There’s something to be said about a musician who can almost effortlessly captivate you within just moments of their sounds gracing your ears. Whether you’re drawn in by the hypnotizing arpeggios, sweeping emotive strings or invigorating bass lines – the music of Laurent Heinrich aka Lifelike can simultaneously serve as the quintessential soundtrack to both a daydream and a night to remember.

With a discography of sonically impeccable original works and remixes drenched in unforgettable melody, its no mystery Lifelike’s approach to music has produced one of the most acclaimed sounds in recent memory – definitive yet timeless.

A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to interview him and inquire about his musical beginnings, process of production, inspirations and what the future holds for the France based producer.

Killahbeez: Let’s start with your name; Lifelike. What’s the significance behind it and/or how did you come up with it?

Lifelike: I wanted to do a little remix for myself of a track from Depeche Mode “Master And Servant”. I had sampled a short part in a break of the song where Dave Gahan was singing “Like life” I chopped it and swapped the words round to make “lifelike”, and thought that would be a cool name for my music project.

KB: From doing a bit of research I discovered that you have some classical training in piano and also played bass in high school – how and when did your relationship with samplers, drum machines, sequencers and of course synthesizers begin?

Lifelike: Yes I learned piano for 3 years and had a short career as a bass player in a band at school. It’s when I was playing in that band that I bought an Amiga computer and a sampling cartridge called “perfect sound”. I used music tracker and started to do my own music. It was quite simple at that time with only four tracks and a limited memory. Once you had sampled something in that computer it was never sounding like the source because you had to economise the memory to be able to have enough room to make enough samples to use. But I have good memories of this time. From there I went quite normally to buy a synthesizer to connect to the computer, and that is how I started to compose little tracks a bit more seriously.

KB: How influential would you say your early musical experiences were before you started producing electronic music?

Lifelike: It had and still has a huge impact in my way of seeing music. I still think in terms of doing a pop synth track more than doing something like “techno” if I can still use that word today. But at that time I wanted to do like my idols, the same music, I was sampling Cabaret Voltaire or Simple Minds, or whatever sounded great to use those loops and sound in my little tracks at home.

KB: Being a producer who uses plenty of vintage analog synthesizers, where do you stand on the seemingly endless Analog vs Virtual/VST debate?

Lifelike: Well I use both of them. I bought an Apple Macintosh computer for audio and plugins to open my music to new sounds. And I was amazed to discover that in between all those new software and vst instruments, they both have respective sounds of their own. I was thinking a computer cannot have a special kind of sound, not like an analog synth has, but in fact it has a specific sound, depending on how you use it and how you’re recording your sound. Both analog and digital are great.

KB: The melodies in your music are very distinct – however, in addition to melody and sequencing it’s clear that you put plenty of thought into processing the dynamics of the overall sound of your music – how important would say that aspect of production is in achieving the trademark Lifelike sound?

Lifelike: That’s a great question because you’re hitting a point here that is really important to me. The sound is what makes your production different from another producer, and could give a real value to your work. I take care of my sound in a very strong way.

If I listen to today’s productions, for example, in the Beatport global charts, most of those productions are done on a simple computer, I hear it, the sound is big but… it has no character and is hasn’t been worked in an interesting way. The sound is big because of the computer headroom in terms of computing power.

I think those producers aren’t working that much on composing great songs (many of those tracks in Beatport sounds like horrible 90’s one key one finger triggered), and they aren’t working on getting a great sound with character. They mostly use drum samples that you can find on a sample CD. It’s just bullshit music to me.

I worked on analog recordings in the past, and I learned there how to maximize the sound in order to adapt it to an analog recording, so it’s a completely different approach to producing and doing music. I don’t rely on my computer to do the job like most of today’s producers seem to do. And dynamics isn’t only created by a simple magical compressor connected to your mixdesk; it’s more than this. It’s where the sources come from and how you treat them individually. All those things are making, I guess, my way of processing a mixdown, and I still mix on analog desks, that’s maybe my trademark, in terms of sound I mean.

KB: If you had to narrow it down, what would you say are the centerpieces or favorite pieces of gear in your studio ?

Lifelike: Well I still use an old Emulator IV sampler just because it gives an amazing sound to whatever you sample.

KB: With quite the run of notable remixes in your discography, how do you approach remixes and how does that process differ from producing your on original songs?

Lifelike: I try to give the band or the artist I’m remixing my kind of sound on some ways. They will end up with my influences. The thing I love to do is to play around with those influences. Like with the band Chromeo, I wanted to send them back to 85 by using the same kind of technique in the mix that they were using at that time, like those handclaps with reverb. The main voice even has a reverb on it etc… it’s a lot of fun to do!

