Black Dice are some of most creative electronic musicians out there and the gear they use is very important in the creation of their unique brand of experimental music. Their sound relies primarily on sampled sounds and extensive use of effects pedals. Aaron uses an Akai MPC sampler augmented by various effects pedals including a Boss PS-5 pitch shifter. Bjorn uses a custom-made sequencer/filter built into a case emblazoned with the band’s initials which he then runs through an Electro Harmonix Poly Chorus. For his guitar, he uses a Gibson Les Paul put through a Boss DD-5 delay, a PS-5 pitch shifter, and a Zvex Wooly Mammoth fuzz. Eric uses an 8 track recorder and a mini-disk player put through a Boss PS-5 and a Digitech Synth Wah. Black Dice also acknowledge that they use a lot of bizarre sounds such as those made by broken tape decks or by putting a contact mic on a champagne bucket. They also have a new album out April 7 entitled Repothat you should check out.
“I’ll Be With You,” off of the Black Lips‘ 200 Million Thousand, just received video treatment with plenty of the band’s input. Music vid below, acoustic sesh here and tBL talking about the track here.
I’ll be with you is a pretty sappy, but heartfelt song about a dear friend. I wanted the video to reflect the feeling and mood of the song as I feel it. I wanted to kind of recreate old home movies I’ve seen of my family in the 60’s, but make it a little more subversive and somewhat sinister. We playboy’s laying around, and some satanic elements, and charlie manson. But still semi-innocent and silly and happy. It was alot of fun to make it. I got my roommate to dress as a clown, and we got to throw cake all over my friends kitchen, making her scream like a maniac, while we laughed like maniacs.
Fun Fact: Alex Levin aka ECK$, an ex-blogger and very close friend of the FMLY who currently works at Vice is responsible for the trippy album art on 200 Million Thousand. He’s also an excellent musician, I’ll make sure to post a track of his once I can get it back to my computer.
the official remix 12″ for our first single “Big Bills” is now officially out. in typical flosstradamus tradition… or flosstradition we would like to offer up all of the remixes, including Jokers of The Scene, Blaqstarr, and our own personal Power House remix to you guys… for FREE!
Alright, I’m really tired of the confusion out there on the internet so we’re gonna settle this once and for all. J2K of Flosstradamus is Kid Sister’s brother. Kid Sister is dating A-Trak who balances heading Fool’s Gold and being Kanye’s DJ. A-Trak is also the brother of Dave 1 from Chromeo. Feel free to dig deeper, but for all of the misinformed blogs out there I hope this offers you a good start.
Related, A-Trak’s Infinity +1 comes out today along with new records from UGK, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Thunderheist, and more. Coppeth here.
As I’ve stated in the past on both FMLY and iheartcomix, I’m a big fan of Railcars and Aria Jalali’s unique voice in the Bay Area’s experimental electronic / art pop music scene – especially considering the intense focus on hyphy music…or at least mine, Mac Dre / Traxamillion / DTF represent!
Think Spencer Krug (Wolf Parade, Sunset Rubdown, Swan Lake, ex-Frog Eyes) with a more awesome setup that includes some electronics…and maybe on acid just to peak your curiosity.
To reach a point, Railcars are back from Europe and are so ready to share the experience with California. If you’re around Irvine, Costa Mesa, Los Angeles, Santa Barbara or San Diego then hit up Railspace to check tour dates. If you’re not in those areas then SEND ARIA A MESSAGE, he’s always down for house parties and jam stops along the way.
Also, if you haven’t already then feel free to download Railcars’ latest EP, Cities vs Submarines, for free right here courtesy of Aria. CvS was recorded in the basement of Xiu Xiu frontman, Jamie Stewart, who also produced the EP. Railcars is currently working on The Cathedral With No Eyes with Stewart as well, an album that I’m certainly anticipating. If you’d call yourself a vagrant for Railcars, then make sure to download their live set from Paris and peep the vids.
While searching for a name for his Electro/Hip-Hop group, Sky Blu decided to shoot an iChat message to his grandmother with the latest idea, seeking her opinion.
“Our new name is gonna be Sexy Dudes…what do you think of that?”
Grandma Goodfoot replied, “LMFAO”.
Sky Blu, and his partner-in-rhyme, Redfoo, knew grandma was on to something.
“When we told our friends our name was LMFAO, they loved it.”
Still not completely convinced, they ran it by their parents to get their reaction. They hated it.
Redfoo’s dad said, “Garbage!..I don’t understand what the f*ck that means.”
Sky’s Blu’s Mom simply replied, “That’s just poopsauce.”
It was then they knew their search for a name was over and LMFAO was on and poppin.
Cameron and Randy introduced me to the über-hip dance beats of LMFAO when we were leaving Austin and now I’m hooked like Oprah on third world countries! Fusing electro, club and the I-just-don’t-give-a-fuck attitude that’s all the rage, these memorable verses will have you easily singing along by the second listen. They’ve got a powerhouse of tour dates through May that you can check out here, but expect a familiar stop in Los Angeles down the line if you catch my drift. If you don’t, then we won’t rest until LMFAO is shoved down your throat all the way to your feet…and if those feet aren’t moving by then, that’s another story.
