INTERVIEW: Naytronix

Written for Middle Boop Mag: http://www.middleboopmag.com/music/interviews/interview-naytronix-tune-yards

Middle Boop Mag recently had the opportunity to pick the brain of the innovative beat-smith Naytronix,  (also known as Nate Brenner, bassist oftUnE-yArDs) prior to the release of his upcoming second solo album - the cheekily titled Mister Divine.

Middle Boop Mag: It’s been three years since your debut solo project Dirty Glow, which was loosely based around a vision of post-apocalyptic robots. Is there a clear concept to Mister Divine?
Naytronix: Its more of a loose vision than a concept, Mister Divine definitely isn’t a “concept album”,  but I did decide to use a similar theme throughout. A recurring subject is dealing with and thinking about the past, present, and future, while ultimately trying to make sense out of life.  

MBM: Initially a sonic scrapbook of sounds to be used in DJ sets, what led you to release this material as your second record?

N:  I decided to book some days with a mixing engineer at New, Improved Recordings, a studio in Oakland, as a way for me to set a personal deadline in which to wrap up the stuff I’ve been working on over the last two years, and to finalize it all.  While we were working on the mixes I started getting some interest in playing live - something that - at that stage I wasn’t sure I was going to do. I decided to just go with it and said yes, and since then I've been experimenting with a whole range of ideas for the creative process of playing live.  

MBM: In the time between your debut and Mister Divine, tUnE-yArDsreleased another record, how do you separate both projects in your mind? Are you ever tempted to bottle up your best ideas for your solo project?

N: It’s really easy to separate the two projects because tUnE-yArDs is predominantly the vision of Merrill Garbus.  I help her to write the songs and offer advice, but she’s the main producer and leader of the group. We've had the opportunity to work with some amazing recording engineers and producers like Eli Crews, Olivia Oyama, Malay and John Hill so I’ve had the chance to learn a lot about sound, recording techniques, and  haverecieved creative ideas from all of them. We also studied Haitian drumming with Daniel Brevin while we were making ‘Nikki Nack’ so I was able to  bring some of those poly-rhythms into Mister Divine.   

When we were working on ‘Nikki Nack’ I was constantly getting ideas forNaytronix songs.  We were both just living and breathing music, learning so much from the people we were working with and pushing each other to make crazy music.  The challenge for me was turning those ideas into real songs and finding my own voice. 

It took a while and I was feeling that my vocals were really holding back the music so I decided to take voice lessons and took a break from recording until I felt like I could record a vocal take without being completely embarrassed.  In the past I would have hid behind a vocoder or some other vocal effect but I just wanted to be able to sing without a crutch, and recordings never lie!

MBM: What do you feel are the main differences, the purposeful differences between the band’s material and Naytronix? Was there an initial inspiration for going solo?

N: There are a lot of similar sounds between the two projects because we use pretty much the same gear when we record.  But the biggest difference is that the sound of tUnE-yArDs is dominated by Merrill’s voice and lyrics, whereas Naytronix is all about the groove and bass-line.Going solo was a way to challenge myself to become a better musician, songwriter, producer, and singer.  I was having a lot of musical ideas and just wanted to have fun and get some good jams out into the world.     

Mister Divine is available to pre-order now from iTunes, and on CD/vinyl. 

Listen to new track 'Back in Time' on the Naytronix Soundcloud page.  

Naytronix with be playing two UK shows next month: 

25th November, @ The Rainbow - Birmingham

28th November, @ Shacklewell Arms - London 

INTERVIEW: Jagwar Ma

Originally published at Planet Notion: http://www.planetnotion.com/2013/06/13/interview-jagwar-ma/

Jagwar Ma, comprised of Gabriel Winterfield and Jono Ma, and hailing all the way from Sydney, Australia, are already turning out to be one of this year’s most interesting new bands. Their debut single ‘The Throw’ snowballed them into just about every platform of the UK’s music press with a blend of dream pop and acid house that instantly turned heads. With their debut album, Howlin, already turning heads, and having supported the likes of The xx and Foals on tour, the antipodean duo look set to only further their cause across the rest of 2013.

PlanetNotion caught up with one-half of the outfit, Jono Ma, to talk their crammed summer of international festival appearances, the isolation of Australia and avoiding dance music when you’re ill – Jono reckons classical is the only way to soothe a bad head…

PlanetNotion: How did Jagwar Ma form? How long have you known each other?

Jono Ma: Gab and I have known each other for years. We both played in our own bands in Sydney prior to us starting to collaborate. I started this side project called FLRL and asked Gab to join in for one gig, and that was the first time we made music together.

