On November 6th and 7th, Keys N Krates played to a packed house in Vancouver and then in Victoria. For those of you that have been reading the blog for a minute now, you know we’ve been talking about Keys N Krates quite a bit. For those that aren’t in the know, Keys N Krates are a live remix band, yeah thats right a LIVE REMIX BAND, live drums with Tune, live synths with Matisse and Jr. Flo on the turntables breaking down the samples. In the midst of their busy touring schedule we were able to catch up with one of the members, DJ Jr. Flo, for a quick one on one interview.

And yes that is a car alarm in the beginning, a testament to how dedicated I am to go to dodgy areas to get interviews for you all. Wellllll, technically this was across the street from my place, and the area isn’t that dodgy. But yeah sorry about the car alarm in the beginning.

For upcoming tour information hit up their MySpace page: www.myspace.com/keysnkrates

If you liked this interview please help me out and vote for me here: music.virgin.com

Special thanks to AJK and the video editor extrodinaire Gordon Wong.

The dudes over at CollegeDJ.net were nice enough to do a quick interview and article for their site. Go on over and check them out and see what’s good.

College DJs here it is. New, Hot, Now. Get Music is a service that brings all the hot jams to you (thanks to our gracious record label affiliates). Bump new, hot, even unreleased rap, alternative and rock music. This service is for college djs, producers and labels. College DJ tracks all the hits in the club and party for you to use on your college shows. Grade each song and become a member to rock it at the next party, and get it right now for FREE right here at CollegeDJ.net.

Pretty dope site and how can you hate on getting some free music. So head on over and support these dudes, www.collegedj.net.

One.

A long time indie favorite, dance floor rockers The Faint have brought us the undeniable truth about American politics and the daily life of the American middle class with a quirky, tongue-in-cheek approach making use of unforgettable lyrics and striking melodies that no one can shake off.  I had the opportunity to speak with Todd Fink, the lead singer of The Faint and am truly pleased to share this conversation with our readers.

As kids, what did you all want to be when you “grew up”?

Todd:  Hmmmm… well not sure if I wanted to be anything or even had certain aspirations.  Kinda sad, I know [laughter].  But I guess as I grew up I wanted to be a professional skater.

How far did you get with skating?

Todd: Right up to being a pro but then I realized that I wanted to take my time with getting better at skating so that I would have a better chance at becoming a pro with a reputable skateboarding company.  I did really well in national youth competitions and stuff.

How did the transition from skateboarding to music happen?

Todd: I had surgery for my knee from arthritis, and found out I couldn’t really skate anymore.  But from the experience of doing something that I loved, I gained the passion that transferred into music and if I kept doing it just like with skateboarding, I knew that anything was possible.

How did the members of The Faint all meet?

Todd: Well Joel is a skateboard friend and my bro Clark, I had him around all the time to go skating.  The three off us were from the skating scene and started the band.  The other guys we just met in Omaha and it just so happened that we all went to the same high school.

Did you think that you would be this successful when you all first started out?

Todd: No. I mean, we didn’t really think about it.  The only goal that I remember having was a dream to be able to go out and tour different places and know that however amount of people there would be whether big or small, that they knew our music and it happened bigger than we ever expected.  At the same time you are convinced by your own humility and it’s hard to really know which one to believe, the numbers of fans responding to the success is almost a mind fuck.

You boys are from Omaha.  How has that influenced your music and your individual creativity?

Tood: I’m sure it has, I mean we’ve all been here our whole lives and I’m sure our opinions in which things we have experienced have affected us.  There have been good record stores here and venues that are conducive to small bands performing and it’s not like we lose people to Kansas City or anywhere.  The closest place is 8 hours to Chicago.  So we are just a bunch of people for whatever reason ending up and staying here, so Omaha has a thriving music scene.

I’ve noticed you have evolved as a band since the days of Danse Macabre, Wet From Birth to your current album Fasciinatiion.  Was this planned or something more along the lines of a natural progression?

Todd: Well we sort of base it on our opinions about what sounds good and what makes sense.  To do changes over time, based on what music we hear, it’s a natural progression for better or for worse.  It’s definitely natural.

People in the past have labeled you as the “new new wave” or “dance/punk.” How do you feel about these labels?

Todd: Labels.  People love them, but in general we try not to associate with them since they are fads and catch phrases and no matter how cool they are at the time, people invest too much in the actual label and get tired of them over time.  We feel like, “listen and decide for yourself.”

If you were to describe The Faint and your music to an outsider, what words would you choose?

Todd: I’ve had to do this on the plane a few times sitting with strangers [laughter].  I guess I’ve said we play electronic rock music before.  It’s pretty general.  Or I will say we play songs with keyboards – I try to keep it literal.

Who have been your major influences in the music world and are there any current bands/acts that have caught your attention?

Todd: Fugazi has influenced us.  But you take different things from different bands, you know.  Sonic Youth, The Clash and David Bowie – bands that have good songs that are unmistakably their songs.  The band Late of The Pier, they are pretty awesome and from the UK; they have something there that I relate to for sure.  We like that French electronic scene.  There is a huge explosion of artistic expression there.  We were in France and met with Busy P, Sebastian, Kavinsky, Kasper from Justice, etc..

So any prospects of remixes with them?

Todd: Definitely.  But we’ll see,  we do have some good remixes that are being worked on including with Boys Noize  - Alex,  he and DIM did a mix together.

Where did you come up with The Faint as your band name?

Todd: It just presented itself.  There was no decision; it just was.  We didn’t have a name for a while and it was just kinda assigned to us when we did our first show.  On the flyer was a Roman Bailer reference, so we kinda considered ourselves as a band without a name until 1997.   We knew it was just going to come to us and it did.

Last but not least, what do you guys spend your time doing when not touring or making music?

Todd: Well, I like to make visual art collages and other artistic things.  Also I love playing pool, I love learning science, astronomy etc.  We are kinda the NPR and stoned cartoon watching kinda of guys – we can’t help it.  When we’re not doing band stuff we still hang out.

Thanks so much guys and I’m looking forward to seeing you guys live at your next show!!!  When is the next U.S. tour?

Todd: Our next tour in the States is in two weeks and after that in the Spring.

