GopherIllustrated » Sound

Elle Lefant is pachyderm-style indie pop

Carlos Ignacio Hernández — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 05:35:25 +0000

Continuing with the habit of interviewing bands that find their name inspiration in the Animal Kingdom, this time The Gopher went to talk to Nijae Draine, half of American indie pop duo Elle Lefant. Injecting love and emotion into fresh beats and electronic rhythms, this young duet embark on their musical endeavors with a lot of dynamism. Take your shoes off, sit back, and get to know them, as we did, from a conversation over a college cafeteria table… you’re bound to find something you’ll want to play on repeat.

To start off, how and when did Elle Lefant come together officially?

In 2008, during my sophomore year at Vassar College, I was part of a theatre troupe and through this group is basically how I met Max. We were putting on the play ‘Talking to Terrorists’ by Robin Soans, which he was directing. I was playing a Ugandan child soldier in it, too, so we got to travel to Wyoming for nine weeks and we started to spend a lot of time together and quickly became close friends. I remember that on the night of July 4th we went to a Hoedown in the middle of nowhere and I grabbed a banjo and just started playing some tunes and singing along to them. I had never really sung before that one time or prior to coming to college really, so it felt great. Later on we met at a birthday party; I was playing music and, with banjo in hand, Max finally proposed we do music together. We shared an intense love for music and from then on, we’ve been evolving as individual artists and together as Elle Lefant. The start was somehow unexpected, but yet perfectly timed.

Elle Lefant - Runaways

What artists inspire you as a singer?

Most of my initial musical/vocal inspiration came from folk music and pop. For example, artists like Nina Simone played a key role in building my identity as a singer and indirectly that of Elle Lefant. But I was, and continue to be, really inspired by older artists with great voices like Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong. Our music is a combination of these styles with a heavy dose of indie pop. We felt that pop vocals were somehow sterile and really emotionless most of the time, so we wanted to add pain, hope, love, and emotion in general to this musical genre. These artists add a lot of that to their music, so that’s why they inspire us.

Now, which artists serve as inspiration for you two as a duet?

Max and I are both in love with Bon Iver. He really represents the kind of emotion we want to convey and we like how he puts together a reality that’s true to him and his fans – and that’s exactly what we aspire to do. On the other hand we also really like the way in which Lykke Li‘s music just moves people, and we want to make our fans want to move both physically and emotionally.

What is a defining aspect of Elle Lefant, and which one of your tracks do you feel represents it best?

I feel that “Ballad of the Metronome” is the one track that is really reflective of our development as musicians. I first recorded it within the small space of my dorm room, using really basic software and just my computer microphone. It was very folky. Then, as Elle Lefant, we added several different elements and it got to what it sounds like today. I think that through this song I can really see the evolution we’ve had as artists and as a duet. We are creating, recreating, constructing and deconstructing all the time so I am excited to see what kind of music we will be making in the future!

Tell us a little bit more about what it is like being part of a band while attending college. In which ways has this influenced your music?

I would as far as to say that without Vassar I would not be making music. I really didn’t start singing until I came here. I don’t even really know where my voice came from, I just happened to discover it. My music and my voice both evolved with me as I was learning and growing through my experiences at the college. This place and the amazing, wonderful people it consists of contributed so much to who I am today and how I relate to my music.

Elle Lefant – Ballad of the Metronome

Where do you find inspiration for your lyrics? Would you say there is a unifying theme in your album “Pulse”?

Inspiration for my lyrics does not come from my own experiences or my life per se, since my songs find their motifs in the people I admire that live around me. “Pulse” deals with the theme of unreachable love and most of the feelings that I try to describe I have yet to experience, so there is a lot of imagination, spontaneity and (in)opportune spurs of creativity.

How would you describe the production process of Elle Lefant?

It usually just starts at 2 a.m. when I am sitting in my room about to go to bed. I get an idea, and then in my computer I create a skeleton of what I want the song and its tone to be. Then I email it to Max and he listens to it on repeat while traveling on the subway in NYC and only then we start to work on it together – adding elements, changing transitions and tweaking things around. If I feel like rewriting the lyrics, I do. Our songs just grow very organically.

We know that you have started considering some significant changes in terms of your musical identity. What are your plans for the new project? Is it a big change, in terms of style?

