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.
One of the catchiest songs you’ll hear this summer is “Cross the Dancefloor“, a really fresh track with a bit of funk and elements of filter house. It’s so infectious and feel good, that the dance floor is immediately filled whenever the song is played. The producer behind the track is Treasure Fingers, a former Atlantan that recently moved to Brooklyn.
While some may know Treasure Fingers through hard step/drum & bass act, Evol Intent, most people are completely unaware of his history. And even though there is a huge trend of drum & bass producers turned electro blog house producers, Treasure Fingers is completely different. Offering music that is more fresh and feel good and roller rink ready then pump your fist, stage dive, and wear neon.
“Cross the Dancefloor” and other productions were so ear-catching that Fools Gold scooped up Treasure Fingers for a 12″. Updating and remastering the track to be even better than before and getting superstar producers Laidback Luke, Lifelike, and Curses! to lend remixes to the release. Then they packaged it up and made it beautiful and ready to purchase through beatport, turntable lab, and itunes.
To celebrate the release, I met up with Treasure Fingers and we did an interview and he also provided us with one of the remixes of the 12″ single.
sirhan: so, you are in evol intent, why did you decide to start treasure fingers?
treasure fingers: i had always done some house/funk style production stuff on the side and just never pushed it. i played some of it for jordan (of Snowden) one day and he really pushed me to get it out there. The first treasure fingers remix I did was for Snowden’s “Anti Anti”.
sirhan: how do you feel about the way its going now?
treasure fingers: I love it, it just took off and everything started falling into place.
sirhan: you still tour with evol intent?
treasure fingers: yeah, it’s a little sparse with bookings right now because we are all working on other projects at the moment but we’ll have a couple new releases out later this year though and we just released a full length album in march.
sirhan: so you just released, “cross the dance floor” tell me a little bit about it and how did you get such awesome remixes?
treasure fingers: That track actually started out as just a funky instrumental house type tune, then one night I decided to put some vocals on it, then got the idea to have my girlfriend sing a part to play off mine. I meant to write out full verses and put into a pop song structure, but after I showed the rough draft version to Preston/Kiss Atlanta, he wanted to blog it as is, so I mixed it down and let it go as more of a club track. Fool’s Gold sorted out all of the remixes. Once I signed it to them, they hit me up one day and was like.. ‘hey what do you think about these guys to do remixes?’
I’m a fan of all those guys so I was pretty excited. Chromeo also did an amazing remix. It’s going to be featured on a Fool’s Gold CD.
sirhan: so whats the next thing you’re doing?
treasure fingers: I’ve done a bunch of remixes over the past couple months that should all be getting released soon. I’ve got 2 more that I’m wrapping up over the next week, then I’ve got an australian tour. When I get back from that, I plan on working on some original material again.
sirhan: so this is a typical question but who are some of your influences and who should kids go diggin for?
treasure fingers: lots of the 80s funk/disco era stuff. midnight star, shalamar, zapp & roger, dazz, carl carlton. I was really influenced by the 90s french house stuff as well.
sirhan: any particular records by those producers?
treasure fingers: carl carlton - swing that sexy thing / dance with you, most people just know ’she’s a bad mama jama’ by him, but he’s got so much dope stuff!
sirhan: what about new stuff?
treasure fingers: love a lot of the new lifelike stuff, symbolone, that really synthy euro sound, and miami horror also.
sirhan: so you’ve been to tons of places whats you best place so far?
treasure fingers: i think the best / craziest parties ive played have been in ATL or LA. I love traveling though, every city has it’s own charm. I think sometimes, the small towns that you don’t expect much from turn out to be amazing.
sirhan: so, any good stories from your travels?
treasure fingers: i’ve never had anything super crazy. there’s always something going wrong though. last time I was in LA, my door lock had broke after I had left for the gig and no one could fix it and I had an early flight the next morning. they ended up giving me another room, then breaking the door down at the last minute the next morning so I could get my stuff out… I’m not a heavy drinker so I don’t have any crazy club stories.
sirhan: music obiviously takes a lot of time whats your other passions?
treasure fingers: I used to paint/draw a lot. I’d like to get back to that when I get the time. that’s probably the closest thing to a passion, other stuff I do in free time is just for relaxation/fun. xbox360, movies, friends, whatever.
sirhan: so lets close off here any advice to budding producers or closing words?
treasure fingers: It’s kind of contradicting, but find a really good producer and copy them until you can get your engineering and mixdowns really tight, then switch it up and try to do something completely original and different. Most producers lack in one or the other, so I think the key is having something that sounds really fresh and original, that also sounds great sonically.
Closing words: go buy “Cross the Dancefloor” & bug your local promoter until they book me.
