I have been waiting for Daft Punk’s new album Random Access Memories since their last album, the soundtrack to Tron: Legacy. Although Daft Punk purists have been waiting for the next great album to drop from the reclusive French duo, we can satisfy the need for their incredible blend of disco, house and electronic music by going through their discography, replaying “Get Lucky” over and over and over, or we can go see One More Time, a Daft Punk Tribute Band that puts on a live show that can satiate fans, to an extent.
Playing Upstate Concert Hall with its low ceilings, the band set up their pyramid, a replica of the 2006/7 Alive Tour stage setup, but lighting director Cullen Noon noted that they were missing two 17′ poles that form an apex behind the pyramid at 15′ high. It wasn’t a downside to the show, but would have been cool to see. Speaking of lights – throughout the night, the lighting was batting nearly 1.000, varying with the set as it progressed, timing it just right on certain lyrics, highlighted by a disco ball used at the perfect moments of the 80 minute set.
Musically, the show felt short. I had high hopes for this show and by the time the crowd was warmed up, it felt as though we were already on the latter half of the set. Time flies when you’re having fun, and remixes and mashups of songs added to it, but something was missing – perhaps a large, sweaty crowd massed towards the stage, thumping to the beat of every track without a skip – but we were in Clifton Park and the crowd was around 100 at best, so that was part of it. But still, Daft Punk music is never a reason to not dance.
The music was everything you would expect it to be – the hits, the rare tracks, a bit of everything, including the new track that debuted only a week prior. The set started out as the Alive Tour opener – “Robot Rock”, “Oh Yeah”, “Touch It”, “Technologic”, then departed for a mix of tracks, a bit of everything for the crowd. “Derezzed” from the Tron: Legacy soundtrack was a welcome surprise and made the pyramid light up something spectacular in varying sweeps of color. A deep remix of “Harder Better Faster Stronger” was evidence the duo, R & B, were not just pressing play but spinning a unique set for us. “Overture” > “Crescendolls” was a sweet combo, as was the spirited version of “Human After All”. The disco ball was timed perfectly on the robot-speak lyrics on “Human”. “Get Lucky” was gives a standard mix and provided a spark to the crowd at the right moment. An encore of “One More Time” was expected but still welcomed by all, as the tune is likely the most popular of all the band’s songs over the years.
For those who still won’t be content with Random Access Memories after it comes out later this month, fear not! The duo will perform at Website Hall in NYC in August, with a new live show to reflect the new album. Since Daft Punk isn’t planning to go out on tour anytime soon, the closest we’ll get is One More Time.
The Manhattan Project, one of the northeast’s newest powerhouses, came on to the scene in 2010 and is further making a name for itself with the release of Atomic Bomb Party vol. 3.
The album’s opening track, “Endless Nights,” builds from the start into an all out barrage of sonic output layered with tasteful precision. Deep tonal exploration collides with danceable grooves for a menacing yet satisfying start to the party. Police sirens scream out in the background as Shawn Drogan’s drums continue to build the track for one last explosion of sound. The synth-heavy “Full Bounce” eases its way in with Charlie Lindner at the helm before the beats hit. Enter a layer of dub bass that tactfully wobbles in the background and the track is in full swing with a plethora of hihat chops. The breakdown is soothing and reflects a great contrast and range in the duo’s highs and lows. Beautiful vocals come and go taking the mind with them and returning it to the track just in time for the beat. “Bitcrusher” welcomes powerful vocals, a couple of sizable builds and captivating melodies for a sonic ride that may be the album’s shortest track in length, but also may be its strongest in regards to fan appeal.
What starts out as light percussion and spacey synth builds oh so slowly with a focus on effects, before the bass enters the picture and the listeners fins themselves in the full swing of “Hiroshima.” The combination of middle eastern and Asian influences is evident and reflects a well-round arsenal. The EP concludes with “Aftermath,” a piece that begins with an almost apocalyptic buzz, chirping birds and the eventual warning of an “emergency.” Heavy bass drops and the composition takes off with soaring highs, clashing with deep lows in the albums’ ultimate build and release. The Manhattan Project’s overall output far exceeds that of a typical duo, though nothing about this duo or their music is typical. They are the past in their utilization of worldly influences. They are the present in their tasteful innovation. Atomic Bomb Party vol. 3 offers listeners a fresh perspective on a constantly developing music.
J-man’s Conversation With Shawn Drogan(Drums):
J-man: What are your thoughts on the new album?