It’s been five or so years since the band has been formed, with an array of singles, a huge following and two studio albums under their belt, today marks the release of the third album, Intimacy. With a busy touring schedule ahead of them, it was a great surprise and pleasure that we were able to hook up with Bloc Party drummer Matt Tong for an interview. What ensued is a hilarious Q & A between us.

Killahbeez: First off thanks guys for taking the time to answer a few questions for our readers / fans of yours.

KB: I took a look at your touring schedule and I have to say it’s insane! Pretty much from July of this year to April of next year and I was lucky enough to catch you guys at the Virgin Music Festival in Toronto. How has the tour been going? Any tales of madness from fans or from yourselves?

Matt Tong: Been fairly good so far. We were a bit worried it might be too much to turn the new songs into a crazy live show, but we seemed to have pulled it off.

Mad tales? Not really. We stole one of the festival buggies in Baltimore and spent an hour going round and round the horseracing track. I wanted to take one back to the hotel but was advised it might lead to my arrest.

KB: The new album, Intimacy, is coming out on October 28th, what can fans expect from this album? How is it different from the other projects?

MT: It’s a bit more stripped down than the last record. We’ve sort of learned what to leave out. I’m not entirely sure if I’m ready to explain to others what to expect because we didn’t really know what to expect when we started making the damn thing. I’m still not sure I’m meant to expect now. It’s good though. Go listen.

KB: Do you guys have a favorite track from the album?

MT: We don’t really sit around discussing our favourite album tracks. It’s not like I walk into the office one day Kele’s all like, Great fill on “Halo”.

Love your work Matt’, and I’m saying, “Those lyrics on “Ares”. Splendid. A ferosh call to arms.” Even though we obviously feel that. It doesn’t need to be said. Or does it? I just don’t know.

[Laughter]

KB: The first single and video, “Talons”, tell me the story / concept behind the video? It feels very manic and intense, a reflection of the lyrics.

MT: It is deeply manic. We went deep on the mania. We were just really into this idea of Kele running round with his top off. He¹s trying to break into bit parts in body moisturizer adverts.

[Laughter]

KB: This is your third studio album, how does the collaboration process work now with the group?  Do you all work together in the studio or is more each person recording in a studio and sending the layers and tracks to the other.

MT: Normally Kele is in the studio laying down ideas and things and then he literally mails us spools and spools of tape to listen to on our multi-track tape players at home. And then we record our comments on to the spare tracks of the tape and give them back to a courier to return to him.

KB: From start to ending, can you tell us what inspires the song writing and building process?

MT: Start: A homeless man sits by a deserted train station in Gloucester. He whimpers softly to no-one in particular.

Middle: Detective Broder of the Northern District receives a facsimile containing a photofit and detailing the crimes of the homeless man, which are known to no-one.

End: We write a song about it.

[Laughter]

KB: So whom is the band listening to nowadays? Any artists that wow you guys?

MT: We all listen a lot to the Stone Temple Pilots. Those elegant bachelors. Wow factor: Wet Paint.

KB: Are there any producers or artists out there that you guys would want to work with down the road for either albums or remixes or videos?

MT: Album: Stock, Aitken and Waterman.
Remix: Armand Van Helden
Video: Michael Winner

KB: The state of the music industry, how do you guys feel it has changed from when you first started? Or has it?

MT: It hasn’t changed. London’s industry is still full of twits called Danthanthiel mincing about in Diesel and idling tapping away on Blackberrys, throwing good money after bad.

[Laughter]

KB: Anything else you boys want to say to the fans of Bloc Party?

MT: We owe and continue to owe you so much. Thanks for sticking with us.

The third studio album, Intimacy, is available in stores and iTunes now. Visit Bloc Party’s website for more information: www.blocparty.com. Also hit up www.killahbeez.com for more interviews.

So you want to get an audience with Clinton Sparks. Yeah? Well, get in line.

See, getting an audience with Clinton Sparks can take time, something the guy doesn’t have in abundance. To find him, you’ve got to thief moments when he’s not hosting radio. Or producing mixtapes. Or breaking down new music on TV. Or writing tunes for the likes of Ludacris and Beyonce. You know…find his downtime. But what you and I consider downtime really isn’t downtime in Clinton Spark’s world. He always has something on the go.

“I have so much passion for everything music related whether it’s the business or putting shows together, writing, producing, DJing parties, dancing, performing,” Sparks said in an interview. “I always have much bigger plans than it may appear and am strategically setting things up with other plans in mind. It’s very calculated.”

This goes a long way in explaining how the self-proclaimed “Martha Stewart of hip hop” went from Boston radio stunt guy to one of the hottest names in the industry. There’s his skill on the wheels - both Rolling Stone and USA Today named him one of the world’s top 10 DJs. Production credits include Billboard-charted tracks for The Game and Akon. His nationally syndicated show is one of the biggest stars on Sirius Radio. Oh, he’s gotten into television as well, hosting The Daily 10 as their resident music expert.

If Sparks was a decathlete, he’d be the guy pushing to do an 11th event. This never-stop mentality has skyrocketed Sparks into the mainstream - his ability to mesh a love of hip-hop with pop culture has won him favor with heads and celebs alike. Nowhere is that more evident than with Smashtime Radio.

With Smashtime, Sparks brings this I’m-gonna-do-everything-and-anything mentality to the airwaves, playing a plethora of music while rotating guests through his on-air party.

“Smashtime stemmed from the last hour of my show on Hot 97.7 in Boston where I would just go in heavy because it was the hour when everyone was leaving the club. Now, its syndicated in over 25 markets worldwide,” Sparks explains. “I have also turned Smashtime into the hottest party in Las Vegas. I play everything from Hip-Hop to Rock, Dance, pop, old school, 80’s. We also have surprise guests every week from Ne-Yo to Akon, Carmen Electra to the cast from the Hills.”

Off the airwaves, Sparks has been holding it down as one of the most sought-after producers in the game. Most recently, he produced the title track for Bun B’s “II Trill” that debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 200 chart. And while he’s already worked with some incredibly tight artists, Sparks wants to keep pushing the envelope into different genres.

“A lot of people will be very surprised with what I plan to do next year with music, but I will never abandon Hip Hop,” he explained when asked what artists he’d like to work with. “Jay-Z would be one. Weezer and Teddy Riley are some people too. But there are so many I’d like to work with in all different genres of music. But after I complete my Clinton Sparks [the artist] album, people will really get to know what I’m about.”