SPANK ROCK & GUERILLA UNION PRESENT . . “BIG BOX ARSENAL & CULTURE CLUB” EXPERIENCE Bringing the party element to the Rock the Bells Festival
Spank Rock & Guerilla Union, have partnered up to bring the “Big Box Arsenal & Culture Club” experience to The Rock the Bells Festival. The stage will set a precedent, featuring acts that have been cited as experimental, genre bending artists, paving the way for the future of a new musical landscape. Ushering in the next generation of talent, hosts, Roxy Cottontail and Pase Rock.
“The Big Box concept symbolizes an arsenal of powerful performers who break boundaries, set trends and do what the fuck they want. I feel like Afrika Bambaataa is the blue print, and we are the future. Teaming up with Rock the Bells is the first step in showing the world a new definition of young America.” – Spank Rock
Guerilla Union’s ROCK THE BELLS 2008 INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL SERIES POWERED BY SANDISK has established itself as a world-class hip-hop platform by hosting legendary performances by Rage Against the Machine, NAS, A Tribe Called Quest, Public Enemy, Lauryn Hill, Black Star (Talib Kweli and Mos Def), Hieroglyphics, Living Legends, De La Soul, Busta Rhymes, Cypress Hill and Jurassic 5 as well as reuniting Wu-Tang Clan for their last performance with ODB in 2004.
Guerilla Union, Spank Rock, and Trash Menagerie are giving away SPANK ROCK’s PACKAGE to 2 lucky winners and a friend in each city the festival hits – New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Denver, & Seattle. Spank’s package includes - 2 tickets to the Festival, 2 VIP access passes to meet the artists, and a LOAD of Spank Rock merch & music, signed and delivered by the man himself.
To enter, send an email to SPANKROCK@TRASHMENAGERIE.COM
In the SUBJECT line of your email, list the CITY you want to enter to win, in the BODY, your NAME. One entry per person, per city - New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Denver, Seattle.
Winners in each city will be notified the day before the show via email. Tickets and passes will be available or pick up at will call the day of the show - and then watch the mail for the merch to arrive!
Stay tuned to Trash Menagerie as we follow the tour, exclusive footage, artist interviews, music, behind the scenes antics, and a few surprises along the way!
Nick Catchdubs was nice enough to give us his new mix AND an interview. He is one of my favorite New Yorkers and his label with A-Trak, Fools Gold (maybe you have possibly heard of it?) is killing it right now.
4AM: How and when did you meet A-Trak?
Nick Catchdubs:Roxy used to do Friday night parties on Bowery - I want to say the club was BLVD? Dust La Rock, who would later go on to be the Fool’s Gold graphic designer, did the flyers, it looked like the back of a dollar bill with a Debbie Deb quote about “fog machines and laser rays” on the top. One night, A-Trak and I DJed together, we got booked to do shows in San Francisco and LA soon after, and over the course of hanging out we realized we had a lot in common with music, humor, and haberdashery. From then we just stayed friends, sending mp3s back and forth and talking shit.
4AM: How did you and Trizzy eventually come up with the Fools Gold idea?
NC: He ran the Audio Research label in Montreal for almost a decade with his brother Dave, and realized it had such a strong history as an underground/indie hip-hop label that his new, more electronic-influenced stuff wouldn’t fit. He decided to do a new label and asked me to start it with him. I had already helped out with the launch of Mad Decent (I designed the logo and some of the original Bonde Do Role art, and was brainstorming a lot with Diplo in the early days) and this was an opportunity to get more deeply involved with putting out new, original music. We came up with the name and concept, and then just went from there putting out records.
4AM: Did you have any idea it would take off like it has?
NC: I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t always part of the plan!
4AM: How many hours a day would you say you listen to music?
NC: I’m going THROUGH music constantly - mostly just to check out all the new songs that came out that day, find stuff to play when DJing, or give people a once-over on MySpace. But as far as actually sitting down to fully digest albums and mixes, I only get to do that when I’m traveling or in the car. But I do try to schedule chores around the house around particular radio shows - taking a half hour to do the dishes during DJ Enuff or Mr Cee’s Old School At Noon.
4AM: Best gig ever?
NC: Hmmm - there’s been a bunch of really good ones. “End Times” with Caps N Jones a year or two ago (Switch was randomly there and introduced himself at the end of the night, I was geeked) and the recent Wale “Mixtape About Nothing” release party are two local ones that come to mind right away. Whenever I play with Diplo it’s always fun - just this Sunday we did the Mad Fools party in Central Park and the afterparty at Santos Party House, and over the past year we rocked New Year’s Eve in San Francisco, the New Yorker Festival (old folks get loose!) and a Mad Decent party at Studio B that was the first NYC Blaqstarr show. They were all great.
4AM: Worst gig ever?