A few years later, we were playing each other respective songs we’d been working on, and Gab ended up singing on a track of mine. That was the very first Jagwar Ma song, and we then formed the band after we realised our skills were quite complimentary to each other.

PN :How does it feel to be acknowledged and celebrated across the UK’s music press?

JM: It really does feel amazing. We’d never imagined this sort of reception from the UK. It’s hard enough getting some recognition in our hometown Sydney, let alone the UK – one of the cultural epicentres of modern music.

PN: Did you imagine ‘The Throw’ was going to go down so well when you were writing it? Did you feel like it was a special track from the offset?

JM: We had no idea it was going to be so well received. We generally don’t think about that stuff when we write. It’s quite toxic for the decision making process I believe. It definitely felt like something good was happening as the song was evolving.

PN: You have been repeatedly compared to the ‘Madchester’ acid beats sound, is this purely accidental or was this something you wanted for your music?
JM: It definitely wasn’t intentional. We were initially inspired by loads of 50s and 60s R&B, soul, garage, particularly the old records from Chicago and Detroit. But, I really wanted to keep the production and programming side of things quite modern sounding. Somehow it ended up having a bit of a Manchester house vibe, which is fine by us, but wasn’t something we had set out to do.

PN: Australia is readily exporting a whole host of musical talent recently. Have you found the Australian music scene to be much different from the UK’s? If so, what are the main differences?
JM: Yes, very. It’s much smaller to begin with. It’s also much more fractured in that each city is so geographically far apart. It makes touring and cross-pollination difficult. I guess as a result there’s a sense of isolation in Australia as a musician, not only from other musicians in Australia but from the rest of the world. Being in the UK, there seems to be much more of a sense of inclusion and cross-pollination and a feeling of being connected with the rest of the world.

PN: What music are you listening to at the moment, new and old?
JM: At the moment, in all honesty, I’ve pretty much just been listening to classical. So, only old. It’s strange but I’ve never really committed myself to classical music and I’ve been quite sick lately and wanted to avoid electronic music and contemporary music for the moment because it made my mind so active. I’ve found some great classic compositions that just let my mind drift off somewhere else.

PN: Which new bands/artists are you rating?
JM: We love our fellow Aussies, Tame Impala: they’re pretty hard to look past aren’t they. We love Foals, of course. I need to get out and see some more new bands though. We’ve just been so busy touring and promoting.

PN: What kind of responses have you had from your album so far?
JM: It varies. Things like: it’s too long; it’s too short; very Manchester; sounds like the 90s; sounds like the 80s; sounds like the 60s; it’s great; it’s late.  It’s mostly been very positive stuff so far, though. We’re not particularly nervous about its release, more excited for it to finally be out there.

PN: Which festivals will you be appearing at this summer?
JM: All our live dates are up on our Facebook – I can’t believe I just said that. Off the top of my head:Glastonbury, Reading, Latitude, Pukkelpop, Ibiza Rocks, Calvi on the Rocks, Hulstred, Bestival,Summer Sonic… and some more that I can’t remember.

PN: Wow, sounds like it’s going to be a very packed summer for Jagwar Ma. What can we expect from your live shows?
JM: Lots of echo.

PN: What’s next for Jagwar Ma?
JM: The next natural phase for us is destined to be as guests on some sort of music quiz show in Australia.

- Catherine Elliott

An abundance of absolute tunes

First and foremost, Foals' new song 'My Number' is just astonishingly good.

It's a little more reminiscent of their second album, (which was actually my favourite) than their other new track 'Inhaler'.

Everything Everything, another one of my favourite bands are also set to release a follow up to their prolific debut album 'Man Alive'. And about time, 'Cough Cough' was wonderful. But THIS just takes them to a whole new level. There is something absolutely manic about this band and this is like some crazed, giddy masterpiece.

And lastly, Delphic who are another just astoundingly good band have also released their new track 'Baiya'. Not as hyped for this song as the above, but am breathing a sigh of relief after their Olympic song 'Good Life' which in all honesty, was absolutely s.... Sorry.

And here's a promo video for one of my favourite bands of the yearThe Neighbourhood which I actually feature in. I interviewed this band whilst I was interning at Gigwise in a plush studio apartment in Hoxton. They were literally so nice and interesting to talk to, and I was a little starstruck if I'm honest. I look a child which is annoying (see 2.26).

INTERVIEW: San Cisco 'Isolation is why Australian pop is so good'

Orignally published at: http://www.gigwise.com/features/76956/san-cisco-isolation-is-why-australian-pop-is-so-good

San Cisco are a four-piece indie pop outfit, hailing all the way from Perth, Australia. Their blend of low-fi indie has managed to turn heads on the other side of the globe, and they have recently signed a UK deal with Columbia Records.  

