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Friday, 16 May, 2008

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You are browsing the 60 second interviews. Short sharp questions and answers with anyone we think is worth a squirt of HTML. Oh baby give me your URL.

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Grandaddy

PLACE OF BIRTH : Modesto, California USA DATE OF BIRTH: 26/3/69 PERSONAL MOTTO: There is much in little. STYLE OF MUSIC (IN FIVE WORDS): Pretty hillbilly, Chopin-like rock. DESCRIBE YOURSELF (IN FIVE WORDS): Ugly hillbilly lives under rock. The start of this year came with the sad news that Grandaddy had gone their separate ways. After countless captivating moments on record and live – barbecues, bicycles, skateboards and, most importantly, a house full of recording equipment, have been put into storage and Jason has called a day on this glorious band. Their final album is a gift to a fanbase that has loved them every step of the way and a warm welcome for all those latecomers who have just stepped into Grandaddy’s world of musical enchantment. Written as a final goodbye to the Central Valley and most specifically the hometown of Modesto that formed and influenced Jason’s writings. It is a chapter closing and a remarkable tour de force from the band of talented musicians formerly known as Grandaddy. The story behind the title – ‘Just Like the Fambly Cat’: “Cats are renowned for just disappearing when they’re ailing. And then they are just gone. There’s something very noble and romantic about that.” Questions answered by Jason What do you do to chill out after a hectic night performing? Try not to drink three bottles of wine and listen to people creating conversational static. Make sure I’m no closer than 20 feet to take-out pizza and hopefully visit with some old acquaintances wherever I’m at. What is your biggest achievement so far? Getting into the trouble I’ve gotten into and still being alive and somewhat normal and approachable. Most of all, in terms of the band history, it’s nice to look back on a back catalogue of albums and various other releases and be able to be proud of everything that exists. Who are your musical heroes? Beethoven, Jeff Lynne (ELO) and Howe Gelb. Tell us about your new projects? I’m promoting the new album which is an old project. I’m in the process of moving (homes) and I’m relocating to America’s version of the Swiss Alps which is Montana. So I will be looking forward to see how my new environment will affect the music that I will be undoubtedly working on What are your plans for the future? I have no plans for the future, except to keep waking up, drinking coffee, crossing off items from my to-do lists, waiting for inspiration and acting upon it and hopefully, occasionally, integrating a female into all of that. Are there any artists you would like to work with? I think Juliana Hatfield has a sweet voice. I also have friends who make art and I think it would be great to make soundtracks for their art shows. What is catching your ear at the moment? I like the new Doves record and I like a guy from San Francisco named Kelley Stoltz. And I like anyone who seems true and appears to be making something exciting. I’m curious about the Arctic Monkeys - though I haven’t heard them yet. You’re having a dinner party. Who would you invite and why? If I had a dinner party I would invite people who could cook. Unless my guests were craving canned chicken, soda crackers and Heinz ketchup. I’m not a very good entertainer. I always forget to introduce people and my houses never have couches because there is always recording equipment strewn about inside. What is your recipe for success? Don’t ever think things will let up and you won’t have to fight for your beliefs any longer. If anything, things get more difficult and more people want to screw with your vision. What makes you happy? Walking in the outdoors feeling good about nothing in particular and receiving a phone call from someone you love. What makes you angry? People who abuse their power. What was the last CD/record you bought? Some Rachmaninov Best of CD and the new Belle and Sebastian album. What is your favourite song? ‘I’m Not in Love’ by 10 CC. A song like that would have zero chance of making it onto commercial radio these days. If not a DJ/producer/artist then what? Bicycle mechanic, forest ranger, sunglasses designer, dishwasher or Clint Eastwood GRANDADDY’S FINAL ALBUM ‘JUST LIKE THE FAMBLY CAT’ IS AVAILABLE NOW.