Yes, we just got started on a new collaborative musical endeavor that we call Crash Collect. It’s basically just us branching out from Elle Lefant and expanding our field of inspiration and production. Elle Lefant still is and will continue to be a part of Crash Collect, but now we are doing what we want to do… If we feel like creating some folk we’ll just do it, but Crash Collect is going to be a little bit ‘poppier’ and more ‘dancy.’ In some aspects we weren’t completely happy with Elle Lefant so now this is us wanting to grasp the sound we want, and it is in some ways “less constricting” to create music this way. Crash Collect is open to different musical options that include Max and I, Max in NYC or just me at Vassar with people I feel like doing music with. The both of us are not only interested in making music, so this might lead to some interesting swifts in the way we’ve been working so far. Crash Collect even holds room for Max’s theater plays and some of my poetry as well. It will be a place for fans and friends to check out everything we are doing, artistically speaking.

Elle Lefant - No Moon

And to finish… If you weren’t answering this interview right now, where would you be?

Honestly, I would be asleep. I’m exhausted!

Tunes straight from the mouse’s house

Carlos Ignacio Hernández — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 06:54:53 +0000

Bronzerat Records is a UK-based independent netlabel. With the amazing and creative talent a metallic musical rodent obviously needs to have, BR works with a variety of genres focusing on the individual artists and their genuine music. With worldly appeal, Bronzerat delivers pieces of music charged with their eclectic sense oftaste. Get to know these folks through this lengthy but interesting interview. You’re bound to find something you’ll want to play on repeat.

How and when did you start as a netlabel? Where are you guys located?

I started the label in 2006 to ‘legitimize’ the charity work I was doing for bands! I was making music with Gemma Ray and Charles Campbell-Jones and we had a vision, so we decided to cut out the middle man and do it ourselves. It started in London, is still based there, but I flit to Berlin soon. We have our partners in North America, Europe, Australia.

The label is like a ghost. We’re here, we’re there, we’re everywhere. So beware.

What musical genre or style do you particularly / more often work with?

It’s definitely not a genre-specific label. That would be too easy!

And boring. I make life difficult by having mixed tastes and ADD. There’s no agenda.

What is a defining aspect of the artists you represent?

I am attracted to music which affects me, without analyzing it too much. It usually turns out that the artists have a timelessness, a charisma and soul, and an energy, plus outstanding songwriting and musicianship. Easy on the ear, but surprising and unpredictable. I have been a full-on musician since the age of 7 and I don’t get my kicks from the obvious. I’m long in the tooth and hard to please. So, it often turns out that the music I listen to is progressive. But I like melody and hooks, so I don’t go for prog per se. Pop is fairly new to me too, so Bronzerat likes prog pop.

Unfortunately the majority of people have a casual relationship with music and want music that is not challenging. And that is fair enough. But it doesn’t help us sell records!

The other thing about the artists I represent today, is that they are all great people.

What records should we listen to understand what Bronzerat is about?

Trost – Trust Me

Solex vs Jon Spencer + Cristina Martinez – Amsterdam Throwdown, King Street Showdown!

Gemma Ray – Lights Out Zoltar!

Joe Gideon & The Shark – Harum Scarum

Joe Gideon & The Shark – DOL

These records sum up the individuality, the honesty, the spirit of adventure and the fearlessness, that Bronzerat attempts to embody. But again, it is not a mission. It just happens to be that this is what floats my boat, and so that’s what I float out there.

Also, there is a strong presence of women here. At the risk of generalizing, I think this is because it comes from a different place than a lot of male music, which is often just posturing. And that is far more mysterious and exciting to me.

We could gather that Bronzerat started off releasing the music of singer and songwriter Gemma Ray in 2006. Your website reveals her as a sharp dresser and a sharper thinker with minor OCD tendencies that states that “songs become a vehicle for your obsessions.” What can you tell us about her iconic style?

That quote was written by a Mojo writer, and not by us, but I think that it’s true.

But I don’t think Gemma Ray fits in at all, and that’s because her style is so multi-faceted. To quote Buffon: “style is the man himself.” In years to come, she will be lauded as a true maverick, a genre inventor. She will be making music til the day she dies, but I think that it will always evolve and her style will always be on the move. She doesn’t choose to make music, it spills forth. She’s always bursting with new music, and years ago she could not control it. Everything came out at once into huge epics. It was great, but now she has learned to control the tap, and she leaks out the songs in a calm and simplistic way. She then makes them lavish. As for the obsessiveness, that is definitely true. She lives her life in conjunction with the number 4 or something, which is weird. What is even weirder was that I was in a taxi with her in Melbourne last April, and the driver turned to her and started telling her this, and nailed her personality on her date of birth. But it is lucky that she focuses that into music, and not witchcraft.