The band have blown up in their native Oz, scooping eight WAMI awards in the same night, the Australian equivalent to The Brit Awards.  We caught up Jordi, Scarlett, Josh and Nick to discuss pre- show jitters, having a pint in a pub (somewhat or a novelty for San Cisco) and their dreams of one day recording at Abbey Road Studios...

 

Is there a great story to tell about San Cisco formed - or is it as simple as a few friends playing music together?

Jordi: It’s pretty simple, I was just playing solo, and then I got quite bored to be honest. I decided to start playing a few songs with Josh, and then we got really into playing duets. Meanwhile I was also jamming with Scarlett.  

Scarlett: He was two timing me… but then I was two timing him too because I was also in another band. 

Jordi: We won an award for our track ‘Rocket Ship’, and it was then when we recorded that song that we all came together. After that we started to play some live shows as San Cisco, and that’s when Nick was also bought in. 

What’s on San Cisco’s bucket list to achieve as a band?

Jordi: To just be able to make a living out of this would be really awesome.  

Scarlett: We’d love to record at Abbey Road. That’s something we all really want to do. 

Nick: There are a lot of bands that we would love to tour with too like Collaborations and Tame Impala. They are from Perth where we are from; we’ve met Tame Impala a couple of times. 

 

Having recently signed a deal in the UK - does it feel like a whirlwind of success or a long time coming?

Jordi: It’s been a long time coming really, but in terms of travel it does feel like a bit of a whirlwind. We’ve been playing together for three years, and so it’s not like our success happened overnight. 

Scarlett: We want to take the music to the next level now though; we need all the help we can get for the overseas market, so this big deal had to happen for us. 

 

Did you have a feeling that the track ‘Awkward’ was something special when you were writing it? 

Scarlett: We didn’t have time to think – it all happened so quickly. 

Jordi: We wrote it and I didn’t personally think it was very special – but our managers did. They gave it out to all the radio stations, and then it just completely blew up. That’s when we realised how good it was probably. While we were writing it though I just felt like it was an ordinary pop song. 

 

How does it feel promoting your music so far away from home - and knowing that people love your work on the other side of the world?

Scarlett: It does feel like you’re starting all over again, like when you’re waiting for people to show up for a gig - we haven’t had that in a while, but there is obviously interest over here just not on the same scale…yet.  

 

Scarlett - how do you cope being the only girl in the band?

Yeah it’s alright I’m just so used to it now – I’ve known the boys for ages and I’ve known Jordi since I was three. So we all just feel like brothers and sisters really which is nice. 

 

Australia has a reputation for great pop music. What do you think it is about Australia that results in such great bands?

Jordi: I'd say Isolation – being a long way from anything 

Josh: I think because we don’t have direct influences, we only have the internet which is a mix of American music and British music, so Australia seems to create a whole new beast as a result of that. 

Scarlett: It’s easier not to get stuck into one genre scene there, so bands like us tend to be able to experiment a lot more.  

Which other Australian bands should we be keeping an eye out for?

Jordi:  Snakadaktal, they are an indie pop band who is a bit like Foals. They’re form Melbourne. They won a competition which is called Triple J Unearthed which is on one of the major radio stations. They tend to surface a lot of the better acts I think. Ball Park Music There’s quite a few good little bands around at the moment. 

 

What have you been up to since you've been in London and is there anything you really want to see or do?

We’ve done everything we wanted to do, going to Abbey Road studios has been the highlight. London is so very different from Perth – everything’s so much older and there is so much history. Having a beer in a nice little pub is just so cool to us. The little things like that that we’re enjoying. 

VIDEO INTERVIEW: The Other Tribe

Whilst I was at Gigwise I interviewed a band called The Other Tribe. Their track 'Skirts' is currently getting some R1 airplay, and they are pretty amazing.

Here is a link to my video interview with them: http://www.gigwise.com/features/76805/the-other-tribe-our-trailer-was-between-sister-sledge-&-justice

Here is their song 'Skirts', the video is pretty bizarre, but in a good way.

INTERVIEW: Annie Mac - 'My compilation is a glorified mixtape'

Originally published at Gigwise: http://www.gigwise.com/features/76725/annie-mac-my-compilation-album-is-a-glorified-mixtape

Superstar DJ Annie Mac is set to release her new compilation album Annie Mac Presents 2012 October 11th. It’s the same sort of thing as those Now CD’s, but the difference is, this is actually really good. A collection of the best party anthems of the year, stamped with the approval of Annie Mac.