tags: | grandaddy | �just like the fambly cat�

Whomadewho

PLACE OF BIRTH: TB: Copenhagen JK: Kerteminde TH: Roskilde – know the festival? DATE OF BIRTH: TB: 21/3/75 JK: 11/11/75 TH: 15/1/74 PERSONAL MOTTO: TB: Isn’t it cheesy to have a personal motto? JK: Keep an open mind. STYLE OF MUSIC (IN FIVE WORDS): TH: Beautiful, emotional, personal, timeless and honest. DESCRIBE YOURSELF (IN FIVE WORDS): JK: Long bearded creative loving guitarist TH: Optimistic, hungry, stubborn, emotional, absentminded. Whomadewho are three guys from Denmark with three slightly different backgrounds that have their very own sound. Tomas Barfod (drummer) is a house DJ on the Scandinavian house scene, Tomas Hoffding (vocals/bass) used to play in Danish garage rock bands before getting infected by the disco virus and Jeppe Kjellberg (vocals/guitar) used to play in avant garde jazz bands. As Whomadewho, they play disco and include many varied influences from surf to folk to 70s funk. Their three 12” singles created a buzz and heavy rotations with DJs all over the world. They are best known for ‘The Loop’ and their disco-punk cover of Benny Benassi’s ‘Satisfaction’. What do you do to chill out after a hectic night performing? TB: Actually, I like chilling to deep techno – like Kompakt and other German stuff. I know old people think it’s very noisy but I like the deep and monotone sounds when I’m relaxing. TH: If I am lucky, there’s a bathtub at the hotel where I can chill out way too long. Sometimes we get drunk like a rock band should. What is your biggest achievement so far? TB: Whomadewho. It started as a fun thing but now it’s the biggest musical thing I have ever been involved in, and I’m having fun while doing it. JK: Staying with my girlfriend for four and a half years. Who are your musical heroes? TH: All the old ones – Bowie, Beatles, Dylan and exciting new stuff like Flaming Lips, Beck and Smog. I try not to waste my time listening to stuff that’s big today and gone tomorrow. I think it’s amazing how some artists manage to make albums that you want to listen to over and over, and some of them you just grow tired of in no time. There is so much beautiful music around, and I will never get to know more than a fraction of it. Tell us about your new projects... TB: There is a new acoustic album which is folk/country versions of our debut album. We will soon start working on our next “real” album as well as the Tomboy album – my side-project on Gomma records. It’s gonna be a weird mix of live disco and old skool techno. TH: One is with an old band of mine called Garbo and another is a duo with a very talented songwriter friend of mine. Of course, I’ll be recording a kickass-rockdisco- country-goth-blues-house-boogiewoogie album with Whomadewho. I have absolutely no idea what it will end up sounding like. What is catching your ear at the moment? TB: Harmonies and warm sounds. TH: Delays, synths and strange sounds. People who sing badly in a nice way. You’re having a dinner party. Who would you invite and why? TB: The legendary 80s icon Grace Jones who I would persuade to work with me. Also, a lot of other cool and eccentric people that will be nice to namedrop later. TH: Beck, John Lennon, Mozart, Bob Dylan, Paul Simon and Kirsten Dunst. I will ask the guys to go to my studio to write and record the greatest song in the history of music. When they start work, I will spend the night trying to convince Kirsten to be my girlfriend. What is your recipe for success? TB: Being talented, original and energetic. JK: Focus, hard work and a small amount of talent. What makes you happy? TB: When I succeed in things I have pursued. What makes you angry? JK: Intolerant people that don’t show respect to each other. People that refer to “us” when you are together and mention other people as “them” in a very bad way. That’s a very annoying Danish thing that makes me angry. TH: Creating something good and working towards finishing something. It’s also a good feeling of finally finishing something off. Then, after five minutes of relaxing and enjoying the wonder just created, I feel empty inside and start up something new as fast as I can. What is your favourite song? TH: That’s impossible to answer. ‘Wish You Were Here’ by Pink Floyd always gives me goosebumps and brings tears to my eyes. I think you judge a song on the associations it gives you, based on what happened in your life at the time when you got to know it. Songs are a big pipeline to your soul and your memory. THE SINGLE ‘OUT THE DOOR’ (WITH SUPERDISCOUNT REMIX) IS OUT NOW ON GOMMA.

