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interview and double mix: mochipet

July 4th, 2008

Born in Taiwan David Wang (a.k.a. Mochipet) did not get his start in music until the age of 15. Through out his career he has had his music released on record labels such as Bpitchcontrol, Tigerbeat6, Detroit Underground, Schematic and his own Daly City Records (Daly City) and has toured throughout America and Europe in a wide variety of underground and main stage venues and has shared the lineup with artists such as Kid Koala, Luke Vibert, M.I.A, Jack Dangers (Meat Beat Manifesto), Matmos and Modeselektor just to name a few…

Here are Mochipet’s stats, followed by a little interview. Be sure to check his double playlist!

Stats:
Birthplace: Taipei Taiwan
Hair: Black and Stiff
Eyes: Slanted
Residence: Middle Earth
Favorite food: Haw Flakes, Botan Rice Candy
Favorite music: Anything not electronic.
Favorite books: The 3D ones with the pop ups.
Favorite TV show: The free ones hacked through DSS.
Favorite movie: Hands on a Hardbody.

Hi Mochipet, what’s your playlist/mix about?
I made 2 mixes for you guys. because I like Double the fun! ;) One is more of a Hip Hop Mix (Chop Chop and Bouncing Around Hip Hop Mix) The other is more disco 4/4 flavor (Disco Bassbin Electro Mix). But both are to commemorate the Remix Contest I am currently having for my new record “Microphonepet.” Some would call it Experimental Hip Hop, some would call it Electronic Dance Music. I just call it Mochipet Music.

What’s goin’ on in Mochipet’s universe right now?
I am currently workin on new music for Daly City, Creaked, RCRL LBL, Remixes for Ninjatune, Licensing, Workin with M-Audio, Laundry, Makin BBQs, Biking, and my labor of Love Daly City Records. Lots of new things on the horizon! Bizzy Pet. You can read about it on our blog.

What are you currently listening to, any good recommendations?
I wish I did. I have no time to listen to music really. It’s really sad. But I really like that new Movie “The Wanted” !! I’m really loving all the remixes people are sending in as well for the contest. Some of them are quite amazing.

How is the scene in California at the moment?
It’s ok, Not as progressive as I like it. It seems people have been more tame lately, not sure why. Maybe the economy? Or retro phase not letting go? I hope to hear some crazyness soon. Electronic Music doesn’t always have to be dance or academic you know!! =)

How important is the internet for you?
A… How important is Air?? =P

Where do you see this whole internet thing going?
I hope somewhere less commercial and more creative. I see wonderus things happening. I really do. Like Fairtilizer!

Do girls still love breakcore?
Hehe.. girls never liked breakcore. I can’t believe some people took that seriously. It was obviously fun. Can we still have fun in music? Is that allowed? No, the cool thing about all that was that some girls actually tried listening to breakcore who never did before and they liked it. =) But as a general the music is too harsh for most ladies I think. What I liked about Breakcore was that it was so broad too. It could be anything. Untill the traditonalist chimed in and said “No!” breakcore is like this! Is that like Classical Breakcore? Traditional Breakcore? I have no idea. It was all pretty funny. One thing it did show however is that some people can be really openminded. While other can be very closeminded. This includes everyone, people that listened to breakcore, and didn’t. Maybe that was the point.

Anything else to add?
No, just thanks for hosting my Remix Contest! I look fwd to seeing what everyone thinks of the Microphonepet Remix. I know it will be hard for me to choose!

Thanks!
Thank you!

visit Mochipet’s Myspace profile

visit Mochipet’s Website

visit Mochipet’s Fairtilizer profile

interview and mixes: vanessa (& the o’s)

July 2nd, 2008

Vanessa Contenay-Quinones is French, Paris born and bred. She grew up loving the sounds of the 60’s found rummaging through her dad’s record collection…Gainsbourg, Birkin, Hardy, Polnaref, Vartan and of course Dutronc. She went to London during the early 90’s, released an album as Espiritu on Heavenly, remixed b52’s, collaborated with A Guy Called Gerald and much more.

What’s goin’ on in Vanessa’s world right now?

