[Photos courtesy of Kompakt]

Interview by Ilirjana Alushaj

“It’s finally done!” is the first thing Aksel Schaufler says as he sits down to discuss Superpitcher’s long-awaited second album, Kilimanjaro (out May 17 on Kompakt). Which is bit of an understatement, really, given that it’s taken four years of sporadic studio work to finish.

“A long time, yes,” admits Schaufler, “although the process of layering the ideas and recordings from this period has been  more intensive over the past eight or nine months.”

The producer’s recent rush of ideas—captured at his Cologne studio, and wrapped up just last week—came after a successful Supermayer run with his Kompakt mate Michael Mayer. Schaufler discusses the future of that project after the jump along with why Superpitcher’s looking more like a band these days…

self-titled: Does Kilimanjaro have a similar theme to Here Comes Love?
People thought my last album was very conceptual, so maybe they will see this one in a similar way? It isn’t a ‘concept’ album in a literal sense, though. I’m not mad about that sort of thing…I suppose the title relates to a place I’ve found—comfort in solitude…There are themes I’ve always had, too, like breakups, heartbreaks, get-overs and get-togethers.

The songs on Kilimanjaro are in different directions musically. Everything fits together, but it still sounds varied. There’s a lot more live instruments…and singing.

Oh, singing?
Yes, lots of singing.

Are there any guest performers on this album?
My guests are my friends. We spent a lot of time setting up my studio for this album, which was so much fun. I really opened the door to [outside collaborators] with this album more than any other.

Here Comes Love was very sparse, minimal and solitary.
Yes, definitely. It needed to be. This album is more open because I did let people come into my space. There aren’t any ’special guests’…well maybe one, but everyone on it is special.

With more people working on this album, are you planning on performing it live?
Yes. I want to, and am thinking about how to do this. That is if I don’t get too paranoid.

Are you nervous that you’d be the obvious frontman then?
No, because that’s what I like! [Laughs] DJing can be the same way, as it’s you alone on the stage with all these people looking. It’s funny—the first few times I went to Japan, maybe 7 years ago, they didn’t really even dance. Everyone just stood around watching me DJ. It was so weird but cute.

Are you still DJing a lot? You don’t seem to be touring much lately.
It slowed down during the making of the album, to give myself weekends off to concentrate. It was definitely healthy for my brain and better for my album that I had some space from touring and DJing. Now I want to think about performing live also.

I can see your music being performed in a band context…
So can I! Everyone always asked me about performing Here Comes Love live, but I wasn’t ready and obviously would need a band which I didn’t have. I couldn’t do it with just me. Having me and a laptop wouldn’t work for my music.

Do you have people in mind already?
I have one person so far. I am looking for geniuses! I need people to get behind the music, as they need feeling and understanding of it.

Any live electronic acts that’d be a good model for what you want to do? Maybe Simian Mobile Disco or M83?
I haven’t seen either of those bands.

Really? That’s surprising considering you did a remix for M83…
I know! I need to! The Field is a good example of someone who I think took the ‘band idea’ to another level. (Ed. Note: Here’s a clip of them live last year.) When he used to perform alone, it was really dark and gloomy, but with a band it’s really amazing. I also really like Circlesquare’s stuff, so he’s someone I would like to see.

Unlike many other projects, I want Superpitcher to be a proper live act. I have always envisioned it as a traditional band. With Kilimanjaro, I feel that I’ve come closer to this without losing the essence of what people know my music for.

Speaking of other projects, is Supermayer on hiatus?
Yes…Supermayer are having an extended vacation with Luzie far away from the Planet Of The Sick. Working on Supermayer tracks was certainly a great starting point for us to take advantage of our studio as we have the ability to record as a band there. [Some of those] ideas I eventually took to Superpitcher.

Finally, if you could summarize this album for anyone who’s never heard your music before, what would you say?
Give me my heart back.

—

Some more studio shots…

Talk about lovely surprises. Busy playing with our iPhone 3.0 updates, self-titled had no idea that Wednesday would bring our first glimpse at a new Air album. Ah, it’s a good day. The fifth studio album by the French duo (Jean-Benoit Dunckel and Nicolas Godin) is called Love 2 and will be released by Astralwerks/EMI on October 6. Self-produced by the pair without the help of frequent collaborator Nigel Godrich, it’s the first Air record to emerge from their own Atlas Studio in Northern Paris.

Based on our initial listen, the album is gorgeous and crisp. A broader, bolder sound than 2007’s Pocket Symphony, Love 2 sees the group sounding lively, psychedelic and more aggressive. Rather than reveling in  precious, muted details, the guys are back writing delightful electro-pop anthems.

