Unless you’ve been living under a rock this past year, when you hear the name “Classixx”, sounds of some really great fuckin’ tunes enter your mind. When I personally hear a Classixx remix, it automatically transports me back to when the weather was nice and cruising around town on my bike, or dancing my sweaty ass off at a club. Whatever the case may be, the duo, Tyler Blake and Michael David, really turned it up this year and had everyone talking about their remixes. These remixes included the likes of Phoenix, Holy Ghost!, Major Lazer, YACHT and Ladyhawke to name a few, one after another, they just didn’t disappoint.

Killahbeez: Start off with the name, you two were previously called “Young Americans”, why the name change and how’d you two arrive on “Classixx”?

Michael: We were sued by a dancing choir called Young Americans based in Orange County. Tyler came up with the name Classixx, we wanted a name that wasn’t associated with anything in particular.

Killahbeez: How did you two initially meet and then decide to team up together and make music?

Michael: Tyler and I met in 6th grade. After high school we lived on separate sides of the country and kept in touch over the internet. We both ended up in Los Angeles and wanted to start a music project. We’d always been into electronic music, but dance music was pretty foreign to us. Before long we caught onto things like DFA, their records sounded so good to us.

Killahbeez: What are your backgrounds in music, were either of you trained or took lessons on any instruments and such?

Michael: Ya, we both took music lessons as kids. I’ve been playing guitar from childhood, and started programming synths and playing on Reason at 15. The same goes for Tyler, but he started on piano.

Killahbeez: This Summer easily, for me listening wise, was defined as a “Classixx” Summer. First Classixx had the single “I’ll Get You”, followed by remixes for Phoenix, Holy Ghost, Major Lazer, and YACHT. All of these were bangers and easily quintessential jams. Before the summer did you two have an idea that it was going to be as great as it turned out to be?

Michael: That’s nice of you to say. We didn’t know our sound would catch on this summer, but we did work tirelessly at it.

Killahbeez: For a few of the remixes above could you two give a breakdown on what inspired the final product?

Michael: For the Phoenix mix, we wanted to put the song into half-time. It was dragging, but finally I found a jumping synth rhythm that seemed to keep a stone groove. The rest was pretty simple

The Major Lazer one was fun because it has a slide guitar, and we got to use the sound seagulls that we had sampled.

Killahbeez: What about influence on your overall group sound, what bands, past or present, influence you two when you’re in the studio?

Michael: In the studio we’re constantly referencing music. It always depends, this summer we felt a strong Quincy Jones influence.

Killahbeez: You’ve released a few singles and a bunch of remixes now. Are there plans on getting a full album together?

Michael: Our schedule has made a full album difficult, but we are working on a number of original tunes. A full album would be nice to complete.

Killahbeez: What do you guys use when you make your music? Do you use analog or virtual synths? Software?

Michael: Everything. Lately, it has been pretty live and analog. We use Pro Tools specifically, it’s been that way for years.

Killahbeez: So what’s next for Classixx?

Michael: The next few months will be a lot of work in the studio.

Killahbeez: Any advice or words to fans or up-and-coming producers / DJs?

Michael: Just to work as hard as you can. I’d also say to practice a lot before you introduce yourself to the internet.

Click on the link to download.

The Twelves Essential Mix

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Track listing:

Fever Ray – Seven (The Twelves Remix)
The Rapture – Sister Saviour (DFA dub)
Phoenix – Fences (accapella)
Cerrone – Look for Love
Kraftwerk – Music Non Stop (vocoder)
Daft Punk – Da Funk
Glass Candy – Last Night I Met a Costume
LCD Soundsystem – Nike Run (excerpt)
Yelle – Ce Jeu (The Twelves Remix)
Chemical Brothers – Music-Response
Mr. Oizo – Two Takes It
D Train – You’re the One for Me
Metric – Help I’m Alive (The Twelves Remix)
Roger Sanchez – Computabank
Chilly – For Your Love
Dynasty – I Don’t Wanna be a Freak
Radiohead – Reckoner (The Twelves Remix)
Siriusmo – Last Dear
Empire of the Sun – Walking on a Dream (accapella)
Zeigeist – Humanitarianism (The Twelves Remix)
Eddie Tour – Up the Glitter
Gaz Nevada – IC Love Affair
Phoenix – Lisztomania (accapella)
Groove Armada – Drop The Tough (The Twelves Remix)
Methusalem – Robotism
Gossip – Standind in the Way of Control (accapella)
Chromatics – I Want Your Love (The Twelves Remix)
Laid Back – White Horse
Metronomy – Radio Ladio
Sparks – Tryouts for the Human Race
M.I.A. – Boyz (The Twelves Remix)
Daft Punk – Voyager
Indeep – Last Night a DJ Saved my Life (accapella)
The Virgins – Rich Girls (The Twelves Remix)
Fleetwood Mac – Dreams (The Twelves Remix)
In Flagranti – Just Gazing
Alan Parsons Project – Be Like You (The Twelves Remix)
B.W.H. – Stop
Chemical Brothers – Block Rockin’ Beats
Karen O & The Kids – All is Love (The Twelves Remix)
Fleet Foxes – Mykonos (The Twelves Remix)
Patrick Alavi – Power
Michael Jackson – Thriller (Instrumental)
Justice – Stress (siren)
Kano – Ahjia
Mr. Oizo – Gay Dentists
Donna Summer – I Feel Love
Cerrone – Give Me Love
Mr. Oizo – Hun
Chic – Everybody Dance
Coldcut – Timber
Basement Jaxx – Rendez-Vous
Les Rhythmes Digitales – From Disco to Disco
Alex Gopher – Motorcycle
Nirvana – All Apologies (The Twelves Remix)
Kraftwerk – Trans Europe Express
The Black Kids – I’m Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How To Dance With You (The Twelves Remix)
The Rapture – House of Jealous Lovers
Scenario Rock – Skitzo Dancer (Justice Remix)
Daft Punk – Aerodynamic
Boyz Noize – Arcade Robot
Basement Jaxx – Good Luck (accapella)
The Beatles – Eleanor Rigby (The Twelves Remix)
The Twelves – Nightvision (Daft Punk)
La Roux – In For The Kill (The Twelves Remix)

Munk is a name I’ve come across on every possible music blog I frequent.  However, aside from the track, “Live Fast, Die Old” featuring the vocals of actress, Asia Argento, I haven’t kept in touch with his other work.  Needless to say, I didn’t even know Munk was both a solo project as well as a band.  After having listened to this mix on Sunday (sorry once again no tracklisting), I wish I would’ve dug deeper into Munk and the Gomma label earlier on.  Check it out.  You may like what you hear and subscribe to the podcast.  NME couldn’t have put it any better than to claim Gomma as the Europe’s equivalent to DFA.

Download the Autumn mix here.

Image Source: The Fast Life via Gomma

Here’s the newest video from DFA recording artists, YACHT. If you haven’t heard their latest album See Mystery Lights, then you need to get on that. This album is easily in my top 5 for this year. Seriously refreshing. Back to the video, it’s for the single “Psychic City” and was directed by Judah Switzer, who previously worked with YACHT on their video “Summer Song”, and was filmed Red One Digital Cinema camera.

When Judah first presented the concept for “Psychic City,” he couldn’t remember if it was dream or reality; much as every change in doctrine in the Mormon Church comes from direct revelation, which takes precedence over learned consideration of the status-quo, Judah embraced a revelation and made it the word. He traversed the bridge from the unreal to the real. – YACHT Bio

Back in April I was sent a preview copy of The Juan MacLean’s latest offering called, The Future Will Come. The album, I’ll be honest, blew me the fuck away. I had gone in with zero listening expectations and came out a huge fan, even going out and picking up his first effort Less Than Human.

For those following The Juan MacLean, you know that for this second album The Juan MacLean has undergone some changes in the band and the over all sound. John MacLean enlisted friend and LCD Sound System band member, Nancy Whang to join The Juan MacLean full-time. She agreed and the rest they say is history. By now you’ve probably read or heard about John MacLean’s past drug use, his former dance-punk band Six Finger Satellite, but what you may not have heard about is the process and makings of this latest album, the current tour, inspirations and who he would “marry, fuck or kill”.

KB:…So let’s talk about how this tour is going so far, You guys started in late March early April.

JM: Ya, we went over to Europe and the UK for a little more than 3 weeks in the end of March to early April. We came home for about 5 days and then left for this tour with The Field. It’s been really good, it’s a good combination, cus those guys are much more ambient. It just makes for a really interesting night where things get, start off sorta slower in rep, but as the night goes on it gets really good.

KB: Have you found that there’s been a difference between the European and North American audience in terms of reception of your songs?

JM: I think in Europe and in the UK they much more respond to the electronic elements of everything and they seem to understand, especially from their radio standpoint, they see what we’re doing as a reference to very poppy kinda synth pop music and they can place the references very easily. Whereas in the United States I think it’s a little…they don’t get it as quickly in that way or if so it’s not perceived as much a mainstream thing which it is over there surprisingly.