KB: On the topic of remixing, how important would you say your remix work has been in the almost exponential rise in your international profile over the last while? What are a few of the favorite ones you’ve produced?

Lifelike: Really important, as it’s the Needy Girl remix I did for Chromeo that really sent me all those new remix proposals right after it was played daytime on BBC Radio 1 in the UK. I think the ones I did for The Presets (This Boy’s In love), Does It Offend You, Yeah! (Epic Last Song) and Chromeo are my favorites.

KB: You’ve often cited much of the Manchester underground scene and many iconic Post Punk / New wave artists such as Cabaret Voltaire and New Order as major inspirations – however, you also mention 80’s Michael J. Fox and James Spader films as sources of inspiration and even released material under the alias Ferris Bueller – how do these particular sources of inspiration translate into your production?

Lifelike: Manchester or Sheffield’s 70’s/80s musical scene are really vital to me. For me it all came out of there, in terms of pop synth music as well as techno music in the late 80/early 90’s. Factory records, Mute and ZTT were THE labels of the 80’s and, they had so many hits in the charts. The best is that it was really good music, no commercial bullshit like today, real artists working hard for their music.

I love New Order. It’s amazing when you think that in ‘83 they were topping the charts with Blue Monday, a track totally produced with sampling and drum machines that sounds still amazing today; it’s a masterpiece. How many electronic records can you still play 25 years after in clubs?

KB: With regards to more contemporary sources of inspiration – who are some artists that you feel are making great music these days?

Lifelike: I’m thinking about that Australian label, Modular. They have that rock’n roll music approach, and damn they are filling the rooms when their bands are playing, and its nothing like PC computer music for geeks. Again we’re talking about real musicians with huge talents. Like Van She, The Presets, Metronomy on Virgin Rec, or MGMT (those are great too) or closer to me, Alan Braxe.

KB: You toured throughout 2008 with some dates in North America and seem to have some pretty busy months ahead with dates in Australia and throughout Europe. Initially coming from a producer background, how does it feel to play your own music during a DJ set and hear the crowd cheer in response?

Lifelike: In America the crowd is really amazing, I don’t wanna hurt any national sensibilities, but they were reacting like hell to our music, I was touring with Alan Braxe last summer for 5 dates and we were really amazed by the fact that they knew all our tracks by heart! They even sung on stuff like “so much love to give”. Next revolution of electronic music will be in the USA soon. You can feel that people have a real interested approach to our music, especially what they call French Touch. And it hasn’t to do with that kind of fashionista or hype, no they really came for having fun, not for showing themselves.

KB: Your upcoming release “Sunset” and “Sequencer” are being released on Alan Braxe’s Vulture Records sometime in February 2009, what can you tell us about these two songs beforehand?

Lifelike: I guess it’s quite a different EP from what you heard before from me, like Discopolis. “Sunset” wasn’t supposed to be on the A-side of the record but Alan loved the track so much that I decided to switch and put “Sequencer” on the B-side. “Sunset” was first an instrumental, and I was thinking why not put some vocals on it, so we contacted Yota. She already had a strong background and experience in our kind of music, and most important of all, a great voice that would suit the project. And it ended up being a vocal track, but still not like a full pop song, I think it’s still a not commercial track. “Sequencer” is more of a classic kind of Lifelike track in terms of style. I don’t have any clue on how people will react to this release. Only the future will tell.

KB: What else does this year hold for Lifelike? What about the future in general? What are some goals you aim to conquer as a producer as your career progresses?

Lifelike: I don’t see things at all in term of goals and a career plan you know… but this year I will have to tour a bit more just because we have quite a lot of requests for that and because it’s the way things seems to go on now for me. I’ll do less remixes because you can never do them all from one year to another. I had my time with that last year, so this year I will concentrate more on my music. I have a project with the band Chromeo as well, a co-production on one track and a maybe quite soon a new EP.

KB: Thanks for the interview and all the best in 2009 & beyond – the success is well deserved.

Lifelike: Thank you

Lifelike website: www.lifelike-music.com
Lifelike MySpace: www.myspace.com/lifelikevulture

Lifelike has also decided to exclusively share his new track “Sunset” featuring Yota with all our Killahbeez readers. Make sure to support Lifelike and buy Sunset / Sequencer coming out on Monday February 9th.

The timing is impeccable on the latest edition of Shaun Boothe’s Unauthorized Biography. This time around the MC schools us on the story  of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and even touches on the transition of leadership to America’s next president Barack Obama.

Props to Shaun Boothe for yet another lesson on the life and accomplishments of one of the world’s most interesting people.

As much as I credit Hip-Hop for mobilizing so many young voters in the recent US Presidential election – I also frequently come across highly disturbing mixtape covers such as these.

Seriously man…come on.

That is all.