“Do the Joy,” the album’s opener, will be a viral single available July 7. “Sing Sang Sung” will be released as the record’s traditional lead single April 25. Check the full tracklist after the jump.

Love 2:
1. Do the Joy
2. Love
3. So Light Is Her Footfall
4. Be a Bee
5. Missing the Light of the Day
6. Tropical Disease
7. Heaven’s Light
8. Night Hunter
9. Sing Sang Sung
10. Eat My Beat
11. You Can Tell
12. African Velvet

[Photo by Mike Vorassi]

By Andrew Parks

When self-titled first saw Apache Beat’s simple but scintillating video for “Tropics,” we were intrigued enough to ask the unsigned act about its impending album (pegged for a winter release at the time) and potential s/t parties down the road. While the latter’s happening tonight, Brooklyn’s latest band of Next Big Things is still tweaking the final mixes of its full-length debut, Last Chants (now set for late summer).

“Everything has been hectic lately,” says singer Ilirjana Alushaj, alluding to the meetings, rehearsals and photo shoots that have marked their mounting work schedule in the past few months. “So we are sorting exactly what we need to do to improve, if anything, in the next week.”

With that in mind, Alushaj shared a slew of almost-there cuts with us, including two clear standouts (the galloping, ghoulish grooves of “Your Powers Are Magic”; the synth-draped nocturnal emissions of “Walking On Fire”) and an extended version of “Tropics.” She describes them in detail below, along with what it was like working with two generations of true Lower East Side icons.

Oh, yeah—the following remix is an exclusive as well…

Download audio file (Tropics%20(CFCF%20Remix).mp3)

Apache Beat, “Tropics (CFCF Remix)”

self-titled: So the timeline of this record is a little unclear. When did you do most of the pre-production work for it, before heading into the studio with Martin Bisi?
We started writing and demoing seriously for the album in 2008. Since we are all busy [with other projects and commitments], it took us a while to figure out the direction and sound we wanted. We aren’t the type of band where someone goes away and writes the album, then comes back and everyone else figures out where they fit in. We tend to start with parts and then work on each song as a band.

We didn’t demo everything, so some songs were developed in the studio. Since he’s such a chill dude, Bisi was great with making sure we didn’t go crazy. He knew what we wanted and helped direct us a bit more. We tried to get a few [outside] opinions, too, as recording can be very insular.

Did he seem to see any similarities between you and past projects of his, like Sonic Youth or Swans?
Hmmm…he is not that type of guy. He looks at each project individually. If anything, he would say something like, “Well I did this with Sonic Youth. We should try it.” Or if I was having a bad vocal day, he would say, “Oh you know Lydia [Lunch's] husband had to ring in notes as she is tone deaf, so this is nothing.” He would then tell us Eno and Madonna stories. It was a relatively good vibe with him. We were his last project.

He’s giving up producing?
Yeah, he wanted to concentrate on his own stuff. He has been [producing] since he was 16.

You have to tell an Eno story now…
Well, you know Eno bought Bisi his studio, yeah?

The studio you were using?
Yeah.

He’s had the same studio all this time?
Yeah. Eno basically saw him doing sound at CBGB’s, got him to do an album, and left him the studio because he was very supportive of the New York scene at the time.

So recording there happened between 2008 and early this year?
Yes.

When did it stop and move to the mixing phase elsewhere?
I forget. We did most of it at another studio with a friend. But I think we are doing some more remixing before the album release. We had some time to hear it and would like to make it a little better.

What songs are going to get the most remixing?
This is what we are deciding. I mean, they don’t have to be perfect, but they need to have everything as good we can get them.

So this has been a solid year of work, off and on?
Yeah it has.

There are a few key guests on the record, right? Like Nick [Zinner], Gabe [Andruzzi of the Rapture] and Lightspeed Champion?
Yeah we had some friends play on it. Brian Chase [of Yeah Yeah Yeahs] drums on a track. Gabe plays sax and Lightspeed Champion filters his guitar magic throughout a few tracks. Nick Zinner has been very supportive with answering questions and helping out in general, as has Aaron [Pfenning] and Patrick [Wimberly] from Chairlift. Patrick plays on a track that we haven’t finished yet…

The Patrick cut won’t be on this album then?
No. It isn’t done.

“It’s like anger, intensity, pain, anger, love—sounds a bit lame when I say it like that, but you know what i mean.”