tags: | whomadewho | gomma | denmark | tomas hoffding | jeppe kjellberg | tomas barfod

Marco Bailey

PLACE OF BIRTH: Hasselt, Belgium. DATE OF BIRTH: July 20th 1970 PERSONAL MOTTO : Go for it and rock da houses. STYLE OF MUSIC (IN FIVE WORDS): From minimal to electro and techno. DESCRIBE YOURSELF (IN FIVE WORDS): Crazy, music-mad all night long! “Techno is not dead ...much the contrary: nowadays, people listen to techno music in their cars, in their favourite clubs or even while studying on their computer. Techno, as a genre, has matured and will keep on reinventing itself.” These wise words come from the mouth of Marco Bailey and he should know. As a successful producer, label owner, promoter and DJ, he really knows the world of techno. After more than 10 years of hard work, he has reached a level and reputation to be proud of. He has accomplished and pioneered what many fellow artists can only dream of. There are two reasons why he is at where he is today: sacrifice and dedication. Marco is a self-made man with a mission to entertain people. Carl Cox asked Marco, in 1999, to release records on his internationally renowned label, Intec. In 2002, after many successful releases on labels such as Intec, Primate, Zync, Kobayashi, Intense and Prime’vill, Pornographic Recordings was born – a label established with Spain’s number one techno don Cristian Varela. The same year, MB Elektronics was born, his label imprint for pure MB productions. In 2004, Marco seduced the broader but very demanding public with his own compilation albums, releasing the versatile album ‘Rude Boy’ In 2005 and 2006, in addition to continuing playing the tough sounds he is known for, Marco will be showcasing his ‘Positive Disorder’ sound. What do you do to chill out after a hectic night performing? I like listening to some great music like Boards of Canada in my hotel room as well as having a warm shower and trying to get some much needed sleep. What is your biggest achievement so far? Being a DJ/ Producer like where I am today. Travelling all around the world and meeting so many nice people in Asia and South America etc - great ! Who are your musical heroes? I don’t have really “heroes” but people I really look up to are Richard D James > afx , LFO , Boards of Canada and Richie Hawtin. Tell us about your new projects... There’s plenty coming; first a new 12” on my label MB Elektronics called ‘Passion Cocktail’ (check the artwork for this by the way) this comes with a great Phil Kieran (from AlloyMental) remix. Then there is another 12” planned for May with three of my own tracks, again on MB Elektronics, we are coming up to the 30th release. I’m also working on new tracks for Carl Cox’s label Intec, as well as a future compilation for them, called ‘Intecnique’, as well as working hard on various remixes along the way... it doesn’t stop. What are your plans for the future? Just to carry on working hard as usual and trying to make more innovative music and doing lots of gigs. Let’s rock. Are there any artists you would like to work with? Working with my soulmate Tom Hades almost every day is already enough, although of course I’m ready to do remixes for any other artists, always. What is catching your ear at the moment? Anything that is innovative, anything that still grooves at the floor. Boring and transparent music does not. You’re having a dinner party. Who would you invite and why? This is easy. My girlfriend would be most fun. What is your recipe for success? Working hard and staying in sharp focus. What makes you happy? People having a great time while I play and... sex! (Of course I don’t mean people having sex when I play. Lol). What makes you angry? People who judge you without knowing you, or without knowing how you really are at play or work ...especially through the stupid internet. What was the last CD/record you bought? I buy lots of records every week and cds - too many to tell, Of course being in the industry I’m in- I get sent loads too. What is your favourite song? Definitely U2 – ‘Where the Streets have no Name and ‘Autechre Vletrmx’ – (It’s on the Garbage EP) which is the most beautiful song ever made. If not a DJ/producer/artist then what? I would say, probably a cyclist. I did a competition years ago before I started DJing MARCO BAILEY – ‘BOLLOCKS’ IS AVAILABLE NOW ON MB ELEKTRONICS MARCO BAILEY – ‘PASSION COCKTAIL’ IS AVAILABLE NOW ON MB ELEKTRONICS WWW.MBELEKTRONICS.COM

tags: | marco bailey | carl cox | intec | primate | zync | kobayashi | intense | prime�vill | more...