KB: Hmm…that’s actually kinda interesting but like you said not too surprising.

KB: Your last album, Less Than Human, came out in 2005, when did you start coming up with ideas for The Future Will Come? Was it at all during Less Than Human or was there a break?

JM: No, the big thing was that after Less Than Human came out I started playing with a live band and when I made that album no idea that I would ever have a live band. It was only after I had made the album that I started thinking I would do it going forward. So it was kinda done retroactively, figuring out a way a live band could play those songs and then we went on tour for like a year and half. Then I immediately got back into DJing again and so I was just gone for like 3 years and was not in the mindset of making music at all.

Eventually it just occurred to me that I had better start thinking about making another album or else it would have been a really long time before a new one came out. So it was a pretty deliberate process, probably a year a half ago I just said alright I’m gonna start writing a new album and just did it.

KB: …not to mention you had done a shit load of remixes as well.

JM: Ya, remixing as well. That was all I was doing, DJing and when I was home I’d be doing remixes and it just soaked up so much of my time that it got my head out of the game of like playing live or making music again.

KB: This latest album definitely has a different feel than the previous album in that it has a lot more vocals and is a bit more pop. Was that something that you had intentionally conceptualized before going in?

JM: Yeah for sure. The biggest difference between the two is there’s so much more live playing on this album and the vocals as well. Both of those things came from my experiences of going on tour with a live band and a singer. Realizing that when you’re playing a live show how important vocals were in the presentation and just wanting to go in that direction much more.

In terms of making the album, it’s just much more interesting to have vocal oriented things as oppose to just instrumentals which can get boring over the course of an entire album, so before I made any of the music I knew two things 1. I would use my live band to record the album, which is why it sounded so much more live and 2. It would be very vocal oriented and that’s when I approached Nancy (Whang) and said “look instead of being a guest vocalist on this why don’t you just be a full-time member and then we just kinda went from there.

KB: So was she (Nancy) someone that you always had in mind?

JM: Yeah. It would always be her. I never considered anyone else.

KB: What about her voice made you realize that she definitely is the one?

JM: Well it’s kinda funny, she started singing with me and LCD Sound System, it wasn’t like she was a singer that had done anything before or like an accomplished singer, it wasn’t her career path or something. She was just a friend of ours and James Murphy and I were like yeah do you just want to sing on this track, my second 12-inch. She came down to the studio and did it and it just worked out really well and from that point in time I just thought she had this really quality. First of all not being a diva-style singer, which there is always (that) dominant female vocals in that genre. Also she just had this real knack for sounding both happy and sad, at the same time like being able to ride that emotional line, which is really a difficult thing to do and she just has this really endearing quality in her voice.

KB: You talked a bit about recording with a live band, what was that whole process like for this album?

JM: Well, generally I had written the songs at my home studio and came up with rough outlines for songs and loops. Then took the band to this pretty remote studio in Woodstock, New York out in the woods. Basically it’s a house with a studio built into it. So we all went out for a couple weeks and then it was basically a process of taking the songs I had written and then playing them live and recording it live in that studio. Then I took all that stuff home to my home studio and edited it all back down, sorta like making your own samples basically, and shaped it back into song formats again. Nancy and I went back to that same studio for a week just she and I recorded vocals. The final stage, I always mix at our DFA studios in New York with James Murphy.

KB: So how was that writing process because the songs do have that call-and-response vibe? Did you write together?

JM: Yeah we would actually make it a point to do this. We would be sitting on the couch next to each other with a notebook and pass it back and forth and write lines back and forth with each other. Even for songs where there was only one of us that sang we would help each other out as well with pieces. We intentionally went away to the studio alone, I actually engineered the session, which is quite difficult to do when you’re recording your own vocals, but yeah it was all done intentionally to set this mood of writing back and forth.

KB: With the success of Less Than Human, did you ever feel that pressure while creating this album?

JM: I think the sophomore album is always the litmus test. It’s where so many people fail, especially being on a label like DFA where there’s a lot of critical attention paid to it, it (DFA) gets written about a lot and there’s a pretty high standard, so there’s a little terrifying to start making a new record. That was part of getting out of the city and going to Woodstock, let’s just go where you don’t have to think about of this stuff and get away to do what we do.

KB: Changing topics, recently heard you guys teamed up with Nooka Watches and you guys created a mascot?

[laughter]

JM: Yeah I actually have one of their watches on right now. With our friend Mike, the graphic designer for all our DFA stuff and Pat Mahoney from LCD Sound System, whom is an old friend of mine going back, but he’s actually a toy designer and so they built this little robot out from scratch. It’s actually really cool.