Let’s get into some of the new tracks you played for us, starting with “Walking On Fire”…
I basically have a video in mind [while writing lyrics] for every song. With this one, I was watching the Twin Peaks movie one night and a light went off in my head. I rushed home from a friend’s house totally inspired to finish the lyrics, hence the title I guess.

Is it safe to assume that it’s more inspired by the feelings Lynch evokes than any particular plot points?
Yes. He is very apt at making the viewer feel scared and loved at the same time—material so dark you can see some light at the same time. I like that idea…

Well, if he’ll work with Moby, maybe you guys are next.
[Laughs] Right?

You’ve said before that a lot of your lyrics are about relationships. As a writer and editor (for The Pop Manifesto, which Alushaj co-founded), do you ever worry about sounding cliched when using such a familiar song topic?
Not really. I mean, how many topics can you write about that most people can relate to? If I said I was writing them in a certain style because I wanted it to sound like so-and-so, then that would be lame.

We were just listening to “Your Powers Are Magic” in the office. What’s up with the waltz?
I had visions of a room of people dancing, so I tried to make the vocals flow with the guitar and keys.

Ah, I can see that…if the people dancing were dead.
[Laughs] Exactly.

Another point to note here: I hear bongos and they don’t seem inappropriate for once.
Yeah, sticks and bongos. You don’t need to always have standard rock 4/4, right? Even if you are in an ‘indie rock’ band.

You also just proved that bongos don’t have to mean ripping off Paul Simon…
[Laughs] Sorry Paul, but you know…I think we think of things in more of a jazz style.

“Tropics” has been out for a while now. What’s up with the alternate version on the album?
Well, we basically we wrote an instrumental intro that we thought sounded great…

This was written after the video was made and everything?
At the same time. It is basically the same song, but we designed the intro so ["A Break In the Light"] segues into “Tropics.” If anything, you get some sax at the beginning.

Is Gabe playing the sax?
Not on that track. Gabe plays on “Nightwaters.”

Shall we shift to “Nightwaters” then?
Sure…

Actually, one more thing about “Tropics”: where’s the chorus?
It was written in a way where you have no room to breath, as in the music and vocals don’t really let up. It is meant to be intense throughout, like the way you feel when a relationship hits a wall. It’s like anger, intensity, pain, anger, love—sounds a bit lame when I say it like that, but you know what I mean.

Indeed. Soooo, “Nightwaters”…
…is our slower song—like the calm after the storm.

After which storm? The “Tropics”-al one?
[Laughs] Yeah, you could secretly match them up to make one proper relationship, like a Weezer album or something…But yeah, this is about the realization. Or “The Realization.”

This is your lighter song then?
Yeah, it is a song you ride, then get hit by.

Sounds dangerous.
[Laughs] Everything should be dangerous. Otherwise why do it?

As the winter of our discontent settles in along with a deep, deep frost, we’re thrilled to hear that Wolves in the Throne Room have two new releases on tap over the next couple months. First up: a vinyl-only EP called Malevolent Grain. Due out in two editions (a 180-gram black pressing from Southern Lord, an import-only pic disc from Conspiracy Records) on February 17, it features a pair of new earth-scorching jams. A limited CD version will also be available on the trio’s upcoming European tour.

The big news, however, is the band’s third full-length, Black Cascade. Set to hit the streets on March 31, it was tracked to 2-inch tape by Randall Dunn and Mell Dettmer in Seattle over the past few months. This is the first Wolves release to feature guitarist Will Lindsay (Middian). The former touring bassist rounds joins brothers Nathan and Aaron Weaver on what’s been deemed a “wholly organic black-drone masterwork.”

Metal fans who dig the scene’s melodramatic logos are encouraged to check the Christophe Szpajdel (Emperor, Moonspell) design after the jump, along with a track from Wolves’ last LP.

“I Will Lay Down My Bones Among the Rocks and Roots (Edit)”

Download audio file (01%20I%20Will%20Lay%20Down%20My%20Bones%20Among%20the%20Rocks%20and%20Roots%20(Edit).mp3)

From their deviant, pitch-dark record sleeves to the flashes of Depeche Mode and Detroit techno in their singles, Black Strobe never quite fit in with the neon-doused Ed Banger crowd. Especially after the long-awaited release of their debut record, Burn Your Own Church, a mangled, metallic listen that tempered its electro undercurrents with the emerging Nick Cave nods of frontman/producer Arnaud Rebotini. (Black Strobe’s co-founder, DJ/producer Ivan Smagghe, split before Burn’s release, leaving Rebotini to form a full-on band.)

