lunes, 27 de septiembre de 2010
t's been three long years since Klaxons set the British music press into another tizzy with their Mercury Prize-winning debut, Myths of the Near Future. Having created a whole new mini-genre, "nu-rave" -- a regrettable bit of journalistic shorthand that encompassed little of the band's ecstatic space-punk -- the quartet set about touring the world for a couple years before settling down to record their follow-up in 2008.
Unfortunately things didn't go quite as easy this time around with Myths producer James Ford of Simian Mobile Disco. Early last year, Klaxons' label, Polydor, allegedly rejected their initial recordings for being "too experimental" (according to tabloid The Sun), and the band headed back into the studio with (of all people) Korn/Slipknot producer Ross Robinson.
The result of these last-minute efforts, Surfing the Void is a pummeling spasm of psychedelia that owes nearly as much to Motorhead as it does to early Pink Floyd and Primal Scream. But as their show last night at Manhattan's Bowery Ballroom proved, for right or wrong, Klaxons made the right choice. There's pop all over these songs, which only mean they pair perfectly with the band's older, breezier and, yes, ravier material.
Klaxons alternated expertly between the new and the old. The grinding bass and wailing guitar lines of Void centerpiece "Flashover" bled seamlessly into the quirky, space-pop of "As Above, So Below"; Myths classic "Golden Skans" served as a worthy introduction to Void's poppiest track, "Twin Flames" -- a tune held aloft by Jamie Reynolds and Jamie Righton's call-and-response vocals.
The two of them made for an odd pairing on stage: Reynolds, hulking and bearded, pounding away on his giant Rickenbacker bass, sweating his way through every verse, and pint-sized Righton, fingering arpeggios on his synthesizer with one hand, his other raised to the sky. But it worked. The pair's unique harmonies -- one singing hot and heavy, the other falsetto -- made it easy to overlook Void's silly sci-fi lyrics ("Searches seem to show/ Damage to solar winds where the air uncovers/ Melting on star pole snow").
While the whole nu-rave thing thankfully never fully materialized, "rave" wouldn't be a bad way to describe last night's show. The area in front of the stage was packed with raised hands, jumping bodies, and smiling faces. And like any good DJ, Klaxons knew how to whip their audience into a frenzy. Halfway through Myths' "Magick," the band stopped the song for at least a full minute as the house lights darkened further and the crowd hollered for more, before roaring back with Simon Taylor-Davis' screeching guitar solo and more blinding strobe lights.
It was a great moment -- and Joaquin Phoenix was certainly smiling. There he was by the bar nodding his head looking very much not like his character in Casey Affleck's "documentary," I'm Still Here. No dreads, no sunglasses, no beer belly, just Joaquin hanging with his friends: Strokes guitarist Albert Hammond Jr. (in a predictably vintage AC/DC tee) and former Spacehog guitarist Antony Langdon, who played Phoenix's beleaguered assistant in the film.
Who knows, maybe the guy's working on an upcoming Brit-rock "documentary" -- the story of how Joaquin left Hollywood, got skinny, grew his hair out, and started writing fuzzed-out odes to Mars and time travel? Langdon could even produce. Anything's possible...
Setlist:
"Flashover"
"As Above, So Below"
"Same Space"
"Gravity's Rainbow"
"Venusia"
"Golden Skans"
"Twin Flames"
"Two Receivers"
"Magick"
"Valley of Calm Trees"
"Echoes"
"Future Memories"
"It's Not Over Yet"
"Surfing the Void"
"Alantis to Interzone"
Unfortunately things didn't go quite as easy this time around with Myths producer James Ford of Simian Mobile Disco. Early last year, Klaxons' label, Polydor, allegedly rejected their initial recordings for being "too experimental" (according to tabloid The Sun), and the band headed back into the studio with (of all people) Korn/Slipknot producer Ross Robinson.
