Thieves Like Us were brought to the Alt world’s attention first by the infamous Kitsune, those boys call europe their home and vowed to make kids dance to their synthesized pop rock while learning the truth about love and partying. The new album “Again & Again” is here for your ears, brain and feet. Read our interview with Pony below.

Not French yet you call Paris home and you first met at a picnic in Berlin, we want the whole story and a little bit about yourselves pre and post Thieves Like Us?
Yeah, it`s a bit complicated. Bjorn and I are Swedish and our singer, Andy, is American. We used to live in Berlin in 2004 and met there in a park on a sunny afternoon through a mutual friend. Andy was blasting Wagner through his insanely loud portable speaker, the Freedom amp. The initial reason for starting the band was frustration. We simply didn’t hear any music we could relate to. That has changed, today’s music scene is more diverse and better. Post Thieves, i really don’t know, we can’t seem to take anything else serious… be Cabana boys?

I’ve always wondered if the name is a homage to the ‘New Order’ song?
Thieves like us is a novel, a movie, a song, a band. And a tv-series. Soon a beverage. The New order song has also some relevance i guess, but not much more than the Altman movie.

Your songs covers daily life subjects from a darker angle with a pessimistic outlook on love and relationships? Are these interpretations of personal experiences?
Yes. I think the new album is less negative compared to the first one, we`re generally happier people these days and certain members of the band switched from liquor to weed. But I guess we`re still a pessimistic bunch compared to other people, yes.

The first album was recorded in several locations including New York, Berlin, Vienna, London, Rio De Janeiro and Stockholm. Was the process the same with the second album – why the need to hop around? does recording at different locations have any effect on the artistic outcome?
The first album was a mess… We moved from Berlin to London to New York and things were always quite chaotic. We are just nomadic by nature i guess, some people for reasons of restlessness, others run away from things. We don`t remember recording half of the songs (”too bad we remember hearing them” is a solid comeback to this statement), it`s a wonder we got any results at all. The new one, Again and Again, is a whole different matter: we wrote and recorded most of it in a small studio in Montmartre, Paris, we had time to bring in guests to help us out, MAI for instance, this folky French singer, and an old, random man on the organ. Again and Again is the album we wanted to make all along.

In what formats are you distributing you new album? Do you think CDs days are coming to an end?
Right now we’re only distributed digitally. It`s a bitch getting physical distribution at the moment, which is probably a sign of cds not doing too well, surprise, surprise… In general I think the record industry had this coming for a while. It’s unfortunate that there’s no better solution than iTunes and Rapidshare though…

Who is your new album “Again & Again” targeting?
We want everybody to be able to like at least one song off the album: House wives, bankers, bathroom attendants, presidents, everybody.

You do both Live shows and DJ sets, what are the pros and cons of each? Which attracts a bigger crowd and why?
We pretty much only play live. Dj-ing can be fun, no doubt, but it’s severely overrated as an art form and skill. When playing live you create something unique for that moment for that specific audience. Nightlife is unfortunately a lot about making money, so rather than having bands perform, creating an actual event, you get a dj hunched over a laptop.

You’ve given heaps of your music and remixes out for free online, an approach currently highly employed, how does that work in your advantage?
It’s a good way of quickly spreading new songs, no doubt. I just wish that blogs would review music to a higher degree, rather than merely saying “check these guys out, awesome!”.

What is your main and most lucrative source of income?
Only source: Live shows

How important is the role of PR services these days and can a band survive without them?
We’re pretty much surviving without them right now. It’s a lot of work, we spend 3-5 hours emailing every day generally. But fun as well, you stay in touch with all kinds of kids all over the world: Mexico, Brazil, Poland, Russia, the Philippines…

How do you think bands like yours can utilize a site like Fairtilizer to their own maximum benefit?
It’s great for streaming and uploading and sharing songs initially, it makes it easier for blogs to post a song, and for us to choose which one. I’m not sure the sales function has kicked off yet, but I guess it’ll take time, iTunes and Rapidshare has brainwashed people maybe.

Why do you think many labels and artists choose the internet nowadays as the main tool for promotion?
Because this is where it’s happening now. No kid goes into a record store, it’s for seriously uncool 35-year olds. The record stores are dead, they’re too expensive and not well-stocked enough. I miss some stores that are gone as an exception, Kim’s records and video in NY was great for instance. Damn shame.

Is there any online music Service/Feature that you’d like like to see become available in the next few years?
Yes!! A Myspace where you can sell your album and songs for a non-regulated price, 10 bucks or 10 cents. It should be easy to sign up and download artwork and talk to bands, buy merchandise and follow your band’s tour schedules. Myspace were apparently working on something selling tracks, but they were WAY to slow. iTunes feels too corporate and, come on, 1 dollars per song? 10-15 bucks for an album? What do i get? No physical product and I’m still paying as much as i did for a CD or LP a couple of years ago.

“Again& Again” the second album is out now on iTunes.