NC: Not gonna hurt anyone’s feelings by naming the corporate event in question…
4AM: Most glamourous star studded models and bottles gig ever?
NC: Do “hipster celebrities” count? Lets keep that bag of snakes closed, I’m gonna go with this private Rihanna show at Highline Ballroom that ended up being really fun and unpretentious. I was worried about having to corny it up but I mostly played dancehall.
4AM: Best request ever?
NC: A girl asked for Outkast “Bombs Over Bagdhad” during a set of fast tracks. Yes, of course I can do that!
4AM: Worst request ever?
NC: Bee Gees.
4AM: First record ever bought?
NC: The first records I bought with my own money were Guns N Roses Use Your Illusion 1 and 2, but the first record I ever picked out in a store was the Garbage Pail Kids soundtrack. I couldn’t tell you any songs that were on it, I just loved the Garbage Pail Kids. Who doesn’t?
4AM: Last record you bought?
NC: The Syclops I’ve Got My Eye On You CD. The last mp3 was Lee Jones “Aria” on Beatport.
4AM: First DJ mix that made you say “this is what I want to do” to yourself?
NC: I was collecting records and listening to DJs on the radio all my life, but it wasn’t until the summer I graduated college that I realized it was where I wanted to go with music (which is pretty late in the scheme of things - I had been playing in bands and things like that up to that point). There were a few mixes I heard all around the same time that made the lightbulb go off - Spinbad’s ’80s tapes, Mark Ronson’s promo mix for Digiwaxx for his Here Comes The Fuzz album, and most blatantly, Hollertronix’s Never Scared. They were each presenting music that I liked in new combinations - I figured it would be fun to do that on my own.
4AM: Describe the perfect weekend
NC: Friday night getting real paid, Saturday night going to someone else’s party as a private citizen (but still drinking for free), Sunday walking around (no rain), catching a movie and a good meal.
4AM: Favorite place in NYC to DJ?
NC: My apartment. Sorry, city, but you are going through a “transitional period” right now.
4AM: Favorite DJs/producers right now that are not on Fools Gold?
4AM: What song have you played out so bad that you never want to hear it again?
NC: There’s always a time and place for Calabria horns. ALWAYS.
4AM: Best live show you have ever seen?
NC:Portishead sounded amazing at Coachella but the show had no atmosphere. For me, the best shows are always the ones where the artists defy nature and technical difficulties to pull through, that “oh shit!” factor is unbeatable. Feist played at the Fader SXSW tent in 2005 and the wind nearly knocked her over but she just got more and more psyched by it, almost possessed. Peedi Crakk played at the Fader CMJ space two years ago after getting lost in Chinatown, pulling up to the spot minutes before curfew, and still killing it.
4AM: You used to be the editor of Fader correct?
NC: You like that segue right? I was an associate editor there for three years, before leaving to DJ and work on Fool’s Gold full-time last July.
4AM: What was the important thing you learned from working there?
NC: I had no magazine or music industry experience whatsoever when I started - I wasn’t even trying to be a writer, I was just asked to do some stories and interviews, they liked my style, and the job sprouted from there. It was total school for me. I got to travel for the first time in my life and see different artists operate in their home environments. I witnessed records go from creation to label to PR to magazines to stores (and got to learn from other people’s mistakes for free!)
4AM: What should we look out for in the Nick Catchdubs future?
NC: I just finished a mixtape for Timbaland’s new artist Izza Kizza , and an all-Fool’s Gold mix for a 2xCD compilation we’re doing with Scion. I’m really slow on the production side, but I’m working on remixes for El Guincho (out on Mad Decent) and U-God from Wu Tang Clan’s new solo single. I did a remix for MIA’s “Bamboo Banger” that is supposed to (finally) come out as well on XL. I’m working on some original music too, so I can actually put out a record of my own on my label!
4AM: What shoud we look out for in the Fools Gold future?
NC: Tons of records - Kavinsky, Treasure Fingers, Sammy Bananas, Four Color Zack and Pretty Titty, Jokers of The Scene, Nacho Lovers, Trackademicks, Bag Raiders, Congorock, Crookers, LA Riots, Malente, Kid Sister’s full album, that Scion comp, and some surprises of course…
4AM: Favorite Simpsons episode?
NC: Just one? That’s un-possible! I love them all. 22 Short Films about Springfield is my favorite now, but it always changes. Itchy And Scratchy And Poochie is up there too.