The result of these last-minute efforts, Surfing the Void is a pummeling spasm of psychedelia that owes nearly as much to Motorhead as it does to early Pink Floyd and Primal Scream. But as their show last night at Manhattan's Bowery Ballroom proved, for right or wrong, Klaxons made the right choice. There's pop all over these songs, which only mean they pair perfectly with the band's older, breezier and, yes, ravier material.
Klaxons alternated expertly between the new and the old. The grinding bass and wailing guitar lines of Void centerpiece "Flashover" bled seamlessly into the quirky, space-pop of "As Above, So Below"; Myths classic "Golden Skans" served as a worthy introduction to Void's poppiest track, "Twin Flames" -- a tune held aloft by Jamie Reynolds and Jamie Righton's call-and-response vocals.
The two of them made for an odd pairing on stage: Reynolds, hulking and bearded, pounding away on his giant Rickenbacker bass, sweating his way through every verse, and pint-sized Righton, fingering arpeggios on his synthesizer with one hand, his other raised to the sky. But it worked. The pair's unique harmonies -- one singing hot and heavy, the other falsetto -- made it easy to overlook Void's silly sci-fi lyrics ("Searches seem to show/ Damage to solar winds where the air uncovers/ Melting on star pole snow").
While the whole nu-rave thing thankfully never fully materialized, "rave" wouldn't be a bad way to describe last night's show. The area in front of the stage was packed with raised hands, jumping bodies, and smiling faces. And like any good DJ, Klaxons knew how to whip their audience into a frenzy. Halfway through Myths' "Magick," the band stopped the song for at least a full minute as the house lights darkened further and the crowd hollered for more, before roaring back with Simon Taylor-Davis' screeching guitar solo and more blinding strobe lights.
It was a great moment -- and Joaquin Phoenix was certainly smiling. There he was by the bar nodding his head looking very much not like his character in Casey Affleck's "documentary," I'm Still Here. No dreads, no sunglasses, no beer belly, just Joaquin hanging with his friends: Strokes guitarist Albert Hammond Jr. (in a predictably vintage AC/DC tee) and former Spacehog guitarist Antony Langdon, who played Phoenix's beleaguered assistant in the film.
Who knows, maybe the guy's working on an upcoming Brit-rock "documentary" -- the story of how Joaquin left Hollywood, got skinny, grew his hair out, and started writing fuzzed-out odes to Mars and time travel? Langdon could even produce. Anything's possible...
Setlist:
"Flashover"
"As Above, So Below"
"Same Space"
"Gravity's Rainbow"
"Venusia"
"Golden Skans"
"Twin Flames"
"Two Receivers"
"Magick"
"Valley of Calm Trees"
"Echoes"
"Future Memories"
"It's Not Over Yet"
"Surfing the Void"
"Alantis to Interzone"
But M.I.A. is also about contradiction, or at the very least, duality. Tuesday night's tour-opener at Montreal's sold-out Metropolis brought home that idea. And whether the crowd believed Maya to be real, or a purposefully conflicted character, the packed house was there to throw hands in the air, dance (even onstage), and celebrate all that diversity.
M.I.A.'s show was a brief 65-minutes long but she was a ferocious presence on stage for the entire gig. After an opening spot from her self-described dance-mad protégé Rye Rye and an interminable DJ set, M.I.A. took the stage with attitude to blaze on "World Town," with its sinus-imploding low end.
Later, she was mixing Third World politics with fashion-runway sensibility, post-modern alt-dance clatter-and-boomboom skittering off the tribal defiance, crotch-grinding her freedom against three immobile backing vocalists in stylized burqas -- M.I.A. might be the only pop star who can play with Islamic iconography and get away with it.
Then, just in case enough buttons hadn't been pushed, M.I.A. also referenced her "Jewish housewife look" (black-and-white stripes, trench-cape, headscarf and shades), preened in front of a video backdrop of battleships and blood-spatters, and unleashed a winning electroid groove on older faves like "Bucky Done Gun" and "Amazon."