Visit Thieves Like Us Fairtilizer profile
Visit Thieves Like Us website

Please could you introduce Soft Metals to our readers? When and how did you start this project?
Soft Metals is the synth pop romance of Patricia Hall and Ian Hicks of Portland, Oregon. We started making music together in April of 2009, then played our first show together in July 2009. Ian had been collecting vintage analog synths and drum machines for a few years, writing songs, and playing small shows with friends. I was dabbling as a singer and posted a song I’d sung for a friend’s project on facebook. He heard it then asked me if I could sing on a track for him. We got together and recorded the Siouxsie and the Banshees cover, “Red Light”. We continued jamming on the synths together and writing songs. We decided after a month or so to start a band and came up with the name Soft Metals.

How would you describe your sound? What are your influences?
It’s hard to describe our sound. It’s dark, romantic, hypnotic, danceable- synth pop, with a bit of an experimental side to it. Our sound could be considered “80s” but its mostly due to the kind of synths and sounds we like to use. We’re influenced by industrial bands like Chris & Cosey and Skinny Puppy, 80s house and early 90s techno artists like Larry Heard, Virgo, Drexciya. We love italo disco, minimal synth, post punk, and early electro, too.

You signed on Captured Tracks: how does a Portland band end up on a Brooklyn label?
It happened with lot of luck and support from fans and friends. We had never heard of Captured Tracks until Michael Stock who runs the Part Time Punks party in LA mentioned to us that we should check that label out. He spoke highly of the label and thought we’d be a good fit. Like magic, a little while afterward we got an offer from Captured Tracks. While on they were tour with Blank Dogs, Cosmetics heard about us on the internet and recommended us to Mike Sniper for the label. I can’t tell you how flattered and appreciative we are about that! As we have come to discover, Captured Tracks is an awesome label and we are excited to see what the future holds for it. I think getting written up on the highly esteemed music sites, Gorilla vs. Bear, 20 Jazz Funk Greats, and Pitchfork gave us great exposure outside of Portland and led to the record deal.

You put a lot of new Portland bands in your mixtape: how is the Portland scene at the moment? Any good bands we should listen to?
The Portland scene is great. There seems to be a diverse group of bands and DJs working together on shows, which I’ve been told is rare in a lot of other cities. The different styles of music in the scene aren’t as separate. Just the other night we played a show with a noise group called Kevin Shields, an ambient electronic group called Golden Retriver, and a twangy guitar electronic folk one man band called Dragging An Ox Through Water. Our next show is with an R&B electro band called Starlight & Magic. There are a ton of good bands in Portland and most of the people in our audience are from other bands. I recommend checking out The Miracles Club, Solenoid, Arohan, Reporter, May Ling, Jewels of the Nile, Fleshtone, Finesse, Interiors X, Operative, Dangerous Boys Club, Prizm, Joey Casio. There’s so many I know I’m forgetting!

When could we expect your first releases?
Our first release will be a 5 song vinyl EP on Captured Tracks due on August 10th with a limited edition cassette tape of goodies.

Do you think it’s important for a band to have a good PR company by its side?
Yes, I do think it is important. Bands can use all the help they can get! I don’t know what the PR companies have done for Soft Metals as of yet, but I imagine that they have access to magazines, music reviewers, and other media that we cannot reach through our personal contacts and listeners. I think they’re going to be really helpful once our record is out.

Internet has changed a lot of things in the music business: faster and easier communication, new ways to monetize music, but also piracy. From your experience what are the pros and cons?
So far the internet has been great for our music. We weren’t expecting to get signed this soon and we know the internet is responsible for that happening for us. Now that we’re signed, I know we have to sell our music. A lot of money goes into making a record so we hope that people will support us and the label by buying our releases. The songs that are available for free download on the internet are roughly self mastered and aren’t the best versions of our music, they’re demos. We’ve fixed some things since they’ve been blogged and they a lot sound better now that they are professionally mastered. We wanted our music released on vinyl because it sounds great; we want our listeners to hold a relic of our work in their hands, admire the artwork, and take in the sounds the same way you would in the 1980s.

How has internet and the new media changed your way of working as an artist? How do you use it on a day to day basis?
The internet gives our music access to people all over the world without us having to wait for a record label to release it, a store to buy it, a magazine to review it and our band having to take the expensive risk of touring while being completely unknown. It travels like a virus from listener to listener so quickly around the world. We’ve met so many awesome people and bands and have played great shows outside of Portland because of the internet. It’s enabled us to connect with new fans and fellow artists almost every day.

What tools are you using the most online?
We use Facebook, MySpace, Last FM, SoundCloud, and Fairtilizer the most.

How do you measure your success and stay connected with your fans?
We measure our success by getting to play shows with bands we admire, being able to travel so people can hear our music, and having the privilege of putting a record out on a rad label. We stay connected with our fans by playing a lot of shows, recording DJ mixes for blogs so they can get a feel for our influences, replying to fan mail, doing interviews, and taking the feedback we get from our friends and audience seriously.

Recommended music site (services, shop, blogs…)?
20 Jazz Funk Greats, Dusted, Gorilla vs Bear, Keytars and Violins, Mutant Sounds, Ripped In Glasgow, Vintagesynth.com, Sound On Sound.