01. Pase Rock “Get Money Kids”
02. 50 Cent “I Get Money (Catch On 45)”
03. Trap House “Step Into”
04. Bad Yard Club “In De Ghetto (GrandTheft Remix)”
05. Dukeyman “Shine”
06. DJ Sega “Everybody Handz Up”
07. Machines Don’t Care “Juggs”
08. Mr Vegas “Round Of Applause”
09. Moby “I Love To Move In Here (Crookers Bass In Here Mix)”
10. Nacho Lovers “Acid Life”
11. Jamie Anderson and Content “Body Jackin”
12. DJ Big Red “Jakybodi”
13. DJ Will Roc “Replay Again”
14. Loco Dice “Pimp Jackson Is Talking Now!!!”
15. Lil Bo Tweak “K Rizzle”
16. 2 Bad Mice “Hold It Down”
17. Bassbin Twins “Woppa”
18. Loefah “It’s Yours”
19. Big Tuck “Not A Stain On Me”
20. Busta Rhymes “I Got Bass”
NC: I didn’t want to add to the pile of “new music” mixes with interchangeable tracklists - some of this is brand new, some of it isn’t out yet, some of it is “recent vintage” (or old as hell but new to me), but it all has a nice swag to it. Retro? Not retro? Most of my current favorites have similar elements (throwback house/rave samples, fast raps, dancehall vocals, breakbeats, sometimes all in the same song) so I figured, why not put a bunch together for a picture of where my head is at this summer? I hope you enjoy the listen, I had fun connecting the dots.
Pase Rock “Get Money Kids” 50 Cent “I Get Money (Catch On 45)”
“Get Money Kids” is far and away my favorite song of the past few months, it’s like Pase and Eli sat down at the computer and said “Man, the Juice soundtrack really needs more hip-house…” I usually mix it live into some sped-up Serato loops of 50 and Milk Dee to keep the $$$ theme alive.
Trap House “Step Into”
Way too many WUBBA WUBBA WUBBA basslines lately, but this one still manages to stand out - a crowd-pleaser that breaks the formula juuust enough. Thanks, Australia.
Bad Yard Club “In De Ghetto” (GrandTheft Remix)
On the school bus everyone knew chants from club songs like “Beat that bitch with a bat…” and “It’s time for the percolator…” from the older kids, but no one really knew it as “house music.” It wasn’t until a party in 6th or 7th grade when this girl played “Witch Doktor” and “In De Ghetto” on cassingle that I realized a whole separate thing was going on. Sammy Bananas hit me a few weeks ago with this new mix of “In De Ghetto” by DJ GrandTheft of the Eh! Team, it chops up the original without getting too flagrant.
Dukeyman “Shine”
Shyne finally gets out this year. You know he converted to Judaism in prison? L’chaim!
DJ Sega “Everybody Handz Up”
As we continue on with the Bad Boy flips, this track is a MONSTER. I think it is gonna be on the “DJ Sega Saves Hip-Hop” EP that’s coming soon.
Machines Don’t Care “Juggs”
Lots of goodies on the MDC album, but this one is a particular favorite. Best dancehall song on the subject since Vybz Kartel “Breast Specialist”?!?
Mr Vegas “Round Of Applause” Moby “I Love To Move In Here (Crookers Bass In Here Mix)”
The Vegas song really just a vocal and some handclaps, so it’s a lot of fun to loop other shit up on top, and Crookers made it easy with their open drum intro (PS - excellent remix package on the new Moby single!) I cut the Grandmaster Caz verse with cue points but that’s not because he isn’t awesome - a few years ago Ayres and I hung out with the legend himself at the Heineken “Amsterjam” festival on Randall’s Island, where Caz was MCing the mash-up tent, also starring Diplo, DJ P, Princess Superstar and Matt and Fancy from Fannypack. Viva 2005! I think I bought Fantastic Four “Thing Hands” at Target when we got back to Brooklyn that day.
Nacho Lovers “Acid Life”
Obviously I’m biased, but this is one amazing-ass record. Something old, something new…lots more from Toronto’s premier techno scholars on Fool’s Gold very soon.
Jamie Anderson and Content “Body Jackin”
DJ Big Red “Jakybodi”
I didn’t know about this remake until A-Trak started playing it on the last label tour. It’s been in my rotation ever since, with the DJ Big Red track batting clean-up.
DJ Will Roc “Replay Again”
Dance music took so heavily from Baltimore club over the past few years, and now the veterans are going off in new directions of their own. It’s inspiring to see a label like Unruly reinvent themselves - the recent King Tutt and Chavy Boys EPs and this hypnotic, electronic Will Roc track are some of their best.
Loco Dice “Pimp Jackson Is Talking Now!!!”
I know absolutely nothing about Loco Dice, but this has been a late-night sureshot of mine, it bumps like a less zany Detroit Grand Pubahs. “We in Brooklyn baby, this is how we get down!”
