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I was only ever in one band before I joined Hole. It started on “Loonie Tuesday” in 1991 at a Montreal pub and an unknown group was playing for a dollar to 30 people. That group was the Smashing Pumpkins and, halfway through their set, I could tell my life was going to change. But while I was having this great epiphany, my friend threw a beer bottle at Billy Corgan and Billy jumped off the stage and they were fighting and rolling around on the floor. I realized what I loved about them was what he hated: they were playing to an empty bar as if it were an ocean. I knew I had found my gang.
[…] after I played 180 shows for [my first] record and flushed my twenties and the ’90s out of my system, I began from scratch and started over. That’s what my new record is.
I think with my new record, this multi-media project, I’m properly represented for the first time. I spent my years with Hole defining my character, my years in the Smashing Pumpkins defining myself as a musician and my first record finding myself as a songwriter. On this new record, all I did was follow my gut.
We loved hearing the story of how Auf der Maur met Billy Corgan and ended up joining his band after bassist D’arcy Wretzky left. We have fond memories of the Smashing Pumpkins playing live (with Auf Der Maur on bass) in New York (including on a ferry around Manhattan) and in Chicago back in 2000. We also enjoyed her show at Knitting Factory Brooklyn late last year (where we spotted Love in the crowd) and her low-key album-release party at SXSW featuring free absinthe, and Out Of Our Minds (oft abbreviated as OOOM by the Auf der Maur camp) on repeat.
Yes, this was partly an excuse to reveal a bit more of the SXSW content we still haven’t fully shared with you. Stay tuned.
Foster The People are a four-piece LA-based band that formed just recently, in the Fall of 2009. So far, they’ve only played a couple LA shows and a couple last month at SXSW (see the video, below).
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The band’s great new track “Pumped Up Kicks” (above) is sure to get them plenty of attention. Already, the song has been featured in NYLON’s recent Fashion Week coverage. Previously, when frontman Mark Foster was still solo, his song “I Would Do Anything For You” was used in Paris Hilton’s MTV show My New BFF (November 2008) and “Kids”–now a Foster The People song, it seems–was featured in another episode of the show (July 2009).
Foster The People has a live date scheduled for this Wednesday, April 7 at Spaceland in LA, and you can stream other songs now at the band’s website, FosterThePeople.com.
The Highweights
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Meanwhile, making their debut right now exclusively on TheMusic.FM, The Highweights, a DJ/production duo from Mexicali, Mexico (near the border with California), have offered a solid remix of “Pumped Up Kicks” (above).
We are excited to hear more from both Foster The People and The Highweights, and we’ll be sure to share it with you as soon as we do.
We at TheMusic.FM are one of the first blogs to join a crazy collective known as Strangers in Stereo. Featuring 20 of the best and most unique voices in the music blogging community, the goal is to spread the love by sharing great content from each of the blogs and working together to accomplish more in the world of music.
This is not going to be a catch-all-aggregator type of deal where all the blogs just get automatically republished. Rather, we will feature key articles we want to share, and that will be coupled with some great exclusive content and features that the Strangers will create. This will provide us, and other members, with an even larger megaphone, when we need one.
The plan is to be an even larger presence in the blogging world and our communities, too. Look out for CMJ showcases and other events and projects. We’re excited to collaborate and share, and you should be too!
To kick things off, the Strangers in Stereo members collaborated to produce a mix, featuring one track chosen by each blog. Our choice:
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Immuzikation mixed all the tracks beautifully to produce a mix titled “Strangers No More.” Check it out:
Click for larger images
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Additionally, the venerable Hype Machine’s podcast introduced Strangers in Stereo and interviewed SIS founder Will Hines during its SXSW 2010 preview episode. Listen and download, below:
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Freddie Gibbs has carved out the most gangster corner of downtown Austin’s otherwise extravagant Hilton lobby. It’s a familiar five star design: plush leather couches, a South by Southwest sanctioned McStage harboring chilled out, sensitive guitar guys; lots of windows, wi-fi, a coffee shop named Java Jive. There’s also a dimly lit, airport-recalling bar and in its dark, back corner Gibbs sips Hennessey on the rocks.