As an artist where does the role of sites like Fairtilizer come in?
Fairtilizer’s elegant and simple design makes it a great place to host our music. I love the absence of ads on the site. Fairtilizer puts the focus where it should be, on the music. The site is versatile and has a professional feel. You can adjust your settings in a variety of ways to work best for your purposes. The embeddable players look great and don’t degrade the audio quality of the music like the MySpace players do.

With the music currently being easily accessible to download freely, what is your main income source?
Ian and I have to depend on our earnings from our day jobs to put food on the table. Ian is currently collecting unemployment from a job at an architecture firm he was laid off from. I work part time at an animation studio as an office assistant. Not having to be at our day jobs 40 hours a week has allowed us to work on our music and play shows. We are really hoping our record sells well because if it does, we’ll be able to make some good money from that, re-invest in the band, and have more time to write new music.
Do you think that giving away music for free (as free mp3 or streaming) could help you sell more physical products?
I think it can help at first. I don’t know how else so many people would have heard about us if we hadn’t been giving some of music away for free. Blogs love having free music to share with their readers, so you’re more likely to be blogged about if you do this. Having a music video can be just as effective, but it has to look really cool and can be expensive to make. I’d like to see how streaming our songs from sites with embeddable players like Fairtilizer or SoundCloud will work out on the blogs. I think it’s good to give away 1 or 2 free songs per album to help promote if you don’t have a video. If people like what they hear then they’ll probably pay for the rest. Nothing’s cooler than owning a physical copy of an awesome band’s record.

Is it also important for you to use digital services to have a smaller impact on the ecology of the planet?
Yes it is! In the past people mailed out records/tapes/CDs to radio stations, reviewers, bookers, labels, etc. Just think about all the packaging and gas that gets used up just to transport these physical objects to places where they might not even get heard and end up in the garbage. With the internet, the process of getting discovered and promoting your band is a lot greener. You can listen and see what a band is all about without the physical object. If you love the music after hearing it on the internet, then buy the record.

Tracklisting:
//TENSE//- Turn It Off
White Car- Not Right
Reporter- Click Shaw
Soft Metals- The Cold World Melts
The Miracles Club- Light Of Love
//TENSE//- Mine Too
Cosmetics- Black Leather Gloves
Arohan- Prophets Broken (rough demo version)
Jewels Of The Nile- When I Was A Lover
Fleshtone- In Heaven
Brusque Twins- Our Love
Xeno & Oaklander- Vagabond
Indian Jewelry- Downtown

Half of the songs on this mix are from other Portland bands that we love and have been supportive of us. The rest are bands that we love and hope to play with in the future.

Visit Soft Metals Fairtilizer profile
Visit Soft Metals on Myspace

What is love? Savoir Adore (”To know love” for those that need a quick French lesson) may or may not have the answer, but they certainly know the recipe for “sparkly” tunes. This Brooklyn-based outfit shares with us their single “Bodies” and the remix, composed by good friends French Horn Rebellion. In The Wooded Forest out now via Cantora Records. Jam on it.

So you guys are Brooklyn-based currently right?
Paul Hammer: Yes.

Where are you guys originally from?
PH: I’m from Upstate New York.
Deidre Muro: I’m from Long Island.
PH: We’re both New Yorkers and met at NYU.

Did you guys start making music at NYU?
PH: Yeah.
DM: Well, we were both doing music before.
PH: That’s true. We were both doing stuff in high school already.
DM: We didn’t collaborate until you had already graduated and I was still in my senior year.

And it just came together at school?
PH: We were doing solo stuff separately and we played a lot of shows together. It wasn’t actually until I left [school]. It was my first year out of school that we decided to collaborate and write music together.
DM: Basically, the first time we ever collaborated was an experiment.
PH: That’s basically how it started. We had no idea what would come out of it and it was the EP that we eventually released through Cantora Records. After that, the band was formed.

In five words or less, for people who don’t know your sound, how would you describe it?
PH: Should we put commas in between them?
DM: Haha. It’s more challenging if there aren’t commas. One of them is sparkly.
PH: Memorable? Well, that’s kind of a subjective thing.
DM: There’s definitely a basis of pop.

5 adjectives will work…
PH: Fun, experimental…We usually say sparkly, lush, pop, rock, harmonies.

So, being a part of the vibrant Brooklyn scene, are there any bands that you guys are close with that we should know about?
PH: Our best friends are in this band French Horn Rebellion. We sort of collaborate with.
DM: They are more like electro, dance, pop. But, they are really really really fun and they did a remix for us recently. My boyfriend, David, is in that band and same with his brother. We’re very very tight-knit. David’s brother is dating Paul’s sister.

So, it’s one big family, huh?
PH: And musically, I played drums. Deidre sings in the band. David used to play with us but that was before he got so busy. So, we’re very connected with them. And then there’s Mon Khmer, who we did a tour with. Another great band. They are pretty new. Only a year old I guess. And we did a tour with them down to SXSW. So, we got to know them really well. Darwin Deez, I would say too. They’re doing really well in the UK right now. We’ve played with them a lot of times too. They are a really really fun live act and great songwriters.