KB: Does the robot represent anything to the band or is it purely for entertainment?

JM: Not really, it’s just something cool. Visually it makes sense, when you see it you would be like “oh yeah that would be a Juan MacLean type thing” and I really am into the watches.

KB: Yeah it does seem like quite a unique partnership.

JM: Yeah definitely. A lot of us at DFA have this kind of thing with like clothing designers or graphic artists or visual artists. We have a lot of friends in all those different worlds so we’re always looking to do different things.

KB: Will the robot have a role in the live aspect of the show?

JM: None more than sitting out in club. It sits there and lights up and everything.

KB: Talk about the live show aspect, what fans can expect to hear or see when they come to The Juan MacLean show?

JM: It’s pretty live for one thing. It’s definitely a reaction to see electronic shows where it’s just someone on a laptop or a few devices. DFA has a pretty high standard of live acts, like with Hercules and Love Affair, Hot Chip, LCD Sound System. I feel like we’re the most dance of all those things, so it’s attempt to play live dance music basically. The only thing that’s sequenced is the baseline and we all play around that.

KB: In making this album, what were the influences? Everyone knows that there’s the connection with Human League, but for example the first track “The Simple Life” sounds like Donna Summer’s “I Feel Love”.

JM: Yeah that’s actually what it was. It’s kind of funny, whenever I first write up a song I usually give it the name that I was ripping off and that was originally called “I Feel Love”, Georgio Moroder was on the production for that song so he’s a big influence. Others include New Order, Grace Jones, Kraftwerk as they usually are. I had also just gotten back into listening to ‘90s piano house; there are a lot of house elements as well.

KB: What kind of experience or emotions do you want fans to take away from listening the album from start to finish?

JM: Well, we tried to make it so there was a narrative arch to it, on loosely this relationship between the two people and I still sequence albums in terms of vinyl. So we made it so that the other side of side 1 kinda ends on a positive uplifting note with the song “Tonight” and the other side of side 2 ends on a positive note with “Happy House”. Each side is meant to tell a story of a relationship between two people which more often than not is going wrong on this record.

[laughter]

But we definitely wanted to have more transcendent moments especially with those two songs.

KB: Was that intentional? Making things go wrong as you said.

JM: Well what was intentional was that Nancy and I decided that we were going to write very honestly and sincerely about our personal lives basically. Doing duets, it naturally became this thing that we went to instantly which was like this back and forth telling the two sides of relationships gone wrong. I think a lot of it came out of how our lives had been for the past 5 – 6 years and us playing in live bands and touring. That lifestyle doesn’t lend itself to relationships really. It felt like a document of the past 5 years for the both of us.

KB: Okay so one last thing before we end this interview. Not sure if you’ve ever played this game or heard of it. It’s called “Marry, Fuck, Kill”

[laughter]

Basically I’m going to show you three pictures and you have to pick whether you marry, fuck or kill that person. To make things interesting, because this is the first stop in Canada, we’re playing an all Canadian edition.

[laughter]

JM: Jesus I love her (pointing to picture of Elisha Cuthbert), she’s on 24. I’m not sure who she is (pointing to Emmanuelle Chriqui).

KB:…yeah and the final girl is Scarlett Johansson.

JM: JESUS, what is that picture.

[laughter]

JM: Wait do I have to assign one tag to each girl? Oh man.

KB: Base it purely on looks.

JM: hmm…Marry Scarlett Johansson, Fuck Elisha Cuthbert and Kill Emmanuelle Chriqui….but this Scarlett Johansson picture, where is this from do you know?

KB: I actually have no clue. I just downloaded off of the internet before I came here, but you are welcome to keep that picture if you want.

[laughter]

JM: Thanks!

The Juan MacLean “One Day”

The MP3 was released and posted here a few days go and now here’s the official video for the song “I Will Come Back” by Holy Ghost!. Gotta say this tune has grown on me immensely. The video has kind of a 80’s filter and feel to it, makes you almost feel like you’ve time traveled back to the old New York. Nancy Whang of LCD Soundsystem and The Juan MacLean plays the main lead in this video, as it builds up to one big disco dancing scene.

Green Label Sound has released the latest track available for free download. This time Holy Ghost! takes the helms, as you may remember one of the free releases was “Big Bills” by Flosstradamus and featured vocals from Caroline Polachek of Chairlift.