Kala's "Boyz" cued pandemonium onstage, precisely because our heroine had subverted the usual concert paradigm: Instead of inviting up a bunch of screeching girls, she called on a bunch of guys to hop about onstage while she rapped: "How many no money boys are rowdy? How many start a war?"
M.I.A. also brought aggression when performing songs from her excellent (but challenging) new album /\/\ /\ Y /\. "I need to see the mosh pit!" she shouted before launching in the frenetic, speed-metal riff of "Born Free." Later, she referenced the pope in "Story To Be Told," and noticeably skipped over the album's most pop-friendly track "XXXO."
The crowd may have been bewildered by M.I.A.'s new material, but as she encored with "Paper Planes," the Metropolis turned into a mini-stadium of riotous, joyous adulation.
M.I.A.'s show was a brief 65-minutes long but she was a ferocious presence on stage for the entire gig. After an opening spot from her self-described dance-mad protégé Rye Rye and an interminable DJ set, M.I.A. took the stage with attitude to blaze on "World Town," with its sinus-imploding low end.
Later, she was mixing Third World politics with fashion-runway sensibility, post-modern alt-dance clatter-and-boomboom skittering off the tribal defiance, crotch-grinding her freedom against three immobile backing vocalists in stylized burqas -- M.I.A. might be the only pop star who can play with Islamic iconography and get away with it.
Then, just in case enough buttons hadn't been pushed, M.I.A. also referenced her "Jewish housewife look" (black-and-white stripes, trench-cape, headscarf and shades), preened in front of a video backdrop of battleships and blood-spatters, and unleashed a winning electroid groove on older faves like "Bucky Done Gun" and "Amazon."
Kala's "Boyz" cued pandemonium onstage, precisely because our heroine had subverted the usual concert paradigm: Instead of inviting up a bunch of screeching girls, she called on a bunch of guys to hop about onstage while she rapped: "How many no money boys are rowdy? How many start a war?"
M.I.A. also brought aggression when performing songs from her excellent (but challenging) new album /\/\ /\ Y /\. "I need to see the mosh pit!" she shouted before launching in the frenetic, speed-metal riff of "Born Free." Later, she referenced the pope in "Story To Be Told," and noticeably skipped over the album's most pop-friendly track "XXXO."
The crowd may have been bewildered by M.I.A.'s new material, but as she encored with "Paper Planes," the Metropolis turned into a mini-stadium of riotous, joyous adulation.
DAZED SEPTEMBER 2010 PLAYLIST
nspired by Gasper Noe's trippy Enter The Void, this month's playlist features the likes of SALEM, Gold Panda, Balam Acab, Two Fingers and How To Dress Well
It seems like an eternity since the last playlist, but then again I might still be tripping after watching Gaspar Noe's Enter the Void. In the latest issue of Dazed we talk to the director about his hallucinogenic Japanese death trip and also his feisty lady leading Paz du la Huerta. In tribute to one of our favourite films of the year I've decided to kick off our A/W winter playlist with LFO's seminal 2004 cut, "Freak", which Noe uses to devastating effect over the title sequence. We then go deeper into different shades of bass culture with Two Fingers, Neon Indian and Bear in Heaven's killer remix of Gonjasufi. Also in the latest issue we go to the Michigan home of screwgaze trio SALEM to chug beer bongs, talk about their debut album King Night and discover if they're as crazy as they've been made out to be. Elsewhere, mysterious producers like Balam Acab, Glasser, How to Dress Well and Gold Panda make an appearance, as do Swedish LOL crunk duo Purpl PoP, Wrexham math rock quartet Gallops, cold wave royalty Frank (Just Frank) and many other amazing new acts. As ever, let us know what you think...