For the most part, Sparks is all about the hustle. While his forays into pop and rock music have expanded his audience globally, his desire to be the hardest working man in hip-hop maintains his cred with heads (check the rhyme!) Plus, he knows his roots. While Sparks realizes he’s quickly becoming the voice of hip hop radio for the 2K generation, he also knows none of it would’ve been possible without pioneers like Stretch & Bobbito, Lady B, Red Alert and Funkmaster Flex.

“I love that after all my work into creating and identifying Smashtime that people are recognizing it more and downloading and podcasting it,” Sparks said. “As far as the DJs mentioned, I view them as trendsetters and am very grateful for all of them for helping to open doors for the radio DJ.”

With these doors now kicked wide open, we gotta ask – what does the future of Clinton Sparks hold? The guy is seemingly capable of anything, so where could it lead? To gain some insight, I played corporate pitchman and tossed a few show ideas his way. Here’s what Sparks had to say:

Mike Halford: I might be biting here, but what about a VH1 show called “Be My sPArks?” It’s a 10-person competition to become the personal assistant to the busiest man in the industry.

Clinton Sparks: Well Diddy is already doing that and I strive to be original. So I’d say “Guys do you know that show already exists? Who’s in charge here?”

MH: A little more indie and for the web…how about the YouTube: Smashtime Mixtape Wars. You host webisodes, judging the best user-submitted music/video mashups from the wide world of sports.

CS: Well if it’s all videos people submit then will I be see on screen as the host or just narrate? That would be the first question. Then, how much would I get paid and how well will they promote it. All of that would play into my decision.

MH: How about a Food Network show called “In Tha Kitchen with Clinton?” You collaborate with your favorite artists to make your favorite dishes and lay down tracks.

CS: That’s a decent idea if the kitchen was a metaphor for studio and we actually cooked up beats live in front of the audience, then had an 800-number to auction off the beats that were just created live in front of your eyes…have like big producers from hip hop, country, rock, etc. As you can see, when someone puts in idea in front of me I have 10 more to add.

That last line basically sums up Sparks in a nutshell. Always thinking, always pushing the boundaries. So if (or when) the Martha Stewart of hip-hop and Martha Stewart end up collaborating on some mac n’ cheese, remember, the idea started here first. Big things that start from the littlest ideas – now there’s something to get familiar with.

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This interview was done by guest writer Mike Halford. Mike Halford is the co-owner of the Orland Kurtenblog or as they sometimes call it “KB”, which is pretty fuckin’ confusing when Mike and I have a conversation because I sometimes refer to Killahbeez as the “KB” as well. The “Orland Kurtenblog, aka the KB, is a Vancouver Canucks blog written by Jason Brough and Mike Halford. It’s mostly about the NHL but includes other sports too. It can be found on the interweb.”

I know both these dudes and definitely can say the shit they write is hilarious and interesting. So check them out over at: www.kurtenblog.com.

On several occasions at Killahbeez, we made mention to German electronica DJ, Alex Ridha aka Boys Noize.  I first came across Boys Noize’s music by way of Kitsune Maison’s only podcast.  The track was a remix to Feist’s “My Moon, My Man” on Kitsune Maison’s 4th CD compilation.  With a very distinct sound and Johnny “Guns” Love’s narrative, I was convinced to seek what other remixes were out on iTunes.  From Justice to Cut Copy, the man’s work is a wide array of epic tunes.  Busy P’s comparison of Boys Noize Records’ efforts to Ed Banger’s is not only a compliment, it’s the truth.  Between production work and gigs, Alex was kind enough to spare several minutes to answer questions we had for him.  Here goes…

Killahbeez: So Alex, can you tell us the origin behind the name Boys Noize?

Boys Noize: I was desperately looking for a “cool” name.  A name to scream and shout after a gig.  A name easy to remember.  A name considered more “prollig”.  A name that sells! A name that expresses the way I feel, the way I play, the way I love,  and MOST IMPORTANT the way I AM.  It had to be outstanding, innovative and timeless, too.  I came up with Laser Face and the single “Face the Laser” but I got into beef with DJ Tiga who wanted the same name for his side project :(  Boys Noize is actually the worst name because most of the people think of 2 guys and everyone writes the name wrong.  I also have other project names as Puzique, Morgentau, Eastwest, or 909D1SCO too.

KB: Who were some major influences in your career?

BN: Anything from Roule Records, Dance Mania, Kraftwerk and Tresor.

KB: Every dj/producer has a signature sound. How did you come about developing yours?

BN: After producing 10 years you get bored of a lot of sounds and I’m always look for something that surprises me.

KB: How important are lyrics in your tracks?

BN: I dont care about lyrics.  When I dj, I don’t like much vocals either.  It’s not easy to have cool vocals on a banging track.

KB: It appears you’ll be touring most of Asia in the upcoming weeks.  Do you have any plans on returning to the US?  We’d love to have you in DC.

BN: Yeah, I am coming back for sure.  For this year I only have dates in NYC & LA, but I’m gonna make a big tour in march09…aiaiai

KB: You’ve done a slew of remixes for artists such as Bloc Party, Depeche Mode, Feist and Justice.  What are all the processes involved in a remix?  Who approaches who?

BN: Its always different.  D.Modes manager contacted me saying that one of the band member is a big fan but it can also be the label that reaches out.  Then sometimes I do free remixes because I love the song.  In some cases, I’ll do swap remixes with other artists or you get asked by a friend like Housemeister…

KB: On the topic of remixes, I really enjoyed your version of Phantom. Will you be remixing anymore tracks for Justice in the future?  Perhaps Planisphere?

BN: Thank you! Well, probably not from the recent album…let’s see.

KB: If there is one artist you would like to collaborate with, who would that be?

BN: Gonzales (Note: Gonzales is Feist’s producer)

KB: What can one expect from your live sets?

BN: Fun!

KB: Lastly, what should we expect from Boys Noize for the remainder of 2008 and beginning of 2009?