While he still looks like a guy you would not want to meet in a dark alley or club—see the Eastern Promises-esque photo above—Rebotini has been quite happy these days, as he plots a return to his analog roots. Due out March 13 through Le Plan Records, Music Components is the laser-guided result of solo jam sessions with two beatboxes (Roland TR-909, Roland TR-808) and three synthesizers (Roland SH-101, Juno 60, Korg Monopoly). No laptops. No sequencers. Just a lot of knobs and dials. And hubris.

Here’s what Rebotini had to say about the album:

I wanted to use instruments which have a history, a life. For me, they are invested of meaning. I have sensed the need to interact directly with the instrument: without medium and computer.

So I remembered how we did (music) before. I took out my TR-808 and my SH-101 and connected them together thanks to the arpeggiator of the synthesizer (exactly like at the beginning of the ’80s, before Black Strobe). And then I had a good time. I regained the possibilities given by these equipments: their sounds, their unique groove. I rediscovered the pleasure to play.

After a few days of jamming in the studio, the result was one hour of groovy electro/techno—a set in which I could put real variations and improvise … a connection between the man and the instrument was satisfied.

To emphasize this fusion of man and machine, Rebotini will unveil a new live show next year. Considering the frantic and frayed qualities of “Un Cheval d’Orgueil”—the single we’re unveiling below—we can’t wait to watch him bring a heavy-metal spin to acid techno and electro that’s got more in common with Cybotron than Justice.

Music Components:

1. The Spirit of Boogie
2. Un Cheval d’Orgueil
3. 1314
4. Cm
5. The Swamp Waltz
6. Horns of Innocence
7. Conakry Filter Sweep
8. 777
9. Decade of Aggression
10. Mnll

Download audio file (rebotini-un%20cheval%20d%27orgueil.mp3)

Rebotini, “Un Cheval d’Orgueil”

[Photo by Paul Dugdale]

Okay, so Liam Howlett didn’t quite live up to his latest promise of delivering a new Prodigy disc by the end of the year. We’re okay with that, simply because we’re willing to wait for a record that’ll blow the Ed Banger generation away, restoring some order to the easy-to-answer question of what came first: Music For the Jilted Generation and stellar rave-era singles like “Out of Space” and “Everybody in the Place,” or such deeply-indebted fare as Justice’s “Cross” LP.

Now christened Invaders Must Die, the Prodigy’s fifth full-length is due out March 3 through Take Me to the Hospital/Cooking Vinyl. We hear it’s a return to the trio’s scene-defining days, with traces of ultra-modern techno that’ll appeal to kids who still insist on wearing neon hoodies. The first evidence of this is the title track, which is available as a free download or hi-def video, which we’re streaming below. Be sure to comment on it like you did our EXCLUSIVE Prodigy interview earlier this year.

[Photos by Andrew Parks]

Franz Ferdinand finally unveiled specific details about their third full-length at a not-so-secret Brooklyn show last night, from its title (Tonight) to six new songs that hinted at how different the LP may be.

“The last record was fast, furious, frantic, 150 beats per minute—it was like a teenager having sex,” frontman Alex Kapranos recently said in a BBC News interview. “This one’s a bit more assured and a bit friendlier for the dancefloor. It’s about 104/105 bpm.”

No kidding. As crowd-pleasing as Franz Ferdinand’s hit singles (“This Fire,” “Take Me Out,” “The Fallen”) are, few fans will be able to resist the guitar flare-ups of “What She Came For” or the glitter ball hooks of such disco-driven cuts as “Katherine Kiss Me” and our pick for Tonight’s breakout single, the fried synths and falsetto choruses of “Ulysses.”

To answer the question posed by one particular self-titled staffer before this intimate, sold-out show, yes people still care about Franz Ferdinand. That includes us, now that we’ve been reminded why we fell for these Scots in the first place—their songwriting, which avoids dance-rock cliches and embraces slight experimental touches at every turn. All while retaining the very distinct ‘Franz Ferdinand sound,’ beginning with Kapranos’ playful, hearty voice. Speaking of the singer/guitarist, be sure to follow his photo to find Wednesday night’s complete setlist …

Franz Ferdinand @ Music Hall of Williamsburg, 10.8.08:
Ride Together *
Michael
Tell Her Tonight
Turn It On *
Dark of the Matinee
Send Him Away *
The Fallen
Katherine Kiss Me *
Take Me Out
Ulysses *
40′
What She Came For *
* = new song

Encore:
Outsiders
This Fire

[Photos by Will Calcutt]

By Andrew Parks

Matthew Dear is what most people would call a true professional. Aside from being able to balance three distinct aliases like a purposeful schizophrenic (the dank, psychedelic peak-hour anthems of Audion, the manic minimal techno of False, and the avant-pop approach of namesake albums like 2007’s justifiably-acclaimed Asa Breed LP), he treats tedious, thankless tasks as what they really are: part of the job description when you want to be seen as a continent-crossing, boundary-breaking DJ/producer/performer. That includes the following E-mail interview, which Dear feverishly delivered from an airport terminal … on the way to a wedding in Kentucky.

