JAMES MURPHY INTERVIEW – ON LEAVING LCD SOUNDSYSTEM
Music production has always been as important to James Murphy, (frontman/maestro of LCD Soundsystem) as the band itself. For this very reason, he formed DFA Records, an acronym taken from his thunderous style of sound engineering, dubbed the “Death From Above.” Grappling with the success of a trailblazing and internationally recognized band is no cakewalk and for this reason and others, it appears that James will be putting this thrashy 80s electro baby to rest. Check out my interview with James and Nancy Whang (also of The Juan Maclean).
Jesse: So how is the tour going?
Nancy: Well we just started.
James: No, we did UK and Europe. It was really good. We actually started with four shows in New York in April. We got to sleep in our beds each of the four nights. That was great, but weird. It took an hour to get to the venue each day which was very strange.
Nancy: I still managed to get nothing done.
Jesse: So a lot of the nights have been sold out…
James: I don’t know if Montreal was sold out. There was a big game [Habs vs. Flyers Stanley cup semi-finals].
Nancy: But it was quite full, we were very excited. They were very positive.
Jesse: Is there ever any doubt that you guys will have a good turn out?
James: It’s always a surprise to me when we have a big show, and it sells out. I think its always strange. We don’t presume much.
Nancy: We always hope people come.
James: All we can really go on is the last time we played. It’s always hard to have an impression of what the band is doing in the world. If youre reading stuff about LCD Soundsystem, you’d have the impression that the band is doing a lot but we always see a lot of stuff about us because it gets sent to us by our PR agents. We have no idea if that’s a real impression or just a result of being…
Nancy: A narrow scope of what exactly is happening.
Jesse: So it’s been a few years hiatus, what have you been doing in your off time?
Nancy: He made a record, spent a lot of time doing that.
James: I made a record for Free Energy too.
Nancy: Oh ya, and he made a soundtrack [Greenberg].
James: You made a record.
Jesse: Yes, of course, with The Juan Maclean.
James: Juan! [Said with latino gusto!]
Jesse: Do you produce it on your own or do you collaborate?
It depends. I look at this way. It’s my responsibility. I have to plan stuff and book studios. The best analogy is there’s different kinds of directors and actors. If LCD was a movie, I would be the director, but with…
Nancy: An ensemble cast?
James: Well with the people I work with, you, Pat, Tyler and people that we play with live, its more like…I am flattering myself here, but I see myself as Scorsese and you are all my De Niros. You’re involved in the script early on, but at the end of the day, people have different jobs that they have to do. Mine is more akin to that. It’s a collaborative effort but not in the traditional rock band sense, or maybe it is even more clearly traditional? We escape the regular infighting and bruised feelings, but with us it’s like “I don’t want to have to be in that meeting. Ok cool, let the director deal with that stuff.”
Jesse: So you recorded the album in LA or somewhere like, say…Barcelona?
James: We did it in LA. It’s a bit like Barcelona but filled with more douchebags.
Nancy: And they speak…English.
James: We weren’t isolated. We were in this house with a studio. There was always at least five people there. Nancy was on tour with Juan Maclean. Pat was there a bunch, mostly swimming and reading magazines. Big Matt and Little Matt were there. A lot of people came to visit, a lot of people came to stay over.
Jesse: Were you influenced by any sounds when producing?
James: There’s stuff that we all talk about, listen to and like. It’s a never-ending process of trying to put something down of your own that works in the way that you think you really like as well. I think that there’s a way to do that forever, still chasing the same sound whether it’s a Suicide record, or a Roxy Music record. You’re perpetually chasing that same alchemy. You’re never really done. It’s like cooking food. You’re not going to cook meat and then never cook meat again. It’s an endless way of trying to play the stuff that you like. Does that make sense?
Nancy: Yeah.
James: You just tuned out, didn’t you?
Nancy: [laughs] Ya.
Jesse: So…the big news is….
James: That there is a HUGE oil spill in the gulf!
Jesse: Yes, that is very horrible news, but…
James: But slightly more important than that….
Jesse: You have announced that you will be taking a leave of absence from LCD.