From Green Label Sounds site:

“Known for their 2008 hit “Hold On,” remixes for the likes of Moby, MGMT, Phoenix and Cut Copy, critically-heralded Brooklyn duo Holy Ghost! is Nick Millhiser and Alex Frankel. Friends since childhood, the pair grew up on NYC’s Upper West Side. Learning from NYC producers The DFA (aka James Murphy & Tim Goldsworthy), Holy Ghost! bring their love for old-school synthesizers to their new single, “I Will Come Back,” a five and a half-minute dance floor epic, featuring the angelic voices of the Brooklyn Youth Chorus. This latest Green Label Sound single will also be featured on Holy Ghost!’s highly-anticipated debut album due out early next year on DFA Records.”

Click on link to download.

Holy Ghost! “I Will Come Back”

For this week’s Mixtape Monday, I came across Dj Loveboat mix, ‘Cotonete’.  Not much is known about Dj Loveboat and it may safe to assume his alias has nothing to do with Aaron Spelling’s show.  I did, however, find out that this mixtape was originally dropped on March 23rd in support of Breaklda’s 4th year as a record label.   The playlist consists of bangers, electro pop hits along with a few reworks by Mr. Loveboat himself.  Have a listen and dl the mix here.  Truthfully, I was intrigued as to how Appaloosa’s single, ‘The Day We fell In Love‘  fits into the equation.

01. Messinian – Magic
02. Soulwax – Another Excuse (DFA “Funkytown” Remix)
03. Sidechains – Can’t Love You Babe
04. Ladyhawke – Back of the Van (DJ Loveboat Remix)
05. Walter Jones – Deuteronomy Brown (L-F Edit)
06. Justin Timberlake – Love Stoned (Justice Remix)
07. Kris Menace and Alan Braxe – Lumberjack
08. Britney Spears – Radar (Hot Pink Delorean Remix)
09. Guns and Bombs – Riddle Of Steel (Classixx Version)
10. Messinian – Cant Hide Her
11. Jape – Floating (D.I.M. Remix)
12. Amanda Blank – Get It Now (DJ Loveboat Remix)
13. Drop The Lime – Hear Me (Buraka Som Sistema- DJLVBT Edit)
14. Electric Youth – Lying Still (DJLVBT Edit)
15. Kylie Minogue – Boombox (Revolte Remix)
16. AC Slater – Party Like Us
17. A-Trak – Say Whoa (Boys Noize Remix)
18. Streetlife DJs – We Love the Disco Sound (CutnRub Dub Mix)
19. N.A.S.A – Whatchadoin ft. MIA, Santogold & Spank Rock (Villains rmx)
20. Pase Rock – Get Money Kids (Malente Re-Dub II)
21. Feist – My Moon My Man (Boys Noize Remix)
22. Appaloosa – The Day We Fell In Love
23. Dj Loveboat – Outro

Source: voulesrandom via Breaklda

First off, many apologies for not having a stream associated with this post. I’ve spent nearly my entire day trying to upload to Imeem and Fail Whaled.  But trust me, this is a mix you will want on your hard drive and eventually your ipod.  Too Much Love is a weekly Saturday indie dance party held at Minneapolis’s own First Avenue Night Club.  The below list of tracks contains many of the tracks in this mix executed by DJ Soviet Panda.  Unmentioned are releases by The Presets, Holy Ghost!, Rub N Tug, Beyonce, Jesse Rose, Gino Soccio, Serge Santiago, Depeche Mode, Heartbreak and Hot Chip.  Now the real question is how I found my way  to Soviet Panda?

Download the April mix here.

1. The Juan Maclean – One Day – DFA
2. Sebastien Tellier – Kilometer (Aeroplane “Italo 84″ Remix) – Record Makers
3. Simian Mobile Disco – Synthesise (No Voodoo Version) – Wichita
4. Jackpot – Ragazza – Permanent Vacation
5. Den Haan – Release The Beast – Optimo Music
6. Morten Sorenson – Start Something – Tirk
7. Beyonce – Diva (WhateverWhatever Remix) – MP3
8. Depeche Mode – Wrong (D.I.M. vs. Boys Noize Remix) – Mute
9. Tiga – Shoes (Djedjotronic Remix) – PIAS
10. Junior Boys – Hazel (Ewan Pearson’s House Mix) – Domino

Image Source: Too Much Love

XXXChange has been on my radar for some time now.  Ever since I heard his unofficial remix of Thom Yorke’s Eraser, I’ve been fiending for more.  Listen to the stream above and download the mix here.   According to Discobelle, this mix is comparable to a live set from XXXChange.  So if you’re in the BK this weekend, XXXChange will be playing at Savalas Friday night.  On a different note, I’m curious as to which artist covered T2’s “Heartbroken“.