Shawn: We’re really excited about this one for a couple reasons; It’s very different than the previous two EP’s. Not only are the BPM’s of each song slower than the last, we explore different rhythms and feels on this one. There’s still a lot of variety like the last and it still sounds like us, but I think people will hear some evolution in the music. Another reason, is that this was an important one to get right and I think we did it! It’s been two years since we’ve released a studio album and we felt like we had to take it up a level this time around. A lot of the music came together fairly quickly in the weeks going into the studio. We only had a certain amount of time to write songs we felt good about and I feel we ended up producing some of our best stuff to date.
J-man: What is your thought of the direction of “mainstream” electronic music and where do you see TMP in relation to a lot of the mainstream music?
Shawn: I think music in general is in a great place! Popular music is popular for a reason. Our music definitely hits on certain levels of mainstream, but also offers something more for people that want something deeper.
J-man: Can you talk about why it is you gentleman opt out of utilizing laptops in your live performances?
Shawn: We both come from a very instrumental background and wanted to utilize that element mainly when we started, but take it somewhere new. We never really planned it out that way, but as we started to develop our sound, we didn’t feel a need for laptops to perform. Now I guess it kind of sets us apart in a way.
J-man: What does TMP have coming up this spring/summer that you guys are most exited about?
Shawn: We’ll be hitting a lot of new cities in the next few months which is always fun, and we’ll be announcing some more festivals very soon.
With Daft Punkslowly leaking the collaborators of their upcoming album Random Access Memories, anticipation is at an all time high as fans await the release of the first single, “Get Lucky”, in the coming weeks. The reclusive French duo have no plans to tour just yet and even when they tour, tickets are likely to be impossible to get and in select cities throughout the country. Fortunately, the tribute act One More Time is filling a void with an incredible live show that mimics Daft Punk’s live act, to the best degree that one can imitate such a spectacular show.
Pete Mason: For those who have never seen a Daft Punk tribute such as One More time, how closely, if at all, does your stage show replicate that of Daft Punk?
R & B: Our show has been perfected and grown into a FULL scale LED pyramid stage show complete with a lot of the same equipment used during the Alive tour. There are even sections in the set that replicate the same lighting cues as Daft Punk’s Alive tour. From the chromed helmets, to the light suits, and finally the encore performance, our show is as close as your going to get to the actual band. This is a project heavily researched and perfected with the help of the hardcore Daft fanbase.
PM: What makes Daft Punk continue to be the gold standard of Electronic Music, especially since the surge of dubstep in the past few years?
R: Daft Punk are the pioneers of modern electronic music of our generation. In the 70’s, we had Kraftwerk, In the 90’s, it’s DP. Daft Punk’s show in ’07 was the very first large scale electronic production show that paved the way for such artists and their large stage shows, i.e. Deadmau5.
N: It’s also in their sound. For instance, Daft Punk has grown to be a successful group because of their appreciation for a “true to time” quality which has been seen on each of their albums. We intend to model our sets around that same feel by using songs and samples which fit “that” mold, instead of pushing for a contemporary sound such as dubstep, or complextro.
PM: Is there a particular Daft Punk album, or era, that you identify with in particular, or love to play more than any other album?
R: Our set is heavily flourished with HumanAfterAll, Since it was this era that the band had premiered their full-scale light show for the first time.
B: It’s this kind of inspiration we kept going back to while programming our current show with the likes of the Tron soundtrack and of course our fav, Homework. There’s a little bit of everything throughout the set.
PM: How has the lack of Daft Punk live shows necessitated the arrival of a band such as One More Time?
R & B: There’s such a heavy fanbase that wants to see the band perform more live. We grew from researching the Daft fanbase and are simply a living and breathing interpretation of all that work put into one. After we started this show, Daft Punk fans have continuously come up to us and thanked us for bringing our interpretation to the local and theater venues that wouldn’t be able to accommodate the real band. Our show is a presentation of material and fan requests in a new and unique way.
PM: Have you had any contact with the reclusive duo?
R & B- We have not.
PM: How eager are you anticipating the new album Random Access Memories?
R & B: We are both very excited for the release. The 10 second clip that debuted on SNL, exhibited our favorite element and style of electronic music, Disco.
PM: What other influences have had an impact on your musical education and brought you to play electronic music?
R: While my main influences in EDM stem from Daft Punk itself, I regularly listen to a lot of classic and indie rock. My musical taste was heavily influenced from college radio back when I was in school. This is where I got my start at as DJ for the first time.