*Fresh Quarter with some fresh updates, hope everyone had a wonderful Break…
Waiting for the day Dent May took his soothing ukulele and paired it with a video that resides somewhere between Flying Lotus’ Parisian Goldfish and a infomercial for a nature documentary? Well the friggin’ wait is over… this Pawtrackian’s track rests in that happy middle ground and behind all of the green screen transitions and caricatures there’s really only Howard…
Dent May & his Magical Ukulele will be soothing sore ears in Europe until May when you might be able to catch one of the select shows nowhere near So Cal or New York… (cept for the Squash)
With a chaotically organized collection of EPs, remixes and compilations under TheDeathSet’s ever-expanding belts, it can get a bit confusing for everyone when it comes to determining how “Around The World” switched from Interpol antics on To, to She Wants Revenge vibes on Worldwide. Thankfully, on April 17 our pals will set the record straight with a worldwide release Rad Warehouses “to” Bad Neighborhoods, a collection of their first two EPs and remixes by Dan Deacon, Bonde do Role and more. Despite a slight change of name, the track below can be found on To and is the first single to be released from Rad Warehouses.
We’re aware that the cover of Merriweather Post Pavilion is a standard optical illusion, but when Threadless posts a design it tends to lean towards the “hip” persuasion (ie. loads of 2009 Animal Collective fans). For the current sale price of $9 (was $18) you can be a proud owner of “Citrust Me,” the MPP illusioned tree tee. Click here to be one of the most in-the-loop Animal Collective fans on your block. Or you can be a real attention grabber and nab one of these bad boys.
If you came here hoping to find some real Animal Collective gear, check it out.
D.A.D. is our pal Zach Robinson from Los Angeles who is currently residing in Chicago. Not to pry open the history books, but he’s been a part of our development with his work in some of our favorite LA bands such as The Irregars, Dracula Mountain and is responsible for the only reason I’ll go into the valley, Zach Shaque. Along the lines of his Super Mash Bros, D.A.D. catches on quick when it comes to spot-on remixes and mash-ups. He’s only got a few tracks out there, but I’m pumped to hear more as they come in. “Pre-gaming” is a personal favorite, but I swoon over anything with Blink-182 in it. Head over to D.A.D.’space to hear a killer remix of Yelle’s “Ce Jeu.”
SXSW was a blast. The crowd was enthusiastic, the food was savory (thank you Pita Pit), and discovering new music in a live setting is definitely preferred over a computer screen. I’d just like to give a HUGE thank you to everyone who took the time to come out, we never expected to reach capacity so quickly! Also, an equal in size thank you goes out to Sneak Attack Media, Tierra Productions, UV Vodka and Hi-Lo for sponsoring the event as well as Honey Claws, Ninjasonik, TheDeathSet, The Hood Internet, DD/MM/YYYY, Fol Chen, Rumspringa, Cerebral Ballzy, The Hungry Villagers, Madi Diaz, and Reverse X Rays for playing. Big apologies to those of you who came out for Youth Group on Thursday, hopefully you were able to catch them at the Australian music showcase.
In an effort not to flood this page with photos, follow the link below the tunes to see some of the adventure.
Here’s a FMLY secret, we’ve found a new addition to the best FRND category and her name is KE$HA. You probably know Kesha from the Flo Rida track “Right Round” where she sings about giving head and just having an all-around wholesome time. FMLY spent Friday evening and night as Kesha’s date to the Avalon and we couldn’t be more excited for the journey she is set to embark on; FMLY offers 100% of our support to the most awesome pop star of the 00’s. Kesha doesn’t just sing about sex, drugs and getting her freak on, but she actually gets down and dirty and has a sense of humor that the average sex symbol just doesn’t understand…plus she doesn’t just dig, but loves vinyl. Expect remixes from Switch and Diplo, a collaboration with Three Six Mafia and a solo record to drop towards the end of ‘09 via RCA. Production credits include Dr. Luke and Max Martin, if they sound familiar it’s because they sorta make the music for Katy Perry, Kelly Clarkson, Pink and Britney Spears, no big deal.
2009 is shaping up to be a swell year for the entertainment industry. From Mike Tyson and Zach Galifianakis to Pauly Shore and Forest Whitaker, here are a few films that we’re excited to see along with some new music videos from Department of Eagles, Panda Bear and a new live video of Grizzly Bear’s “Two Weeks” featuring Victoria Legrand of Beach House.
Thank You Come Again
Lady Bird Lake Trail
March 20, 3PM
w/ dead gaze, easyboy, mistlefinger, big whup + pizza!, white fang, jonesin', tempo no tempo, dream panther
FMLY Group Hug
Dominican Joe, 515 South Congress
March 20, 8pm
w/ MillionYoung, Truman Peyote, Michael Parallax, Wampire, Idiot Glee, I Am The Dot, Magic Man, Philip Seymour Hoffman fbook event
Los Angeles
Kria Brekkan & Drawlings
McWorld
March 24th fbook event
Evan Voytas, WAMPIRE, Battlehooch, Pizza! + Afterparty for Tobacco (of Black Moth Super Rainbow) and The Hood Internet
McWorld
March 25th Fbook event
FMLY RIDE
April 3rd 2010
Dinowalrus, Tempo No Tempo
May 1
Santa Cruz
FMLY RIDE
April 3rd 2010
Pacific and Water
Boston
FMLY / Breakfast of Champs Fest
PPALMM's Chinatown Loft
April 16
New York
FMLY / Breakfast of Champs Fest
April 18
Tobacco (of Black Moth Super Rainbow) & Philip Seymour Hoffman
The Knitting Factory
April 24 fbook event
IcyDemons, Truman Peyote, Trouble Books
Glasslands
May 2
San Francisco
Thank you Come Again
The Neighbors, Wes Leslie, Shaw, Maus Haus, Mistlefinger, Goliath the Giver
March 21st
Dolores Park f book event
Questions? Comments? Want to play a FMLY event? Want to learn how you can play an integral role in your FMLY? Shoot us an email anytime, we're usually around. We also accept demos, songs you're into, songs you've made and bribes.