Yes, Kentucky. Which is quite far from where he’ll be this Sunday—playing a live set in the second-to-last slot of New York’s first-ever Minitek festival, right before sometime label boss Richie Hawtin. It’s one of two Audion appearances planned over the next month, yet another burst of productivity and split personalities that brings with it more “Big Hands” dates (his trio version of Matthew Dear tracks) and the seventh installment of Get Physical’s Body Language series. According to a press release that was slipped to self-titled a little early, “Matthew’s eagerly-awaited Body Language mix is a very personal selection, and one which reflects his own artistic interests, concerns and strategies. In a sense, he approached the project literally, seeking to explore aspects of both the ‘body’ and ‘language’ in his selection and ultimately achieve a marriage of the two … Meanwhile, the mix’s rhythmic default is one of sinewy, dancefloor-aimed 4×4 grooves, ‘body’ music at its purest and most devastating.”

Be sure to scroll all the way down for the s/t exclusive cover art and tracklisting, as well as Dear’s live dates. But first, a spontaneous Q&A …

First up: I’m wondering how the move to Brooklyn’s been. You’ve lived here for about a year, right? I realize you travel a lot, but do you miss having Detroit as your home base?
I miss Detroit’s isolated nature. You can disappear for weeks at a time in that city, and no one cares or misses you. You can record a lot of music in that kind of environment.

New York is the opposite. You’re supposed to live the streets. Home is only a bed. Art and music, drinks and friends saturate the city. If you’re not taking it all in, you feel like you’re neglecting some greater force.

Now that you’ve lived here for a little while, have you ever thought that New York isn’t quite the cutting-edge, open-minded city it once was?
It’s hard to say since I never experienced old New York first hand. I knew it wasn’t going to be Downtown 81 coming here, nor did I expect a raging underground music scene. I was coming for the framework of the city that will always exist—the architecture, the layout, the underlying feeling of New York, which now rests more on its historic laurels than any other city. Sure, it’s gone Disney, cleaned up a bit and got safe, but you can still run amok and get wild [if you] look in the right direction.

New York also seems to be a good reflection of the problems dance music still has in the U.S. The turnouts here are just completely unpredictable for major DJs sometimes, you know? I guess I’m shocked by how many turn up for some artists and the small crowds that catch DJs that’d draw thousands overseas.
I agree wholeheartedly. It’s a very unpredictable scene. That being said, though, it’s amazing when everything lines up right. When the perfect amount of people are in town, no conflicting talent is playing a block or two away, and the crowd has some extra cash to spend. I’ve had some memorable weekends here in that setting.

You recently reissued the early Matthew Dear singles as the Beginning of the End collection and had that “Dog Days” remix EP come out. Did revisiting that material put in perspective how much your music has changed over the years and where you hope to take it next?
What’s funny is, I’ll hear my old stuff being played out at an event, and often ask who it is. A strange sort of déjà vu fills my mind, but I can’t quite place the track. Music has always been an ongoing experiment of change for me. If I get tired of new directions, I may as well quit.

“My fingers are in a lot of pies, and I like pie.”

Why did you pick Robsoul artists specifically to remix such a seminal single?
“Dog Days” is house, and Robsoul are the kings of modern funky house. There isn’t enough cross-pollination in our scene, so I wanted to reach out and connect two labels that normally don’t get categorized together.

Where do you hope to take Matthew Dear tracks next? I feel like you nailed the pop style you were going for on Asa Breed, but given your track record of changing things up with every single/LP, are you looking to do things differently on the next Dear disc?
My next project is still vocal based, but far more organic with a wider time palette. I’m looking for broad sounds and ideas, almost taking a cinematic approach. My Music For Airports phase I guess. God knows I’ve seen a lot of them lately.