BN: I’m mixing the next I LOVE TECHNO CD which will be out in October due to the festival.  I’m working on new stuff & collaborations…too hot to mention yet :=)

Also noteworthy, is the release of Boys Noize Records Volume 1.  Expect top notch floor smashers from Boys Noize, Shadow Dancer, D.I.M., Housemeister, Les Petits Pilous, Siriusmo, Strip Steve, Puzique, etc.  The two cd compilation is now available.  For those in need of a live Boys Noize fix, he will be headlining at Webster Hall alongside A-Trak on October 3rd.  Another reason why I heart GBH.  The “Attack of the Unibros” tour finishes off in Montreal on October 4th.

Swedish songstress Lykke Li is all but 22 years old, but her debut album, Youth Novels, is making heads turn. An explosion of electronic pop-rock with a little new age thrown into the mix, Lykke Li’s raspy, almost childlike vocals transcend lightly-layered, minimalist instrumentals. Singles “I’m Good I’m Gone,” “Little Bit” and “Breaking It Up” are already impacting global airwaves, not to mention Lykke Li’s avant-garde sense of personal style, which has been heavily noted by more than one fashionista. Despite her busy touring schedule (read: over 25 stops which include Paris, London, New York, Vancouver, San Francisco and Copenhagen), Lykke Li gave Killahbeez a hot minute to answer a few questions that have been on our minds.

You’ve been touring a lot lately! First with El Perro Del Mar and now, solo. How is that going?

It’s going very well, thank you. Over my expectations!

You’ve got a ton of dates scheduled for the U.K. in the fall. Is that where your main fan base is outside of Sweden?

I think so, since I’ve been spending more time there lately then in Sweden. Also my label is signed there.

You’ve been doing the whole summer festivals thing. How do you find that in comparison to playing smaller venues? Do you have a preference?

I find it quite intimidating sometimes ’cause it’s hard working up a vibe if its daytime and thousands of people. My favorite is always to play really late at a really small club.

How did you get started in the music biz? Is it something that you knew you always wanted to do?

You never know exactly what to do ’cause the picture you have in your head does not really fit into reality, but I always knew I wanted to be an artist. And about the biz, it’s just a struggle!

If you weren’t a singer, what would you be doing right now?

Finding myself, educating myself, releasing myself, somewhere down south…

How was it recording the tracks for Youth Novels? What was the process? How was working with Bjorn Yttling and Lasse Marten?

The whole project started kind of loose and spread out, and I love those two guys. It was only in the final recordings in NY that got really intense, but it was a lot of laughter and brainstorming going on… and champagne.

What were your goals and expectations when you recorded the album?

To make an honest and complete album and to not limit myself. I didn’t think about anyone else but me during that period. No expectations but my own.

It seems like a lot of your songs are about unrequited love and love lost. Even with the more upbeat songs or brighter melodies, your lyrics are quite sad and dark. Was that a purposeful theme when writing the album?

No, those were just the things I was going through at the moment…

While dark, your album is very danceable. You once worked as a dancer on a TV show and you dance a lot in your videos too. Is that something that was important to you when writing songs? Making them danceable?

I did not really work as a dancer on TV, as people would like to think. I danced behind another artist ONCE when I was 15. I don’t intend to make dance music, I don’t even like dance music, but I guess it kinda happens naturally…

Who are some of your musical inspirations/ influences?

Edith Piaf, Nina Simone, Dr. John, the Shangri-Las and the Fugees.

You lived in a lot of different countries growing up… Sweden, Portugal, Morocco, India… Has living in these places informed your music and style?

I only lived permanently in Sweden and Portugal and traveled to the other places, and no, I don’t think it influenced my music. Solitude in Stockholm influenced my music.

You left home for New York to record your album when you were 19. How was that experience?

I did not record the album that time. I actually did it the second time I got to NY when I was 21. They were both amazing experiences in very different ways.

Who would you love to do a collaboration with in the future?

Bon Iver, Beirut and Phil Spector.

You’ve become a bit of a style icon yourself. How would you describe your personal style?

Hmmm, have I really? My style is a bit schizo but I have a lot of black clothes and a lot of vintage.

What are three items you can’t live without?

Water, music and family.

Any upcoming plans you’d like to share with your fans besides touring?

I like to keep my plans secret until they’re accomplished. It’s a too high risk of failing otherwise.

Anything else you’d like to say to your fans?

I’m really thankful you’ve given me the oppurtunity to express myself at such early stage, and this is just the first shaky baby steps of my career. I will grow as well as you! One love.

Erin Magee is the founder and designer behind women’s streetwear line MadeMe. Since the release of its first line in fall 2007, MadeMe has gone from a New York incarnation to a global force, landing in the pages of the New York Post, Nylon and Trace, not to mention, collabos with artists like Alicia Keys. We caught up with the unstoppable missile that is Erin Magee to hit her up with a few questions on her inspirations, the collection and what’s next.

In your biography, you talk about filling a void in women’s streetwear. What do you see as being the void and how does your line fill that void?

Erin Magee: I have always worn “streetwear” and a lot of the time, wore men’s stuff. When I started MadeMe, there were only a few women’s streetwear brands out there. The ones that did exist didn’t make complete collections. They mainly made Ts and hoodies, which was cool, but I wanted to take it to the next level. My whole premise was to provide girls with top to bottom selection. I wanted to make a brand that embodied an entire lifestyle, so out came MadeMe.

What inspired you to start MadeMe?

EM: I was just going through a really shitty time in my life. I was really bored professionally and personally, so instead of sitting around working for other people all the time and feeling sorry for myself, I decided to do something. Since then, my life has completely changed direction, for the better of course! I have met so many dope people through my brand, learned so much and experienced even more. It’s challenging, but maybe that’s what I was missing.

Describe a MadeMe girl? What does the line say about you?

EM: The brand says everything about me. Its everything I like, I wear, I want to wear. It’s just an expression of me. It’s how I see fashion and the world.

What is your design process and how important is it?

EM: It’s really important! But it happens to be the part of the business I spend the least amount of time on. Running a business is the most time consuming and essential part to making this work. I am constantly collecting references and inspiration, so when it comes time to design, it flows really easily.

I read on Riottt.com that you are a big fan of Madonna’s. Does her persona have any influence on your MadeMe collection? Do you have a favorite track or album?