Lil Bo Tweak “K Rizzle”
2 Bad Mice “Hold It Down”
Trevor Loveys and Co’s stuff as Lil Bo Tweak manages to feel incredibly current while referencing jams of yesteryear with all the samples and even the name (Lil Mo Yin Yang, anyone?). Conversely, the 2 Bad Mice came out in 1991 and sounds like it could have been made this morning.
Bassbin Twins “Woppa”
Loefah “It’s Yours”
I wish more dubstep felt like these two instead of zzzzzzzzzz.
Big Tuck “Not A Stain On Me”
Had to drop straight out of the Loefah with this. The beat is just a Beastie Boys loop, but goddamn! Another recent favorite that never really broke in NYC. Dallas rappers’ haircuts are too crazy for us.
Busta Rhymes “I Got Bass”
This isn’t a half-assed “A Millie” - Bangladesh is doing some neat shit with the Chuck D sample chorus and oddly-timed edits, and Busta’s flow is off the wall. “This shit be soundin like a thousand mosquitos buzzin/ Like hmm hmm hmm, hmm hmm, hmm hmm…”
Typically, you will find me listening to music that is a bit rough around the edges. Past, think Minor Threat, Descendents, Gorilla Biscuits. Present, The Death Set, Infants, Dead Kids. Music that is doused with a bit of hardcore and punk that has shaped a lot of the rowdier music I listen to. There is the less abrasive, sweet, endearing music that is melancholic, good-natured and has a wide appeal to many these days. If you are The Frail and you have producers such as The Toxic Avenger and DoBERMAN tweaking some of your tunes, you’re sure to get some proper distorted dancefloor appeal!
Emerging out of San Francisco a little over a year ago, indie electro-pop duo Daniel Lannon and Kevin Durr combined their efforts to create a charming sound and called themselves The Frail. A few short months later, they put out their first 4 track EP, “Count on This” and a month after, signed to local label, Tricycle Records. They just did a West coast tour and are hitting the East coast in June. They’ll be back in the studio in between time, to finish up their next 5-6 track EP, “Firefly”.
So what can we expect? “Firefly” will have some older reworked material as well as some brand new surprises in store! As The Frail continue to explore and grow, they’ve been experimenting with a few producers who are giving them a harder edge that is sure to end up on the dirty dancefloor. With a new remix by The Toxic Avenger and a few others being remixed by the likes of Buddy Akai, Dj Shh, DoBERMAN, (likin what he did with “Count on This”) LeRaided, After Midnight and perhaps one by Villains, The Frail are heading towards some new unchartered territory!
Check their My Space for updates, tour dates, other songs and remixes and if you’re in San Francisco, CA on 22nd of April, catch them at the Independent (ticket + rsvp info here) alongside The Teenagers!!
Ultra 8201 just made my day . . . I am so excited, I am so excited! (and perhaps living under a rock?!?!?)
I LOVE me some Presets, I wonder if their ears are ringing, because I was listening to their earlier releases, “Beams” & “Girl and the Sea” this afternoon and talking to my girl Lynnel about when they were finally going to releasetheir new LP - “APOCALYPSO“. This news is wicked awesome.
The Presets were my first introduction to Modular, which lead to being turned on to Cut Copy, and all the rest. I very vividly remember playing “Girl and the Sea” to death the month I made the decision to leave Chicago and move to New York. It was a bittersweet time, and that EP, and particularly, the title track “Girl and the Sea” were the soundtrack of my life back then. I think I shed a tear or 2 on a few occasions. Luckily, “Girl and the Sea” was followed by “Kitty in the Middle”, and that track is all “sexy time”, so I didn’t stay emo for long. But, its cool, because whenever I hear these songs, it totally takes me back. *Sigh*, music is pretty amazing like that, the way it triggers memories, thoughts, feelings, experiences. Gotta love it!
I have been lucky to see them live several times, when they opened for The Rapture, and they’re even BETTER live, then when recorded and “studiofied”, which is a rarity for most acts. I don’t know which show to go to in NY? Maybe both?
The Presets Tour Dates
03-21 Manchester, England - The Warehouse Project
03-22 Middlesbrough, England - Empire
03-23 Liverpool, England - Chibuku @ Barfly
03-29 Sydney, Australia - V Festival
03-30 Gold Coast, Australia - V Festival
04-05 Melbourne, Australia - V Festival
04-06 Perth, Australia - V Festival
04-26 Maitland, Australia - Groovin the Moo
05-03 Townsville, Australia - Groovin the Moo
05-20 Los Angeles, CA - El Rey Theatre *
05-21 San Francisco, CA - Mezzanine *
05-22 Portland, OR - Doug Fir Lounge *
05-23 Seattle, WA - Nectar Lounge *
05-24 Vancouver, British Columbia - Plaza Club *
05-26 Salt Lake City, UT - Urban Lounge *
05-27 Denver, CO - Larimer Lounge *
05-29 Minneapolis, MN - Triple Rock Social Club *
05-30 Chicago, IL - Abbey Pub *
05-31 Toronto, Ontario - Anti *
06-01 Montreal, Quebec - Cabaret Music Hall *
06-02 Boston, MA - Paradise *
06-04 Brooklyn, NY - Music Hall of Williamsburg *
06-05 New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom *
06-06 Philadelphia, PA - Johnny Brenda’s *
06-07 Washington, DC - Rock and Roll Hotel
*with Walter Meego (I have their new album in my possession, but haven’t had time to listen to it yet, dammit!)