Another supremely dope installment in Shaun Boothe’s Unauthorized Biography Series is now available for your personal enlightenment and viewing pleasure.

The first time around Shaun Boothe gave us the life story of music icon James Brown’s in a little under 4 minutes. This time he schools the masses on the inspirational life of Bob Marley – and does it damn well I might add.

I’m really down with this. Watch, listen and learn ya’ll.

That’s right. Our beloved Canadians,  Keys N Krates are playing their first American date tonight – and will be doing so at a party hosted by URB Magazine for the 2008 CMJ Music Marathon and Film Festival nonetheless.

The show will be going down @ Nublu on Ave C between 4th and 5th st in the East Village and is being put on by Taste NYC and Good Peoples – some of the city’s premier promoters for new music.

To see our previous write ups on Keys N Krates click *here*

A few of us Killahbeez peoples will be hitting tonights show in Vancouver at the Commodore Ballroom thanks to the hospitality of the city’s beloved Sealed with a Kiss promotions. Anyhow, my man DT put me on to this dope Cut Copy remix of CSS’ “Move”. It has the distinct soundscape of a Cut Copy production with the melodic arpeggio’s and sweeping strings -but is less sweet and more punchy than what you may expect from them. Its quite apparent these guys can pretty much successfully freak anyone’s music. 

Also below is the official video for the said song “Move”, which is directed by Keith Schofield who has also directed videos for Supergrass and Death Cab for Cutie.

Many of you have seen the provocative and intensely composed video for Justice’s aptly titled “Stress” (If you haven’t – go *Here* and watch it first). Well now there’s a parody version called “No Stress” and its hilarious. Gotta love the ice cream bit..hahaha.

This is easily one of my favorite songs of 2008…and one of the best damn songs I’ve heard in a while. Shout out to my dude Ryan for putting me on to this – Its become my anthem ever since.

Empire of the Sun is made up of The Sleepy Jackson’s Luke Steele and Pnau (also an amazing group – who’s most recent self-titled album is my top 3 of 2008).

I’m also really really down with this video. What a jam…Seriously. (Don’t sleep on the Sam La More remix either)

One of my favorite songs from M83’s Saturdays = Youth album now has an official video.

Kim and Jessie is such a great song that really brings back the nostalgic Breakfast Club-ish feeling…at least for me. You gotta love the intimidation tactics at around 2:05 into the video…haha.

I absolutely loved seeing this song live @ Richards in Vancouver a few months back. If you get a chance to catch M83 in concert, I highly recommend doing so.

A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to link up for lunch with Dave 1 whom I’m sure many of you know is 1/2 of Chromeo, the beloved and infectiously dope electro-funk duo pictured above.

I ordered the grilled chicken panini and a diet Coke, he ordered the smoked turkey wrap and an orange juice – Then I pressed record and the following conversation spanning everything from the beginnings of the band to the current state of hip-hop is what transpired…

You used to be a part of the Audio Research record label back in the early/mid ‘90s – When and how did the expansion from hip-hop focused production to the variety of elements we currently see in Chromeo begin?

Um I kinda felt like… it was weird, like different things at once. The audio research thing was a vehicle for some of the stuff I was producing and my brother was cutting on. I guess like maybe in 2000, I kinda wasn’t as prolific in my hip-hop production as much. It was the beginning of keyboard beats and I didn’t know how to make them – and I didn’t really like them…haha. I remember like Jay-Z’s Blueprint coming out and those tracks had samples in them, but they also had tonnes of keyboards and I was like, “Man, should I buy a [Korg] Triton and try and do a Just Blaze kinda thing?” I wasn’t really into it ‘cause my shit was always from the more hip-hop production school of the Pete Rock’s and SP1200’s. Even if you look at the last obscure disorder single, which was our marquis group at Audio Research – I didn’t even produce it. My brother produced it, I was doing less and less and you know, right at that same time the Chromeo deal came about and P-Thugg and I were working on that and I just felt more fulfilled working on that.

It sort of just happened – I moved here [New York], I was getting into different kinds of music. I wasn’t as stimulated by the idea of producing hip-hop as much as the Chromeo stuff. We did one show here that went really crazy and got offered record deals and stuff – so it kinda naturally transitioned. The Chromeo stuff was just more stimulating for me at that point. I mean, at first I had no idea it was going to become my main thing but now I can’t even see myself producing a hip-hop track – even though I still listen to it as much as before. It’s just that the style of production that I know how to do is way too throwback and I wouldn’t really want to try any of the new stuff.

The two of you have been friends since childhood, but when did you start working together musically? What are your particular musical backgrounds?