I noticed you guys used the Digital Harinezumi for the video “Bodies.” I own the blackbird, fly which is made by the same Japanese company, superheadz, and I love the stuff they make and how my stuff turns out.
DM: I know. Seriously. There’s this tiny mall in Williamsburg. Just a couple of shops in a hallway. And there’s this random store with all kinds of knick-knacks.
PH: I’ve never been there.
DM: So, I was in there one day with my boyfriend and they had a little display with a vintage tiny TV playing these videos and it was from the camera. It kind of stuck in my head for a while. Six months later, I was like I must have that camera and I found it again.

You guys use any other unique tools to create? Whether it be music, videos, etc.
PH: We’re pretty inspired by old keyboards.
DM: We’re lucky enough to work in Paul’s dad’s studio which has a lot of great things. For us they’re like toys.
PH: Sometimes they work. Sometimes they are dying.

So is your dad an engineer?
PH: He was a composer then transitioned into a studio composer later in his life. He has this space upstate where he converted a barn and I store all of my gear up there.
DM: And we’re going there tomorrow…
PH: …To work on some new stuff. It’s in Carmel, NY. About an hour and a half from NYC. And that’s where we’ve done 90% of our recording. It’s a really special place for us.

If you guys had the opportunity to develop a utopian music service, to connect bands and fans, what would it be?
PH: As far as giving artists the power to sell, I think Tunecore was a huge step in the right direction. I think it’s interesting to combine something like MySpace with Tunecore, where you’re not only connecting with your fans, you’re showing them streaming files and you’re giving them the opportunity to buy and communicate. All in one-stop.

What do you guys use most effectively to connect with your fans?
PH: I think some direct emailing.
DM: I think recently, Facebook. MySpace is still a nice one-stop with streaming. It’s convenience.

What’s the name of your current release and why should we listen to it?
PH: It’s called In The Wooden Forest and it’s got character!

What kind of character?
DM: Well, there are a lot characters. It’s like an adventure within itself. It’s not one of those records where you are going to hear the same sound over and over again.

When did you guys release it?
DM: We released it in September.

So, it’s been a journey.
DM: It really has been for our first official release.
PH: Slow and steady build.

And you’re happy with Cantora?
PH: Those are actually three of our close friends. Will, the guy who runs it, is one of our close friends from NYU. We’ve worked with them from the very start.

MySpace
Facebook
Twitter

Can you introduce yourself and your new album to our readers?
Bon soir! We are Chew lips, a three piece band from London and we make alternative pop music for people with brains and dancing feet.

How would you describe your sound? What are your influences?
I think we are essentially an alternative rock band who use some electronic sounds. As a band we love classic pop from all eras: Bowie, Prince, LCD Soundsystem, The Carpenters, Fleetwood Mac…

Do you think a label is still relevant in 2010? What do you expect from a label today?
I think its possible to do things in many different ways now, where before, perhaps, you needed a label. People are doing it on their own, through their own labels, or on small indies or a sort of combination of the two. I just think it’s a much more accessible industry to get into these days, which is a good thing.

How is the scene in London at the moment? Any good band we should listen?
I dont know – we’ve been travelling so much it’s hard to know what’s going on back home! Theres an amazing band called Party Horse who we took on our last tour. They’re like an electro 70s rock boy/girl duo. Very cool. And the band ‘Everyone’ are going to be amazing too.

How has internet and the new media changed your way of working as an artist? How do you use it on a day to day basis? From your experience what are the pros and cons?
Internet changed the music industry entirely. From sales – lowered by way of online music theft – to giving all bands a forum for people to hear their music. What did bands do before the internet?!?! Chew Lips uses it to communicate with fans, using Facebook and Myspace to tell them what we’re doing and let them have their say. It means the band/fan relationship can be closer than ever. This is good for both sides.

What tools are you using the most online?
Well we use Facebook day to day, and James has embraced Twitter on behalf of the band. Myspace is the old favourite for people to find music and listen for free. But, Facebook is the most interactive forum and people can contact you directly and feel an ownership of the band.

Is it also important for you to use digital services (like sending an mp3 rather than sending an actual CD) to have a smaller impact on the ecology of the planet?
I like this idea a lot. Though, in all honesty, I dont think that has really been a prominent issue for us as we really havent sent cds to anyone. People sort of found us, I suppose. Also in this day and age, it’s easier to work with mp3s. Most people ask for music in that format anyway.

Do you think that giving away music for free (as free mp3 or streaming) could help you sell more physical or even digital releases?
Perhaps. It can be a good way of alerting people to your band so that they ultimately might buy the album.

5 recommended music sites (services, shop, blogs…)?
Hypemachine, Last.fm, and Amazon are where I get my music fixes!

Could you let us know your 5 “desert island” albums? And your current 5 ones?
Desert island? Well it changes from time to time, but the consistent ones would be Where You Been / Dinosaur Jr, Pinkerton / Weezer, Pet sounds / Beach boys then maybe…… Wildflowers / Tom petty and…..after the Gold rush / Neil Young. But like I say, it changes. Apart from weezer. currently listening to Yacht, Local natives, the new LCD Soundsystem record, Sleigh Bells, the Antlers and Beach House.