James: Ok, let me explain. I’m 40 and everybody has stuff to do. To do this band correctly, is a full time job. You have to make a record, and then B-sides, and then album art, and a special pack and videos, and you have to do press, and go on tour, and make sure the Facebook and MyHead page don’t explode. It’s just a full time job, which is fine, it’s a great full time job, but I like to be able to do other things. I have a notebook filled with ideas and I’m going to do them when I have time. Forty seems like a pretty good time to be getting into that notebook. It’s nothing against the band, or like we’re going to stop and be in a supergroup with a bunch of clowns from other bands from the last ten years. It’s not to go away and come back with a new name, or go in a new direction. I want to be making music from the same place but not being in the business in the same way. I feel beholden to do as good a job as I can. I don’t want to pull back and do a half assed job with it. On the other hand, I don’t want LCD to be my life forever.
Nancy: The more we tour, the more we find new and exciting things that we want to do.
James: Yes.
Nancy: While on tour and playing music, we come across great opportunities for us to take advantage of but we cant because we’re on the bus all the time.
James: We’re not complaining. It’s a great life, it’s just not something you can only dabble in. It’s like being married.
Jesse: Can you talk about future projects you’ve been scribbling in your notebook?
James: I want a rooftop garden, a really nice one. We had these vegetables in Paris that were amazing. I’d love to help my friends make records, like 12 inches and songs for friends of mine. That used to be a big thing for me, but I can’t do it anymore. That’s why DFA started, but I feel like that’s vanished because there hasn’t been the time. I’d also love to do this subway project for the city of New York, to help them sound nicer.
Nancy: there are a couple of sound installations we’re talking about, of the non-traditional kind.
James: Ya, fun interesting stuff like that. It’s hard to say “I would LOVE to go on that tour with you but I have to meet with city officials and talk about the subway installation.” Eeeerg….not so good! [laughs]. I basically want to eat, hang out with people, come up with ideas and do them. That’s how DFA started.
Nancy: And that’s how this band started even. It was just a fun, weird project.
James: Ya. It wasn’t supposed to be a band. I put out some 12″s and all of a sudden I got asked to play shows in England. It was supposed to be a one off thing where we were going to play weird stuff and never really be a band and then it snowballed and we found ourselves here, which is amazing, and awesome, but you know, at a certain point, I’m going to die and I’d like to do as many things as possible!
The Golden Filter
In anticipation of my upcoming Spinner interview with The Golden Filter, I bring you this album streaming widget thing. The Golden Filter are rising stars in the nu-wave retro disco sounds and have some awesome indie made in-browser videos to watch at their site, so check ’em out!
Dark Time Sunshine – Sleestack Payback & All Aboard
Here’s the latest from the Rhymesayer’s camp. Dark Time Sunshine is psychedelic inspired rap outfit made up of Seattler (Seattlian?) producer Zavala and rhymer Onry Ozzborn, known as Cape Cowen these days. The drowning girl and dancing spaceman/hazmat suited up dude in this lush 60s psychedelic-scifi inspired video reminds me of a recent snorkelling expedition off the coast of Costa Rica. I don’t know why, I guess oceans and tide pools just have that memory effect on me.
Smork ’em if you got em?
It finally happened. Kid Robot is officially going animated. No thanks to Adult Swim though. It seems almost impossible to imagine KR not at least talking to them about putting something together. I wonder how many deals went down the tube or got the axe to save Dunnies from becoming the next saturday morning cartoon craze. I can’t stop thinking that The Popples would have had some creative influence.
So far, we have what appears to be a short series based on Frank Kozik’s Mongers series. If you don’t know who Frank Kozik is, or what Mongers, or Smorkers, or even Labbits are, then let me know, and you’re welcome to drop by and check out my collection, hehe.
Francis and the Lights – Darling, It’s Alright
I’m really proud of Francis and The Lights. Not that I know the guys personally or anything, but they have really come a long way since taking a controversial stand against free music hosting platforms like Myspace, (although it seems that they’ve recently softened up and posted a couple of tracks here.) The past year has seen them make great waves, earning nods from the hip-hop illuminati of Kanye and finding a new tourmate in Drake. All in all, an unlikely match considering Francis is known for his falsetto funk vocals and soulful, echoing Peter Gabriel-ish sounds.