CHROMEO: BUSINESS CASUAL
The Canadian electro pop duo returns with a third album of Hall & Oates and Philipe Zdar collaborations
Canadian purveyors of piano-tie pop Chromeo are back with their third album 'Business Casual' which straight away gives us a heads up as to where the guys are right now musically. Whilst their last record 'Fancy Footwork' was filled to the brim with buoyant synth-fuelled belters, Dave Macklovich and Patrick Gemayel are getting serious but doing so as nonchalantly as ever. The focus this time round has been on developing their sound with a much more considered approach to their production in addition to their actual song-writing. One would assume that working with Philipe Zdar as well as their musical forefathers Hall & Oates helped the process somewhat. Fret not those of you who fell in love with the catchy choruses though as I can say with some experience that it takes some restraint to not sing along to ‘Don’t Turn The Lights On’ on a Monday morning commute. Other excepts such as ‘Grow Up’ has something of Michael Jackson’s ‘The Way You Turn Me On’ to it and the first single that came from the album ‘Night by Night’ is as funky as hell. Meanwhile, Dave demonstrates his forté (albeit experimentally he later explains) on ‘J'ai Claque La Porte’ as his Ph.D in French Language at distinguished American University, Columbia is put to good use. To find out more about this new erudite and polished Chromeo, we gave Dave Macklovich a ring...
Dazed Digital: Talk to me about the journey between Fancy Footwork and Business Casual – Has there been a shift from being more playful to being more serious as the titles might suggest?
Dave Macklovich: I mean, Fancy Footwork was a big record for us obviously and sort of a surprise in term of the acclaim it received. On Business Casual we tried to, I guess typically do the same, wild changing up and evolve in certain ways. With Fancy Footwork, I think that what we achieved is coming up with a number of really charming, really fun eighties-pop ditties and with Business Casual, I wanted to get more into the production and song-writing side and have a record of more lush, more rich, more musical songs and maybe have it be a little less about hooks and more about, this time around, more about interesting things musically with this album and that’s why you’ve got songs like ‘Don’t Turn The Lights On’ which are somewhat more sophisticated than before.
DD: What was it like for you jamming with Hall & Oates? Were you nervous at all? I would assume that they had a huge influence on you guys as a band…
Dave Macklovich: Yeah, huge. We were prepared for it. I think those guys were kind of nervous because they knew that we were super-fans and knew all their shit by heart and on our end, we were like we’re ‘studio’ guys, we’re not incredible musicians. Those guys can play circles around us so we’ve just got to come correct especially me vocally, you know, how can you have me singing next to Daryl Hall? I was just trying not to make a fool of myself!
DD: You also recently played on the Letterman show with Bill Clinton. Did you guys manage to speak at all?
Dave Macklovich: Nah, the Letterman show is really segregated. The musicians, especially with Clinton, he’s not walking around the studio shaking peoples hands, you know?
DD: I was going to suggest you should have tried to get him down to the studio to play some sax on the next record…
Dave Macklovich: Yeah, you’re the 400th person to make that joke.
DD: Sorry, I couldn’t resist. It still would have been amazing though…
Dave Macklovich: It would have been incredible but still, the Letterman show I think was the best TV appearance we’ve ever done. The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive.
DD: What track would you say you’re proudest of from the new album?
Dave Macklovich: The French one (J'ai Claque La Porte) because that one wasn’t an obvious fit. It was a song I wrote and I didn’t know if it was going to work for Chromeo but P was like ‘Nah, lets do it as Chromeo!’ and so I worked hard on that one and managed to pull it off. I think it’s a pretty song and what it means is that when I come up with songs like that one and ‘Mama’s Boy’, it can fit within the Chromeo mould and so Chromeo, even though we have such a specific sound, its not limiting because we can just fit everything into it.
DD: Have you had many exes calling you up asking if you’re talking about them on a track?
Dave Macklovich: Nah, they haven’t. I was on the phone with an ex about an hour ago which is never fun but they haven’t really. It’ll be like, if I’m with a girl, she’ll be like ‘who’s this song about?’ - ‘nobody man’.