B: I’d say an early love for electronic music, lent itself to loving the French house sound. Artists like Underworld and The Chemical Brothers led me into harder styles of music as a child. When I originally saw Daft Punk and their costumes, I immediately fell in love with the idea of electronic artists using stage presence in a more creative way. Everyone from Aphex Twin’s dancing bears to artists like Deadmau5 have pushed the scene into more entertaining dimensions; we’re just trying to pay tribute to the guys that started it all.
Bella Terra Festival originated in 2009 as a music, art and culture festival to raise funds for Berkshire County, Massachusetts Arts Scholarships.
Since 2009, the festival is no longer purely a benefit event, but instead a diverse mix within the art and music scene allowing many artists to showcase their work to a larger crowd. The festival puts a large focus on the green movement, inspiring their patrons to think globally and act locally (after all, Bella Terra translates to “Beautiful Earth” in both Spanish and Portuguese). Over the past few years the festival has shown a wide variety of support from many different organizations including Strangers Helping Strangers, Berkshire Environmental Action Team, Western Mass Labor Action, The Nature Conservancy and many more. Throughout the festival’s grounds you can see the dedication to the environmentally clean lifestyle. Aside from their righteous goal to the keep the earth beautiful, they also bring some pretty phenomenal musical acts to this quaint little farm town (so quaint, in fact, that you may find your camp site a stones throw from a grazing field of cows.) The location is absolutely beautiful and a great location to showcase a variety of different artists.
The past few years have boasted names such as Melvin Seals and JGB, Sucker Punch, Immortal Technique, Phutureprimitive, OTT, Max Creek, Lee Scratch Perry, The Mickey Hart Band, BoomBox, Hot Buttered Rum and many, many more. Clearly this festival covers a wide spectrum of musical tastes. This years initial lineup includes Emancipator, Liquid Stranger, Zach Deputy, Max Creek, Minnesota, Abakus, Cinnamon Chasers, Start Making Sense (Talking Heads tribute), Turkuaz, The Alchemystics, Arch Nemesis, Homeboy Sandman, Bastinado (powered by Reactable), Caravan of Thieves, Goosepimp Orchestra, Deejay Theory, Cheat Code, Dj Leila, Leave it On Stage, Digital $torm, Cosmal, The Edd, The Black Rebels, Danny Pease and The Regulators, Orange Television, Mentally Ill, Wolfman Conspiracy, Waylon Speed, Lion-Bird Soudsystem, Digital Dharma, Gang of Thieves, Great White Caps, Mass Air Flow, Voltran, Luzcid, The Chronicles, The Professors, Mass, Tweed, Outer Stylie, The Hornitz, Serotheft, Redshift and Iganic Soundsystem. The second announcement included one of dubstep’s number one names, Datsik, with Michael Menert who is the first solo artist to be signed to Pretty Lights Music. Also added was Ghostface Killah, Wu Tang Clan’s hip hop legend. This is sure to be another great festival for upstate New York.
The festival will be held August 15-18 on Gardner’s Farm in Stephentown, New York.
By the end of August it begins to sink in that festival season is coming to a close. It seems the Summer comes and goes in the blink of an eye, and with it goes the music, camping and late nights. Luckily, the season can come to a close with a festival like the Catskill Chill.
Over the past few years Catskill Chill has created quite the hype on the East coast festival scene. Not only are the artists, the vibe and the crowd incomparable but they offer real cabins for rent. This is a rare commodity for a festival site. After a long summer of porto-potties and tent showers it is refreshing to be able to return indoors for a quick shower, a quick nap in a real bed and feel refreshed and ready for the next day of music. The festival is set in gorgeous Hancock, New York at Camp Minglewood (also the set for the films Jason and Dirty Dancing.) Although the size of the festival has grown exponentially, doubling each year since 2010, the feeling still remained exclusive and organic. 2012’s Chill reached maximum capacity bringing the energy levels flooding from stage to stage all weekend long. From acts ranging from Yonder Mountain String Band, to Kung Fu, to Lotus it is evident that Catskill Chill covers a wide variety of genres appealing to all musical pallets.