Our friendship was built around music. We became friends because we played in the same high school band. Ours has been a musically bred friendship. We’ve always been doing stuff. When I was producing hip-hop, P taught me how to use the [Akai] S-950. He taught me how to use a sequencer. He taught me how to use all my samplers. He’d come to all the mixes and stuff too. I mean, even though he didn’t really co-produce anything with me, he was always there in the background and behind the scenes getting involved. So when we started doing Chromeo, it was my idea of like, “Let’s co-produce music together.” It was that simple.

My musical background was more growing up listening to rock and learning guitar and then discovering funk and soul music with P with our high school band. At the same time, we were getting heavy into hip-hop and producing hip-hop. P was more into hip-hop back in the Kid N Play days. He stopped fuckin’ with it around 92 and he got into funk then. Contrary to what people think, P doesn’t really listen to hip-hop.

Yeah, image-wise everyone would probably assume…

Yeah, I’m the hip-hop dude!!…He doesn’t listen to hip-hop.

Alright, so that being said, who usually does what in terms of the production and songwriting process, programming the drums, synths, bass etc?

We both do a lot of that, but it really varies from track to track ‘cause we both can program drums, we both can play synths and bass. We can pretty much play any instrument in our studio. The only thing that stays the same is that I’m more of the songwriting, melody, chorus, song structure kinda guy and he’s more the sound engineer kinda guy.

Like I could play a line, but I don’t really know how to get a good sound on any keyboard so that’s really what he does. All the keyboards are at his house and I’ll be like, “Alright, give me a bass sound like ‘Billy Jean,’” and he’ll do it. And whether he plays the bass or I do, it doesn’t matter. He’s the sound crafter and I’m more of the song writing, lyrics, melody – but everything else we split. It really depends from song to song. Some songs he does almost all the music, some songs I’ll do almost all the music – it really depends.

This is somewhat of a tangent, but I guess since we’re having lunch out here by Columbia University Campus, maybe you can inform those that don’t know why you’re somewhat of a modern day renaissance man?

I’m finishing a PhD here at Columbia – and yeah…haha…you know, studying to become a professor – so hopefully that’ll happen. For the first time, just this year, music has become something that say, if I wanted to not go to school, I could probably just do – but I’ve never wanted to just do music, so school is still my main thing.

Do you lecture at all and have students recognize you or anything like that?

Yeah, I mean, they’re discrete enough to not make a big deal out of it. After class they’ll be like, “Hey! I like this, I like that.” You know, it happens, but it’s never really awkward. Students have always been very discrete and very delicate about it, and so am I.

With you and P living in different cities (P-Thugg resides in Montreal), does it get difficult staying sharp for shows and being in creation mode? Do you go back to Montreal to work on stuff?

Yeah, that’s what I do. Montreal is good ‘cause there are no distractions – you can kinda get into the vortex and just work on music all the time. But yeah, I go up there; we email stuff to each other. It’s been working. It’s a little bit slow, but at the same time it’s kinda become our way of working. So as long as I can go up there and we can block off a couple of weeks to bang out some stuff, we’ll be fine – and that’s what we’ve done.

One of my best memories in music… in my entire life, was December 2006, January 2007. I came up to Montreal and P and I basically were on deadline to finish the Fancy Footwork record. I was living in France at the time and you know everyone around me in France was doing music… really good music. I came home hungry and we just blocked off two weeks and did the Feist remix, “Momma’s Boy,” “Bonafied Lovin’,” “Outta Sight,” “Call Me Up” and the intro. It was wonderful and we were getting along great! I mean, we always do, but we were just really in a great creative state. I’d come home and play the stuff for my brother, play the stuff for my girl – we had no idea what to expect of the record cause we were just anxious. We were like, “Man, we don’t have another ‘Needy Girl!’” But if you look at now when we play shows, “Needy Girl” isn’t even the biggest song anymore!

So with initially being behind the boards for hip-hop production, how big of a leap was it to go from that to singing and performing live? Do you still remember your guys’ first show?

Yeah, I do. Our first show was Labour Day weekend in Montreal at a big rave in 2002… haha. It was pretty awkward. My brother went up and did the cuts on ”Needy Girl.” It was a big transition; I never really wanted to sing. I never considered myself a singer. I mean, we thought other people were gonna sing. We thought it [Chromeo] was gonna be more of a project, like we’d get other vocalists. We got a couple of vocalists and I wrote the songs, but it was never quite right and then we did “Mercury Tears” and I sang that on the vocoder and P was like, “That’s perfect!” Then we did ”Needy Girl” and that was really the first time I sang… in my life. And we just kept it like that, ya know? But it was a big transition – like the first shows you know, they were awkward and we’re still a little bit… no we’re not haha… but I mean, I don’t know, it was a big transition. For years, I hated touring; I’ve only started to kinda enjoy it now. For the first few years I hated it.

You mean it was physically draining or you just weren’t into it?