Just recently, in October 2009, Bronzerat Records teamed up with Crunchy Frog Records to release new album “Midnight Soul Serenade” by Jon Spencer and Matt Verta-Ray. Does Bronzerat often partner with other labels for music projects? If yes, with which ones have you done it in the past? If not, do you plan to do it in the future?

So far I’ve only done it for vinyl really. There was the Heavy Trash one, and early on I co-released Seasick Steve’s “Dog House Music” with Breakwater Records (from Norway), and Skycap Records (in Germany). By nature of our size, we naturally have to team up with distributors, so I work with Inertia, Soulfood, PIAS etc.

I like the idea of partnering up with other labels in other territories. It’s good to know you have passionate people working something in their territory. If any Venezuelan or South American labels or similar are reading this, call me! We have no network there as of yet. And I would love to.

Bronzerat Records are renowned for signing acts regardless of what is popular at the time. To Arms Etc‘s is defined when chamber pop melodies clash with indie rock sensibilities. What can you tell us about their amazing work, and how it balances with other distinctive artists in your label?

Thank you. That is a great compliment.

We don’t adhere to musical fashion. I have learnt from experience as a lover of music, that it is easy to get swept up in fads that you may be embarrassed about later! I’m not saying that all Bronzerat releases will forever stand the test of time, but I am certainly conscious of these thoughts.

Charles Campbell-Jones, who heads To Arms Etc, is one of these people who doesn’t fit in. And doesn’t try to. He is a misplaced Aussie, who never felt like he belonged in Australia either. His music inhabits this place that only he dwells in, and so it is inimitable. Highly original. Very open-ended. I have no idea what will come next sometimes. Gemma and Charles are the same in that respect.

Seasick Steve and Heavy Trash, is coming from a totally different place. The songs are full of conviction and character and soul, but also with an eye on the bigger picture of being entertainment. Showmanship accompanying great music is not easy to come by. It puts a smile to your face without disrespecting your high taste ! It’s the best of both worlds. I’m told it’s called Rock’n’Roll.

Joe Gideon And The Shark, fall somewhere in the middle. The entertainment factor is not a primary concern, at least I don’t think so. It just so happens.

Gideon and Viva are oddballs. Lovely, fantastic oddballs. You can’t help but be sucked in to their world and be entertained. But it’s not for the masses. Neither is Richard Dawkins. Joe Gideon & The Shark are, in that sense, a very important band.

What are some upcoming releases and projects to watch out from you?

The next Gemma Ray album is shaping up to be something otherwordly, but pop. She has surpassed herself.

The next Joe Gideon & The Shark album will be immersive and career-defining. I haven’t heard much, but the song titles alone are enough to make we want to buy it.

What about concerts and festivals? does Bronzerat organize or plan to organize any?

I’d need to clear the decks first, but yes, it is an ambition of mine. I have a few venues in mind, and I have a name for it.

I think 2012 is the earliest it will happen, if I ever get my shit together.

I just came back from a fantastic festival in South Africa, called Oppikoppi.

How do you see today’s music industry? In your opinion, what is the role of independent labels in this current times?

I don’t know and I don’t really care.

The role is whatever you endeavour to take on and achieve. Bronzerat is a shop-front for an experimental laboratory of activities.

I honestly don’t feel like a part of the music industry. I feel like we are an island industry that co-exists, doing our own thing in a non-industrial way (we don’t release that many records in comparison to others). One that has occasionally side-swiped it. I think that’s what the music industry is becoming, for better or worse: a collection of independent industries that get compartmentalized for convenience into one. The rules are all broken, because of the democracy that is the internet and so forth. People, like me, who never knew the rules, did their thing and many got noticed.

There is far more music out there now. Most of it is shit. But it makes it harder for everybody to get noticed, because of the saturation. The playing field is not level, but it’s almost equal opportunities. You just have to learn what to do. And who to do!

What are your methods to discover new bands or artists?

Serendipity.

