotek knows what he’s doing in the studio. The layering and instrumentation is really complex and excellent and the whole tune a very dense, non-linear feel to it packing surprises at every turn. The quality of production is surprisingly good making this tune so much larger and more playable than the rest of the bloghouse rabble.
Be sure to keep an eye out for this kid and my guess is he’s hard to miss considering that if you walk into an LA warehouse on any given day you’re likely to see him DJing there.
If you saw Division Kent’s new album, Gravity, walking down the street it would be the most darkly sensual woman with a cigarette hanging out of her parted lips asking you for a light. Somehow this group manages to pull off breathy female vocals and slithering sounds without sounding like a couple of depressed emo kids.
To give some background, Division Kent is based out of Zurich, Switzerland and currently signed to Sony BMG. Made up of Andrea B. and Sky Antinori, this duo is officially seducing the US in October when Gravity is expected to be released. Listening to the tracks takes you on a musical trip, with ethereal music and vocals that could probably bring tears to your eyes and a smile to your face at the same time. I will say that my particular favorites are “L’heure bleue”, “No Kryptonite” and “In the headlights”.
So in order to show our love for them and you, we’re posting a few tracks illustrating the style and variations that encompass Division Kent and some of the killer remixes that have come out of this album already. Want a literary preview of our remixers?
The Phantom’s Revenge out of Nîmes, France is a disco tap! Listening to their remix makes me wanna boogie nights, sleep never, and bust out the glitter.
From the Netherlands, expect to get Shook‘d up with… some Jane Fonda spandex. This remix is a dream complete with 80s fadeouts, leggings, and a Pretty in Pink attitude.
The intro on this version by L.A.’s Keenhouse, sounds like something you’d hear as the background music on a Discovery Channel show about spiders, when they show the spiders building a web in like 10X speed. Then it quickly gets into the sexy French lyrics.
Not in the US? Well, it’s already been released in Switzerland if you’re over there. In early 2009 it will be released in Germany, Austria, Benelux, and the UK. The Euro edition comes with a bonus CD of nothin’ but remixes. All in all not a bad little package here. Enjoy!!
Summer is coming to and end, its been a good one, kept me busy, got to do some traveling, made my way across the country and back a few times, ran into old friends, made some new ones, found myself at more day events and festivals than clubs, which was really great. Soon enough its going to be cold here in New York, and ill be taking shelter in a club and paying $8 for cocktails. Since i’ve been slacking in the post department, i’m going to try and make up for lost time with a “summery” of my 2008.
Santogold @ sound check for Radio 1 - Annie Mac show, WMC March 2008
Saw Santogold perform a few times, although unfortunately, I missed her dates with Coldplay. I did however see her just about everywhere else I went, on the side of buses, in the subway, in magazines, TV, on the wall of Terminal 5 when I went to see Brian Jonestown Massacre (Joel performed, it was great, nobody got in a fight, bummer.) Anyway, you get the idea, Santi is everywhere, repping in style for Converse Connectivity. I have to say, the campaign is pretty tight, they did good, no one is trying to shove blatant adverts your way, the micro site is crafty, there’s a lot going on, you can even design your own kicks, and sonically, the artists on board, I genuinely like and listen to. Someone in the marketing department did their homework.
Brian Jonestown Massacre, Terminal 5, New York July 25 08
Crowd gathering for Radiohead - Lollapalooza Chicago, Aug 1 08
Lollapalooza in Chicago was definitely one of the highlight’s of my summer, I traveled from NY with Spank Rock and crew - Amanda Blank, Devlin & Darko, and Natalie. Their schedule was as full as it could for the weekend, press, after parties, and of course, their Saturday performance on the Citi Stage. Everyone rolled in Friday night, and headed over to the festival site for Radiohead.
I ran into the Foals, which was a super unexpected and pleasant surprise. I grabbed a piece of lawn and had a few drinks with Yannis and Jack, caught up, talked about the past year, how things have changed since we had last had seen each other in New York, when they were recording their album. They’ve got the typical touring band schedule, traveling constantly, playing tons of great festivals, waking up and not knowing where they are. Yannis and I tried to recall what it was that we were debating a few months back in regard to minimal techno (we are both fans - Minitek!!! ), never did figure it out. Soon more Foals came to graze, a grass fight ensued, and it was truly an “Electric Bloom” moment when they started shoving chunks of earth down each others shirts, it was my “Warning Call” to make an exit, so I galloped away to wait in the mile long line for a Vodka and Vitamin water.