DD: You’re playing at the Roundhouse with Midnight Juggernauts soon, What’s your favourite thing about coming to London?
Dave Macklovich: The homies! You know, we’ve got a cool little posse over there. There’s (Backyard label-boss) Gil who’s like family to us so it’s always good to come home. We get to hang out and its also a place where we get to play some of the biggest shows so its really moving to be able to play for such big crowds. We just love it there. We have a longstanding love-affair with the UK and people just get us out there.
Dazed Digital: Talk to me about the journey between Fancy Footwork and Business Casual – Has there been a shift from being more playful to being more serious as the titles might suggest?
Dave Macklovich: I mean, Fancy Footwork was a big record for us obviously and sort of a surprise in term of the acclaim it received. On Business Casual we tried to, I guess typically do the same, wild changing up and evolve in certain ways. With Fancy Footwork, I think that what we achieved is coming up with a number of really charming, really fun eighties-pop ditties and with Business Casual, I wanted to get more into the production and song-writing side and have a record of more lush, more rich, more musical songs and maybe have it be a little less about hooks and more about, this time around, more about interesting things musically with this album and that’s why you’ve got songs like ‘Don’t Turn The Lights On’ which are somewhat more sophisticated than before.
DD: What was it like for you jamming with Hall & Oates? Were you nervous at all? I would assume that they had a huge influence on you guys as a band…
Dave Macklovich: Yeah, huge. We were prepared for it. I think those guys were kind of nervous because they knew that we were super-fans and knew all their shit by heart and on our end, we were like we’re ‘studio’ guys, we’re not incredible musicians. Those guys can play circles around us so we’ve just got to come correct especially me vocally, you know, how can you have me singing next to Daryl Hall? I was just trying not to make a fool of myself!
DD: You also recently played on the Letterman show with Bill Clinton. Did you guys manage to speak at all?
Dave Macklovich: Nah, the Letterman show is really segregated. The musicians, especially with Clinton, he’s not walking around the studio shaking peoples hands, you know?
DD: I was going to suggest you should have tried to get him down to the studio to play some sax on the next record…
Dave Macklovich: Yeah, you’re the 400th person to make that joke.
DD: Sorry, I couldn’t resist. It still would have been amazing though…
Dave Macklovich: It would have been incredible but still, the Letterman show I think was the best TV appearance we’ve ever done. The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive.
DD: What track would you say you’re proudest of from the new album?
Dave Macklovich: The French one (J'ai Claque La Porte) because that one wasn’t an obvious fit. It was a song I wrote and I didn’t know if it was going to work for Chromeo but P was like ‘Nah, lets do it as Chromeo!’ and so I worked hard on that one and managed to pull it off. I think it’s a pretty song and what it means is that when I come up with songs like that one and ‘Mama’s Boy’, it can fit within the Chromeo mould and so Chromeo, even though we have such a specific sound, its not limiting because we can just fit everything into it.
DD: Have you had many exes calling you up asking if you’re talking about them on a track?
Dave Macklovich: Nah, they haven’t. I was on the phone with an ex about an hour ago which is never fun but they haven’t really. It’ll be like, if I’m with a girl, she’ll be like ‘who’s this song about?’ - ‘nobody man’.
DD: You’re playing at the Roundhouse with Midnight Juggernauts soon, What’s your favourite thing about coming to London?
Dave Macklovich: The homies! You know, we’ve got a cool little posse over there. There’s (Backyard label-boss) Gil who’s like family to us so it’s always good to come home. We get to hang out and its also a place where we get to play some of the biggest shows so its really moving to be able to play for such big crowds. We just love it there. We have a longstanding love-affair with the UK and people just get us out there.
domingo, 26 de septiembre de 2010
FEVER RAY EXCLUSIVE MIXTAPE
PUBLISHED 2 WEEKS AGO
Karin Dreijer Andersson gives us some insight into her inspirations along with a selection of her current favourite tunes
- TEXT BY FLORA YIN-WONG
Often hidden by bizarre costumes and mysterious masks, Swedish duo The Knife made a reputation for themselves for breaking the boundaries between music and various art forms. After writing the score for the opera production, 'Tomorrow, In a Year', based on the works of Charles Darwin, the Dreijer siblings have since embarked on solo projects via Olof's Oni Ayhun and Karin'sFever Ray.