Playlist tracklisting:

Sylvia – The Antlers
Zebra – Beach House
Jetplane – Papercuts
Crown on the ground – Sleighbells
Just Ain’t Gonna Work Out – Mayer Hawthorne
Psychic city – Yacht
Sidewinder – Darby Cicci
Rude as jude – Dom
Modern drift – Efterklang
Lazerbeam – Partyhorse

“Slick” remix contest playlist:

DEADLINE TO SUBMIT REMIX: 28th june 2010.

Visit Chew Lips website
Visit Believe Digital Fairtilizer profile
Visit Believe Digital website

You are celebrating your tenth anniversary with new records by Turzi, Acid Washed, Kavinsky, Sébastien Tellier. What’s next?
Next is: Hypnolove’s new single produced by Mickey Moonlight, a two-headed record called Castra by Sebastien Tellier and a mystery artist, as well as some exciting, new signings. We just launched a free iPhone application (details on www.recordmakers.com) and have got some big celebration parties lined up for the end of the year. We’re also about to start a sister company devoted to film production & a singles club type of label offshoot.

You’ve been in the music business for a long time now. How do you see the future of this industry?
For me the future’s bright, as music is, more than ever, the most accesssible and popular art form. As for the industry, the CD & ‘easy money-era’ is over for good now. Most of the industry’s systems need to be changed. Some people are still great, they need to invent a new form of business, based on participation from the customers, and on new media. Basically, a revolution will come from the simple principle that the customer is intelligent.

Do you think a label is still relevant in 2010? What do you have to offer to your artists they can’t do themselves?
Of course, labels are relevant.
Artists can’t do everything themselves. In general, they need to have a sparring partner, and that’s what a label is. If you look at ‘free’ artists, as Radiohead or Prince are perceived, they have a team working with them, they are a label, basically.
Record Makers is a small company, we work very closely with our artists, we propose ideas and try to make them a reality, that’s how it works.

Internet has been often described as the devil, bringing new way of consuming music without monetizing but it has also helped to launch a lot of new bands. From your experience what are the pros and cons?
pros:
worldwide & cheap promotional tool, freedom, alternative media

cons:
it has created a new mentality from the music customer, he has become blasé with a short-attention span.

How are you using internet on day-to-day basis? What tools are you using the most?
Aside from email, tools such as iChat, YouSendIt and Dropbox are proving useful tools for communication within the team. Twitter and Facebook are the main ways in which we connect with the fan-base. Myspace is still vital as a platform, less for interaction, more as the first place people will look for an artist and encounter their music and aesthetic.

You recently released a new EP by Kavinsky. You did a lot of promo and marketing activities online. Could you give us a small breakdown of your online strategy for this project?
Like most highly-anticipated releases nowadays, a leak was inevitable from the moment the promos went out. As soon as the tracks began to circulate, we wanted to find a way of letting people share their excitement for the release, without offering the entire release for download. Using SoundCloud was effective, since their streaming players synchronize directly with The Hype Machine, the most popular music blog aggregator. This meant that legitimate blog posts about Nightcall circulated rapidly online, making Kavinsky the most blogged artist in the world.

Not so long ago to get such coverage in traditional media was costing thousand of euros/dollars but the sales were bigger. Now the sales are thiner but investments are a lot lighter. Do you think it’s still possible to make money for a label? And if yes what are the new sources of revenues?
I think it’s still possible from the publishing. digital sales are a bit slow in their development in Europe.

Internet seems to shorten attentions, do you feel that today an artist should release materials more often than 5 years ago?
I am not too sure about that. I think it’s more about creating deeper music, music that leaves a lasting impression. People will keep going back to it, whilst they wait.
It could be that things return to how it was in the 60’s, with artists doing more singles.
This is why Record Makers is creating a sister-label, revolving around stand-out tunes rather than on long-lasting artist development like we’ve always done

Do you think that giving away music for free (as free mp3 or streaming) could help you sell more physical or even digital releases?
There’s no other option really, you have to give away some music for free, it’s a way to get attention. Look at our friends from Phoenix: they gave away a very pop track of their latest album when it leaked. it became the most blogged song in the world for several weeks. one year later, they have sold records all around the world and they are touring more than ever. it shows they were right to ’sacrifice’ one song. The new system is based on the dream you are able to create rather than on a basic ‘buy if you want to hear’ system.

Is it also important for you to use digital services to have a smaller impact on the ecology of the planet?
I know more and more labels are using this excuse to work their image, I find it laughable, like Radiohead asking their audience to attend their gigs on a bike!
I use digital services because they are modern, efficient and cheap.