Tell me a little bit about how the “Big Hands” tour version of your Matthew Dear material has developed. I’ve gotta say you guys have improved so much over the past year. (I saw your debut at Mercury Lounge and was really taken aback by how tight you’d gotten by the time you opened for Hot Chip earlier this year.)
I usually act before I think. The Big Hands is a prime example. My idea for the live show was there, but the rehearsal and stage time wasn’t. You know, put me on stage with a mic and press play. I have quite a dissassociative personality that allows for such endeavors, but I always knew we’d get better as we went along. We had to start somewhere, so we did. Now it’s evolving into a really fun party. We’re playing better, and finding each other’s groove onstage. If we get too good at it though, I’ll have to quit and start over. It’s not fun when it’s easy.

Is a full band album in the cards anytime soon?
No, the Big Hands are strictly a live reinterpretation of my studio work. I may start a band down the road, but it would have to be it’s own entity altogether.

Maybe a Bowie-ish record (the Eno years) to reflect the cover you just did?
That would be great.

What did you learn about what to do and what not to do when you first did live shows as a duo behind the Backstroke EP?
That seems like ages ago. I knew all the while that I was looking for my inner frontman to come out. I didn’t want to fake it, or force it, so I spent a few years searching. Anyone who sees me singing can assume I’m soul searching while trying to remember the lyrics to my songs.

I’ve always viewed Audion as this hedonistic, id-flexing alter-ego for the stuff you do as Matthew Dear, from the overtly sexual song titles to the way the music actually sounds: louder, heavier, more club-oriented, etc. Now that you’ve released quite a few singles since Suckfish (as well as some remixes), how do you approach your two main projects at this point, both conceptually and musically?
They are exactly that. I’m still a sucker for a late night in a dark club, and Audion keeps that door open for me. It’s funny how many people tell me they like one alias but not the other.

I haven’t seen you DJ as Audion in a while. Are you excited to head back into that guise for Minitek? I’d assume the break from the frontman spotlight is gonna be nice, although I do realize you’ve done a decent amount of DJing in recent months.
I’m actually doing an Audion live set, which will consist of all my own material. It’s been a while since I’ve done it in NY. It’s usually an hour of me going more deaf. Matthew Dear is mad at Audion for that.

You’ve done a lot of remixing in the past year, including some unexpected stuff like Spoon. Do you see yourself focusing more on DJing, remixing and putting out singles in the coming year as opposed to doing more of the tour/LP thing like you have with Asa Breed?
I’m going to keep doing it all. My fingers are in a lot of pies, and I like pie. I’d also like to produce more of other people’s work. Bands.

Now that techno is becoming more commonplace with the development of new digital technology and such, how do you hope to push your Audion tracks further in the near future? Hopefully another anthem on par with “Mouth to Mouth?”
It’s funny how “Mouth to Mouth” gets referenced in Audion reviews recently.  Almost like I’ll never make something better. Who knows, maybe it’s my “Spastik.” You can only have one [classic] in my opinion, which is fine. There will be other solid tracks, but nothing as special. Time and place amount for everything. 2006 was a great year for our kind of techno.

“Don and Sherri”
[youtube cyTqBik_w2g]

I really dug your False disc, 2007. Are you planning any more False material in the coming year? Or are you kinda bored by that sort of techno at the moment?
I’ve got a few False tracks in progress. M_nus is a great opportunity for my weirder subliminal techno. Hopefully something can be ready for 2009. Wow, has it been two years already?

Tell me a little bit about the Get Physical mix: when did you record it, how much time did you put into figuring out the tracklisting, and what style of yours does it reflect the most? The kind of stuff you DJ under your own name? Or a mix of everything you do: False, Matthew Dear, Audion?
It represents my summer of ‘08—in my opinion, the summer of the lost. We’re all reveling in the white wash of some epic wave that started building around 2004. It’s crashed, or is crashing now. We’re a bunch of happy wet dogs. The mix is slow and more house based than what I DJ live, but I sure as hell don’t listen to blip blap bang at home, and neither should you.

Do you find doing mixes (as opposed to live DJ sets) to be a tedious process, or do you find it liberating because you can spend more time in terms of track selection, what works best where, etc.?
They both add to my ability to evolve. DJ’ing keeps me in touch with what’s new, and what others are doing. Playing live keeps me sharp and at work on my own production. Translating my experiences and influences from the road into a performance.

Tell me a couple tracks on the mix and why you picked them…
DJ Koze’s “I Want to Sleep” and his track from [Kompakt's] Total 9 [compilation] (“Zou Zou”) which I can’t recall right now. I’m on a plane flying to a wedding in Kentucky and can’t look it up. Koze is simply the best. The only artist I know that really gets it.

One more thing: Gone on any fishing trips lately?
I went fishing in Texas earlier this year and caught some big redfish. My dad caught a bigger one than me though.