This years lineup includes, The Meter Men featuring Zigaboo Modeliste, Leo Nocentelli, George Porter Jr, wsg Page McConell, Lotus, Conspirator, Galactic, Lettuce, Papadosio, Tea Leaf Green, Motet, Funk is Dead, Particle, Dopapod, Kung Fu, Raq, Sister Sparrow and The Dirty Birds, Brother’s Past, Orchard Lounge, Eric Krasno Band, Alan Evans Trio, Yarn, Headtronics, Cabinet & Cabinet Dead Set, Biodiesel, Consider The Source (acoustic), Ghost Owl, Jimkata, McLovins, American Babies, Twiddle, Turkuaz, Damn Right w/ DJ Logic, Shmeeans and the Expanded Consciousness, Leroy Justice, Z3, Brock Butler acoustic, Tom Hamilton & Friends, The Mantras, Fikus, Higher Organix, Viral Sound, Spiritual Rez, Lucid, The Primate Fiasco, Wobblesauce, Aqueous, Cosmic Dust Bunnies, Greenhouse Lounge, Cosmic Jibaros, Shwizz, Horizon Wireless, The Big Takeover, Capital Zen, Blueboy Productions (DJ set), Outlet, Speakerbot, Dan Collins, Greg D, Solaris, Cosmal, Fundimensionals and The Brummy Brothers.
Catskill Chill will be held September 608 at Camp Minglewood in Hancock, New York
For more information and news check out http://www.catskillchill.com/
It’s a sunny Wednesday afternoon in Austin, TX and Meg and Laura make their way to the Moonshine Grill on Red River Street to sit down for lunch with one of SXSW‘s must-see acts, the Swedish Synth Pop duo Icona Pop.
Mary Morgan Craig: So how has SXSW been treating you so far?
Caroline Hjelt: Great! It couldn’t be better!
Aino Jawo: It’s really been good.
CH: Everyone warned us that it would be crazy and we can totally feel the vibe and the craziness.
MMC: But a good kind of crazy, right?
AJ: Yes, definitely!
CH: It’s all about the positive chaos!
Gauraa Shekhar: Totally! How was your show last night?
AJ: Our show was amazing! Well, at least the first one we did. The second would have been amazing but we blew the sound system out so we couldn’t go through. We just played one song. Our lovely fans that were standing there for hours were so disappointed so we were like, “we’re so going to make it up to you tonight.”
CH: We have four more gigs to go and we’re so excited!
GS: Well I know everyone asks you this question, and there are so many different versions of this story, but how exactly did you guys meet?
AJ: We met in 2009, and I was heartbroken. We have this amazing mutual friend called Emily and she would call me everyday for two weeks and she was like, “you have to get out of bed” and then one day she just came over and forced me out of bed and she took me to an amazing party. This woman here, Caroline, she was the one hosting the party. She used to throw a lot of good parties those days.
CH: My apartment was like the center of the party and everybody was welcome. We were having a lot of fun.
AJ: Basically the hippie collectives, really.
CH: But yeah, I met Aino there and it was love at first sight. We definitely felt like we had this special connection immediately. We went out dancing the whole night. When I woke up the next morning, I was a little bit nervous that it was just the wine talking. I really wanted it to work out because we started talking about how we should do something together but Aino called me the day after and she was like, “Hey, I’m on my way to your place with a computer and a bottle of wine” and we just started over a drum, writing our first song, and since that day we decided that, “Okay, we’re a band”. A lot of our friends were definitely laughing at us but we knew that “Yeah, this is great”.
AJ: When you think about it now, it’s kind of sick how I can kind of just laugh at all of the situations we put ourselves in because both me and Caroline are people who do stuff and then we think and sometimes it’s good but sometimes it’s really bad. But I guess that’s how we kind of put ourselves in chaotic situations and kind of rise out of it. I feel like you two are kind of the same!
GS: Yes, definitely. Story of our lives!
CH: I mean, if we don’t have enough chaos in our lives, we create it. That makes us so creative also!
AJ: Yeah, we’re two girls from Sweden sitting in a sofa riffing this song we wrote four years ago and now we’re just cruising around in America!
GS: And now you’re one of the must-see acts of SXSW. That’s amazing!
CH: Yeah, that’s crazy! It’s a little bit unreal and I have to pitch myself once a day.
MMC: So how’s the transition been from Sweden to the U.S?
CH: It’s been a major difference, of course. Sweden is a very small country, you know. But really, we don’t even have a home anymore. My home is wherever this beautiful lady is (points at Aino). That’s the thing that keeps me going. I feel very home and safe wherever we go because we’re always hanging out and we have each other.
AJ: We’re good at creating homes. We’re like snails, carrying everything within ourselves.
CH: For us to come over here and not just be in New York and L.A., but to actually go to places like Milwaukee and meet people who’ve been listening to our songs on the radio; it’s crazy. It means so much to us to be able to share that connection with our fans. We really do love our fans, they’re the best. They’re such rebels. They stand with their fist in the air and dance their asses off every night too.