Dreijer Andersson's haunting vocals have featured in collaborations withRoyksopp, to her eerie singles like 'Seven', and 'Triangle Walks' attracting remixers from all over such as Tiga and CSS, to Martyn and Crookers. After the release of Fever Ray's eponymous debut album, she has since performed spellbinding live covers of songs by legends like Nick Cave, Vashti Bunyan and Peter Gabriel whilst touring, and is now set to release a cover of the latter's 'Mercy Street'.
Dreijer Andersson's haunting vocals have featured in collaborations withRoyksopp, to her eerie singles like 'Seven', and 'Triangle Walks' attracting remixers from all over such as Tiga and CSS, to Martyn and Crookers. After the release of Fever Ray's eponymous debut album, she has since performed spellbinding live covers of songs by legends like Nick Cave, Vashti Bunyan and Peter Gabriel whilst touring, and is now set to release a cover of the latter's 'Mercy Street'.
Dreijer Andersson’s chilling signature vocals transform the piece: "It's an interpretation. We made it more intense and faster to fit our eccentric percussionists and energetic live musicians. It is a monotone track but we worked with the dynamics trying to make it sparkle". Before Fever Ray embarks on a stunning audio-visual show in Europe, with long term collaborator Andreas Nilsson as art director this September, she works up an exclusive mixtape for Dazed Digital.
Dazed Digital: Do you feel that 'Fever Ray' is your main concern/focus now? Will The Knife return?
Karin Dreijer Andersson: I don't know, I'm happy having to do both, but it's good if it's something we don't have to agree upon together... I think it's good to have something solo going on...
DD: The working process is easier alone?
Karin Dreijer Andersson: I think it's very different, it's easier when you don't have to agree with somebody else about what you're going to do but then you have to make all the decisions yourself and I think that can be really difficult. I don't know what's easier. I have to write everything myself in the end - but it's good to have other ears listening to what you're doing.
DD: Which way do you feel your music is going? Like Olof's Oni Ayhun project is taking the turn or more electronic music but has Fever Ray liberated you from all that - think I may have read you were getting bored of all the techno stuff?
Karin Dreijer Andersson: I don't know... maybe... I think that differs a lot but it's been fun playing live, with quite a lot of organic things and working with Olaf on the opera album we were using only analogue equipment, so I don't know - at the moment, I think of my future work as more minimal, a minimal Fever Ray.
DD: So how did 'Tomorrow, In A Year', the project inspired by Charles Darwin’s The Origin Of Species, come about? Does Darwin's work particularly relate or bear significance for you?
Karin Dreijer Andersson: We were commissioned by the theatre group to write it, so it was their idea from the beginning about Darwin, and at first all we knew about him were the things we had read in school. I think it was nice to do something else, like reading. We did that for a year really, just reading the Origin of Species and other works about Darwin, so it was really nice for a change. Also applying someone's theories on music, working with text in that way was really inspiring. It's something we've talked about continuing to do.
DD: How important do you think theatrics or the stage show is compared to the recorded music? How does it translate on stage and how do you devise the shows?
Karin Dreijer Andersson: I think the live thing is more of an experiment of how to experience music. Where I am trying different endings and ideas that could happen, it's more like a playground for music, trying out ideas and seeing what happens if we dress up like this, then seeing what happens to the music. The writing and the studio work is the hard part.
DD: Do you think that the hiding part of your identity helps people to focus on the music or does it inadvertently divert people to a different talking point about 'image' anyway?