EM: “Vogue” is my favorite Madonna song. I fucking loveee it! It was really a whole movement and represented a lot to me. That song really brought gay dance culture to the mainstream. She got a lot of shit for that, but I think it was a monumental time in pop culture. My favorite Madonna album… hmmm… that’s hard. I think I am going to say Erotica. That’s the one everybody hated, but that’s my shit right there. Madonna rapping in 1992… it’s amazing. And yes, Madonna finds her way into every season of MadeMe. She always will.

Any other fashion / music idols that inspire you?

EM: I love Alicia Keys. I think she’s incredibly talented. It’s rare to have someone like her in “popular” music today. As for fashion icons, of course I am really into Vivienne Westwood. I want to look like that when I am 67! She basically invented the screen-printed T-shirt, so all of us streetwear ladies owe her a lot.

How has working at Supreme influenced your own line? Are you still with Supreme, and how much time does that allow you to work on your MadeMe line?

EM: Yes, I am still working at Supreme. I do that during the day and all other waking hours, I am on the MadeMe clock. I don’t have time for much these days. I work a lot and when I am not working, I am trying to do things that inspire me to make a better collection.

How did you hook up with Alicia Keys for her video “Like You’ll Never See Me Again”?

EM: It’s a funny story. I have this crazy obsession with her, so it’s weird how it all worked out. I just knew some people on set and knew the stylist. They were very last minute with her wardrobe, so they gave me a call on a Friday night at 5 p.m. (the shoot started at 6 a.m. on Saturday). They wanted one of my jackets and I didn’t have any left. They all sold out! So I scrambled and got some sent down from Atmos in Harlem. We got them to Alicia in time for the shoot. She loved it and bought one from me.

Any other big news or big collabs / projects that you’re working on for the rest of the year?

EM: Yes, I am doing a T-Shirt collabo with Natalie [Albino] from Nina Sky. She writes graffiti (I don’t think anyone knows that really), but she does and she does it well. So we are dropping a T for the MadeMe holiday collection. Look out for it – it’s dope.

What sort of pieces can we look forward to seeing in fall 2008? Any chance we’ll see a men’s line?

EM: I have some really ill leather jackets coming out this fall. Don’t sleep on these. They are amazing. No men’s line in the future. I started MadeMe to make something for the ladies. I am going to stick with that for now.

What three pieces are staples in your wardrobe?

EM: T-shirts, leggings and jeans. (How boring of me, but true.)

What shoe can you not live without?

EM: I just got those silver, mesh, open-toed, three-quarter lace-up Chanel boots. (That’s a mouthful!) But they are dope!

Describe your personal style and favorite label(s) right now?

EM: Personal style: Handsome. Favorite labels: Chanel and Opening Ceremony.

Mehdi Faveris-Essadi, better known simply as DJ Mehdi, is a hip-hop electro DJ outta Paris, France. Since getting started in the mid ‘90s, Mehdi has knocked down some collabos with Daft Punk, MC Solaar, Chromeo and Busy P, among others. Signed onto French label Ed Banger Records, Mehdi has brought some of the freshest mixes to all corners of the globe. And despite his current touring schedule, Mehdi recently gave some time to Killahbeez to answer some questions we’d been wondering.

You’re mad touring all over Europe right now. How’s that going?

DJ Mehdi: Going very good, thank you. I love touring here in Europe. It’s my home. I never get tired of it. France, U.K., Germany plus Scandinavia and the Mediterranean, so much things to see, so many good people, and the food is usually great. What more could I ask for?

You’re playing both festivals and smaller club venues. Do you have a preference?

DJM: I do prefer club venues because I think it suits the music I play better, and also because it’s always hard to compete when Iggy Pop, Arcade Fire or Wu-Tang Clan is playing on the main stage at the same time as you.

What’s been your favorite place to play? And why?

DJM: I have no absolute preference. There will always be a special thrill when playing for a packed club crowd, anywhere in the world, I guess.

How’d you hook up with Busy P?

DJM: I became enamored with Busy P when I saw him play the Volstein Sonate on the piano, not because I saw him on MySpace.

How has working with other Ed Banger artists affected your sound, which is more hip-hop based?

DJM: One of the misconceptions about Ed Banger is that there is this sound that we supposedly all share, I guess because of Justice or Sebastian’s success. That’s one of the reasons Busy P came up with the idea of having the Ed Rec compilations, to showcase everyone’s style and also show how much we do influence each other.

Who are some of your influences in hip-hop and other genres?

DJM: DJ Premier, Jay-Z, Kanye West, Futura 2000, Mode2, Os Gemeos, Chris Ware, Justice, Chris Rock, Jerry Seinfeld and my wife, Fafi.

What have been some of your favorite remixes?

DJM: I very much like “La Gasolina” by Daddy Yankee.

Who do you see as the next big artist?

DJM: Sebastian, Kavinsky, Surkin, Proxy, Math Head, I could go on and on…

It’s been a few years since you released Lucky Boy. Planning on putting together another album anytime soon?

DJM: I’ve just started to gather some ideas and tracks, I’m working on it, so next year promised!

Saw you last year when you toured with A-Trak and Kid Sister at the Fool’s Gold tour. Planning on heading over to North America again sometime soon?

DJM: I will tour America this fall, yes, and with quite a big surprise around late October/early November, so you will definitely be invited to some more Ed Banger fun near you soon.

Anything you want to say to your fans?

DJM: In Mariah Carey’s wise words, “I love my fans.”

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.

Photo: Ian Meyer

The words “The Rub” for some invokes thoughts of a mishmash secret ingredients that they carefully concoct to help tenderize and/or enhance the flavor of the meat that they’re cooking. For others its the party rocking dj trio known as The Rub, which consists of Cosmo Baker, Dj Ayres and Dj Eleven. As a collective they’ve been rocking the scene via clubs and online radio since 2002. Their parties are known to be bananas and to guarantee a great time. We were fortunate enough to catch up with the trio for a quick interview.

First off, I got to say that I’ve been a fan of the Rub for a while now. The whole History of Hip-Hop series as well as the It’s The Motherfucking Remix compilations are insane. Anyways, what’s the origin behind the Rub? How did the crew end up forming?