Body Language 7:

1. Dinamoe – The Green French One (Original Mix)
2. Kalabrese – Cityblues
3. Sascha Dive – Street Life (Samuel Davis Dark Groove Remix)
4. Kid Sublime – Basement Works Vol. 1
5. Johnny D – Orbitalife
6. Martinez – Retrospective
7. Diz – No Way
8. Johnny D – Tramodyssee
9. Mlle Caro & Franck Garcia – Dead Souls (Radio Slave Long Distance Kiss Mix)
10. Prompt – Ambee
11. DJ Koze – Zou Zou
12. I:Cube – Gtnup
13. SoulPhiction – Traffic Lights
14. Two Armadillos – Hamlin (Sascha Dive’s Secret Dub)
15. Seth Troxler & Patrick Russell – Doctor Of Romance
16. Even Tuell – Untitled B1
17. DJ Koze – I Want To Sleep
18. Basti Grub – Baaa Niii
19. Matthew Dear – Free To Ask (Body Language Exclusive Track)
20. Lorenzo – Get Deep

Matthew Dear Live:

9/14 Brooklyn, NY – Coney Island (Minitek) +
9/27 Seattle, WA – Chop Suey (Decibel Festival) +
10/8 Seattle, WA – Chop Suey *
10/9 Portland, OR – Holocene *
10/10 San Francisco, CA – Mighty *
10/11 Los Angeles, CA – Avalon *
10/15 Montreal, QC – Lambi
10/16 Toronto, ON – Wrongbar
10/17 Chicago, IL – Sonotheque *
10/18 Ann Arbor, MI – Blind Pig *

* Matthew Dear’s Big Hands trio
+ Audion live

[Photos by Shawn Brackbill]

By Andrew Parks

The last time I spoke to Conrad Keely for a story, he was ‘borrowing’ the gargantuan office of an Interscope exec for the entire week. Not just conducting interviews for the afternoon; we’re talking some serious mi oficina es tu oficina action, as the …And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead frontman chipped away at the artwork and sequencing of the band’s last major label album (2006’s So Divided).

In retrospect, the idea of Keely roaming free in a skyscraper suite (the room had a goddamn stand-in shower) is ironic to say the least. After all, Trail’s break from Interscope was far from amicable, leading Keely to completely reconsider his career path after more than a decade of tireless recording and touring.

“The last record had a lot of negativity to it,” explains Keely, as we sit down and talk about Trail’s as-yet-untitled new album at Chris Coady’s Lower East Side studio. “It was coming from being sick of putting up with what we had to do to survive. This record is more optimistic about looking forward. Not just about the new label. (The band recently launched its Richter Scale imprint, a division of the Universal-distributed Justice Records) We’ve also managed to overcome a lot of obstacles that have broken up a lot of bands and even made people quit music altogether. I got really close with that last record.”

“You could always just do your art instead, right?” I ask, alluding to Keely’s continued graphic design/illustration work.

“Or I could just live in the Bahamas on the beach,” he says.

“And sell weeed,” adds Jason Reece, Keely’s longtime bandmate and friend. “Like, ‘Hey dude, I used to be in that band Trail of Dead.’”

Lucky for us, ‘that band Trail of Dead’ is deep in the mixing stages of their first DIY-or-die disc, an effort that’s due out in January. Having heard a couple new cuts, I can honestly say two things: (1) “Bells of Creation” is a vintage …Trail of Dead track, with an insistent piano melody, careening guitars that crash like the waves in Keely’s lyrics, and drums that punch in and fade out at all the right moments, and (2) “The Betrayal of Roger Caseman and the Irish Brigade” one-ups many instru-metal bands (see also: Pelican, Russian Circles) in terms of its wall-of-sound approach and highly-orchestrated passages.

In other words, get excited, ye old …Trail of Dead fans—there’s life in these guys yet. And to prove that even further, Reece and Keely elaborated on a variety of topics as our conversation veered way off task …

Jason Reece on …

Songwriting
We always try to look at things like a movie or a novel. We’re not writing Tommy here, though—the new album is not a fucking ‘rock opera.’

Touring Europe, where …Trail of Dead’s guarantee is MUCH higher
They like music there, whereas there’s a lot of cynicism here. Maybe it’s good that we go there, then come back here and feel like losers.

Playing as a two-piece in the beginning
People really remember those first six months. The ones that saw it are always like, “Things just aren’t the same, man. You should go back to being a two-piece.’”

Having members spread across the country
We’ve got a New York office, an Austin office, an Oklahoma office and a Nashville office. We need an LA one; then we’ll be set.