MMC: Yeah, I mean, back at Syracuse, “I Love It” is the biggest pre-game song.
GS: Actually, we opened our radio show this semester with your song! It’s actually incredible to be sitting here a couple months down the line and actually be interviewing you. I mean when you talk about crossing boundaries, it’s amazing because Morgan’s from Boston and I’m from Jakarta, Indonesia and we’re in Syracuse listening to a Spanish DJ remix your song and here we are discussing it Austin.
AJ: Wow! I feel so honored! Thank you! That means so much to us. You go, girls. A friend of ours goes to school in Syracuse. We must definitely perform there sometime soon. She’s a fashion design major.
MMC: Speaking of style, who inspires you fashion wise?
CH: I think we’re all about feeling, you know. Especially when it comes to performing on stage. We wanna express how we feel when we sing that song. We want something that extends our movements, you know. Dramatic stuff. But if you’re thinking about icons, we love Prince, David Bowie, Patti Smith…
AJ: …and PJ Harvey, of course. With the leather pants, leather jacket, in white. Ah, she’s so cool. I love it. Not to mention the red lipstick. But we don’t really follow any trends, we’re really bad when it comes to that. In the beginning, we would kind of sewing our own stuff. The first time we were in Paris, Air France lost our luggage and then we ended up cutting and sewing our own stuff after that. We love the side of fashion when it comes from an arty perspective.
CH: When it comes to expressing ourselves, we’ve been to a lot of fashion weeks and we love it. Just the energy and the clothes, you know. Some people spend a whole year working on it and it’s cool because it’s chaos backstage but when they go out there everything is perfect. It’s so beautiful and well put together. We’re actually really bad at following trends though.
GS: It doesn’t even matter because you guys set them, really.
AJ: Aw, thank you!
GS: Well, you guys have an amazing stage presence. Is there any specific routine that you guys follow before you go on stage to pump yourselves up?
AJ: Oh, yeah. We call it the band tattoo. It’s kind of like a horn. We stand in a ring and choose one person that stands in the ring and we stand around the person, doing…well, it’s actually really embarrassing.
CH: Yeah, it’s really embarrassing. We do this rock pose and we scream, “YEAH!”. And you can feel the energy when you’re doing it. It’s really amazing! It’s kind of liberating!
AJ: It’s liberating and yet at the same time you feel like the biggest geek on Earth. But you do it because you can’t be any more geeky anyway. And really, whenever we don’t follow through with this routine, it turns into the worst show ever.
MMC: Yeah, definitely keep doing that! Do you ever get nervous before you take the stage? And if you do, how do you deal with it?
CH: Oh yes. When it comes to lifestyles, we want to keep it interesting for ourselves all the time so we can also keep it interesting for the people in the audience. I mean, I’m always nervous when I go onstage because we always keep on adding stuff so I’m like, “Shit, the synthesizer and the vocals should be different, etc…” I mean it’s a lot of stuff to think about but when you’re out there you don’t end up thinking so much, you just become one with the whole thing.
MMC: Yeah, I bet. So how did you start learning to DJ?
AJ: Well, we just threw ourselves out there and we couldn’t even insert a CD when we started. It started out with the fact that we had a lot of parties. We decided to move in together and we had a lot of parties at our apartment, so much so that the neighbors started to complain so we had to take the party to another place; I mean, we’ve been club kids since we were sixteen years old so we knew everyone and were like, “Please, can we have a club?” and the club owner was like, “Yeah, I know you’re gonna draw a lot of people there” so we started having clubs and we didn’t even know how to DJ so that was a problem. We got so much energy out of it. In the beginning we didn’t see ourselves as DJs, we saw ourselves as just changing songs but then we saw an interest growing out and we started to love it. It was a way of expressing ourselves.
CH: Yeah, I think it’s very important to start somewhere.
AJ: Yes, you have to dare to make mistakes. A lot of mistakes. Just learn from them. I mean, no one’s going to judge you for that, it’s very important to start somewhere. Worst comes worst, the crowd will be angry for messing up the song. But that’s the worst scenario. You just have to go to a club and practice. It’s crucial. You just have to do it so if you just play music that you love and have fun, it doesn’t matter if you make a few mistakes.
MMC: That’s great advice! Have you ever had people give you a lot of attitude?