At 27, the rapper has already been restrained and discarded by Interscope, become disillusioned with the genre’s talent, ascended to trendy blog bait on the heels of two exhilarating, freely downloadable 2009 mixtapes, The Miseducation of Freddie Gibbs and Midwestgangstaboxframecadillacmuzik. Gangsta rap on a ’93 tip.
He’s in a black hoodie, black fitted. His manager, Archie, checks laptops as his boys, one a Rick Ross lookalike sporting impenetrable black shades, say nothing. Gibbs provides direct, honest, warm and thoughtful answers. He’s not like most hip-hop interviews, in other words.
“I’m not interested in being the most famous rapper,” Gibbs says frankly, without blinking, “I’m interested in being the best rapper alive.”
Good thing, too, because Gibbs ruffled lots of feathers with his first, decidedly non-gangster dent on the culture: an academic New Yorker feature wherein the author (a) declared hip-hop’s irrelevance and (b) anointed Gibbs as its last hope. The genre you know and love is dead, the white Sasha Frere-Jones arrogantly theorized, except for this guy I found.
If you read the oft-circulated and retorted piece, I don’t blame you for blacklisting Gibbs out of principle. But the embargo is worth lifting, if only because he embraces the pressure.
“He’s a good guy and I appreciated Frere-Jones taking the time to write about me,” Gibbs said, “I don’t take issue with his claim because I believe it.”
Photos by Callie Richmond
Freddie Gibbs hails from Gary, Indiana and makes streets-based rap the way it should sound in 2010: learned, lyrical, about robbing, in societal context. His voice is thick, grizzly. A faster Slim Thug. A smarter Young Buck. His appeal lies in an innate ability to spit the occasional run of the mill boast (”Gibbs run in your crib like Kris Kringle” or “I’m from the home of the old-fashioned Joe Jackson ass-whoopin’”) and have said phrase resonate for days.
For part 3, we’re going to do something a bit different and represent one of the best aspects of SXSW. For all the music, the running around, the free-ness, the best part is the connections and opportunity for collaboration. You meet so many people who do what you do (often more successfully or in different ways) and it provides a great spark of inspiration. It’s probably the best and most rewarding aspect of SXSW.
While we have more interviews and videos to come from Kid Sister, Fenech-Soler, Major Lazer, Nardwuar, and others, I’m going to conclude my piece with a final set of pictures from a different pair of eyes.
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Lee Dale, from I Need Sugar, had his camera out during much of SXSW and captured great moments featuring The xx, Fanfarlo, Marina and the Diamonds, Yacht, You Say Party! We Say Die!, Efterklang, Minus The Bear, Bowerbirds, Chew Lips and Memory Tapes. Check some of them out, below, and more photos can be found here.
Immediately after one of her sets at SXSW 2010, we sat down with Uffie for a chat about … everything.
Despite the success of one-off tracks like “Pop The Glock,” “Dismissed,” “Hot Chick,” and her song with Justice, “Tthhee Ppaarrttyy” (2006/2007), major interruptions and delays took hold, and we’re now, finally about to see a full, debut album. (Sex Dreams and Denim Jeans, May 31.)
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So MCs Can Kiss was a bit like a “Dismissed Part 2″ in a way — like making light of the situation. So, I guess it it’s kind of like, “MCs, bring it. I never said I was one. It’s more to me about entertainment and music in general rather than being an MC.” So it was just making light of that situation.
So are you moreso pre-empting any possible criticism?
I’m trying to bring it!
Like to be on the offense, not the defense?
Yeah, I just knew it was going to come anyway. And with my album — it just got so intense, yet I had started music for fun, and I just felt I could bring the fun back and make light of every situation that I thought would come up.
And is that really you on saxophone at the end of “MCs Can Kiss?”
Do you not hear my mad skills? Haha. No, … I know — everyone’s so disappointed when they find out it’s not me. No, that’s Oizo being a jackass. That’s just a Oizo thing. But, when we’re live, we have a pianist, so I play it there — we have a sax sound. So it kind of becomes real in the live setting.