Giant Drag

PLACE OF BIRTH: Laguna Beach / California PERSONAL MOTTO: Don’t be a piece of shit...which I guess is short for “treat others as you would like to be treated” and always put the toilet seat down before you flush. STYLE OF MUSIC (IN FIVE WORDS): Kitties, karate, pizza, blow pop. DESCRIBE YOURSELF (IN FIVE WORDS): Irritable, lazy, tired, hungry, invisible. It’s not every day that a new band is mentioned in the same breath as My Bloody Valentine, Pixies, Mazzy Star, PJ Harvey, the Beach Boys and Nirvana. It’s rarer still when that same band’s first recording was a Journey cover. But indeed, that is part of the story behind Los Angeles combo Giant Drag – guitarist/singer Annie Hardy and drummer Micah Calabrese. The germination of Giant Drag was down to a matchmaking parent, oddly enough, Annie’s mother and Micah worked together – with Mrs Hardy always prodding Micah, “my daughter is a musician, you should meet her!” meanwhile telling Annie, “this guy at my work is in a band, you should meet him!” Micah saw this as a recipe for disaster and fearing the worst hoped he would never be forced to meet this wannabe singer/songwriter. Annie, meanwhile, also dreading an awkward encounter, hoped she’d never be introduced to the young fellow. Through some quirk of fate, they actually met one another in 2001 through both of their best friends who just happened to be dating. Despite those initial reservations, the pair quickly became friends, having random jam sessions at Micah’s practice space. The formation of what would be Giant Drag came soon after when the two decided to record that Journey song – ‘Who’s Crying Now?’ – at Micah’s home studio, after which they got “serious” and recorded what would be their debut five track ‘Lemona’ EP which was released in the UK in October 2004. Following the release of their ‘Kevin is Gay’ single last October and their tour with Nine Black Alps, the dynamic duo have now released their debut album ‘Hearts & Unicorns’. Live favourites like the now infamous ‘You Fuck Like My Dad’ and the anthemic ‘This Isn’t It’ showcase Annie’s mischievous charm and killer pop hooks. QUESTIONS ANSWERED BY ANNIE What do you do to chill out after a hectic night performing? Watch television in my hotel room while eating snacks. What is your biggest achievement so far? Scoring 10,000 points on Ms. Pacman. Who are your musical heroes? Neil Young, Eddie Murphy, Micah and Oprah. Tell us about your new projects... I am considering making a solo album of cover songs with just me and a crappy Yamaha keyboard. ‘November Rain’ by Guns n’ Roses will be one of the tracks. This is if I ever have free time to do such a thing. What are your plans for the future? To finish this interview, go play this show here at Leeds University and finally get something to eat and go back to the hotel. After that, more of the same for days and days. Are there any artists you would like to work with? Kanye West, most definitely. What is catching your ear at the moment? The Cribs playing upstairs. You’re having a dinner party. Who would you invite and why? I’d invite my friend Jonah because he would help me eat everything so I don’t have to dirty any of my tupperware with leftovers. What is your recipe for success? Same as brownies but add the word buttfuck. What makes you happy? Dogs wearing sweaters, my cat Oprah, cats in general and funny stuff. What makes you angry? Inconsiderate people, being lied to and being misquoted. What was the last CD/record you bought? Lilys ‘The 3 Way’ which I bought off the internet. I’ve been trying to find this record for a while but it’s impossible. I finally found it on Amazon and I think it is the first record I actually bought in a long time. What is your favourite song? ’Sleepwalking’ by Santo and Johnny. If not a DJ/producer/artist then what? I do not understand this question. I am guessing this means if I wasn’t playing music what would I do? I would probably be a cook or one of those ladies that has a lot of cats and wears purple sweatpants ...hmm, I do have a cat and I am wearing purple sweatpants... THE ALBUM ‘HEARTS & UNICORNS’ AND NEW SINGLE ‘THIS ISN’T IT’ ARE AVAILABLE NOW ON KICKBALL/INTERSCOPE.