Her self-confessed ‘glorified mix-tape’ features some absolute bangers this year: from Azealia Bank’s ’212’ to Hot Chip’s ‘Night and Day’. Annie has compiled an eclectic mega mix of 2012’s best tunes.

We recently caught up with the Radio One DJ to discuss her new compilation, just why Bestival is so good and how she’d never have the patience to actually make her own music, and would feel rather silly about doing so...

How did you go about selecting the tracks for your compilation album? 

This year, more than ever I tried to make my compilation a reflection of my live DJ sets. CD 1 is pretty much what you will have heard if you’ve seen me at any festival this summer, and is very indicative of what I’ve been playing. It’s songs that I have personally cherry picked that I just love to hear in a club. CD 2 is the tracks that you would find me playing in more of a back room setting basically; it’s a much deeper house sound of which I have been really, really enjoying this year. It’s been a real pleasure to be able to mix them, and be able put them out on ‘Annie Mac Presents’.

Are there any songs that you wanted on the compilation but couldn't sort out?

Yes there were two, basically Jay Z’s label Roc Nation don’t like compilations one little bit so Rihanna’s ‘We Found Love’ was a complete no go, it is annoying because that is my favourite pop song of the year. ‘Paris’ by Jay Z and Kanye West was also not allowed. No matter how hard we tried or how many times we asked, it was just a complete no which was a massive shame. I shortlisted and licensed so many tracks, but they were the only two that weren’t allowed.

Is it just like making a glorified mix-tape for a mate - and do you wish that practice still existed? A few MP3s on a USB stick isn't quite the same...

It’s very much a glorified mix tape; quintessentially that’s what it is. I put out a mix earlier this year called ‘The Sunshine Mix’, simply for the fact that I love making mix-tapes. I released it as a free download and just had a massive response. That was what made me change the outcome of this year’s compilation, because I thought - just treat it like a mixtape, treat it just like something that you would do for fun in your own time. That concept has worked really well, and I couldn’t be happier the outcome. The mix-tape the most beautiful medium of sharing music, and hopefully it will live on for many years.

Who have been your favourite new artists of 2012?

I’ve loved Disclosure this year, I think that they’re super talented musically, and have enjoyed watching them come through and become really popular, really fast. I’m a big fan of Azealia Banks too, she’s crazy but that’s what you want in a pop star, plus she is a super skilled rapper. AlunaGeorge, now she is bloody brilliant and they are amazing live.

We're approaching the time of year when people will be making predictions for 2013. Do you have any names you'll be tipping for success next year?

Mele, he is a little producer from Liverpool, I hope that he will break through and do really well next year. There’s also a guy called Maota from Ireland who’s really young, he’s only 18. He makes really nice ambient electronica, so I hope that he’ll make an album next year and I reckon he’d do really well if he did.

How was Bestival for you? What is it that makes the festival so special?

Bestival was amazing, it’s always amazing. I don’t really get to see much of it though, apart from my tent and that’s where I hang out all day. It was just brilliant, the sun was out and there were some really nice moments on stage like when Jessie Ware came out and sang a song with Disclosure, it just felt like the tent was packed in the middle of the afternoon, and it was really emotional for those artists and everybody involved. I was standing with their management and they were all having a freak out.

The thing about Bestival is that it feels personal; there is no corporate feeling to it – which sets it apart in so many ways. I think that’s because Rob Da Bank, its organiser puts such a lot of himself as well as time into the festival. His wife José acts as the Art Director, and she’s got a really unique vision, she’s so good at making Bestival more than just an audio event, it’s a really visual experience and it’s got a completely unique look and feel… the fact that you have to take a little boat to an island gives it even more of a magical feel as well, it’s such an adventure.

Which was your best festival experience of 2012? 

There’s has been loads of really good ones. I really enjoyed Hideout Festival in Croatia. That’s a relatively new festival, it’s only in its second year and it’s a complete mission to get there. But, it’s just really fun because it’s one of those festivals where all the DJ’s that play there have the time of their life. It’s very much a UK crowd, but they’re very clued up, it’s in a really beautiful setting as well.

Have you ever been tempted to start making music yourself or are you strictly a DJ?

I have been curious to yeah, but I’ve never really followed through with it. I’ve taken lessons in terms of how to make beats and such, but I just do not have the patience to spend all day finding that right sound. I’m too much of an impatient person, I like things to happen fast. If I were to ever make music I would have to work with someone who could do the nitty gritty, boring stuff – then I could do the more exciting things. The thing is that I am known firstly and fore mostly for being a radio DJ, I don’t like the idea of going round and announcing to people, ‘hey I do music now’. I’d much rather be known as a curator, I am more than happy with that title

INTERVIEW: Lower Than Atlantis - 'We're the biggest in our scene'

Originally published at Gigwise: http://www.gigwise.com/news/76657/lower-than-atlantis-were-the-biggest-in-our-scene

Watford punks Lower Than Atlantis are soon to release their third studio album Changing Tune through Island records after scoring a major label deal. This marks a big change for the band having left the days of smaller labels and self-releasing far behind.