Well ya, we just weren’t into playing the same songs over and over. Keep in mind, this is at first – we’re playing mostly crowds who weren’t so into us – things only started changing with this one [Fancy Footwork]. It was always a bit of a struggle at first, like a long uphill climb.

The first show we did in New York was one of my craziest memories.

It went off really well?

Yeah, it was crazy – like no one knew us, but they got all the references. It was at the Bowery Ballroom. We weren’t the headliner or anything. We were opening for that guy, The Streets. It was crazy.

You guys played Coachella this year and it seems like you guys have quite a few other large festival performances locked down. Compared to the more intimate shows full of solidified fans, how different is it playing to a crowd that could consist of some people who may not be completely familiar with your stuff?

It’s like that at festivals. You come and you play to people who are there sometimes to see you, sometimes not. Its good, ‘cause you know, we don’t want to get spoiled by hard-ticket shows like the Commodore in Vancouver, where everybody is there to see us already. But at a festival it’s like some of them just stepped in and some are there for us. You can’t really tell in the whole tent who’s really a hater or not – but its good. It keeps you on your toes and forces you to really step your game up. At a festival, you never get to sound check and there are other bands, so it’s competitive. It’s good. It’s a healthy way to put what you have to the test.

Coachella went really amazing. What’s crazy is that we had huge sound problems for three songs and people didn’t notice! The next day, we kept getting comments and comments on how amazing it was. But like, the first three songs, I fuckin’ had a hernia cause the sound problems! Luckily, it got fixed!

When it comes to your guys’ music videos, along with a lot of other electronic-ish artists, you seem to constantly set the bar in terms of creativity – How active are you in the actual creative direction and production of them?

I stay very active, I mean, in the band we split duties. P does all the accounting, business managing and tour managing himself!

Wow!

Yeah, he’s very hands-on like that. He’s got formal training as an accountant, so I trust him more than anyone. I’ll take care of a lot of meetings with the record labels and being my manager’s sidekick a little bit. The videos are a lot of what I do as well. I stay involved, but I also know how to delegate to directors and trust them. The problem is, we always have such small budgets…

Well, from a completely objective perspective, they’re all done really well, regardless of budget constraints.

Yeah, but it’s always a struggle. It’s always a fuckin struggle. And looking back, it’s really… they’re always a nightmare. It’s hard, man! There are not that many videos I see from other bands that are, you know, phenomenal. So it’s hard to kinda fight for that spot all the time.

I don’t know… there are some, but they’re few and far between, ya know? We should be getting the “Momma’s Boy” video next week. It’s all hand drawn animation, black and white -very different for us.

So you have the “Needy Girl,” “Tenderoni,” “Bonafied Lovin’,” “Fancy Footwork” and now “Momma’s Boy,” but there are quite a few amateur ones on YouTube that fans have done too.

Yeah, but we’re really into that.

People interpreting your music?

Yeah, whenever we get emails like, “Can we use a song for a school project or video?” we always say yes. Another thing we do is, we gave out a bunch of acapellas, and that’s why there’s like hundreds of remixes, unofficial ones. But some of them are great! Some of them are better than ones we paid money for.

I remember as a hip-hop producer, how happy I was when I’d buy a 12-inch and there’d be an acapella cause I could put it over my beats, ya know? And I wish things were as interactive back when I was producing hip-hop like they are now. So I just try to encourage any kid that’s on the come up. We’ll give ‘em our parts and be like, “Have fun, go crazy.”

How did the relationship with Surface to Air come about?

Well, the relationship with them came about when I lived in Paris. When I moved to Paris last year, I was going to help them launch Vice [magazine] in France ‘cause, you know, I’ve been working for Vice… Well, I stopped this year, but I was working for Vice for like 10 years almost. So I was gonna help them launch it and the publisher for Vice France at the time was the boss/owner over at Surface to Air. On top of that, he was also an old friend of my boy Willo who used to be my art director and business partner at Audio Research. So I kinda knew him and we clicked and I was like, “I’d love for you to do the album artwork.” He was really into the idea and it was a phenomenal thing. He’s one of the only guys whom I’ll let dictate a concept. It’s the first time we weren’t really hands on for a project with that cover [Fancy Footwork] and we were thrilled with how it came out. It actually felt great to be able to delegate and get results that we love. Then we did the “Tenderoni” video, and now, we’re actually doing a clothing project with them.

Other than the “Tenderoni” video and Fancy Footwork album artwork, what else is in the works?

I don’t know if you saw, but they just did the leather jackets for Justice…

Yeah, those turned out dope.

Yeah, we’re doing the same.

Your younger brother A-Trak (who is also Kanye’s Dj) is now quite heavily into production and really building a following for himself and the Fool’s Gold camp in that aspect. How much overlap do you see in your fans now that you’re a bit closer in terms of the style of music you guys are both producing?