Hot in the Record Makers headquarters playlist May 2010

MGMT ‘Siberian breaks’
Kavinsky ‘Album intro’
Findlay Brown ‘Promised land (Hypnolove remix)’
Acid Washed ‘Amour fatal (feat. Koudlam)’
Ata Kak ‘Adagya’
Benji Hugues ‘Baby it’s your life’
Damien ‘Sympathiques’
Alexander Dexter-Jones ‘Hot chance (demo)’
Phirpo Y Sus Caribes ‘Comencemos’
Turzi ‘Baltimore (Turzi vs. Zombie Zombie alive in Baltimore)’

Visit Record Makers Fairtilizer profile
Visit Record Makers website

THE RULES

1. Download the stems HERE! (507.7MB zip file.)

2. Do what you do! Take the tracks and mash them up in any way you can think of..

3. Upload your remix on Fairtilizer and name it:

Wymmin’s Final (your name Remix)

and add “Wetdog remix contest” in the tags.

Note: You have to register to Fairtilizer to be able to upload a track – it takes 30 seconds, it’s free, and it comes in reaaaal handy.

4. The winner(s) will be selected by Angular Recording Corporation.

1st Prize:
Digital release on Angular Recording Corporation.

2nd to 5th Prize:
Set of t-shirt, cd & vinyl.

DEADLINE TO SUBMIT REMIX: (tbc) 2010.

By participating to this contest you authorize Angular Recording Corporation to use your email adress.

‘Wymmins’ Final’ is the tennis themed second single – taken from the album ‘Frauhaus!’ (also out on the Captured Tracks label in the US) – and has been re-recorded by the band for this release. Backed with 2 new tracks ‘I Can’t Say It’ and a brilliant alternative version of ‘New Year’, this single makes me picture Mark E. Smith wearing a pleated skirt and being hit over the head repeatedly whilst being forced to consume strawberries and cream.

Formed a couple of years ago with a line up of Rivka Gillieron (vocals & guitar), Billy Easter (bass) and Sarah Datblygu (drums), their overriding aim has been to write good songs and ‘Frauhaus!’ assures their position as an outfit who rely on substance over style. Together, they form a triad of female energy vibes not seen since Wilson Phillips.

The band have an affinity with Welsh genius, counting Datblygu and Euros Childs amongst their influences, but The Wicker Man, Micachu, Syd Barrett and Robert Crumb are just as likely to feature in any album-related discussions.

Visit Angular Recording Corporation Fairtilizer profile
Visit Angular Recording Corporation website

Could you introduce yourself to our worldwide community?
Hello hello, we’re Amari! We’re a band, we’re djs, we’re producers and singers and players, but above all, we’re 5 good friends that make music from 10 years now, mixing lots of different genres and influences but still trying to keep the italo vibe on top!

Your new single “Tiger” is coming out on the 13th may, what have been your sources of inspiration?
For this new single we’ve mixed some love inspired lirycs to some sci-fi adventure ideas that we had in mind, since the concept of the full album POWERI was some retro galaxy fascinated stuff. We just putted this huge ice cream falling on top and that’s it, easy no?

Can you tell us a bit more about the indie music scene in Italy?
We have lots of good bands here, in these years of touring we had the pleasure to play with most of them, and some ended up in a remix album that we made under the moniker of “Amari Night Members Club” sort of dance version of the greatest italian indie bands of the late years.. who knows we’ll make a number 2 release?

Is italian Music easy to export? Or limited by the language?
Cannot say if it’s easy or not, since we too are trying to do that, but i guess that to go abroad you have to be focused on your own formula, you can pretend to be from somewhere outside Italy if you want or you can be the tipical baffi-mandolino-pizza clichè, but the main thing is the style!

How has internet and the new media changed your way of working as an artist? How do you use it on a day to day basis?
As our first promoters and managers, we’ve tried to stay up to date to every social media that came up in these years, focusing on a door to door communication with the fans, and somehow this did worked !

What tools are you using the most online?
I have to say Facebook and Twitter for the sharing attitude that they have, and youtube, vimeo and fairtilizer of course for uploading contents to share, it’s the best combo!

How do you feel about people sharing your music for free?
We’re 100% happy of this, the more people shares the more you get known around, and if someone wants to support us, then he can do it in loads of ways, buying cds or mp3s, tshirts, or (the part that we love the most) coming to our gigs !

Could you let us know your 5 “desert island” albums? And your current 5 ones?
Ok, i’ll try to have a record from anyone from the band, so here they are!

Desert island albums:
Boards of Canada (Music has the right to children)
Beastie Boys (Ill Communication)
Lucio Battisti (Anima Latina)
Daft Punk (Discovery),
Elliot Smith (XO)

Recent crush albums:
Caribou (Swim)
Jesse Rose (What Do You Do If You Don’t?)
Why? (Eskimo Snow)
Quentin Harris (Sacrifice)
Bibio (Ambivalence Avenue).

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Busy man these days huh? Winter Music Conference in Miami; Santos House Party in NY; lost your bags [again] in Nova Scotia…and now Washington D.C. What’s next?
Home. Back to London for a little while actually. I’m looking forward to getting back into the studio and recording again.

Nice. So back to the purple room [referring to his home studio]?
YES…although it’s blue now.

What was the inspiration behind the Humanthizer?
Oh that wasn’t my idea. It was someone else’s.