Well let me see…today I’m in my home studio working on the songs for the second album, we have about 14 songs and I have to finish off the words and some melody on 6 more…ouf! It’s long…but it’s always great to finish one. That’s today but tonight I will be in Soho/London with my Allez Pop DJ set…spinning records from my own collection of the 60’s French Pop that I love and that’s a lot of fun (it’s not my career but i like it).
I also did a little acoustic show at The Fete de la Musique last week in London (French Institute) as well, so I’m staying busy and that’s the way I like it!

What are you currently listening to?

Because I’ve put together 12 Allez Pop podcasts on my Myspace page with the history of french musique of the 60’s period for the last 12 weeks, I guess that’s mostly what I’ve been listening to.
I’m really pleased with the podcasts as they are broadcasted on US web radio with great reaction, so I’m happy to introduce the Age d’Or of French Pop to the USA!
You can find them all on ITUNES on RADIONOWHERE.

You are French but are currently living in London. How is the scene in London at the moment?

For English music…well there’s so much music here and lots of different scenes in different parts of London like trendy Hoxton in the east end…and so many live venues in North London, Brixton etc…indie bands, nu rave, electro pop, lots of club nights with DJ’s and retro nites playing old soul, you even have some French theme nites with French bands coming over. I played recently at a French nite ran by Resonnance FM French show Rockfort. It’s really crazy there are so many gigs every night everywhere. London seems to be the capital of new music right now and I do hear lots of stuff but I am kind of in my own world with my music.

Any good bands around?

Like I said in London there are just so many that it’s hard to keep up and it seems there’s always new ones emerging!
I like some of the nu rave stuff like Hadouken. All that’s not very new I suppose and in the indie scene my friends Mono Taxi, Anglo/French a bit Velvets, and a very new young band I heard on Radio 1 with a demo is ENL with a cute song called “Mrs Madame”…Hummm…hard to think.

Do you know and like some French new bands/artists?

I’m a bit out of that scene I suppose, living in London…but I like the sounds of Barbara Carlotti with whom I’ve played recently. She has a lovely tone of voice and I like the music of my friend Chat with her fragile sound that reminds of Debussy. I need to hear more new stuff I guess.

How important is the internet for Vanessa & The O’s?

VERY as we are a real independent set without the promotion budgets of major labels.
Sites like Fairtilizer, Myspace, Garageband.com etc…there are many and it’s the main way we can reach out to music fans wordwide on a daily basis, and that was never possible before so it is crucial actually, and one of the great tools for independent artists outside of the mainstream.

Where do you see this whole internet thing going?

The genie is out of the bottle as they say, and more and more artists and bands are realizing that this new technology offers them a new path and way that never existed before when the major labels had to much power and influence. The internet is changing all that which is a good thing. The bad thing is that not enough music fans are paying for the music now and that has killed the record industry. This is what has to change, music should not be allowed to be considered as something that is free. The artists have to be payed for the music they create somehow so this will be interresting to see how it develops in the near future, whether that is a subscription system as suggested by Rick Rubin or something else like people actually paying for the music they download. I don’t know … but I do know it’s not only the majors suffuring but the artists as well, I care more about the artists because they are the ones who create the music.

Visit Vanessa & The O’s profile on Fairtilizer
Visit Vanessa & The O’s website

Tracklisting:

ALLEZ POP MIX 1

1-I WANNA HOLD YOUR HAND/ THE BEATLES
2-KEEP YOUR HANDS OFF/ LITTLE EVA
3-LES FILLES C’EST FAIT POUR FAIRE L’AMOUR/CHARLOTTE LESLIE
4-7H DU MATIN/ JACQUELINE TAIEB
5-THE WITCH/ THE SONICS
6-BLACK TONGUE/ THE YEAH YEAH YEAH
7-THIS TIME TOMORROW/ TAMMY MONTGOMERY
8-TUS 16 ANOS/ CHARLES AZNAVOUR
9-DANS LA NUIT/ RIA BARTOCK
10-STAY A WHILE/ DUSTY SPRINGFIELD
11-SILHOUETTES/ THE RONNETTES
12-LAISSE MOI/ CHANTAL GOYA
13-TWIST’N'SHOUT/ THE BEATLES