tags: | giant drag | annie hardy | micah calabrese

Sing-Sing

PLACE OF BIRTH: Emma: Wimbledon / Lisa: Manchester DATE OF BIRTH : Emma: 10/06/63 / Lisa: 07/10/73 PERSONAL MOTTO: Emma: If you don’t ask, you never get Lisa: Man plans, God laughs STYLE OF MUSIC (IN FIVE WORDS): Emma: pop, folk, electronica, guitars all rolled into one big happy bundle of ordered confusion DESCRIBE YOURSELF (IN FIVE WORDS): Emma: Optimistic, crookedly humoured, hungry, daydreaming Lisa: Tired, grumpy, achy, pregnant woman Drawing on such diverse influences as folk rock, heavy metal hammer-ons, a bit of Motown drumming, and out-and-out indie pop, ‘Sing-Sing and I’ carries their distinctive sound. Probably due to extensive American touring, the songs are edgier, favouring guitars over the electronic samples that dominated their debut album ‘The Joy of Sing-Sing’, whilst retaining their trademark lyricism – personal and observational but still combined with a charm and wit. Emma was originally in the band Lush. They put out four albums, graced the pop charts and toured the world until tragedy struck in 1996 with the suicide of their drummer, Chris Acland, and Lush was over. It had been eight fantastic and hard years but Emma was ready for new challenges. Lisa and Emma have survived many punches since their inception in 1998. There was never any doubt in their minds that what they were doing was good, so when push came to shove, the old adage “if you want to do something properly, do it yourself,” was applied. What is your biggest achievement so far? Emma: With the band? Making the album ourselves with no label to fund it. Personally? Learning from my mistakes – I won’t say more than that. Who are your musical heroes? Emma: Kate Bush, Laura Nyro, Robin Guthrie, The Carpenters, Pauline Murray, Gene Clarke, Margo Guryan, early Human League and Simple Minds. Tell us about your new projects... Emma: We have been playing live recently but due to time and money constraints, the shows have been acoustic only (Lisa and I plus a cellist and extra guitarist and backing vocalist). The response has been so good that I think it might be heralding a slightly new direction. What are your plans for the future? Emma: Well, I am hoping that 2006 will be a good one. Lisa is going to have a baby but I am thinking of moving out of London (not too far) and doing some other creative things. Would also like to complete Sing-Sing album number three next year. There was a four year gap between our first and second albums – determined that that won’t happen before album three. Are there any artists you would like to work with? Lisa: I’d like to work with Roy Ayers, I love his music and have seen him live a few times now, he’s a great performer. I think it’s good to work with people outside of your normal genre - to test the music and see what comes out. Emma: I agree with Lisa. It’s good to work with people outside of your comfort zone so perhaps someone in hip hop or metal...though that kind of goes against what I said about the acoustic thing, doesn’t it? Ha. What is catching your ear at the moment? Lisa: ‘The Debt Collection’ by Shortwave Set. Andy produced a couple of songs for us on ‘Sing-Sing and I’. He has a novel way of working, it’s very fresh and spontaneous. They’re great live, very loose and sweet, a pleasure to watch. You’re having a dinner party. Who would you invite and why? Emma: Anyone who would come to Cricklewood and not complain because it’s not on the tube! Diarmuid Gavin, Christopher Eccleston, Germaine Greer and Michael Bracewell. I think that would be a good dinner party, don’t you? I would then just have to cook and listen. What makes you angry? Lisa: iPods on the tube. Every bugger has got one and it’s really irritating to be surrounded by that horrible high hat ticking noise on the way to work. What’s wrong with people that they can’t leave the house without having their whole record collection in their pockets? It’s totally unnecessary and quite frankly a pretentious pose. What is your favourite song? Lisa: ‘Sara’ by Fleetwood Mac. I feel slightly embarrassed to love Fleetwood Mac. I don’t know why because they have written some incredible music. Mind you, there are some shockers in there too, but nobody’s perfect I suppose! THE ALBUM SING-SING AND I AND THE SINGLE COME, SING ME A SONG ARE AVAILABLE NOW ON AERIAL RECORDS.