Yeah, I wasn’t sure who would have a real saxophone sitting around.
Yeah, I know. I wish I could say yeah. Now I should actually start lying and say yeah.
Too late.
Yeah, I ruined it!
So Ed Banger Records fans will be glad to hear you’ve worked with a lot of the crew on this record — Mr. Oizo (pronounced French-like: wah-zoe), Feadz, SebastiAn — …
Definitely. I’ve sucked all their talent dry!
What was the process like in working with them? Would you often work together in the same room or would they create something and send it to you?
Feadz and Oizo are the first guys that I worked with. Mirwais is actually the first guy I worked with outside of them.
Feadz and I — when we first started, we were “together,” so we would record in our living room. And how I would work with Mirwais is he’d send me beats and I’d write lyrics, record and then send it back.
It’s kind of sad because now everybody works through email. Like even if they’re down the street from you. So, you’ve got beats, they inspire you, you send it back. Even if it’s your friend and you’ll see them tonight and they’re down the street, it’s all through email.
And about the other producer on the album, Mirwais (pronounced Muhr-wise) — a lot of people don’t know much about him …
Yeah, it’s funny because nobody knows this guy who like wrote and made all the Madonna songs. So he helped me massively, because he helped me find myself — like my artistic confidence. Because I was working with Feadz since I started, and when we broke up — I think that’s why the album took a bit longer as well — I was kind of stuck because you don’t wanna work with your ex boyfriend, obviously!
So Mirwais and I got together and he really encouraged me to start singing, thinking outside of the box, experimenting a bit more.
How would you describe what we’re going to find on this album that we haven’t heard before from you?
Feelings. There are feelings! When you make EPs, you know that they’re meant to go to clubs, so there’s a bit of a pressure to make them dancefloor-y. Where, what I was thinking about the album, is that it’s an oportunity to think outside the box, push yourself, and create music that people can listen to inside their home. And so I went with slower songs, there are violins, and it goes a bit deeper, lyrically. It’s a bit more poetic. I think people will be really surprised when they hear it … especially the Mirwais songs. Feelings.
I’m not going to ask you a blanket question about the Ke$ha song “Tik Tok” –
Who?!
Oh, maybe I should! — because it seems that it’s been covered, but –
You have no idea …
Do you feel like it’s been covered?
Yeah. My point is that — there are similarities, but the girl is number one, you know what I mean? You can’t fuck with that. I actually feel bad for how much shit she’s getting, whether she copied me or not. Honestly, I don’t like her music, I don’t like the girl, I don’t dislike her — I’m just not fucking bothered.
Here’s a question marginally related to that. There are these two worlds, obviously — the world of people who get on mainstream radio, …
MTV, and the other ones!
Right, and that used to be called underground. And you’ve been called underground.
Yeah, definitely.
But it doesn’t seem like it’s “underground” anymore, because of the web, where music fans will flock to what they like, and…
Definitely. Ten years ago I don’t even know if I would be playing at a festival like this. Because, my stuff… I actually pride myself on being underground. I have no interest in becoming a commercialist kind of thing. Because I don’t want to compromise anything that I do. I love playing a clubs at like 4 in the morning!
About what you were saying about the Internet — I think Myspace really broke this. Because previously, artists that you loved were “stars” way up there that you couldn’t reach. And with the Internet, Myspace, you can email them directly. The Internet made it so you can touch each other one-to-one. So it kind of brought stars from being here [high hand gesture] to here [low], and that change kind of affects everything, because we’re a bit more at the same level.
This is your second SXSW, right?
Yeah, the first one was 2006. I remember I turned 18 the previous December and that’s just when I started doing “Pop The Glock.” And I remember with my DJ — we were like, “we have to get a shitload of songs together, because we have to do concerts.” We were actually making songs back then so that we would be able to do concerts.
But when I played South by Southwest in 2006, it was like at bars, very disorganized. We were just walking everywhere, getting drunk everywhere — we weren’t even booked. People would just be like, “come play my show!” And we were so new and so excited to be invited to play anywhere, that we went to like every party.
Sounds like it worked out pretty well.