Karin Dreijer Andersson: That's always the tricky part I think, because when you try out all these costumes and masks, I think you gain so much more when doing it, when taking away the focus from some private person. It's playing with the character, a performer, like deconstructing the idea of a popstar or how a singer appears or should be on stage.
DD: Do you think where you've grown up has influenced your music? Like the darker moods in your music?
Karin Dreijer Andersson: I don't know... I think I have always liked melancholic music more than any other, but not necessarily Swedish music... we listened to a lot of African pop music when I was a kid at home, and also Eastern European music which can be really melancholic, so I don't know really about that or how the climate affects your music. Sometimes I think that if it's light or not where you are recording that affects music, but I'm not sure...
DD: As the themes in your music are quite supernatural, do you feel you relate to a sort of 'spirituality'?
Karin Dreijer Andersson: No, I don't think it's like supernatural, I think music and the ability to reach people and that you can like experience your emotions - that's the power of music. You don't have to talk about anything spiritual, humanity and nature itself has such power you don't have to explain with any religious aspects of it, I'm an atheist!
DD: You've just done a Peter Gabriel cover, do you mostly listen to older music like this?
Karin Dreijer Andersson: I'm a very old woman you know! I grew up with that track when I was a kid, it meant a lot to me then, I thought it was really beautiful. I think I was really moved how it created that kind of atmosphere, and I just wanted to try it and play it now with a live set up and percussionist and see how it works, how it sounded.
Dazed Digital: Do you feel that 'Fever Ray' is your main concern/focus now? Will The Knife return?
Karin Dreijer Andersson: I don't know, I'm happy having to do both, but it's good if it's something we don't have to agree upon together... I think it's good to have something solo going on...
DD: The working process is easier alone?
Karin Dreijer Andersson: I think it's very different, it's easier when you don't have to agree with somebody else about what you're going to do but then you have to make all the decisions yourself and I think that can be really difficult. I don't know what's easier. I have to write everything myself in the end - but it's good to have other ears listening to what you're doing.
DD: Which way do you feel your music is going? Like Olof's Oni Ayhun project is taking the turn or more electronic music but has Fever Ray liberated you from all that - think I may have read you were getting bored of all the techno stuff?
Karin Dreijer Andersson: I don't know... maybe... I think that differs a lot but it's been fun playing live, with quite a lot of organic things and working with Olaf on the opera album we were using only analogue equipment, so I don't know - at the moment, I think of my future work as more minimal, a minimal Fever Ray.
DD: So how did 'Tomorrow, In A Year', the project inspired by Charles Darwin’s The Origin Of Species, come about? Does Darwin's work particularly relate or bear significance for you?
Karin Dreijer Andersson: We were commissioned by the theatre group to write it, so it was their idea from the beginning about Darwin, and at first all we knew about him were the things we had read in school. I think it was nice to do something else, like reading. We did that for a year really, just reading the Origin of Species and other works about Darwin, so it was really nice for a change. Also applying someone's theories on music, working with text in that way was really inspiring. It's something we've talked about continuing to do.
DD: How important do you think theatrics or the stage show is compared to the recorded music? How does it translate on stage and how do you devise the shows?
Karin Dreijer Andersson: I think the live thing is more of an experiment of how to experience music. Where I am trying different endings and ideas that could happen, it's more like a playground for music, trying out ideas and seeing what happens if we dress up like this, then seeing what happens to the music. The writing and the studio work is the hard part.
DD: Do you think that the hiding part of your identity helps people to focus on the music or does it inadvertently divert people to a different talking point about 'image' anyway?
Karin Dreijer Andersson: That's always the tricky part I think, because when you try out all these costumes and masks, I think you gain so much more when doing it, when taking away the focus from some private person. It's playing with the character, a performer, like deconstructing the idea of a popstar or how a singer appears or should be on stage.
DD: Do you think where you've grown up has influenced your music? Like the darker moods in your music?