Eleven: We’d all met separately in the years before the party began. Ayres & Cosmo met through On the Go magazine; Eleven & Ayres met through mutual friends; and, Cosmo & Eleven through a mutual DJ friend who’d forgotten to bcc their email list. Ayres started the party at Southpaw with one of its owners, Mikey Palms. Eleven played at the first one and Cosmo at the second. From there, we kept building, and the party at Southpaw, the CDs and the Rub continued to grow and grow and GROW!

How’d you guys all come up with the name the Rub? Is there a meaning behind the name?

Ayres: When we were trying to think of names for the party, we went through a bunch of different ideas, and I was looking at records for inspiration. “The Rub” is a George and Gwen McRae song about slowing the music down and dancing close, so it’s a thinly veiled metaphor for sex. And then a “rub” is also a simple scratch from the early days of hip-hop DJs, so the name fit nicely and everyone liked it. None of us had any idea that this party was going to be so successful and last so long, but because it did, we’re all happy we came up with a good name and logo.

How does the crew (Cosmo Baker, DJ Ayres, DJ Eleven) compliment one another with all of your styles when you guys are rocking a party or putting together a mix?

Cosmo: Like every DJ, we all have our own personal strong suits and things that we’re more well versed in, but all in all, the versatility of us all makes it easy to compliment each other. If one of us wants to stretch out in a particular direction, we all know each other’s playing style, and the music itself, to set them up perfectly, or to be able to downshift when that’s necessary. But that’s an important skill to have no matter who you’re rocking with. It’s just that we’re able to read each other so well by now that it’s seamless, and the same process is used sort of for recording mixes. One of us will say, “I want to play this, this and this,” and then we’re able to come to agreements and find a way to make everything fit. Usually, we sketch it out on paper and then get to the recording process and boom, there you go. Usually we don’t have to do too many retakes.

Any particular mash-up(s) that you guys did where you went, “Holy shit, that’s fuckin’ brilliant?” On the opposite end, any mash-ups you guys weren’t feeling afterwards?

Eleven: Every single joint that we put on one of the CDs had to pass the test. If the remix didn’t cause a collective “oh shit” or we disagreed, we passed on it. And there were definitely a couple that we did or, even more so, that people sent to us that got the gas face from the jump. A huge part of the fun and aggravation of making the CDs and sorting through remixes in general is listening to great ideas and make fun of terrible ones.

How hard was it to put together each of those History of Hip-Hop mixes? I mean, they’re hella deep, from the likes of Tim Dog, Son of Bazerk, Nine, Big Noyd, to Mac Mall. Shit, these mixes brought back a lot of memories. How much fun and/or pain was it to do all of this digging?

Ayres: It was a lot of work, but in a sense, we had always been preparing to do something like this just by being obsessive rap fans and record collectors for so long. So the work was in getting together all our music and making sure we didn’t forget anything, making sure everything was organized in the right year and then just whittling away so the mixes wouldn’t end up being five hours long each. We love this music and it was a lot of fun to do. Plus, we all keep each other on our toes and everybody pulled out records that made the other dudes say, “Oh shit!”

When hearing the Rub’s It’s The Motherfucking Remix series, listeners are treated to some ’80s pop, freestyle, RnB and new wave. Who are/were some of your major influences?

Cosmo: Black Sabbath, and nothing but Black Sabbath. There are no more influences on us.

Who do you guys see as the next big artists?

Eleven: Kid Sister, Wale and B.O.B. all show an amazing amount of promise and have been on their grind heavy. Now, they just need to turn in solid albums. PRGz and the Cataracs have a steady internet buzz. But with as quick as the music industry is changing now, it’s a little hard to call who’ll be big. The model that “big” is based on is collapsing.

What’s the schedule like right now for the Rub?

Cosmo: Crazy. We’ve actually slowed down a lot doing Rub tours and shows outside of New York a lot. Ayres just had a baby. I’m recently married, and that takes up a lot of time. Eleven just moved into a new crib. When you all have real life shit that you got to deal with every day, it’s not the easiest thing to be able to pick up and go traipsing across a far away continent for a month, but we still do try to get it in. We still do at least one or two Rub tours a year and a lot of spot dates as well. Plus, we all do individual gigs, so between all those situations, there’s not a lot of time to just kick it and veg out. Adding in recording schedules and it’s game over mannnn….

Any chance fans will see It’s The Motherfucking Remix Volume 3?

Ayres: It’s hard to say. At this point, it seems unlikely. We tried to do it last year but it didn’t come together the way we wanted it to. We’ll keep doing remixes, but we don’t all have the same hunger to get big, official remix CDs out like we did when we started the series. The next couple of CDs will be an ‘80s RnB mix and a classic house mix. It’s tough now because mix CDs aren’t selling like they were five years ago, so it makes more sense to do online mixes, which don’t cost us anything to press up and don’t cost you anything to download. We do our BrooklynRadio.net mixshow weekly and also a monthly radio show on Scion broadband, and we’re really enjoying that format: doing interviews, mixing records, talking on the mic and making it a fun show, but we’ll keep doing mix CDs here and there because it’s always good to have product out that looks good that you can put in someone’s hand.

What’s one piece of equipment/software/tool that you guys couldn’t live without?

Eleven: The one piece of software that we all use and swear by is Serato. It’s completely revolutionized DJing & added about 15 years to the lives of our backs.

Where do you see the Rub heading five years from now?

Ayres: Who knows? I hope we’re able to keep doing what we’re doing now, playing music we love and getting paid for it. We all have our solo shit that we do, from touring to making records, and by now, we’ve found a good balance between the group dynamic and our individual stuff. I think that all three of us are getting more into production. We’re at different levels in terms of making beats and putting stuff out, but we all have that as a goal.

Anything else you guys want to add for the fans?

Cosmo: This is where I’m supposed to say something witty and sarcastic or some sort of inside joke, but for real, thanks to all the people that consistently have supported us by coming to our shows, buying our CDs, listening and downloading our radio shows, all that shit. Those are the people that have made us able to do what we love to do for a living. It doesn’t get any better than that.

Thanks guys for taking this time with us. It’s mad appreciated.

All: Yeah. Anytime man.

There you have it folks, another exclusive interview from Killahbeez. For those that want to hear The Rub, check out their site www.itstherub.com as well as their online radio show on www.brooklynradio.net. Also they have an upcoming party on August 2nd at Southpaw out in Brooklyn, so be sure to check that out if you have the opportunity.