50 Cent, a client of …Trail’s former tour manager
He was headlining this show in Nigeria and this pop star, who’s also kind of a thug, got mad at him, so he got a gang of guys with machetes and they were just gonna cut his head off. They got on a plane before things got too crazy, but they were ready to have a fucking war.

Brooklyn
As much as there are a lot of poseur fuckheads in Brooklyn, there’s also a vibrant creative scene that I like. It reminds me of Austin 10 years ago. It’s kinda strange how things come full circle. (Editor’s Note: While Keely moved to Brooklyn a few years back, Reece has remained in Austin, where he owns a Texas branch of Beauty Bar.)

The new record
We were trying to jam the songs out as a band instead of saying, “Oh, we’re going to make this studio record.” It’s a very human-sounding record because of that … This album is more about us in a room and changing it up—a new producer, a new label, all that good stuff.

Conrad Keely on …

Knowing moms in high places
The percussion [on "Wasted State of Mind," from So Divided] started as samples, but we got Pat Mastelotto from King Crimson to play real drums on the album. He happens to date the mom of one of our friends.

Germany
Music is like a political statement there. What band you listen to says a lot about your ethics and morals. It’s also a place where Bat Out of Hell and Dark Side of the Moon haven’t left the charts.

Bassist Neil Busch, …Trail of Dead’s first official post-Keely/Reece member
He had to talk us into letting him play bass. We didn’t want to go that route, being like every other band—with guitar, bass, drums. We just wanted him to make noise.

Bassist Jay Phillips, …Trail of Dead’s current bassist (who’s working in Afghanistan until January)
His playing on this record is very distinct. That was one of the things with our last bass player (Danny Wood): I wanted him to be more creative and McCartney-esque—just throwing ideas out there—but he was a bit intimidated, I think, by the idea of working with people he respected. He didn’t want to put his footprint there. Jay is just a natural, so a lot of what you’ll hear on this album is first takes from him.

Why he suddenly started playing keyboards onstage a few years back
It’s all about returning to my first instrument—the piano. When I was playing drums in the band, I got to a point where I was concerned about the health of my hands. Because they’re really delicate things and drumming is one of the harshest things you can do to your hands. I remember drumming when Doni (Schroader) was still in the band, then walking over to the keyboard and not being able to play because my fingers were so swollen.

So Divided
The last record was more like an EP for us, an experiment—a fun experiment—but this is more of a serious album that isn’t just about trying things out. It’s not a bad thing necessarily, but there wasn’t a theme on the last record or any two songs that fit together, you know? One of the problems I had with the last record is I felt stumped every time we tried to play it live because it was such a studio creation. So with this (new album), I really wanted to write songs that I’d enjoy playing live.

War
I love war zones. In fact, I wanted to be a war correspondent when I was younger. Northern Island used to be a war zone, so when we played it back in the day, it was intense—people just walking around with rocket launchers on their back … People try not to think about war but the reality of it is poignant and very important. It says a lot about our human nature, how we have this innate animal thing that comes out of us. It happens with city people, too, in how it manifests through road rage. I mean, haven’t you ever sat behind a car and thought, “I could just get out of here and kill that guy”?

Growing up in Thailand
When I was a 3-year-old kid, I walked around the neighborhood and people would feed me or take me in, because everyone raised children in this big communal way.

The evolution of digital recording
Even auto-tuning has gotten to a point where it’s artistic. Like with T-Pain. Or Metallica.

Yep, you read that right. In what likely won’t be the last final-hour full-length announcement of 2008, Bloc Party has announced the August 21 release of their third album, Intimacy. The band revealed all this excitement  today during their first-ever Web chat with fans.

According to a press release, Intimacy is the product of two sessions: one with Paul Epworth (Silent Alarm) in Kent and one with Jacknife Lee (A Weekend in the City) in London. Apparently, “Some songs are Bloc Party at their most wildly experimental, while other tracks are simply classic Bloc Party, fitting in seamlessly amongst fan-favorites ‘Helicopter’, ‘Banquet’ and ‘So Here We Are’.” We’re hoping for more of the latter considering the trip-hop-you-don’t-stop clumsiness of BP’s current single, “Mercury.”

Anyone interested in purchasing Intimacy can pre-order the CD pressing at www.blocparty.com. It’ll arrive on October 27 and feature bonus cuts that won’t be on this week’s digital version.

Check the tracklisting after the jump …

Intimacy:

1. Ares
2. Mercury
3. Halo
4. Biko
5. Trojan Horse
6. Signs
7. One Month Off
8. Zephyrus
9. Better Than Heaven
10. Ion Square