Whose?
The label [Sony]. Whenever you make a record on a major label there are people paid to come up with these ideas to make the album sell.
I think it worked though. Hadn’t found it until yesterday, but I thought it was pretty cool.
Yeah not a bad way to spend the day I guess. I just don’t think it made sense in terms of the record I was promoting. I tried to get it yanked off of the internet.

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve been given about the music industry?
Hmmm. I don’t know. I don’t think anyone gave me any advice. Yeah…I don’t think anyone has. I need some.
I think you are the one that should be giving the advice.
I was just kind of flung into the situation.

And all of this evolved out of MySpace?
We’ll yeah. I had sort of given up on the industry and didn’t know what else to do. I was sending my CD’s out to people at the label and not getting any response. So I went and I uploaded some stuff to MySpace and started adding friends. I added this guy who had just started in the publishing department at EMI. He must have been new to MySpace too. So new that he was still reading those spam messages. He read mine and the rest was history.

You got signed at what 17?
No I was much older than that. I was 22

So you were that age when were writing “I Created Disco”?
More like 18, 19 & 20

And before that you were bagging groceries?
Yes. At Safeway. I saw one down the street actually.
Yeah we don’t have those up North either. You must have been great at stocking shelves.
I was. Long arms help.

What instruments do you play?
You know…the standard ones. The good thing about being a Dance music producer is that you can play individual notes once and sequence them over and over to make it sound good. So I can play the piano, strum a bass and create a good drum pattern, but I’m not super talented on any one particular instrument.

I like what you did with the horn solo on “Rain”
Yeah that was nice. Wasn’t me though. The sax solos were the only thing on the entire album that I didn’t actually play myself.

How is it possible that you can’t dance, but you can create these amazing rhythms?
We’ll yeah, I’ve got rhythm. It just doesn’t translate to the rest of my body.
Merry Making was one of my favorite songs. What was the inspiration behind that record?
It was all made up. Most of the stuff on the first record was created while trapped in my parent’s basement in Scotland.

Never been to Vegas?
I have now. (Smiles as he recalls the experience) I wish I hadn’t! That was a rough night.

No drugs?
Nope…nothing. All made up.

What do you feel the next sound is?
Oh I have no idea. I DJ a lot now and have been turned on to a whole different aspect of music consumption. If I had to guess I would say dance. People like to have fun.

You seemed to run into a lot of beef early on in your career. Do you think people are intimidated by your height? Or is it that because everything you do is perfect?
(Chuckles) I was young. I just didn’t understand that all of the criticisms aren’t personal. If somebody said mean things to you right now, how would you react?

Badly!
Exactly! Anyone would. Now I don’t take things as personally.

How do you service promos these days…Physical or Digital?
Everything is digital now. I can’t even fathom sending out CD’s anymore.

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Three-headed Parisian art-post-punk-electro-zouk musical creature La Chatte just released their first album “Bastet” on Tsunami-Addiction, which could be the hypnotic soundtrack of a movie about a dance club haunted by ethereal voices, sharpened guitars and dark rhythms. Interview below:

Can you introduce your band and new album to our readers?
A joyful and insane mix somewhere between frigid sensualistic punk, fluffy futuro-realism and electrocuted zouk.
Our first album, “Bastet”, is named after the egyptian goddess of music, magic, destruction and fertility…
Your new album is available on physical & limited edition only, can you explain this choice? Will you sell it or give it digitally later?
There is a limited edition only for the first 1000 copies (a “pop up” pyramid packaging), but the album will be at the same time available on digital (all on Tsunami-addiction label). There will also be a vinyl mini LP edition with 3 songs (on Born Bad Records). But the question of the support might not be so interesting. Music is circulating in such an increasing number of formats, economical and emotional environments. It is just impossible to pretend any control on it. Live performances being another very important medium, especially for us, as our songs are always evolving, partly improvised on stage with ever changing accommodations in lyrics, arrangements and melodies. It is difficult to say where is the “true” and final version of our music… Most of our songs only existed once in some non recorded live performance. So these 10 songs on a record are only a really tiny piece of our music project.

As you are involved in fashion scene, can you define La Chatte “patte” & attitude on stage?
La Chatte tells the story of fantasy creatures fallen on earth. It might also be about crossing the path of a wild and unknown animal in the forest which you can’t predict wether it will attack you or kindly weep upon your knees.
It is difficult to say even for us. We sometimes do insane, “over dressed up” and kind of lazer shows in collaboration with visual artists, and some other concerts might be very minimal, with very discreet and casual black jeans and t-shirt option. Of course Vava gives her very strong and personal print on it all. Some costumes have a very strong impact on her way of behaving or sing. But what we’ve drunk before also do… Anyway, there was never any real discussion about what La Chatte should look like or not, we are still very unprofessional and somehow want to keep it like this. There is no predefined “patte” of La Chatte…

Do you think a label is still relevant in 2010? What do you expect from a label today?
Of course a label is still relevant today ! Especially a small one, growing up with us. We understand each other, and both know what we need. Connected and really working together. Tsunami Addiction believes in us, and we believe in Tsunami Addiction. The fact that the musical industry becomes more and more “unphysical” doesn’t mean that a label becomes irrelevant. On the contrary. A label is also a structure that force you to go beyond your own limits, it is an external ear and it provides essential material logistic in terms of production and communication. It allows you to focus more intensely on your music and let the daily organization stuff being cared of outside the group.