That’s a good question. A lot now, I feel like… man… It’s hard to evaluate, but I feel like most of his fans now are into us as well. I mean, my brother is constantly switching and constantly building.

It kinda reflects back to his ability to go from playing a show with Kanye and then the next night rocking a big ass electro crowd.

He does both! Real talk, my brother is the only guy in the world that Kool Herc is gonna see and give props to, and the next week, he’ll be chilling with Steve Angello in Ibiza, or the Ed Banger dudes and then the following week, he’ll be with Jay-Z. That’s his life. The pictures on his blog prove it all. He’s really the only kid that can do that.

Yeah man, he’s been credited with introducing Kanye to a lot of shit.

Yeah, that’s true! You can tell… everyone can tell, but not taking anything away from Kanye because Kanye is open. But yeah, that’s what my bro does. He bridges the gap. That’s what his label does. It bridges the gap between dance music and hip-hop music.

And by the way, that’s nothing new!! Because if you look back at AV8… I remember when I had a record store I thought AV8 was wack. Remember those party records?

Yeah, the party break records, right?

Yeah, that label was founded by Armand Van Helden, that’s the “AV.” I thought that label was wack ‘cause I was such a hip-hop purist, but they were really like dance meets hip-hop. And even that label Nervous put out dance records too back then.

And they were doing all the Boot Camp Clik stuff at the time too.

Yeah, it’s nothing new but you just gotta stay in touch and reintroduce it to the new generation.

Do you and your brother ever holler at each other to get opinions on what each of you are working on?

My bro? He’s like the third member of Chromeo. He’s the first to hear absolutely everything we do. We’re extremely closely involved. I speak to my brother five times a day – everyday, and I’m also the first to hear anything he does.

Have your parents had the chance to see you two rock shows together?

Not together, but there’ll be a show with Kid Sister and us, for example, and my brother is involved, etc.

One thing that was cool in January is that my brother and Kid Sister played a show here at the Natural History Museum and then two days later, we had our headline shows at the Bowery Ballroom two nights in a row. My parents flew down. They went to the Natural History Museum and saw my brother and Kid Sister and then Kanye came out!! And then, they came to our shows too!

Any potential for a Chromeo/Kid Sister collaboration in the future?

Well, I’m involved in her record but more on the behind-the-scenes tip.

Kinda like exec producing the album?

My brother is doing that but I’m helping him. I helped him pick a lot of the beats. It’s actually gonna be a really good record. She’s good, she’s a real rapper and she can spit. And that’s important now, man.

I’ve been listening to hip-hop as my main thing since ‘92 or ‘93 – since the Pharcyde’s first record, or Tribe. And now is the first time I’ve seen, more than ever, that there is a real fuckin’ generational crisis! A generational turnover in hip-hop. All the guys I grew up listening to feel old, left out and disconnected and they can’t connect with a new generation. And there’s a new generation that doesn’t give a shit about them. I mean, you saw on YouTube – that’s really what was at the root of the whole Soldier Boy and Ice-T thing, ya know?

Well yeah, its one of the only genre’s of music that doesn’t always hold all the artists of the past in high regard. Like the Rolling Stones get a lot more love than any act of relative significance in hip-hop.

I know, yeah, but at the same time, I think part of what defines hip-hop is that it’s this sort of youthful thing. Like punk music, I don’t know punk well aside a few more commercial bands, but for example, bands like Green Day were really cool when they were really young and then they kinda became older and more…you know, corny. In hip-hop, it’s gotta stay young!!

I remember being like 19 and Nas was 24-25 maybe, and he was like the older brother I never had. Nas, Q-tip and Buckshot: They were like the older brothers I looked up to. I admired them. But if you’re a kid who’s 15 now, 50 cent is like 35! You can’t relate to him! Like who is he, your step-dad? You can’t relate to that dude.

Haha… Yeah, no doubt.

So what’s happening now is, you have 100,000 kids that related to fuckin’ G-Unit ‘cause they look like a bunch of bodyguards, but there’s a 1,000,000 kids that related to Weezy cause he’s like your fucked up older brother if you’re 16!! You know, he’s 25 and you love him!

I think that’s a really interesting thing that’s going on in rap music right now – this generational crisis – and it fascinates me. On the Ice-T and Soulja Boy thing, I was riding with Soulja Boy all the way… and I grew up on Ice-T! I don’t even like his music but Soulja Boy is so much smarter.

The kid’s definitely got some hustle.

It’s not even about hustle, though! He made it work for himself using the technology that all these old fuckin’ has-beens don’t even know how to work! And he connected with all these shorty’s and he’s the man for that. And you know, Kanye’s still connecting and Weezy too. That’s why Weezy’s album sold like that. The kids picked it up.