Edited by Michelle.

Recently Killahbeez.com had the opportunity to interview Reggie Youngblood of Black Kids. We took this opportunity to talk about their influences and styles as well as discussisng their current tour throughout North America and Europe and the upcoming album Partie Traumatic, which is coming out on July 7th in the UK and July 22nd in North America.

Let me start off this interview by saying that I recently saw you guys in Vancouver on April 29 and it was a crazy show. Vancouver crowds are generally known to be a bit mild, but you guys really got the whole crowd into the show. How was the whole North American tour? Were there any standout cities in particular?

Reggie Youngblood: Aw, thanks! The North American tour was criminally fun. We had just left the winter behind in the U.K. and everything was sunshine and flowers in the States. D.C. was quite good and so was San Francisco and Seattle. Oh, and Portland. Really, it was all wonderful.

You guys were part of another band called Cubby previously. What made you guys decide to move away from that and start Black Kids?

RY: The problem with groups previous to Black Kids was that the vibe tended to be way too severe. A bunch of guys posing on stage real hard. It got stale.

How did the rest of the group come together?

RY: Well, the above-mentioned staleness had to be addressed and rectified. In my mind, the solution was my younger sister, Ali, and her partner in crime, Dawn. I was right for once.

How did you come up with the name “Black Kids” for the band? Was it inspired by something or does it signify something?

RY: We came across a racist euphemism and considered using that as our moniker, but we thought it better to go with the blatant “Black Kids.” Actually, we still weren’t too sure about it, but it kept popping up in a “freaky Friday” sort of way, so we took a hint from the universe… We like how the name can be seen as trivial or contentious, depending on the person. Really, it’s just a name.

A lot of people have said that the band has the sound and feel of the Cure, but when I listen to your tracks, I can definitely hear some R&B, funk and soul influences. What artists or bands would you say influenced the group?

RY: Well, you’re right. We are very fond of ’80s R&B and funk, a la Prince or New Edition. Aside from that, the influences are too vast and varied. I usually cite Sparks, New order, the Smiths or the Magnetic Fields, but groups like Weezer and Starflyer 59 also figure in quite a bit.

Back in November, the band was featured as the “Artist to Watch” in Rolling Stone magazine. What was that like to get a spotlight featured on the band? Did you have a sense of “making it?”

RY: It was odd, but nice. I don’t know if we felt like we had “made it,” but we felt like we were finally getting somewhere. Remember, us boys have been playing in groups for over a decade (though it doesn’t sound like it).

The band recently participated in this year’s Coachella. How did that go? Did any of you get a chance to check out the other bands? Any highlights or stories?

RY: Honestly, it was a somewhat shaky gig for us. Don’t get me wrong, we had a blast and others seemed to enjoy it, but we felt like we had performed much better in the U.K. Coachella was the first show on the U.S. tour. All the subsequent shows, thankfully, surpassed our expectations. Hopefully, they’ll give us another crack at it next year!

How was the 16-city tour with Cut Copy? How did the band hook up with Cut Copy?

RY: Heavenly. I’ve got serious man-crush on those boys. They’re as lovely as can be. The hook up was easy (we have the same booking agency), but in addition, we’ve been long admirers of the group. So, we were eager to tour with them. I think we’re going to do some sort of “collaboration” on a TV program.

HAHA…that was actually my next question. Any possibility on a collaboration project between Black Kids and Cut Copy?

RY: Ha! Obviously, but we might also do some remix trades.

Your album, Partie Traumatic, drops on July 7 in the U.K. and July 22 in North America. What can people expect from it? Will there be any tracks from your EP, Wizard of Ahhhs? Are you reworking those tracks?

RY: In our minds, Partie Traumatic is a collection of 10 quality singles. For real. Yes, some of the Wizard is on there and improved upon.

We’ve asked all musicians this question when we interview them, so here goes: What’s your take on the current state of the music industry?

RY: This might make me sound apathetic or simple, but I honestly don’t dwell on it. It’s not my nature to. I have a precarious knack for writing pop songs. I have no desire nor ability to comment on business. But… we did set out to make a record that people would feel compelled to go out and buy and not regret it. Maybe this sort of thinking would take care of any ailments the industry is experiencing.

So what’s next for Black Kids?

RY: We’re playing everywhere imaginable and making up some new places to play, too.

Cool. Thanks Reggie for your time.

So there you have it, another exclusive interview from Killahbeez. Be sure to check out The Black Kids upcoming album Partie Traumatic, as Reggie said in the interview “…is a collection of 10 quality singles” and after hearing Wizard of Ahhhs I definitely wouldn’t doubt it.

*Edited by Michelle da Silva

Washington, DC figureheads Dave Nada and Matt Nordstrom first joined forces in the fall of 2007 for their weekly party “trap”. Every week after some heavy drinking, the two discussed the meaning of life and a few song ideas they had. Their initial tracks caught the attention of Dave “Switch” Taylor who immediately wanted them for his legendary Dubsided imprint. With tunes getting support from the likes of Diplo, A-trak, Tittsworth, The Rub, Craze, Stereo Faith, Klever, Drop the Lime, and Jokers of the Scene, these dudes look to set the game on fire.

First of all congratulations on a wonderful debut at the Mad Decent party here in Philly, you guys had the crowd going off the chain, they were going insane.

((Laughter from my rhyming sentence))))

So who makes up Nadastrom?

DAVE: Nadastrom is Matt Nordstrom and Dave Nada, hence Nadastrom

(((Laughter)))

How did you come up with the name?

D: Umm I guess a little basic math, but we had another name but we thought it’d be a little too controversial but we’ll keep that on the wraps…

When did the two of you first meet?

MATT: Jesse Tittsworth

D: Yeah Jesse Tittsworth introduced us - we were just mixing music and it was about last summer that we started crossing paths - Matt was dj’ing in the city and so was I and we were a fan of each others music and I had the opportunity to do a party at Napoleon in Adams Morgon, DC and I was like this would be fun- to do it with Matt. So he was down and we were like fuck it lets do a Wednesday night party, no frills, just straight up, get as deep as we wanted to, get as nerdy as we wanted to

M: Yeah…

D: So we did a weekly party @ Napoleon in DC called Trap

When was that?