While I was waiting in line, Radiohead took to the stage, all day everyone I ran into was gushing in anticipation of their performance, I was no different. It had been almost 2 years to the day that I had seen them last, also in Chicago, but in a theater setting, this time, it was outside to a sold out crowd of well over 70k, I love festivals. When Radiohead went on, the masses were well into it as expected, I had a side view, so I wasn’t able to see much of the production, that being the massive LCD’s and light show, or even much of the band for that matter, but hearing was good enough. What I was able to see was the woman at the front of the stage signing Radiohead’s lyrics, dancing, and clearly having the time of her life. (Note to self - learn sign language, what a great gig to have.) During their performance I was filled in on the fact that Thom Yorke is in fact a big fan of Spank Rock, and listed the album, Yo, Yo, Yo, Yo, Yo, as one of his top 10 albums of 2007, my eyes bugged out of my head a bit. Really?
Spank Rock is also a big fan of Radiohead and Thom Yorke. For a slight second I wondered if there was anyway for the two of them to meet, considering they had this mutual artist respect thing going on. But I also realized it was probably next to impossible, i’m sure everyone and their mother was probably trying to have a chat with the band that night, plus, it was a massive show. I put to rest the idea trying to make the introduction, got back to reality. The band did a few encore’s everyone was blissed out, it was a very memorable evening. We took off right as they were doing their last song to avoid getting caught up in the mass exodus. 70k people all leaving at once is a bit much. After parties were popping off all over the city, Foals were DJ’ing, Bloc Party, Does It Offend You, Yeah?, all kinds of madness, but I was exhausted, and Saturday was going to be crazy so I called it a night.
Saturday, well, I ended up not hitting after parties, but went to a local bar and tied one on with some old friends. We made a late night run to Rockstar Dog’s, ordered a couple of “Los Lobos”, and “tots” and yeah, we felt like what we ingested. When we woke up the next day we asked ourselves what the hell were we thinking? Oh! We were not thinking, we were drunk.
No time to be hungover, there was stuff to do, no rest for the wicked. I headed over to the Hard Rock Hotel, to meet up with the Spank Rock crew for Spin & Metromix’s gifting suite. They threw down, excellent grub, fancy juices, energy drinks, spa services, and sweet schwag. This was good, I was starting to feel better. Then it was interview time, Ms. Amanda Blank was losing her voice, and was under Dr.’s orders not make a peep until the Lolla performance later that afternoon. She made a clever name tag and attached it to her shirt letting everyone know, hey, I can’t talk, and worked some sign language of her own. The girl is amazing, she still managed to convey what she wanted to say, and charmed everyone.
Spank Rock & Amanda Blank Interview for Metromix @ Lollapalooza, Aug 2 08
Interviews were over, the crew split up, Spank Rock (Naeem, solo) and I jetted off (actually crawled through major traffic) as he was DJ’ing at the Diesel store. It was his first gig outside of Philly, he’s been dj’ing regularly every Monday night at a party he started called The Jang House, it all goes down at the Barbary. I’ve been told by many this night is hot, and hella fun, so it’s on my “to do” in the very near future list. I’ve never heard Naeem DJ before, he plays an eclectic mix of retro, disco, mash-up’s, heard some Prince, said ‘oh yes, I love this too!”, when he threw on a remix of MGMT’s, “Electric Feel”, we both agreed the video was sexy as hell and wish we could have been in it.
It was nearing Spank Rock’s 5:00pm stage time, we high tailed it outta the Diesel store, jumped in a car, and headed to the Lolla site. The first thing that reached our ears when we got on site, MGMT, of course, go figure. We sighed, got over the fact we were missing their performance, and jumped on a golf cart that delivered us to the Citi Stage. Booka Shade was just wrapping up their set. For me, seeing them provided some solace for the MGMT loss, hey were amazing as always. Spank Rock took to the stage and performed to a charged up crowd, Amanda’s voice was in top form, the crew brought the party, Plastic Little jumped on stage and did a guest spot, everyone was caught up in their energy, the stage and the audience may have well been one.
The Lolla performance was over, but the day was is not, one more interview with Fuse TV, then back over to the Hard Rock for an after party performance with Mark Ronson and Spank Rock. We were starting to feel like we might be hitting the wall, festivals are fun, but they are hot, and have the ability to suck the energy out of you. Besides being tired, everyone was hungry, we had dinner reservations at the China Grill, which thank god, we didn’t have to go far for, as it was adjacent to the hotel. Dinner was excellent, but now we were really tired, time to rest. We made our way out the door mumbling about various things in our food comas, then everyone got really quiet. After we walked outside the door, we looked at each other, and all at once started talking - “hey that guy looked really familiar?”,”do you know that guy?”, “who was that?”, “was that Thom Yorke?”, “That WAS Thom Yorke.” We snapped out of our comas. Damn, It’s Thom Yorke.