AJ: Most definitely. We’ve been through a lot of shitty situations. Times when we would come into clubs and would try to play music and people would be like, “Who the hell are you”? It’s been terrible sometimes and I think that makes you become a stronger person. I mean, there are so many times when we went to clubs and guys have been DJing. So many guys DJing before us have been like, “So girls, this is the button you push to play a song and this is where you eject a CD”. I don’t think they mean to be condescending but they just don’t know better and I think we’re here to change it.
CH: Yes, and instead of trying to work against each other, girls should realize the power of supporting each other and building each other up. You have a lot to learn from each other and it would be so much better for everyone to understand that. That’s really important to remember. Sometimes you might feel like someone’s trying to pull you down but then you have to remember that that person is probably insecure. You should know better to do it back.
MMC: Solid advice.
GS: Who were your musical heroes growing up and what’s getting most play on your iPods right now?
AJ: Well, we love Daft Punk, Chemical Brothers, David Bowie, Patti Smith, PJ Harvey, Destiny’s Child. Also, the one hit wonders and the boy and girl bands. But I think there’s a lot of women like Tina Turner and Beyoncé that we really love. The most played song on our iPod–that’s tough.
MMC: What about recently added?
CH: We love the producer that we worked from the start, he produced the Rihanna single, “Stay”. We love that one a lot, we’ve been listening a lot to that. The Knife is great, too. A lot of Swedish bands, too, ha.
GS: Do you think it is true that you need music the most when you’re falling in and out of love?
AJ: Yes. It’s a good way to escape. Sometimes when you’re really sad, you just listen to a song and it helps. When you’re talking about love, either you feel more or you feel less. It’s very important to listen to the right kind of music.
CH: If you’re hurt, it’s important to let yourself cry. When you’re sad, you just need to take your time but it’s also important to have those pick-up songs that really make you feel a little bit warmer inside and a little bit stronger.
MMC: We couldn’t agree more.
GS: Yeah, “I Love It” was that pick-up song for us, ha.
AJ: Thank you! It makes us very happy to hear you say that!
MMC: Well, you have already given us some very good advice and our final question for you is if you have something to share with us for aspiring females in the music industry?
AJ: Yeah, most importantly, don’t be afraid of making mistakes. That’s what you learn from. You learn from them so much more than you learn from people telling you what to do.
CH: If you just take a direction and go with it, the worst thing that could happen is you have to change the direction and move another way but if you never dare to do anything, you’ll be walking around in circles wondering what it would be like if you tried it. Just don’t be scared. Surround yourself with people you love and who love you.
Being at South by Southwest is kind of like being a kid at Disney World. Between the sun and the millions of rides to choose from, you’re left delirious to make your decision. Meg and Laura weren’t any different. Well, except for the fact that they had press passes hanging from around their neck this time.
The duo kicked off Monday by sharing the bus with The X Factor Contestants to the Austin Convention Center, where all the conferences were taking place. The ACC was bustling with people from every corner of the world talking about music. Being thousands of miles away from home, there was something easing about being surrounded by chatter about music that made feel like they belong.
After getting their bearings straight (a.k.a. capitalizing on the abundance of free food), the pair decided to take on the big panel challenge that had been surfacing the air – getting into room 12AB for Richie Hawtin’s interview with deadmau5. So they did what any other fan girls would do: they decided to line up three hours before the panel. “You could probably go to the Building Movements panel before deadmau5 so all you can just stay in the room for the next one”, suggested one of the staff members. And so that’s what they did.
Not to say that watching Andy Ross talk about another life threatening concept idea for the next OK Go music video wasn’t enjoyable, but if only Meg and Laura knew about the last-minute room change for deadmau5, they would’ve stayed in line outside. When Meg’s Twitter feed updated her on the room change, the two headed for the door and found themselves to be the last ones in a long and winding line, surrounded by people pronouncing the DJ’s name as “dead-mau-five”. It wasn’t long till the co-hosts charmed their way to the front with their radio personality (a.k.a. they spewed sarcastic remarks at everything that moved, until the people in front of them budged). Cut to: two seats, five feet away from deadmau5. The wait was definitely worth it. Though it took Laura a second to recognize the DJ without his headgear and Meg to well, keep her composure, the wait was well worth it. deadmau5 addressed a lot of the difficult points concerning EDM that most DJs prefer not to discuss. He advocates “throwing away being a purist”, specifically talking about how style isn’t something that can be taught. There are many institutions today that focus on teaching people the art of EDM. Instead of teaching students how to think, they teach them what to think, pigeonholing their creativity in the mold of preset sub-genres. The DJ also comments on how the industry has homogenized EDM, saying, “it seems like all the mainstream EDM artists are making the same cookie-cutter tracks, and then I wonder why the people at the labels don’t just go home and try to make the music themselves. I mean, why not just cut of the bands?”. Although Hawtin and deadmau5 are glad that EDM has appealed to the masses, they reminisce the two percent days back when it wasn’t so homogenous.