TRACKLIST:
1. Black Ghosts “I Want Nothing”
2. Bag Raiders “Fun Punch” (xxxchange remix. mash version)
3. Ghost Hustler ” Busy Busy Busy” (Prince Klassen re-edit)
4. LCD Soundsystem “Get Innocuous” (Soulwax Remix)
5. Daft Punk “Alive”
6. Kissy Sellout “Her” (Touche remix)
7. Fake Blood “Blood Splashing”
8. Xinobi “Day Off”
9. Channing “Peanutz Enhancer” (Mobbing remix instrumental)
10. The Kills “Cheap and Cheerfull” (Sebastian Remix)
11. Unknown “Heartbroken” (cover version!?!)

Tomorrow night, don’t miss this party featuring a DJ set from the legendary Moby.  If that wasn’t enough, The Juan MacLean will be bringing some of that down and dirty disco funk that wrecks ya body and says turn the party out.  If you haven’t caught wind of “Happy House,” then I suggest you pay this man a visit and peep game.  House music all night long!

Santos Party House
100 Lafayette Street
New York, NY 10013

N Q R W J M Z 6 to Canal Street

I’ve mentioned about Hercules and Love Affair on a few occassions.  These guys make infections music and music videos.  Above is their latest single, You Belong, which along with the debut album comes out on July 7th.

People who know me on even an acquaintance level are well aware of how passionate, critical and even borderline asshole I can be when it comes to opinions on music and giving out my self-proclaimed coveted stamp of approval – so any insinuations of a fluff piece can be checked at the door.

With that being said, my proverbial ink pad has almost run completely dry with how much I’ve been frantically stamping away at everything Australian trio Cut Copy has put out ever since I became aware of them earlier this year. They’ve been around for a minute now, so I had some backtracking to do once I was introduced to their recently released 2nd full-length album In Ghost Colours and its inspirational precursor Dj set So Cosmic.

After digging up some of their previous and equally amazing material, I became even more interested in how these guys put together such a distinctive album this go around and I was able to squeeze in a sit down with them to remedy that curiosity just a few hours prior to their April 29th, 2008 show in Vancouver, B.C.

Click on through for the exclusive interview.

How did the three of you originally meet and how long was it before the group came about?

Tim: We were kind of just all friends. Dan had started Cut Copy as a studio production solo project and we just all knew each other through various people. Originally, I used to live in a small town around South Wales and Dan used to come up there on holidays and stuff. Then, we both separately moved to Melbourne. I went down there to go to art school, and yeah, Dan kinda started writing Bright Like Neon Love. He kind of got us around to add, I guess, the more organic sounds to the record that he’d written the majority of on the computer, and it just became what it is now.

So, were you guys were heavy into music since childhood?

T: Never played ‘till later on…

So no classical training or anything like that?

Mitchell: No, not like playing instruments.

Dan: That’s almost the opposite of our approach. Ya know, the whole point of this is, we kind of just taught ourselves to play instruments. That’s the contrast between the sort of perfect studio stuff and the sort of loose and live aspect of Cut Copy that adds a dynamic to the music.

In Ghost Colours plays through much like a mixtape in terms of cohesiveness and transitions from one song to the next. How much did having a DJ in the group play into the executive production of the album?

D: I think that’s probably not something I would’ve thought of if I wasn’t into DJ’ing and mixtapes. Perhaps the idea or just the way its put together is sort of reminiscent of maybe all the records, like Tangerine Dream or, you know, records where the whole side of a piece of vinyl would be continuous music you could zone out to and get into that way. It’s not so much beat-matched, but it does flow.

This album seems to have more vocals relative to its predecessor Bright Like Neon Love. Did you find a huge difference in the creation process this time around considering you had to write more lyrics?

D: Yeah, I think so. I don’t even know whether it was something I really thought about. It just seemed to naturally turn out that way. A lot of the stuff with this record wasn’t really some sort of master plan for us. It’s just the way things turned out. The fact that the record flows together is just something we ended up doing. It wasn’t a decision from the outset. Same with the extra vocals and probably the more layered guitar stuff and live drums – it just happened really organically and crept up in a way I guess.

You guys give a lot of credit to other artists for inspiring your music. What is some of the music you had in heavy rotation during the period In Ghost Colours came together?