It is not an exaggeration to say that Star Wars was a significant piece of my youth. As a child of the seventies, it was nothing less than unprecedented in its scale and carefree flow and colorful iconic characters… and the awesome weaponry, dude, radical. It cuts and scabs the wound at the same time!! You know what I’m talking about!!
LAZER SWORD are LL and LANDO KAL and their epicenter is San Francisco California, where they plot subvertive chaos with fellow evil genius GHOSTS ON TAPE, from their lair in the Mission District.
Be sure to peep their various My Space profiles as these guys all have some skills in spades on their own, and when they come together, its major devastation, with a rich blend of self-cited influences from high concentrations of Bay Area hip hop, electro, Jamaican herbage, 80s synth music, psych rock and J Dilla and these influences reverberate throughout their music. Their live show sounds nothing short of devastating, an improvised full-on remix of this, that and everything, that differs every time and kills, throughout. I’m fiending to get these guys to Tokyo.
Lazer Sword’s first EP on BEAR Records is coming soon. In the meantime, some of you may remember the downbeat glitchy burner “Gucci Sweatshirt” which made blog rounds a little bit ago. I’m also really digging their new stuff, particularly the distorted “Dirty Industrial” and the hard-edged cut-up funk madness of “Sympathy For Miss Veronica”:
Last night I was listening to The French Kicks 2002 release “One Time Bells”, and today, I received an email informing me a new album is on the way. I live for this kind of irony, and its quite funny, as it seems to be happening a lot as of late?!?!
French Kicks are set to release “Swimming”, the band’s second album on Vagrant Records, the release will be available exclusively on iTunes April 1st, and in stores May 20th.
Produced and mixed entirely by the band, the album features standout tracks “Abandon”,“Said So What” and “Over The World”.
“Abandon” is quite emotive, filled with beautiful, haunting melodies, & excellent guitar riffs. Clearly the band’s approach to producing “Swimming” has proved to work well for them. Their concept on making a more personal, thoughtful, “in the moment”, album shines through. The overall songwriting, and sound quality has naturally evolved. The album mix is clear, crisp - brighter, than previous releases, yet they strike a perfect balance, as they maintain the gritty raw feel of a live performance in the recording.
“On this record, we hoped to capture the joy of friends playing together in a relaxed way. We used a lot of first and second takes and tried to preserve a sense of immediacy and discovery that comes from putting things down before you really have a chance to think too hard. It’s bolder, and at the same time more intimate, than anything we’ve done” - guitarist/vocalist - Josh Wise
“Swimming is by far the closest we’ve come to getting the sound we wanted.”- vocalist Nick Stumpf
The French Kicks will be launching a US tour on April 1st with the first of three shows at Mercury Lounge in New York City.
Get ready to lose your fucking heads as JFK and Al-P of MSTRKRFT have kicked off their U.S. tour starting in Seattle, 26th of February, hitting a load of cities, SxSW, and finishing off at WMC in Miami on the 28th of March!! More than likely your body will be jacked beyond control, your ears will be blown and if you weren’t already, you’re sure to become a hardcore MSTRKRFT lover. By the end of it all, head in hands you will be looking up at the boys saying look what you’ve done to me.
Along the way, the guys will be joined by some STELLAR favorites, THE BLOODY BEETROOTS!!!!!! Couldn’t quite believe it when I saw the billing, especially since two of those shows with them will be in Chicago and NYC!! LA RIOTS, FELIX CARTAL, LAZARO CASANOVA and Z-TRIP will also make appearances on the tour!!!!!!!!! SICKKKKKNESSSS
++ We are giving away 6 FREE tickets to 3lucky people – 2 tix per person – for the Chicago show on Saturday, 8th of March!
All you have to do is subscribe to the Trash email list –located on upper right side of site –using the code word: MSTRKRFT. Winners will be randomly picked and notified by March 6th. GOOD LUCK!