With less than two hours of sleep from the night before, and a truckload of work to do, obviously the only sensible solution was to go out. The two knew that it would be impossible not to spend the night out on the town when they were in the live music capital of the world. Meg and Laura took the streets of Austin, scouting from venue to venue, in search of good-time. After being turned down at The Warner Sound, The Belmont, and Maggie’s, the two realized that they had a hook-up: The North Door. Nicolas Jaar, minimal house DJ, was spinning a set and they knew his manager Alastar Dunkin. At 1 AM, the ambitious duo walked over about a million and one blocks over to Brushy St. in the unwelcoming windy weather (I guess Syracuse isn’t the only place with bipolar weather), and pulled the press card from under the sleeve. There was no way they were going back without getting in to a show.
Jaar played Meg’s favorite track, “The Ego”, putting the lyrics, “the ego is the most expensive thing” on loop. Jaar really did speak the truth with his minimalist beat that took us on a tempo roller coaster. Unlike the typical female vocals that DJs sample, Jaar used a voice modulator to sample his own soulful vocals, giving the track a jazzier feel and filling up the entirety of the room with sophistication.
All in all, adventures and glitches accounted for, there really couldn’t be a better start to South by Southwest for Meg and Laura. As it turns out, everything really is bigger in Texas.
Continue following the #lostinaustin for more updates of Meg and Laura’s SXSW antics on Twitter!
It’s about that time of year again when the social media feeds fill with people’s excitement and let downs about their up coming festival season. Every year I find myself in a mad dash to acquire the funds to support my undying love for live music. It seems everyone is in agreement over this past week’s Camp Bisco 12 lineup release. The best thing about Camp Bisco is you never know what to expect. Within the past six or seven years of my own attendance I’ve been able to see such a wide spectrum of music acts all so close to home.
The past years have included major acts such as Shpongle live, (including Simon Posford, Raja Ramm and the rest of their psychedelic entourage) LCD Soundystem, The Disco Biscuits (of course), Cut Copy, Thievery Corporation, Snoop Dogg (when he wasn’t quite a lion yet), Pretty Lights,SoundTribe Sector9, The New Deal, Girl Talk, and many, many more. Over the past years we have seen Camp Bisco grow from the one stage local festival into a national phenomena attracting individuals from all across America for the longest weekend of their lives. It has been amazing to watch the growth of such an amazing festival over the past few years. This will be the twelfth Camp Bisco and the seventh of which will be hosted at the Indian Lookout Country Club in Mariaville, New York.
Two weeks ago when the lineup was released the excitement slowly began to build, and will continue to do so until the day we all wait in line in the hot July sun to enter the world of Bisco. “126 days until Camp Bisco”- the banner reads, ticking down every second on CampBisco.net. This years lineup so far includes The Disco Biscuits, Bassnectar, Passion Pit, STS9, Animal Collective, Umphrey’s McGee, Flux Pavillion, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, Lotus, Boys Noize, Wolfgang Gartner, Tommy Trash, Dillion Francis, UZ, Aeroplane, Alvin Risk, Audrey Napoleon, Baauer, Bear Mountain, Boombox, Break Science, Cherub, Chris Malinchak, Clockwork, Com Truise, Congorock, Cosby Sweater, Crizzly, Dan Deacon, Designer Drugs, Dirtyphonics (Live), El-P, Eskmo, Flosstradamus, Free Energy, Gigamesh, Govinda, Gramatik, Grandtheft, Green Lantern, HeRobust, Heroes x Villians, Indobox, Killer Mike, Koan Sound, Manic Focus, M | O | D, Nadis Warriors, Nick Thayer, Paper Diamond, Party Supplies, Popeska, Project 46, RL Grime, Rubblebucket, Ryan Hemsworth, The Werks, Toroy Moi, Twiddle, Vacationer, VHS or Beta, Wick-It the Instigator, and Zoogma.