The only dude who’s been around – and that’s why Kanye said he’s the greatest of all time, which I’m really starting to believe now, is Nas, man. He’s got the secret to eternal youth.

Yeah man, he’s still so dope and relevant!

Yeah, but it’s not only that. I know it’s a superficial thing to say, but he still looks fresh. Like Jay kinda looks corny now, but Nas looks as fresh as when he first came out… He looks 21! And what’s dope about Nas is that he does his own weird thing every time, and it’s so hit and miss – but it doesn’t even matter anymore. He kinda invented his own genre of music and now whenever there’s a new Nas album, I’m like, “Oh cool! New Nas album!!” I always buy it ‘cause there is always weird shit on there. He’s like a fringe artist now, but that’s longevity. Nas is the greatest.

Ah man, I can’t even count how many times I’ve had this debate! But yeah, agreed. I know a lot of people who would definitely choose Hov between the two – but not me. Nas has had his questionable moments but never supremely wack or anything. Stillmatic was crazy to me.

Yeah!! Stillmatic was incredible. I was thinking about it, and like, Stillmatic was crazy, but Lost Tapes… remember that? Insane!

Yeah man! some amazing shit on there.

The only wack album was the double one.

Street’s Disciple? Yup, too much filler.

Yeah, but it had “Just a Moment,” that joint with Quan, and dude’s got some classics… “Made You Look” is a fuckin classic!

On his last record, I didn’t really like “Hip-Hop is Dead,” but I loved that song about the old school, “Where are They Now.”

Did you hear the remix he did with everyone on it?

Yeah, but they were so wack…haha.

Yo, but you gotta give it up for him putting that together! He went and got dudes like Positive K and Das Efx…

Ya! Like where does one find Positive K nowadays?

Haha! This is true!

When he mentioned Red Head Kingpin, for someone like me, that’s like the best feeling ‘cause I know.

And I love his new joint, “Hero.” He’s spitting hot shit on there, and the “Sly Fox” one too. I love him. I’m a Nas fan, man.

Alright alright… haha, back to the questions. Your hometown of Montreal is considered somewhat of a creative breeding ground for music and has spawned some of the most progressive and successful acts out of Canada and North America for that matter. What’s your explanation for that?

To me, it’s good karma; I don’t really know what happened. But to be fair, a lot of those dudes you’re probably referring to are not originally from Montreal, like Win Butler from Arcade Fire. He’s not from Montreal he’s from Texas. But still, it’s a gorgeous city with cheap rent. It’s easy to live and blossom in, and you can get the government grants and stuff.

Yeah, it’s an environment conducive to a developing artist’s lifestyle. You can work on your stuff and still live relatively comfortably.

Yeah, straight up and down, it’s like Berlin.

I did an interview with your Modular label mates Cut Copy and asked them the same inevitable question to wrap the interview up: What’s your take on the current state of the music industry?

Cut Copy? Those are my boys, man. I like those dudes.

But yeah, I think it’s great. I think it’s the best. I’ve never been more proud to be part of the music industry. I’ve been doing music my whole life and I mean, it’s a bit of a cliché, but now all the labels that used to bully and jerk artists, they’re all getting jerked and they’re all getting bankrupt and everybody is getting fired! They’re all going under and losing their jobs, and I can just sit back and laugh and make money off shows.

That’s always how artists signed to labels have really made their money.

Yeah, it’s all from touring, it’s not from record sales. I don’t know anyone that makes money from record sales, but it’s better that way, it’s becoming increasingly artist controlled, and there’s a shift in media. I really can’t wait to be older in 20-30 years from now and tell people that I lived through such an important paradigm shift. It’s fascinating… It’s fuckin’ fascinating!

Its like, I’ll be at my lawyer’s office and we’ll talk about certain deals, and I’ll be like, “Well, why don’t we do this?” And for the first time, the lawyer will be like, “Yeah, why don’t we?” There’s no precedent anymore. We can do whatever we want; there are no rules anymore.

No doubt, the Cut Copy guys mentioned it’s like the Wild West now, but if you can hold your own and push your own stuff…

Yeah, or even work with the label in a very cooperative kinda way.

Yeah, like, still own your masters and let them do the distribution.

Yeah, exactly. That’s a great idea.

Alright my man, I think we got some good stuff here.

Was that good?

Yes sir.

Cool

For More on Chromeo see:

Chromeo Official Website

Chromeo Myspace Page

And be sure not to sleep on the Chromeo’s jam session with Daryl Hall of Hall & Oates to be aired August 15th. Go *here* for more.

Hilarious promo for the comedy flick Step Brothers which just opened on July 25th. I’d lost faith in Will Farrell after watching the absolutely terrible Semi-Pro – but I’m definitely even more amped to see the flick after this promo.