All things considered, Thom being a fan of Spank Rock, and vice versa, we should go over and say hello, right? It was kinda too ironic that we were having dinner in the same place at the same time. But everyone agreed, interrupting him, or anyone for that matter, during dinner, who probably already has a hard time in the “peace & quiet” department, we didn’t want to go there. So we continued on to our rooms where we twiddled our thumbs. It was definitely one of those “what would Jesus do?’ moments.
We discussed the irony at hand. I thought Thom & Naeem should meet, it was kind of a no brainer. And I admit, I had my own selfish reasons, I also really wanted to chat with Thom first hand about music industry politics. I think i’ve easily done 20 + posts about Radiohead and/or Thom. When the band released In Rainbows, it was kind of a big deal.
Everyone I know carefully watched how the band’s, name your own price, self release, limited edition box set concept was going to unfold. For weeks it was the hottest topic of conversation. So the release day came, people got online and placed their order, and continued to watch the concept unfold. In my opinion, it was a beautiful. No, Radiohead didn’t fix everything that was wrong with the industry, and what they did, most bands can’t really afford to do. (I discussed this with LCD Soundsystem’s James Murphy, read it here). They did kick open the door of the major labels, and sent a very strong message. They gave their fans a choice, they made room for both artists and others in the industry, to do even more inspired and creative things, perhaps even take risks they might not have before. They let people know, that yes, you can release music in a non-traditional way and it can work. Not only that, you can do it on your own, they exact way YOU want to do it, real freedom of expression. And isn’t that what everyone wants? Not only in art, but in life.
If you haven’t picked up on it yet, I live for these kinds of moments, i’m all for pushing the envelope, DIY, thinking outside of the box, stick it to “the man”, all those common cliches. I feel i’ve fallen off course at this point, so let me get back to the story and how it all ends.
I lived in Chicago for 16 years, it just so happens that I know the manager of the China Grill, I figure I might as well take advantage of that, so I head back to the restaurant, tell him the story. He tells me that Thom and his friends were almost done with their meal, and adds that they are really pleasant, he offered to ask them if they would be so inclined to meet us. I agreed this would be appropriate, and so it goes, “Thom would love to meet Spank Rock”.
I made my way back up to our floor, and my heart fluttered a bit when I told Naeem, come on, we’re going to go and say hello to Thom, and so we did. I hung back as they spoke about music, production, the writing process, how it can be difficult and unnerving process. As an artist, you second guess yourself, wonder if what your writing is good enough, you feel pressure to create something and your not always sure where you’re going with it, or what it is you want to create. Thom shared that he most certainly felt like that, and felt most everyone does, its part of the process of creating, and if those moments where you question yourself didn’t happen, that would seem to be a bit odd, and that perhaps was when an artist should worry. So as it turns out, Thom’s just like the rest of us, word. We spoke about their performance the day before, I told him I really only got to see the woman signing, he said she was great, stole the show. I got my politics on, we discussed the interview he and David Byrne did with Wired Magazine, on the real value of music.
Thom said it was an interesting interview, rather quiet, not as much talking between the two of them as one might think. Which kind of surprised me, I would assume they would carry on for hours. However, I’ve seen a few live interviews with Byrne, he’s incredibly intelligent, insightful, (I closely follow his industry politics as well), but I could see why a bit of silence between the two, might be the case. There is a particular interview Byrne did that stands out, with Daniel Levitin (author of This Is Your Brain On Music), you can check it out at Seed Mag online. We also discussed the In Rainbows release, Thom was very humble, when I expressed how I felt about the release, he said the release was just a minor start toward rebuilding an ailing music industry, and that there is still a lot of work to be done, particularly when it comes to radio. We had been carrying on for some time now, espressos were to be had, they were off to a show the next day, and exhausted from a day of boating on Lake Michigan, we had our own show, call time was just an hour away, we said our goodbye’s and floated away.
Spank Rock hit the stage for the Spin & Metromix after party, the room was packed, but the crowd was a bit lethargic, however, when these guys hit the stage, it doesn’t take long to get a room going. Lindsay Lohan and Sam Ronson were in attendance with their posse, so in honor of the occasion, Spank Rock finished the set with Lindsay Lohan’s Revenge. I think the posse was caught off guard, as they exited the room before the song was over. Funny stuff.