To purchase advance tickets for $20, you can do so at: Want Tickets
Feb 26 2008 NEUMOS (ALL AGES), SEATTLE 8:00P
Feb 27 2008 HAWTHORNE THEATER, PORTLAND
Feb 28 2008 LEGENDS @ HARD ROCK, SAN DIEGO
Feb 29 2008 HENRY FONDA THEATER, LOS ANGELES
Mar 1 2008 NOISEPOP FESTIVAL at MIGHTY (21+) SAN FRANCISCO 8:00P
Mar 2 2008 EL REY (ALL AGES), LOS ANGELES 8:00P
Mar 3 2008 JET (21+), LAS VEGAS 8:00P
Mar 5 2008 BELLY UP (ALL AGES), ASPEN 8:00P
Mar 6 2008 THE CHURCH, DENVER 10:00P
Mar 7 2008 STUDIO B (19+), BROOKLYN 8:00P Mar 8 2008 VISION (21+), CHICAGO 8:00P – WIN FREE tickets to this show!! + +
Mar 9 2008 THE TRALF (ALL AGES), BUFFALO 8:00P
Mar 11 2008 SNACKS @ 202 S. 13th St (21+), PHILADELPHIA 8:00P
Mar 12 2008 OTTOBAR (ALL AGES), BALTIMORE 8:00P
Mar 13 2008 MASQUERADE (18+), ATLANTA 8:00P
Mar 14 2008 RICH’S (18+), HOUSTON 8:00P
Mar 15 2008 SXSW @ VICE (FORMERLY EXHADOUS), AUSTIN 8:00P
Mar 16 2008 THE PALLADIUM (ALL AGES), DALLAS 8:00P
Mar 22 2008 METROPOLIS (18+), MONTREAL 8:00P
Mar 25 2008 MANSION, MIAMI 8:00P
Mar 28 2008 ULTRA MUSIC FESTIVAL, MIAMI 8:00P
I am a die hard Brian Jonestown Massacre fan. The documentary “Dig” featuring BJM and The Dandy Warhol’s has been put to use, by me, as both a “thermometer” and “prescription”. Many a time, when getting into heavy music conversations, with like minded music people, inevitably, i’ve asked them, “have you seen Dig?”, and 3/4 of the true music heads have. On the flipside, when i’ve encountered someone, who thinks they understand music, and they obviously don’t have a clue, I tell them - “listen, watch Dig, and then we’ll talk”. I’ve purchased Dig on 2 separate occasions, borrowed them both out, on separate occasions, and never got them back. You people, you know who you are, and my only solace in knowing that you’re probably never going to give them back, is that maybe you actually watched it, and “got it”.
So last Thursday a magical email appears in my inbox . . .
From: Alexandra||Magnum PR Sent: Thursday, February 07, 2008 6:22 PM To: Audiopimpstress@trashmenagerie.com Subject: The Brian Jonestown Massacre - My Bloody Underground
My initial reaction - No. Freaking. Way. Anton’s written a new album. I was intrigued, and to say I was excited, it isn’t exactly the right word to describe it. Its more like I was captivated, and drawn in, just by the idea alone of him having created new material, and I hadn’t even heard it yet, and F!@#!!! I wasn’t going to be able to drop everything and take it all in, because I had to leave. I was going to a show at Union Pool, Reno Bo and Silver Rockets we’re playing with The Hiss, and if I didn’t leave now, I was going to miss the show, and I wanted to hear them all, so Anton would have to wait, for now.
So, fast forward, say 6 hours later, and how or why, I got to where I ended up, is not important. But its kind of made me think, yeah, there is definitely something cosmic out there in the universe that’s very strongly tied to music. I have never met Anton before now, but I have been mystified by the “legend” that surrounds him, his music and his crazy genius. So to be sitting next to him, drinking vodka and trying to keep up with him while he spoke about about art, politics, children, life, love, hate, dogs, and just about anything and everything you can imagine, was kind of surreal. I was also grilled, yelled at, but that comes with the territory. Anton has beat up his band in the middle of a performance, so this was a compliment. He was considerate, I was cold, so he borrowed me his sweater while we continued to drink more vodka and he showed me all the video’s he produced for the new album. I also got to see his new tattoo, and I got to sit in on a session - him and Paul Dillion (Silver Rockets) played new and old songs, that they had both written. Anton graciously played “Nevertheless” for me, one of my most loved BJM songs, but made sure to remind me, he wasn’t an object.
Something that stuck with from that night, was when Anton explained to me that “Trying is Lying”. I paused, I had to think about it or a minute, and upon further clarification, yeah, I agreed, trying IS lying. Point being, if you’re going to do something in life, anything, whatever it might be, and actually take time to consider it, just do it already, don’t fucking waste time talking about it, don’t “try” to make it happen, make it fucking happen. Otherwise, your a liar - you’re lying to yourself, your lying to the people around you. Like Yoda said - “There is no try, only do”. So there you have it, Anton is a great Jedi master. From what universe, I really don’t know, but I was on his planet that night.