It was the best thing — I kind of miss those days. You’ll never have that experience again. It was amazing.
And when you look at the landscape of who’s here at SXSW — it really is dominated by indie rock, so what’s it like to be that representation of electro or rap?
I’ve got to be honest — it’s really weird because besides LA, this is my second concert in like a year and a half. I just had a baby — so it’s so weird to be back.
But people used to ask me a couple years ago, like “if you became commercial, blah blah blah.”
And I was like, “ahh…, but if I became commercial I would be doing it my way, so it’ll be like breaking through. Something new.”
And now, that’s not even the case. I mean, I feel like what used to be — not underground … but indie — is now mainstream. I think people are so fed up with the Britney Spears, Jessica Simpson — that fake poppy image — people realize that’s like bullshit, and they’ve kind of pushed it out, and next in line is the indie, the Bloc Party, that kind of group. So we’re kind of witnessing a transition in a way.
I feel like we’re witnessing a kind of phenomenon. It’s like watching a conveyor belt bringing in the new thing.
What’s really exciting about it is that now, bands that would never have been heard before, they don’t have to shift anything — their image, what they speak about — they don’t have to be censored and they can still become the mainstream number one. So I think it’s an exciting time to be breaking through in music, because your possibilities are endless.
At this point I had to ask Uffie about her baby, and she showed me her BlackBerry background — a photo of the cutest four-month-old girl imaginable in a pink knit hat. Her name is Henrietta.
“It’s my first time away from her,” Uffie says. But when she must travel, her father takes over, watching Henrietta at his home in the south of France.
When we last discussed SXSW (part one of our recap), it was about moments that made you say “wow … only at SXSW,” like the Fader Fort and seeing a band like Broken Bells in a parking garage. It was also about catching bands with plenty of buzz behind them. But now we focus a bit on the unknown and unexpected. I’m talking about smaller bands that you stumble upon and wind up loving, or hear about plenty of times before you finally get a solid listen.
Note: More coverage is on the way, including photos, videos, and interviews from artists including Fenech-Soler, Freddie Gibbs, Major Lazer, Maluca and more! Subscribe via Twitter, RSS or email (top-right box).
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Starting with the unknown, I caught Yawn and Everything Everything to start off my Fader Fort experience. Yawn had a smooth little pop sound that went down quite easily in the afternoon sun and Everything Everything brought something a little more dancey to the table. As good of an introduction as that was to the afternoon, Best Coast was the early highlight (her set preceded Neon Indian and Local Natives). I’ve heard the band described as lo-fi pop and while that is true, their live performance really fleshed out the songs adding a nice punch to the tracks. The band also showed off two new tracks “Boyfriend” and “Goodbye.”
Yawn
Everything Everything
Best Coast
Sometimes you catch a band on the way to your next destination and that moment turns out to be fantastic. That happened to be the case when I checked out Drink Up Buttercup, the fun band from Philadelphia. Loose melodies with plenty of energy and some infectious hooks, the band sounded great and I’m looking forward to checking out their new release Born and Thrown on a Hook.
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Now we come to the unexpected bands you know you have to catch if given the chance. I chanced on two such bands in The Crystal Method and Man Or Astroman?. The Crystal Method were making kids lose their mind at the Dim Mak showcase at Elysium. The lasers and bass were burrowing their way into our brains and the club had everyone cutting loose. As great as that was, I managed to catch Man or Astroman? when I never thought I would get that opportunity. The noisy surf riffs, fun banter and just crazy infectious songs, it put a spell over me and the crowd after hearing tracks like “Invasion of the Dragonmen” and “9 Volt”.
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After all the running around and staying up late you need something a bit smooth. Luckily, The Golden Filter were around and filled that quota with some sweet disco tunes. The full band really enhances the music. The veil cloaking the band in mystery has been lifted and we like the band even more now that we can see their personality.
The Golden Filter
Note: More coverage is on the way, including photos, videos, and interviews from artists including Fenech-Soler, Freddie Gibbs, Major Lazer, Maluca and more! Subscribe via Twitter, RSS or email (top-right box).