tags: | sing sing | lush | aerial records

Mew

PLACE OF BIRTH: Frederiksberg, Copenhagen, Denmark DATE OF BIRTH: 21 September 1976 PERSONAL MOTTO : Don’t think about death. STYLE OF MUSIC : Curious and shimmering chimp balladeering DESCRIBE YOURSELF : Yellow. Creative. Bluish. Escapist. Smiling. (QUESTIONS ANSWERED BY JONAS) Mew is Jonas Bjerre (vocals/guitar), Bo Madsen (guitar), Johan Wohlert (bass), and Silas Graae (drums). Brought together whilst making a film, they built a bond based on their shared interests in music and film. This foundation resonates in their sound and their intention to take the listener on a musical journey through surprising hooks and epic progressions. On stage the Mew experience is extended further by Jonas’ own incredible live visuals and short films. Each track is accompanied by inspired visuals, which add a third dimension to their songs. Described as “probably the best new prog band in the world” by Mojo, Mew’s latest single is a fragile and melodic sojourn laden with the escalating vocals and exploratory guitar riffs that distinguish them from their contemporaries. What is your biggest achievement so far? Staying together as a band and being friends since we were 14 years old. Who are your musical heroes? When our musical revolution happened there were bands like Pixies, Dinosaur Jr and My Bloody Valentine. Now I don’t think we have any heroes as such. Tell us about your new projects... I am working on some new animation for our live shows and generally some exciting art stuff, not really in a music writing mode yet as we’ll be touring most of next year as well. I am working a lot with morphed and distorted faces as well as beautiful forests and photography. What are your plans for the future? To keep making our live shows better, to keep writing music and hopefully to be able to keep releasing albums and making wonderful music together. Are there any artists you would like to work with? I’d like to collaborate with the author Haruki Murakami and then have the song featured in a Hayao Miyazaki film. What is catching your ear at the moment? Getting into Coco Rosie, Sufjan Stevens, the new Steve Reich recording and a bunch of amazing demos I heard of the upcoming Swirlies’ album. You’re having a dinner party. Who would you invite and why? I’d invite some Danish legends, Niels Bohr, H.C.Andersen, Søren Kirkegaard, Wilhelm Hammershøi (great painter). Then I’d invite some contemporary people who inspired me, like David Lynch, Haruki Murakami, Black Francis, Damon Tutunjian of the Swirlies. I’d have Superman attend as well because people need heroes. I’d probably make a nice peppered, seared tuna dish with wasabi and Asian vegetables. For desert we’d have crème brulee. What is your recipe for success? Being creative every day, working really hard and not forgetting who you are and what it is you want to achieve. What makes you happy? Love, I guess. Though love can also make you worry a lot. And getting to perform our music for people, seeing how they react to it. What makes you angry? The selfishness of Europe sliding towards right wing politics. And laziness. What was the last CD/record you bought? I just bought the new Boards of Canada album. I always buy lots of albums when I’m in Japan because you get to have the bonus tracks also. I like how cold their sound is. What is your favourite song ? The theme from ‘Little Neczha Fights Great Dragon Kings.’ It’s a Chinese animation from the 80s - the melody is clear and full of a deep sadness. If not a DJ/producer/artist then what? Film maker. I would just devote my time 100% on animation and art. I used to work in film post production and I enjoy that kind of work. MEW WILL BE RELEASING THE SINGLE ‘WHY ARE YOU LOOKING GRAVE?’ THROUGH EVIL OFFICE/EPIC ON FEBRUARY 6TH AND HEADLINING GIG AT LONDON SHEPHERD’S BUSH EMPIRE ON FEBRUARY 9TH.

tags: | mew | jonas bjerre | bo madsen | johan wohlert | silas graae

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