As I write this now, and think back to last week, it was all very, very, bizarre, and it all came together so randomly, but all things considered, how could that be the case? The whole experience, every single part of it, being where I was, having these interactions, I feel like something about me, or the way I think, changed. And what is it about me that might have changed? I have no idea.
What follows below is the press release for the album, with links to the video’s Anton created, they are amazing, I don’t think any one expected anything less. I hope you’re able get as much out of them as I did.
After spending time writing and recording in Liverpool, England and Reykjavik, Iceland; My Bloody Underground will be the thirteenth full-length album released by the band, set for release on Anton Newcombe’s own record label “a recordings” on April 15th 2008.
Thirteenth time’s a charm for a band who’s name a portmanteau of the original and founding member of The Rolling Stones’ Brian Jones and the infamous mass cult suicide at Jonestown, Guyana in 1978. Fans and critics of Brian Jonestown Massacre who have eagerly awaited a new album for a little over 4 years now will not be disappointed with its musical content, quality and controversy to follow.
The opening track titled “Bring Me The Head Of Paul McCartney On Heather Mill’s Wooden Peg (Dropping Bombs On The White House)” begins and soars into an echoing wave of tambourines and trancelike acoustics, that continues for 12 more tracks and 75.87 minutes, stirring visions of sunny Californian communes to New York City bars on the Lower East Side. From Rishikesh to Reykjavik, the entire album provides provocative glimpses into Anton Newcombe’s head, both the darkness and the light, so clearly and so beautifully self-produced.
The Brian Jonestown Massacre has been somewhat of a musical commune for many respected musicians over the years, a band from the 1990’s that has spurned other great bands ever since. Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, The Warlocks, The Silver Rockets, The Black Angels, The Raveonettes, The Dilettantes, Ride (to name a few) are all part of this musical family tree.
Indeed, this is a band that has witnessed many incarnations, since its inception in San Francisco in 1995. Two-dozen band members later and numerous “ups and downs” (some have been famously sensationalized in the media), the one thing that has always remained consistent for this psychedelic-cult-like-collective, is front man Mr. Anton Alfred Newcombe.
A man and artist many are eager to dismiss as obnoxious and unworthy of the attention he receives. Others however, deem him simply as vulnerable in this world he roams and hugely misunderstood whilst doing so. Like many prolific and artistic “madmen” before his and our time, dare we sum all of the above and categorize Newcombe as a one of the musical geniuses of our time?
Maybe it’s too early or controversial to say, but tracks from My Bloody Underground are certainly good indications whether such a “characteristic” is worthy of his nature. “We Are The Niggers Of The World” (track 4) is a song Anton wrote when he was just 9 years old, you can decide for yourself.
Regardless of the spectacles and debate that surround the man and the band, it’s the music that matters. Regardless of the sanity and social standards that some feel is relevant to art, it’s this album that reaffirms the greatness that is The Brian Jonestown Massacre, the songs seem to be channeled from somewhere greater than where we dwell. My Bloody Underground truly is a fantastic album.
My Bloody Underground still offers some of the old Massacre sound but has a more experimental and avant-garde approach to it, enticing and mesmerizing, with its darkness, its weight and rhythmic enchantment. A true testament that this really is the only band of our time and only album of it’s time to sound this way and be so damn good.
Who needs the Nineties or the Sixties when you have something that encapsulates both, with the added twist, trials and triumphs of the modern world we live in and the world that Anton Alfred Newcombe shares with us.
From Bunsen burned dolls to being tattooed on the inside of his lip, all on camera and soon to be available on DVD - a series of videos made for each song on the album My Bloody Underground, by Anton Newcombe. Never one to hold things back, he’s already made them available online for you to view and share…
Ghostland tour dates- coming soon to a city near you
03/08/08 Langerado Music Festival Everglades Nat. Park, Florida
03/13/08 House of Blues New Orleans, Louisiana
03/15/08 St. Patrick’s Day Party Dallas, Texas
03/28/08 Webster Hall New York, New York
03/29/08 Nightclub 9:30 Washington, D.C.
04/03/08 Crystal Ballroom Portland, Oregon
04/04/08 Showbox at The Market Seattle, Washington
04/05/08 Showbox at The Market Seattle, Washington
04/17/08 The Mezzanine San Francisco, California
04/18/08 Henry Fonda Theatre Los Angeles, California
04/19/08 Fox Theatre Boulder, Colorado
05/02/08 Metro Chicago, Illinois
05/03/08 St. Andrews Hall Detroit, Michigan
05/16/08 Joshua Tree Music Festival Joshua Tree, California
05/17/08 Southern Comfort Music Experience Atlanta, Georgia
06/13/08 Bonnaroo Music Festival Manchester, Tennessee