Ironically, this is hotter than half the Hip-Hop thats been released this year…hahaha. Case in point here. ….**shudder**

The latest single/video from The Presets’ Apocalypso album – “Talk Like That”.

The video is directed by Jonas & Francois – known for their collaborations with So-Me for Kanye’s Good Life and Justice’s D.A.N.C.E. videos.

I suppose now would be a good time to also mention that they will be playing with Cut Copy in Vancouver on October 9th at the Commodore – tix are on sale now @ Ticketmaster.

Yet another banger from my peoples Keys N Krates. This time around its Mos Def’s classic “Miss Fat Booty”.

The clip is a really short one shot by a seemingly drunk fan at their big return home to a sold out crowd @ Toronto’s Wrongbar.

Enjoy – as I’m sure you will.

*Sidenote – Keys N Krates are currently working tour dates down the US west coast and in the NY/Philly/DC area for the coming months. And their first Mixtape is in the works as well. Stay Posted!

A lil’ preview for fans of the Eh Team Dj’s. Their latest gig – “For the Hungry” campaign with L.A. clothing brand Orisue. The appetite inducing ad will be appearing in the latest issue of good ol’ Vice Magazine and features all the members of Canada’s premier Dj collective – Team Canada’s Grandtheft & D.R. One, Pump, Jr. Flo, Illo, and Hedspin.

Gotta love how they have the Montreal’s Team Canada eating poutine & bagels, Vancouver’s Hedspin eating sushi, Toronto’s Jr. Flo eating Carribbean roti and Calgary’s Pump hanging out with a beef carcass..hahaha. As for Ottawa’s Illo – I’m not sure what he’s eating but I’d assume it’s from Tim Horton’s.

Feel free to use the killahbeez search to find out more about what these cats are all about – if you didn’t already know.

HAHAHAHAH!! This has to have been made from an “insider”…or at least someone who is familar enough.

The punchlines and commentary in this video are on point, but the self-conscious comments from the alien take the cake…LOL.

Courtesy of Current.com

Love or hate him, you can’t deny the fact that Nas never hesitates to speak his mind.

As you all know, Nas’ new album “Untitled” dropped yesterday. As many of you also know, the album originally had a different and far more controversial title – namely one that had masses of people who understood his plan supporting him, while the rest assumed the logic behind the original title was precisely the opposite of what Mr. Nasir Jones actually intended. Ultimately the original album name, Nigger, was dropped.

I swung by Union Square to get a signed copy (I’m still like a teenage fan when it comes to Nas) and the picture above is how Nas himself signed my cd – and pretty much the majority of the other thousand or so people who also purchased @ the signing.

Anyone who still doesn’t understand the intent behind the original album name should have a listen to it and read what is written inside the CD inlet- I’m talkin to you Media (Fox News and friends), Labels (who fronted on the support – Def Jam) and March Organizers (nut-ripping Jesse & Big hair Al).

Etienne De Crecy Live 2007 Transmusicales de Rennes from Clement bournat on Vimeo.

WOW.
I may be late on this one – but it is a must that everyone sees this. Absolutely mindblowing visuals from France’s Etienne De Crecy at the Transmusicales de Rennes festival. And to boot, the music is bangin too – the break @ around the 2:30 mark is dope.

I don’t know what else to say at this point other than this is NEXT F-ING LEVEL.

I don’t get too excited about much in terms of Hip-Hop nowdays… But anything Mr. Nasir Jones is involved with is an exception. Nas‘ latest full length album – Untitlied, drops today.

Still the best MC ever in my books and I’m sure this album will live up to all the hype – You can bet I’ll be purchasing a copy today – perhaps @ the Virgin Megastore in Union Square in NY where Nas will be doing a signing @ 5pm.

Its July 4th and since I’m in the US for a few months and its a holiday for me, consider this some random holiday content from yours truly…

A little piece to ponder on from my homeboy and designer extraordinaire Calvin Yu who asked me the following question yesterday….

So now you may ask yourself the same: Is it Hipster…or is it Hanks ?

Tom Hanks to be specific. In Cast Away to be even more specific….LOL.

For more of my man’s works, check out R3SP3CT.com

Man…lol…I’m starting to feel like a bit of a Modular groupie – but for real, Ladyhawke’s “Paris is Burning” is already such a great track – add Cut Copy’s magic touch and it pretty much puts this jam at the top ranks of my summer playlist. The percussion is ridiculous and the grand build up to the chorus will have you cutting the rug/pumping your fist (whichever you’re more prone to) once it kicks.

Now we just gotta wait for this to release in North America, but in the meantime have a taste.

Ladyhawke “Paris Is Burning” (Cut Copy Remix)