Gigwise recently caught up with Mike & Ben J from the band to discuss their rise to rock stardom. They shared their thoughts on You Me At Six, how they’ve now ticked just about everything off their bucket list and hanging out with Blink 182...

How does being released on such a major label as Island compare to the release of Far Q and World Record?

Mike: We’ve still got a say in everything we do, but there’s just like this vice behind us. The good thing about it is that these people have been there and done it all before, they have the experience to say don’t do this mate. There’s been a huge team behind us on this record with regards to just about everything. We sit back a lot more now, we’re a bit like the yes men. 

Ben: The big difference is the financial side of things, as we're self-releasing everything before and had to pay for all of it. It’s a weight off not having to worry about that stuff anymore, and just to be able to concentrate on the music, getting to record in a studio as prestigious as Rock Field was pretty sweet too.   We’re not driving round in solid gold limos or anything though, or with like diamond encrusted toilet seats… all im saying is that we have the money to do exactly what we want to do.

Your sound is very different now to what it was in 2010, what's happened in the last couple of years to change it?

Ben J: We’ve always listened to rock music, even when we were doing that we’ve never really listened to that heavy stuff, we’ve just grown up a bit I guess.

Mike: We do listen to everything though as cliché as that sounds, who knows what the next album might be, could be a jazz one?! Jazz- punk –Christian- death metal or something… 

The 'Love Someone Else' video is set in an American diner - but was filmed in the UK. Would you have preferred a trip to the US? 

Ben: No not at all, but I’ll tell you something that has annoyed me, like so much. People have said to us like ‘hey why is it shot in an American diner man you’re from Watford. Are there many American diners in Watford’? I just feel like saying why does our music video have to be set in the place where we are from?! That is just the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard. Idiots man -think about it!  

You once said that 'playing live was the hurdle to jump before you can get drunk'. Is this still the case as you prepare your October tour?

Mike: No we really love it, It’s not like supporting where I can get quite nervous sometimes.  It’s more nerve-wracking because you can go up there and everyone is like ‘who are these idiots, what the hell is this rubbish?’ But now we headline tours and we headline shows. You can judge by ticket sales it they’re going to be half decent. So yeah we really enjoying playing live these days a lot more.

Ben: I’m not gonna say any names but there are a lot of bands that play gigs and the whole thing just looks shit, boring and bland. We try and take pride in playing live, especially in the past year we’ve put on a really good show. I watched a KISS documentary the other day, they put on a mental show, like flying across the audience on a zip wire type shit, I’m not saying that is going to happen, but one day maybe… You might see us spitting blood that’s on fire at each other, and spitting wasps out. 

There seems to be a wave of new bands growing huge amounts of support. Which bands do you think are leading the return of rock?

Ben: We are the biggest rock band on our scene, and then there are all the other little ones. We’ve kind of moved up in the grand scheme of thing, we think anyway. So apart from us i'd say Deaf Havana, Young Guns, You me at Six are like the biggest though. They're out of our scene a bit now, their actually doing pretty well in the more mainstream scene which they get a lot of stick for.  

Mike: I’ve never listened to them or seen them play live or had even heard of them before they blew up.  I don’t know who would be giving them stick.  I say fair play to them mate. I hate that, people are always trying to support bands in doing something like buying the T-shirt or going to see them live, and then when they get big people tend to stop listening to them because it doesn’t feel like their little band anymore.  They need to realise that you wouldn’t for instance start a business with the hope of staying at the same level the whole time and not progressing would you? Not that our band is a business… that’s gonna get picked up somewhere now isn’t it?  

What did you learn from your time supporting Blink 182 - and did you get to spend any time with the guys?

Mike: We got to hang out with them a couple of weeks before those dates and we were in Marks dressing room, we had a chat about music and he said that he’d been given our album, but hadn’t listened to it yet.  Eddy was talking drums with Travis too which was pretty cool.  

Ben: We really need to write a new bucket list man, we’ve done everything on it now! The only things left are to play Brixton Academy and tour with Foo Fighters, they are our remaining goals. Not to sound big headed but if there was one band who would suit it (touring with Foo Fighters) from the UK, I would pick us! 

Mike: We’re just generally all round good blokes and we’re a right on good laugh