Karin Dreijer Andersson: I don't know... I think I have always liked melancholic music more than any other, but not necessarily Swedish music... we listened to a lot of African pop music when I was a kid at home, and also Eastern European music which can be really melancholic, so I don't know really about that or how the climate affects your music. Sometimes I think that if it's light or not where you are recording that affects music, but I'm not sure...
DD: As the themes in your music are quite supernatural, do you feel you relate to a sort of 'spirituality'?
Karin Dreijer Andersson: No, I don't think it's like supernatural, I think music and the ability to reach people and that you can like experience your emotions - that's the power of music. You don't have to talk about anything spiritual, humanity and nature itself has such power you don't have to explain with any religious aspects of it, I'm an atheist!
DD: You've just done a Peter Gabriel cover, do you mostly listen to older music like this?
Karin Dreijer Andersson: I'm a very old woman you know! I grew up with that track when I was a kid, it meant a lot to me then, I thought it was really beautiful. I think I was really moved how it created that kind of atmosphere, and I just wanted to try it and play it now with a live set up and percussionist and see how it works, how it sounded.
TRACKLIST
1. Khulumani - Nkata Mawewe
2. The Tale - Meredith Monk
3. Guiyome - Konono No. 1
4. Jungle Riot - Ove-Naxx
5. Ngunyuta Dance - BBC
6. Natsu Ga Kita - Afrirampo
7. Do You Be? - Meredith Monk
8. Believer - M.I.A.
9. Kuar - Olof Dreijer remix - Emmanuel Jal
10. Dread - Nate Young
2. The Tale - Meredith Monk
3. Guiyome - Konono No. 1
4. Jungle Riot - Ove-Naxx
5. Ngunyuta Dance - BBC
6. Natsu Ga Kita - Afrirampo
7. Do You Be? - Meredith Monk
8. Believer - M.I.A.
9. Kuar - Olof Dreijer remix - Emmanuel Jal
10. Dread - Nate Young
Pete Yorn's 2001 debut was so melodically and lyrically sharp that his subsequent releases (including last year's pairing with Scarlett Johansson) have seemed unfocused and fussy by comparison. As if in a fairy tale, however, a Pixie has appeared to straighten him out. Meaning, producer Frank Black, who discards Yorn's tasteful trappings and replaces them with strangled guitars and snappy snares circa Surfer Rosa. From bracing opener "Precious Stone" to the chugging fan appreciation "Rock Crowd" to a heartfelt version of Gram Parsons' "Wheels," Yorn emerges with his most purposeful, affecting album yet.
he kissed a girl (and liked it), shot whipped cream from her breasts, and now Katy Perry has reached the pinnacle of provocative: She's too sexy for Sesame Street. Or is she?
On Thursday, just three days after footage of Perry singing a censored version of her hit "Hot 'n Cold" onSesame Street leaked online (watch below!), officials for the long-running children's show pulled the plug on her skit, which was set to air later this year. Why? Negative viewer feedback, said a spokesperson for the series.
"Sesame Street has always been written on two levels, for the child and adult," read the statement. "We use parodies and celebrity segments to interest adults in the show because we know that a child learns best when co-viewing with a parent or care-giver. We also value our viewers' opinions, and particularly those of parents. In light of the feedback we've received on the Katy Perry music video, which was released on YouTube only, we have decided we will not air the segment on the television broadcast of Sesame Street, which is aimed at preschoolers." [Via Us Weekly]
The clip shows the 24-year-old pop star dressed in a low-cut, heart-shaped dress, singing a duet and playing with Elmo. Since the clip leaked on Monday, YouTube viewers have been butting heads.
"You can practically see her tits," wrote one. "That's some wonderful children's programming."
"Women have breasts, children know this; it was never a secret," wrote another. "The idea that anyone could find this offensive is disturbing."
What do you think: Is Katy Perry a Sesame Streetwalker, or is she wrongly targeted for her curvy figure? Watch the video below, then sound off in the comment section.
sábado, 25 de septiembre de 2010
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