ALLEZ POP MIX 2

1-MR. POSTMAN/ THE MARVETTES
2-LES CACTUS/ JACQUES DUTRONC
3-BREAKAWAY/ IRMA THOMAS
4-FERMETURE ECLAIRE/ DELPHINE
5-MY NAME IS EDOUARD/ EDOUARD
6- HAVE LOVE WITH TRAVEL/ TE SONIC
7-AIN’T NO BIG THING/ THE OLYMPICS
8-PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE/ JAMES BROWN
9-NOUS NE SOMMES PAS DES ANGES/ FRANCE GALL
10-EVERYBODY HAS TO/ SMOKEY ROBINSON
11-TU AS PEUR DU BRUIT/ LES ROCHES MARTINS
12-ROUGE ROUGE/ CHRISTINE LAUME
13- DEVIL’S HAIRCUT/ BECK
14-PAS QUESTION/ ERIC CHARDEN

interview and playlist: heyday

July 2nd, 2008

After playing with softwares while recording with their rock band Exsonvaldes, the core duo of Heyday decided to push the game a bit further with some remixes and tracks. Known by the Fairtilizer members for their remix of The Do, Heyday just selected great remixes and some originals in this playlist.

You are newcomers on the scene. Could you introduce yourself?

Heyday is a two members band, born in 2006. We both also play in the pop band Exsonvaldes. We were introduced to the great software Reason by Patrick, our sound engineer, and we started using it when Martin broke his arm and couldn’t play drums for Exsonvaldes. We got good feedback on our tunes when we put them, almost as a joke, on myspace. We even were approached by a small American label, so we decided to make Heyday a real thing.

What’s the first remix you ever did?

The first track we ever remixed was “Last Year” from Exsonvaldes’ forthcoming album, simply because we already had the vocal track on our computers.

What’s goin’ on in Heyday’s world right now?

We’re currently recording our first EP with Alex Firla, with whom we also worked for Exsonvaldes’ album, and still doing remixes on the side, for contests or when we manage to find bands who are interested in working with us. Hopefully, we’ll soon be looking for someone to release our music!

What are you currently listening to?

Martin: MGMT, Flight of the Conchords, Weezer, The Ting Tings and Digitalism.
Simon : Dan Deacon, Death cab for cutie, Laura Marling and a bunch of Radiohead bootlegs from their last tour.

How is the scene in Paris at the moment? Any good bands around?

We don’t know any bands in Paris since we spend all our time in the 13th arrondissement and we’re the only band there.

How important is the internet for Heyday?

That’s how we discover new bands, hear about remix contests, get samples and software to make music and most importantly how we get people to listen to our tunes! It’s vital for us as for any band these days.

Where do you see this whole internet thing going?

We hope we’ll still be able to download music in the future. We’re great music consumers, we listen to a lot of stuff all the time. Without the internet, we’d have the world’s biggest collection of shitty records. That way, we buy only the records we really like! We’re not really worried about the future of music. There will always be bands.

Visit Heyday’s Myspace profile
Visit Heyday’s Fairtilizer profile

interview and advance listening: don rimini

July 1st, 2008

Don Rimini has been lighting up the ghetto clubs of Paris since he was a teenager with sweaty-ass DJ sets combining the best of hip-hop, electro, and upstart rock’n’roll. Mental Groove & Delicious Gutter are proud to present some next level blitzkrieg heat. Four tracks of intercontinental ballistic beats and sweat-soaked hooks, captained by the new jam-master of the Paris’ underground. It’s the KICK’N RUN EP from Don Rimini, out next month on limited vinyl edition and unlimited digital download, but you can listen to it right now on Fairtilizer.

What’s your new ep about?
My new EP is definitely electro - some might probably call it fidget electro or cut up….that’s not too important. It’s a real mini album with 4 tracks + an intro and a series of scratches tools at the end, like the old good hip hop records. The idea was to produce a rough EP, pretty spontaneous, and pretty impulsive. No second choice tracks for the b-side. 4 tracks, 4 bangers…anyway I tried my best.