Second leg announcement includes Destroid (Feat. Excision, Downlink and KJ Sawka), Madeon, Danny Brown, Seven Lions, Digital Tape Machine, Bondax, Strip Steve, Moon boots, Perseus, Alpha Data, Autobody and The Manhattan Project. PLUS: Curated tents by Owsla Vs. BoyzNoise Records, French Express and ThisSongIsSick.Com
Last years lineup included artists such as Bassnectar, Crystal Castles, Amon Tobin, Big Boi and Atmosphere. Just when you think that Camp Bisco cannot out do themselves, they do.
The latest announcements are centered around the highly speculated and exciting performance by Zeds Dead. The festival also welcomed LTJ Bukem, Destructo, Samo Sound Boy and Gravity A for the upcoming festival. The announcement also included the famous Camp Bisco ferris wheel, a Bisco Air Bag, yoga and hooping workshops, greening initiatives and a brand new Hammock Lounge by the Lake. This year there will be increased water stations, new showers and refresh stations with power outlets for all you folks who need to charge up those cellphones. New and exciting things are heading our way for this upcoming festival which is just a few short weeks away.
Tickets are still on sale at Campbisco.net, stay tuned for more updates
Red Square began filling up the moment the doors opened, with people from all over the Northeast eager to see the legend that is Russ Davies (Cinnamon Chasers). The night began with a bang as DJ duo PartyHorn took the front stage at Red Square spinning some classic disco remixes. The vocal samples were perfectly entwined with the light and whimsical beats these guys pumped out. Halfway through their set they busted out a fun rendition of Tina Turner’s “What’s Love Got to Do With It?” and the crowd couldn’t get enough. Partyhorn played in between every band to keep the energy high throughout the night.
Organik Time Machine took the stage back with a funky blend of jamtronic beats with the accompaniment of a female singer. It is very rare to see a female singer heading a band, especially for more that just a few vocal samples. It was definitely refreshing to see something different done so well. Each song created its own energy and permeated throughout the Red Square. The light show these guys brought with them was absolutely phenomenal and only further bettered their already amazing set. From the front of the bar I heard the opening chords to the Sound Tribe Sector 9 song, “Ramone and Emiglio.” I can honestly say this is the first time in my life I have ever seen a band cover a STS9 song and I was pleasantly surprised to see them do it so well. Then it was Digital Dharma’s time to shine. I was greatly impressed by how far these guys have come since the last time I had seen them live. The amount of energy and passion these boys pour into their music is evident the moment they take stage. Steve Mink tore up the heavy bass lines while Jess Radosti threw out some guitar riffs that were reminiscent to that of Jon Barber from The Disco Biscuits. Elliot Kershner used the synth as a vehicle to carry each song and jam to further and further depths. It was seriously flooring to see how far these boys have come since they first took stage two years ago.
At this point in the night Red Square was packed wall to wall and the excitement was eminent as Cinnamon Chasers got ready to take stage. Cinnamon Chasers is a side project of Abakus’ Russ Davies (son of legendary Dave Davies of The Kinks) infusing electronic and disco to make a master mix for a serious dance party. Cinnamon Chasers played well into the early hours of the morning with the high energy crowd doing their best to keep up. Some of the samples and remixes included Bill Withers’ “A Lovely Day” and The Clash’s “Rock the Casbah.” He also pulled out many song from his album Dreams and Machines, including “Flash gun,” “Hyper waves” and “Have I Said Something” . The entire set was filled with an outrageous amount of energy from both Davies and the crowd. For the encore he played “Night Walker” and “Diametric.” I left Red Square almost delusional from the exhaustion of dancing for five hours straight but needless to say, completely content. Truly an amazing show by all artists involved.
When Jeff Bujak comes to your town, you’re in for a treat. Taking his multiple keyboards and effects equipment, as well as self-made mixes, he lays down a tenacious beat that sets the tone for dancing and rocking out. Accompanied by Jen DuLong spinning her lit up hula hoops to the beat of the songs (an impressive feat), the multi-sensory experience is always worth it when Bujak comes to town. Check out some of his music on his website, including free downloads of albums, plus some footage from last week at Red Square in Albany.
Mary Morgan Craig: So how has SXSW been treating you so far?
After getting their bearings straight (a.k.a. capitalizing on the abundance of free food), the pair decided to take on the big panel challenge that had been surfacing the air – getting into room 12AB for Richie Hawtin’s interview with deadmau5. So they did what any other fan girls would do: they decided to line up three hours before the panel. “You could probably go to the Building Movements panel before deadmau5 so all you can just stay in the room for the next one”, suggested one of the staff members. And so that’s what they did.