D: It was last fall, it was doing really awesome but our last night was Halloween…well basically we got the ax by the club owners because I guess we were TOO cool, but for whatever reason the party was shut down

So that’s how Nadastrom was born?

M/D: Yeah

Can you tell me what does Dave Nada bring to Nadastrom?

D: The Hair. And the mustache. (((Laughter)))
The music I have been known to produce is Baltimore club so it’s a lot more raw dirty and not as clean as your usual dance house music

Where are you from?

D: I’m from PG County and I dunno I think I compliment Matt and he does the same…

Well that’s very obvious by your last set, so now lets go to Matt, What do you bring to the Nadastrom mix?

M: I probably come from more of a like techno/ European dance music base, so between the two of us when we come together, our ideas- it melds into something that’s kind of fast paced and energetic and it’s always been the best music I’ve realized with like people who come from different backgrounds and blending it together

D: We definitely also have a pretty strong hip hop influence

M: Yeah we have a big hip hop influence

D: So as far as getting categorized like electro or whatever, not intentionally, we just do it subconsciously - if anything, we don’t try to sound like anything. It’s just about what sounds good to us. We’re not really trying to sound like anything - it’s kinda like “Oh shit this shit is cool!!!!” , whatever feels good and fortunately for us it works

Who are your influences if any?

M: Switch was a big influence, that guy is so talented and took house music and flipped it on it’s head and took everything with European dance music that I was really into and melded it into one and made something that was completely interesting

D: Yeah same here, first time I was introduced to his music (Switch), it wasn’t just straight up house, there was dub and reggae and you could just HEAR it. Besides that I think the attitude and aggressiveness for me is Baltimore club - that fire has always been my influence

Matt where are you from by the way?

M: I grew up in Northern Virginia

Would you say that Northern VA influenced your evolution in music?

M: Absolutely not whatsoever

(((Laughter)))

Well you guys are the best thing that’s happened to Northern Virginia let me say that much.

((((Laughter))))

Where do you see yourselves five years from now?

D: Hopefully not dead. (((Laughter)))

We both spend a good amount of time behind monitors and we’re both really stoked on putting out records and music and it’s been a while since I’ve met someone who feels the same and not just talks but walks the walk. So hopefully, we’ll be cranking out music, developing and progressing, still interested in music…

M: Dave and I we both kind of progressed with music and have always kept up with what’s changing and moving

Did you guys have anything you want to add?

D: Yeah, well we have our debut EP coming out on Dubsided which I believe will be released by the end of summer and after that just a gang of releases

M: We just wrapped up a remix for Tittsworth, coming out on Plant Music

When’s that coming out?

D: Tittsworth’s album is coming out I believe late July and so everything is being released around the same time frame

So other than Myspace music, where can people find your music?

D: Come see us Live!

Do you have your next booking?

D: Yeah we’re making our DC debut early July
D’s girlfriend Jackie: Don’t forget to mention you love your girlfriend

(((((Laughter))))

M: Yeah she (Dana, Matt’s fiancé) tells me if something I’m working on sux

So your women are definitely another one of your influences?

D: Just on some real talk, women are the ones that control the dance floor and if they’re feelin’ it and whatever they think is cool or hot, then thats’ usually the way it goes

(((Laughter))))

M: I definitely spend a few days working on something and Dana comes home and she’s like “WTF is this?!” and I’m like “Alright, welp it’s goin’ in the trash…”

((((Laughter, Laughter))))

Alright guys thanks so much for a wonderful set, congratulations and we’ll be hearing more of you soon!!!!

The Hood Internet really needs no introduction. By now, you’ll know from my earlier posts, I love everything STV SLV and ABX puts out on their blog. And if you’re up to date with music blogs, you’ll know they are one of the most talked about mash-up duos. From what I’ve read, “Internet Platinum” status is synonymous with The Hood Internet. Fortunately, with their schedule consisting of gigs and lab time, they were able to squeeze me in for an interview. Here goes…

What is the origin behind The Hood Internet?

ABX: The Hood Internet is a blog that was started by STV to post ill mashups and possibly other things for the downloading masses. To this point we’ve pretty much only posted ill mashups. Aside from being a blog it is also the name we go by as a DJ duo for live shows and mixtapes.

Without giving away trade secrets, can you guys tell me how or what sparks the mash-ups you two produce? I mean like Amerie vs. Daft Punk, Snoop vs. Architecture in Helsinki and Justice x Phil Collins are perfect examples that left me speechless.

STV SLV: Sometimes ideas come from similarities in key, or tempo, or cadence, sometimes it’s trial and error, sometimes it’s weed.

Were there any mash-ups that you felt didn’t work out as planned?

ABX: Tons. Most of these were never released, but we did post a week of “reject” tracks at the end of the year for some of the ones that weren’t quite doing it.

In contrast to that, can you name one mash-up that you highly favor?

STV SLV: I was pretty happy with how the Spank Rock/Burial track worked out. ABX’s Rick Ross/Hercules & Love Affair was also a certified jam.

Growing up, who were some of your major influences?

ABX: Michael Jackson, Thundercats, Bad Boy-era Detroit Pistons, NWA, Fraggle Rock
STV SLV: The Beatles, Voltron, 8-bit Nintendo, Masters of The Universe, and also Michael Jackson.

What’s your view on the current state of the music industry?

STV SLV: People aren’t really buying CDs anymore. I’m not even sure if that’s accurate but everyone I know has more or less stopped — if they are buying music in a non-digital form, it’s vinyl. The Internet is also the ultimate white label.

What’s your schedule like nowadays in terms of gigs and production time? Is there a tour en route? Will DC and Vancouver see a live performance anytime soon?

ABX: We’ve been doing live sets here and there as offers come our way, not on a proper tour, but we get around. We’ll be doing some shows in Chicago this summer, playing Monolith Festival at Red Rocks in September, and then probably doing some colleges in the fall. Nothing planned for DC or Vancouver at this point, but we’re always up for playing in districts and provinces.

During a gig, what can fans expect? Maybe a top secret track not posted on thehoodinternet.com?

STV SLV: We’re starting to mess with video, and we also have some questionable sound effects.

What can we expect from the 3rd mixtape: The Hood Internet vs. Chicago?

ABX: Chicago hip hop artists mixed with Chicago bands creating an awesome