D: I guess with the guitar stuff, My Bloody Valentine and some of that Shoegaze guitar sound. Lots of Krautrock as well, Cluster– a lot of those bands. I guess current dance music in general as well. A lot of the DFA stuff, which we were pretty inspired by and obviously having Tim (Tim Goldsworthy – DFA’s in house producer and LCD Soundsystem member) as a producer on the record as well. I could probably keep going…(Laughs)

It’s endless I suppose… That being said, the album has a very retro/dance feel but still sounds very much ahead of the curve. Did you go out and really hunt for new/vintage gear and synths to capture that particular sound?

M: Going over to the DFA studios, they’ve just got so much gear there that you can’t nearly get through it all really.

T: They did all the hunting for us.

M: Yeah, and there’s always new stuff arriving. They’re always just buying, collecting and hoarding stuff. Yeah, there was just so much for us to experiment with and to get new sounds out of and sort of adapt to what we’re doing. So yeah, a lot of that was done for us, but I mean, also, Dan bought a bunch of new synths.

D: Yeah, I spent all my money on sort of three synthesizers – probably $7,000-$8,000 worth. They ended up all over the record. I think it helps the particular kind of music we make. Buying new gear and that sort of thing almost shapes the way a record can sound. The creative rush you get just finding something new can end up influencing the sound of the record. So I think, yeah, the equipment probably played a big part.

Some of the interludes were recorded and cut from four track tapes. Any particular reason you guys went analog for these sections of the album?

D: Umm, I guess it’s sort of nice to have a contrast of lo-fi and hi-fi stuff to a record -different types of recording on an album. A lot of my favorite music is really poorly recorded. Like Guided by Voices or Ariel Pink – amazing songwriters where the studio polished aspect is left out. I kind of find that side of things interesting, so I think it’s sort of nice to have a bit of contrast of different recording sounds in there.

You guys just played Coachella – How did that go? Any artists that stood out to you guys out there? (Note: Prior to sitting down, the guys had mentioned that they hadn’t had much of an opportunity to watch other acts at Coachella due to the fact that they had shows in San Francisco and Portland the following nights before reaching Vancouver)

D: We had a great show. We didn’t really get to see anyone else (laughs). We can’t really speak for any of the other ones. But yeah, it was obviously quite hot in the middle of the desert, but apparently, the day that we played actually wasn’t that hot compared to usual. It was really good, like the crowd was jumping around and going nuts, and it was sort of everything we would’ve hoped for from a first show like that, so we were really thrilled with it.

Did the crowd seem really familiar with your music? A lot of people singing along and such?

All: Yeah, yeah.

D: We had a full tent, so we couldn’t have asked for more.

As I’m sure you guys know, once you play at SXSW and Coachella, you’ve pretty much “arrived” in North America. Having the new album debut at No. 1 back home in Australia and a fan base rapidly building in North America, is there any particular region you guys plan to target next for touring and exposure?

M: We’re going to come back here in the fall. We’re doing our tour now and our shows have all been really good. A lot of people coming out and enjoying the shows, enjoying the record and I mean, yeah, it’s really great for us. We like being here, and later in the year, we’re going to come back and just see some of the people that came to the shows this time around come back again and add some more songs from the record and keep working on our live show.

Are you guys thinking of maybe hitting Europe a lot more?

T: Well, our record is coming out in Europe really soon, so we’ll spend a lot of time there… In the U.K., obviously, hopefully Asia – kind of everywhere. That was always the idea when we put the band together. We’d take it as far as we possibly could and kind of get to every corner of the world that’ll have us.

Right, right, they call you and you guys are ready to go!

T: Yeah!

M: Except we want to make sure we get around to making the new record.

Are you guys already working on a new album?

D: Well, we got our touring and then some solo records.

Dan, you designed the album artwork. With Cut Copy’s international profile growing exponentially, do you still find time to work on graphic design?

D: Not so much at the moment to be honest. I mean, I have in the past. It’s been a while since we worked on this record at home. When we’re back in Australia, I work as a designer. I’ve got my own business that does a lot of artwork for MTV and sort of various other people. It’s sort of something I have to step in and out of. Obviously when we’re touring, it’s a bit hard to run things. But yeah, definitely when I’m at home, it’s sort of good having that totally separate creative outlet. It kind of keeps you a bit refreshed. I think doing that and coming back to music and vice versa, you sort of end up hopefully cross-pollinating a little bit.

What about you guys? Do you have other focuses besides music that you’re quite heavily involved with?

M: I’ve got a web development business sort of similar to him (Dan), and yeah, it’s pretty similar in that respect.