Amanda Blank & Natalie - Hard Rock After Party, Aug 2
Naeem - Hard Rock After Party, Aug 2
I also hit a few Rock The Bells shows - saw Tribe Called Quest, Pharcyde, Mos Def, Nas, even a stellar, surprise performance in Denver from Black Star. Nas - Rock The Bells, Columbia, MD July 27 08
Black Star - Rock The Bells, Denver, Co Aug 23
All in all, great summer, and as this post is quickly becoming a novella, I shall end it here, and leave you with this entertaining video of what I can only assume are cheerleaders learning new dance routines at summer camp to “Bump”. The dude the runs out to lead them rocks.
Scion A/V has once again partnered with some of the best names in the biz to produce another exclusive release. This time they matched up with legendary NYC hip hop duo EPMD with Trash favorites - Sinden, Duke Dumont, and Herve to present another package full of bangers. The three versions of this brand new vocal take completely different routes – with Hervé’s trademarked basslines, Sinden drawing from UK garage inspiration and Duke Dumont going for a hip hop take with bhangra-styled loops. The full project drops Oct. 20, but you can grab an advance of Sinden’s mix right here . . .
Just in case you are not aware of the delectable Ladytron I have decided to do this rather lovely post about them!
This sharp electro tarnished foursome originally hail from Liverpool UK and are now in the midst of touring their new album Velocifero around Europe, which will be followed by a whistle stop tour around Australia and then back to Europe for seconds! Phew they are busy…..
Anyway if you haven’t checked them out before, please listen to the haunting tune (pardon the pun) that is ‘Ghosts’ its spookily addictive.
Oh and to give you an extra dollop of Ladytron goodness we also have delish ‘Ghosts’ remixes by Toxic Avenger and a chilled-out dreamy remix from Modwheelmood.
Remember back in June when everyone in blog world was up in arms over a tune called “Black Chrome”, from the mysterious LA-based, Circuit Freq?? Have you figured them out yet? Chock-full of intensity, the original stood well on its own. As promised, they’ve been kind enough to deliver their latest remix of “Black Chrome” from England’s Charlie Fanclub and YES, it’s armed with the hard hitting power I thought it would.
If I were gearing up for war, Charlie Fanclub’s remix of “Black Chrome” is the tune I’d be listening to before crossing enemy lines, and a perfect play if ‘Call Of Duty‘ had a soundtrack. Charlie’s remix is a solid, pounding effort that takes the original track up a level and will certainly shatter the dancefloor!
Listen to the other remixes of Circuit Freq’s “Black Chrome” from Vandal, Electrixx, Metalzone, plus a bonus Charlie Fanclub version. You’ll find that they’re all superb, thus leaving you to make a purchase via Beatport!
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.
The greatest thing about starting this blog was not only to hear music that we encountered on our own, but also to be introduced to it from a wide range of sources, often times from the very artists that we feature. When Etan spoke of remixing an upcoming artist that I was unfamiliar with, I checked in on things. Good thing I did because my ears have been stunned by the lo-fi, leftfield pop sounds of East Londoner Micachu.
Classically trained since the age of four in violin and viola, 21 year old Mica Levi aka Micachu, creates imaginative, experimental pop music and mixtapes comprised of grime, garage, tropical, R&B, hip hop, folk – basically whatever she tosses in the pot. But it’s Mica’s obsession with inventing her own sounds from scratch, like the notable American composer and instrument maker Harry Partch she so greatly admires, that sets this wunderkind apart.
Currently in her third year studying music composition at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, Mica was amongst four young composers to write new works for the London Philharmonic and in March, an original composition she wrote was performed at the Royal Festival Hall.
Micachu’s latest debut for Accidental, ‘Golden Phone‘, produced by the esteemed Mathew Herbert (released August 11th) is an addictive, whimsical, hand clapping good time. I’ve listened to it over and over and it still sounds refreshing and unique. As does Micachu’s must-have 33-track mixtape entitled ‘Filthy Friends‘ (out this past February), featuring the likes of Toddla T, Man Like Me, Ghost Poet, Kwes, Jack Penate, The Fields, Naked & the Boys, Suicidedogz, Golden Silvers and more, which had everybody talking.
Though I’ve yet to catch a live performance with her band, The Shapes (Mica - vocals, guitar, electronics and Hoover, Raisa Kahn - keys and Marc Pell - drums), they’ve been making huge waves abroad. Since Micachu is on The Windish Agency artist roster, I hope it isn’t long before we see Micachu and The Shapes heading for our shores!
‘Golden Phone‘, can be purchased via itunes, Rough Trade, Boomkat and all good digital platforms. Check out Micachu’s other project, Society of New Music and catch Micachu and The Shapes at Bestival – 5, 6, 7 September and at gigs listed on their Myspace calendar. And look out for an album coming sometime this fall!