More coverage on the way, including photos, videos, and interviews from artists including The Golden Filter, Fenech-Soler, Best Coast, Everything Everything, Yawn, Freddie Gibbs, Major Lazer, Man or Astroman, Maluca, The Crystal Method and more! Subscribe via Twitter, RSS or email (top-right box).
SXSW, we already miss you. To think just last week Austin was the only place that mattered in the music scene. Inundated with all the latest happenings and rumors of special surprise guests (including Muse and Snoop Dogg), there were too many showcases and too many plans that fell through.
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That’s sort of the beauty and the charm of it all and in the end, SXSW is and will continue to be the place where buzz happens. Seeing your new favorite band in a half empty bar at noon, waiting for one act and being blown away by one of the bands playing before, or just finally being able to see that band everyone has been talking about, SXSW is one happening place and we have plenty of moments to share with you.
Broken Bells, the brilliant pairing of Danger Mouse and James Mercer, was one of the acts generating plenty of attention before the festival. What better way to kick off Wednesday than seeing the band in a parking garage? The show was sort of a secret and met capacity pretty quickly. The set sounded great with the focus on the music as the band played the album in its entirety.
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Aside from surprise appearances another thing that makes SXSW special is the Fader Fort. Love it or hate it, it’s a prime destination for buzzworthy bands and surprises. This year’s lineup included Bone Thugs and Harmony closing the Fort, Nas and Damian Marley being the special guests, as well as performances by Neon Indian, Best Coast, Sleigh Bells, Fucked Up , Local Natives, The Morning Benders, Marina and the Diamonds, First Aid Kit, We Were Promised Jetpacks, Free Energy, Washed Out, Real Estate, The Drums, The Very Best, and Chew Lips to name just a few. One of the best acts TheMusic.FM caught happened to be Local Natives. Their set exhilarated the crowd and included “Wide Eyes”, “Airplanes”, “Sunhands”, and “Camera Talk”.
Local Natives
Neon Indian
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More coverage on the way, including photos, videos, and interviews from artists including The Golden Filter, Fenech-Soler, Best Coast, Everything Everything, Yawn, Freddie Gibbs, Major Lazer, Maluca and more! Subscribe via Twitter, RSS or email (top-right box).
TheMusic.FM just spent the last several days in Austin for SXSW where we enjoyed some of the best musical experiences we’ve ever had, plenty of great interviews, and also missed out on a lot — because it’s impossible to do it all at SXSW.
While we prepare our coverage — including fantastic interviews with Uffie, Kid Sister, Fenech-Soler, and Nardwuar, and plenty of live show coverage (including some Stone Temple Pilots exclusives, the sounds of our favorite up-and-coming rapper Fashawn, more) and photos of Broken Bells, Local Natives, Man or Astroman, Crystal Method and more — please enjoy these totally random clips of 5 Neat Guys that kept us sane at the end of each night.
Our favorite BBC Radio 1 presenter, DJ Annie Mac, is presenting several hand-picked artists at her SXSW and WMC showcase events. Full details below.
Annie Mac Presents, SXSW
Republic Live, Austin, TX
Wednesday March 17
[Tickets]
Annie Mac
Theophilus London
Fool’s Gold
Brodinski
L-Vis 1990
Fake Blood
Boy 8-Bit
Kingdom
Annie Mac Presents, WMC
White Room, Miami, FL
Friday, March 26
[Tickets]
Annie Mac
DJ Mehdi
Jack Beats
Brodinski
L-Vis 1990
Riva Starr
J-Wow
Kingdom
Even if you can’t catch Annie Mac’s events, you can catch the excitment of her weekly show, Mash Up, from anywhere the world at bbc.co.uk/radio1 or satellite radio. Each episode features a host of new acts, with an electronic music focus. And there’s typically a guest mini-mix or two. Recently, she has helped raise the profiles of rising acts Elie Goulding and Two Door Cinema Club - neither of which are particularly electronic at their core, but have proven quite talented and quite remixable.
The show is based in London, but we listen here in New York every Friday from 3 to 5 p.m. (during DST). If our heads haven’t exploded by then, we stay tuned for Pete Tong’s show, too.