T: I’ve studied Fine Arts at university, but yeah, kind of like everyone else, I don’t really have that much time for it. Like, I’ll do stuff at home but never to the point where I could get an exhibition or anything together at the moment. Plus, I’m kind of actually learning stuff about music at the moment. I kind of spend every second I’m not touring trying to learn something new to apply to the next record or whatever. Its kind of a full time thing at the moment, but certainly the visual aspect of Cut Copy is a very important one. We spend a lot of time with artwork and visuals for the show. At times, it’s just as important as what we put on record as well.

And of course, the inevitable… What’s your take on the current state of the music industry?

T: It’s not much of an industry anymore. It seems very open.

D: It’s kind of like the Wild West!

T: Only the strongest survive!

D: I think that the internet has blown it all open. Like blogs, file sharing and all that sort of thing.

M: It’s a tougher thing for producers, but I mean, for bands playing live… there is a really good audience for bands playing live at the moment. There are some upsides for it, but as far as record labels, I guess its tough conditions for them – trying to make money with less people buying records these days.

Personally speaking with regards to you guys, I was exposed to Cut Copy purely via online.

M: Oh yeah, a lot of people are.

D: Well, just commenting on over in Europe, our new record hasn’t come out there and we had people singing the words to all our new songs and that sort of thing. So it’s like, you don’t need a physical record out for people to know about you. For a band, it’s great, but for a record label, it’s not so good. But I mean, hopefully people will still buy our record (laughs).

I think a lot of it is, when fans know a little bit more is going to the artists, I think they’re more inclined to purchase. I guess that kind of keeps you guys on your toes to put on a really good live show.

All: Yeah, yeah!

Cool, I think we’re good, thanks guys.

All: Cool, thank you.

And so there you have it people, an interview with Cut Copy, the band that created In Ghost Colours, a masterpiece musical journey that a lifelong Hip Hop head ranks amongst his top albums of all time – right up there with Nas‘ Illmatic, Biggie’s Ready to Die, Jay-Z’s Reasonable Doubt and even Michael Jackson’s Thriller. Yup. For Real.

For more on the group check out their blog at cut-copy.blogspot.com or hit them up on Myspace at www.myspace.com/cutcopy.

*Edits: Mona Alice Oakenfold aka Michelle.

Via Kidz by Colette, is an ethereal mixtape by Them Jeans for XLR8R magazine. The multi faceted Them Jeans is a graphic designer, producer and by the sound of this mixtape a damn selector of music! Take a listen for yourself. I started a new habit of applying bold text to tracks I felt that stood out. Lots of replay and rewind went on when I played this in my car.

Download it here.

Image Source: Them Jeans

Tracklist :
1. Holy Ghost! ” Hold On ” DFA RECORDS 0:00
2. Thom Yorke ” The Eraser XXXChange_mix ” XL RECORDS 3:01
3. Sebastian Tellier ” Sexual Sportswear ” LUCKY NUMBER / RECORD MAKERS 6:05 <— new album is pure joy
4. Hercules and the Love Affair ” Blind ” EMI / DFA RECORDS 8:06 <— I’ll never grow sick of this track or anything by DFA
5. Fleetwood Mac ” Little Lies ( Dub ) ” WARNER BROTHERS 10:55 <— speechless
6. Sally Shapiro ” I’ll be by your side (rude 66 808 remix ) ” DISKOKAINE 13:00
7. Fred Falke ” 8:08pm @ The Beach ” / Hot Chip ” Ready for the floor ” ( Them Jeans Blend ) DFA / EMI RECORDS 14:43 <— Fred Falke x Hot Chip makes great music
8. MIdnight Juggernauts ” Shadows ” ( first love intro ) SIBERIA RECORDS 20:06 <— new bgm on my myspace
9. Alter Ego ” Jolly Joker ” ( Vampire Weekend M79 Blend ) KLANG ELECTRONIK 22:34
10. Treasure Fingers ” Cross the Dancefloor ” FOOLS GOLD RECS 25:13 <— big up to KTN
11. The Outrunners ” Cool Feeling ” VALERIE RECORDS 27:57
12. Of Montreal ” Jimmy ” ( M.I.A. COVER ) UNRELEASED 29:55 <–this track is UNREAL
13. Radiohead ” Jigsaw Falling into Place ” XL RECORDS 33:58

Ok, the truth is I loved every track of this podcast.

I discovered Hot Chip and CSS a whole year ago + change. The sound of both bands gave me a refreshing break from my usual fix of electronica with a blend of indie mixed in. Below is Fred Falke’s remix of Colours by Hot Chip from their recently released, “Made in the Dark” album. Give it a listen and think of sunny SOBE. On a side note, this single should have been on the sound track to Cashback.