What’s goin’ on in Don Rimini’s world right now?
I don’t see the time anymore but that’s wicked. I traveled more and more, for DJ sets. Every day I can’t believe what is happening to me. The kids are very receptive to my new tracks and remixes! During parties feedbacks are awesome…I’m over the moon…love it. The djs I have always loved, are playing my tracks…Let me back Up is becoming a standard!!! hahahahaha;)

What are you currently listening to?
I listen a lot of electro, lots lots, I am a fucking crate digger. I am always looking for new sounds, artists or remixes. Apart from electro music, I listen to Lil Wayne – Tha Carter III and Tahiti Boy - Good Children Go To Heaven which are just excellent.

How is the scene in Paris at the moment?
Unfortunately, I am not often in Paris at the moment. I am always in the studio or doing a DJ set far away. But the Parisian scene and its parties have not been as interesting as they are now in a long time. Paris is boiling. And that’s so cool!! Like some fresh air since 2 year. It’s a very good way to undust the old codes of the sad and formated techno scene. As far as dj sets, guys like Surkin or Orgasmic are really fucking awesome. They leave me speechless and “on my ass” as we say in French!! They’ve got such an amazing energy.
I also have got much respect for Justice and Ed Banger crew in general…They succeeded to push their own sound, a universe. And also lots of new ones like Electroluxe Family, Ks aka Marcel Pagnol, Dilemn etc.

How important is the internet for you?
Internet takes an important place for me. I’m stuck on my computer 24/7. I listen to a lot of music on blogs or any other website, I watch tons of videos, I am sharing files with my friends. Without internet I couldn’t exist! More seriously, It is essentially due to internet that my music had an echo. It gave me access to a public…from the blogs, myspace… Where the traditional medias (tvs, radios) do not understand and do not relay our music… with Internet, we all have our own stage.

Where do you see this whole internet thing going?
Far…far away. Or maybe closer than we think…closer than we can expect or imagine I am not at all nostalgic of the past. I’m pretty passioned with technology. Myspace is an amazing tools, and now Youtube. And I guess it is just the beginning…Google Earth on Iphone..damn..we are in Back To The Future. Hahaha.

Is your manager really the best one around?
My manager is a very important person for me, he’s a friend before anything. Without him, Don Rimini might never have existed. And to tell you the truth, I love the way he moves in the club. Hahaahaha Alex is the best.

Visit Don Rimini’s profile on Myspace
Visit Don Rimini’s profile on Fairtilizer

selection and interview: CSS (cansei de ser sexy)

June 27th, 2008

Now based London, Brazilian band CSS (Cansei de Ser Sexy) will release their second album on Sub Pop late July. They kindly compiled a great set of tracks for us. From Santogold to The Cure you can discover their influences and check the songs they’re feeling right now.

Adriano was also very nice to answer our silly questions. Thanks to them.

What’s CSS up to right now?

We’re about to release our second album, we just finished shooting some videos for the release and we’re doing a lot of promo these days.

What are you currently listening to?

I just bought Mariah’s Touch My Body picture disc and I’m listening to it right now.

How is the scene in Brazil at the moment? Which artists should we check for?

I can’t tell, I’ve been living outside Brazil for some time and every time I go there I’m just too tired to go out.

How important is the internet for CSS?

If we don’t have wi-fi we get depressed and eventually we sleep.

How do you see it evolve?

People will get tired of this exposure and eventually they will stop showing off their lives on Facebook and Myspace. At least that’s what I hope. It’s so annoying.

Tracklisting:

Santogold - Anne
Lykke Li - Breaking It Up
The Black Kids - Listen To Your Body Tonight
The Breeders - Safari
Kate Bush - Moving
Risqué- let me smell your dick
Wendy Ho- I stole your purse, bitch
bikkini kill - carnival
Os morenos- marrom bombom
tiririca- florentina
Make-Up - I am a pentagon
Bath for Lashes - What’s a girl to do
Kylie - In Your Eyes
Beastie Boys - Girls
Whitney Houston - It’s Not Right But It’s Ok
Leonard Cohen - I’m Your Man
David Bowie - Little China Girl
Tegan And Sara - Back In Your Head
The Kills - Last Day of Magic
Dolly Parton - Jolene
Edith Piaf - La Foule
The Moldy Peaches - Anyone Else But You
Cat Power - Free
Blonde Redhead - Top Ranking
Lauryn Hill - Doo Wop
No Doubt - Hella Good
The Cure - Let’s Go To Bed

Visit CSS’ Myspace