Me thinks the next time they roll into town, the cover will be a bit steeper than the lowly $7 I payed to see them at the Drake Underground last year.
What’s YOUR Anthem? AXE & FLIP CAM GIVEAWAY CONTEST!
Hey readers, Axe and Flip Cameras are asking, what’s YOUR anthem?! I’ll tell you mine and you can tell me yours, to win a product pack from Axe and a free Flip Mino HD camera! I’ve never found a real use for the classic Axe Body Sprays but, I’ve tried their shower gel before and it’s actually pretty good.
Your anthem is an event or experience that changed you. It can be anything but I was thinking perhaps a wild party or a special show that changed you forever and left you feeling less than squeaky-clean. It can be anything so use your imagination. The point is, no matter what goes down AXE can fix you up.
Myself, Razor's Edge & Belladonnakillz at Teknival 2005
So what’s my anthem? It was a breezy July weekend in 2005, and the setting was Teknival, the 3 day pseudo-anarchist rave brought in from the crazy euro kids and their teuf parties. I was single, and, naturally looking to hook up. I’m not quite a player, and I don’t have terrible luck with meeting people, but this event was unfortunately lacking in the single ladies department. It seems like most sensible girls don’t go on drug-fuelled 3 day raves to frolic with their lithe and single bff’s. In short, by Saturday night, I was hard pressed to meet any lookers, so my buddy Pete, aka Belladonnakillz, was cool enough to set me up with a friend, whom he assured was ‘gorgeous’ and couldn’t wait to meet me. I was open-minded and feeling a little lonely so I thought the company wouldn’t hurt.
My memory is a bit hazy, but as it happens, I may have been under certain influences, but what I can tell you, as you may have heard before, is that sex, techno and these funny bits of magic generally do not mix! I remember being introduced to her. I also remember going off to my tent with her to fool around. Unfortunately, the make-out session really wasn’t doing it for me. I don’t know if it was because I just wasn’t that into her, or if it was the crazy stuff doing its work, but after a few minutes, all I could see in my mind’s eye were visions of ants, worms and spiders crawling all over this poor girl. It was like we were rolling around deep in the soggy moss bed that lay beneath the tarp.
I may have been an avid entomologist as a five year old but this experience was a bit much, so I mustered up all my will-power and mumbled something like, “I gotta go….” and stepped outside the tent. The poor thing followed me out, and continued to hang off of me despite my pleas for space. I don’t know what part of ” I need space” she didn’t understand, so in my strung-out, drug addled mind the only logical reaction was to start dry-heaving, in hopes that she might be disgusted enough to leave, or feel sympathy for me since I was actually feeling quite sick. But no! She still did not get it, and my stress levels only escalated until I reached a climax where I actually DID vomit…or maybe it was just a bit of drool hanging off my lower lip. Either way, this was my cue to leave, and I stumbled off into the brush without my flashlight, leaving the doe behind.
I saw her the next day hanging out with a bunch of hippie chicks around the muddy campgrounds that was the aftermath of Teknival 2005. She was topless and her breasts were flopping all over the place. I waved politely, and kept on walking, wishing I had some Axe Snakeskin on me to help wash away the experience.
Think you can top that?! Leave your own story in the comments below to win a prize pack from Axe shower gel and Flip Mino HD!!!!
The XX – Islands (video premiere)
Emika
I think I’m in love.
Listen to Emika on the Mary Ann Hobbs show on the BBC, or right click for DL.
Lisa Black ‘Departed Collection’
Caracal Skull
Lisa Black is an oft-controversial artist who works with scavenged animal parts or previously taxidermied friends. She has never gone out of her way to hurt, maim, or formaldehydrize any of gods creatures and all her works are done out of a deep reverence and respect for the animal kingdom. I first discovered her on the Behance network while I was working as arts editor at Formatmag. Click here to see my interview with her.
Vervet Monkey Skull (not human!)
Fishhotel
Ok, these are not fresh out of the factory new but I thought they were a pretty fun concept from Teddy Luong, a student award winner from Umbra. The glass fishbowl is covered in an ABS plastic outer shell. Multiples can be stacked to create a hotel effect while the inner bowl is removable for cleaning.