How has internet and the new media changed your way of working as an artist? How do you use it on a day to day basis? From your experience what are the pros and cons?
It’s a new way to communicate, faster. And so, every band has to be fast to make videos, pictures, and unreleased stuff. Everybody wants it faster, and everybody wants more.

Recommended music site (services, shop, blogs…)?
http://www.ubu.com/

5 names to watch this year?
Phoebe Jean, EDH, Aniaetleprogrammeur, Tegel, Arne Vinzon.

What do you think about Paris regarding gigs & going out, any recommendations?
Paris is moving these days. Many interesting musical projects, many small venues, but it’s a constant fight to keep Paris alive.

Any words on Lady Gaga?
Mr Formichetti, I love you!

Punk’s not dead?
Yes !

Do you love cats and do they love you?
We love cats and hope they will love us !

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Please could you introduce Ikons to our readers? Where are you from? When did you start the band?
IKONS is from the city of Gothenburg on the west coast of Sweden. IKONS in it´s present form started about two years ago when a break up f the former IKONS led to a new start with new members, which ends up at where we are now. Before that some of us has made music together since we were kids.

How would you describe your sound? What are your influences?
Influences can be everything – from paintings, literature, relationships etc. I would say that we have some musical connections to other Gothenburg bands such as Cortex or Union Carbide Productions but not necessarily that we are influenced by them. I think the creative work in IKONS more relates to a feeling and a sense of transportation that we try to create in our music. Of course there are heroes and such but the proper way to use them is to steal in a graceful way and create your own identity – that’s when music becomes interesting.

How is the scene in Sweden at the moment? Any good band we should listen?
Don´t know actually. All mishmash.

It’s a difficult time for the music industry: how do you see its future?
I believe in the live performance as an institution and meeting place for the artist and the audience. It is also a meeting-place with a real physical authenticity which I think gets more important in times like these when the virtual reality constantly conquers with the “ordinary” everyday life.

Do you think a label is still relevant in 2010? What do you expect from a label today?
For example: Service provides us with connections, record-pressings and gigs. As long as you’re not a self-made entrepreneur with business skills record company’s will always have a room to fill for artists such as IKONS. We are not the least interested in the business aspects, we just want the creative side of the music. On the other hand – People and bands that do it all for them selves deserves the deepest respect, for what I’ve seen of the music industry so far I´m happy for the back up we get from our record-company and booking-agency.

Internet has changed a lot of things in the music business: faster communication, new ways to monetize music, but also piracy. From your experience what are the pros and cons?
Of course it´s good with a worldwide and free distribution. But that doesn’t necessarily lead to the discovery of that many new interesting bands. It’s rather more difficult to tear the diamonds from the shit in a gigantic jungle… I still go for friends advice in discovering new music, the positive thing about the “digitalisation” I guess is that when you’ve got a tip it is easy to look it up. About piracy: I think it’s wrong to see other peoples art as a human right free to use and spread in whatever way you want to – which has been very much the discussion here in Sweden. The Copyright might be even more important for smaller artists such as IKONS, since we hardly ever make any money doing this. But we are not against spreading and sharing the music digitally, it’s just that you want it to be done in a more artistic way. I don’t want the consumption of culture to be to “consume and throw away” – I believe in an artistic value.

How has internet and the new media changed your way of working as an artist? How do you use it on a day to day basis?
Among it’s critical points internet in a way offers the possibility to exclude a capitalistic middleman, which is good, but it has not changed the way we work as a band. We still write songs and then we play them.

What tools are you using the most online?
I’d like to think that we actually doesn’t use so many tools online that relates to our music.

Do you think that giving away music for free (as free mp3 or streaming) could help you sell more physical or even digital releases?
Yes, think so. But the actual meeting with the music whether it comes from your computerspeakers or from a live-stage is more important than the selling aspects. But concerning our own listening the vinyl is unbeatable as a format – physical dimensions, soundquality etc..

How do you keep in contact with your fans? Through your site, community sites, at venues after gigs…?
Music.

Recommended music sites (services, shop, blogs…)?
Among many, we like:
awesometapesfromafrica.blogspot.com
allez-allez.co.uk
wavesatnight.com
srvc.se

Could you let us know your 5 “desert island” albums? And your current 5 ones?

Desert albums:
- Burial – Untrue
- Happy Mondays – Pills and thrills and bellyaches
- Guns n’ roses – Appetite for destruction
- David Bowie – Low
- Spacemen 3 – Recurring

Current albums:
- Fennez – Black sea
- The Leather Nun 1979-94
- Chapterhouse – Whirlpool
- Blind Willie Johnson – The spiritual blues
- Black Acid – I hate you

IKONS – SLOW LIGHT from Service on Vimeo.

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