What kind of things do you look for in bands or artists you’re interested in working with?

I don’t actively seek out bands/artists. I am exposed to a lot of music naturally. Beyond my control, the occasional one will get under my skin. If they are unsigned, they will maybe get under my skin more.

Please complete this sentence: “If we weren’t answering this interview, right now we’d be… thinking about maybe finishing those spreadsheets.”

And to finish: What other independent labels would you recommend to us?

A label is only as good as its artists. So I can never recommend a label 100%.

A label should be heard, via its bands, and not seen!

I’m not very good at branding. I’ve even considered changing the label name for each release, to eliminate the baggage of previous successes or misfires, but it’s too much paperwork.

I honestly don’t pay that much attention to the labels, as it can pollute your perception of the artist.

Label fans are annoying people. They usually work for the label. They also usually miss out on a lot of good music.

These are the records I am currently enjoying (and their respective labels):

Sparks : Exotic Creatures of the Deep (Li’l Beethoven Records)

Various artists: The Sounds of Wonder (Finders Keepers Records)

Extra Golden – Thank You Very Quickly (Thrill Jockey)

CW Stoneking – Jungle Blues (King Hokum)

Dan Sartain – Lives (One Little Indian)

The SZ gives us music in B+W

Carlos Ignacio Hernández — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 12:00:34 +0000

In the audiovisual era of today, it is definitely not new to experience music both through eyes and ears alike. Concerts and musical presentations have become a mix of visual and auditive stimuli running through entire crowds around the globe. In fact, to some extent it has become the norm for the musical component to be paired up with its siamese sibling -the visual addition- in order to achieve success on stage. The SZ is a French musical duo (Franck and Damien) that has taken this concept to a whole new level, coming to life when B&W films meet electronic and post-rock improvised musical pieces.

Officially established around 2003, The SZ is formed around a sampling device in line, where the duo incorporates guitars, drums, keyboards, a glockenspiel, trumpets, voices and a series of other percussive objects. Unleashing repetitive patterns and alternating ‘tense and relaxed rhythms,’ both multi-instrumentalists give birth to melodies and catchy swings that are both unpredictably energetic and subtle.

The SZ’s personal approach to music is something you really shouldn’t miss. But really, what caught our attention about these unique musicians is their even more special Ciné-Concert performances based on the black-and-white film Baby Boy Frankie by Allen Baron (1961). Since 2008, they have been delivering intense presentations that are appealing to the public -not only in France, but around Europe- thanks to a clever chemistry developed between the two partners placed face-to-face on stage.

Baby Boy Frankie is a masterpice of film that is ‘too unknown,’ according to the duo. It is the dramatic story of Frankie Bono, a hitman who returns to New York City to complete a final contract. Inspired by their love of the film, The SZ offers original music onstage while giving a new dimension to the film – playing with the movement of ambiances, their unbridled improvisation and the raw sounds intricately connected to each other… all live in front of their audiences.

Since this post is supposed to be all about audiovisual interactions, there is little more to say than to lead you straight into The SZ’s innovative creations and let you enjoy what we think is… really great art. Voilà!

Making Rob Gordon proud in the blog era.

Michu Benaim — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 20:32:18 +0000

Proyecto Playlist is the brainchild of Ma. Elizabeth (Marie) Hernández and the Maracaibo lovechild of High Fidelity character Rob Gordon (neé Fleming). The blog, born out of a hybrid need to share – Marie is the youngest of six children – and to self-express, has attracted the attention of many Venezuelans looking for curated tunes from local taste-makers. And so what was once a monthly post by Marie was transformed into a hub for local taste-makers and music connoisseurs with highly global tastes. Today, Marie tells us why playlists are superior to singles and why music can replace writing. And she even created a special playlist just for us!!!

How did this project come about?

Proyecto Playlist started as a way to share music with my friends, I have the luck –to call it somehow, but it’s more like a blessing- to be surrounded by friends, who, like me, enjoy listening to music a lot. Every time we get together, 70% of our conversations are about music: what bands are we listen to, fights –well let’s say discussions- about old school vs. new school, what it would have been like to party in The Hacienda or The Groucho and how thanks to Tumblr and Zoey Deschanel everyone is a hardcore Smith’s fans –we can get a little hater sometimes, but it’s pretty harmless.

This project is the aftermath of all those conversations I have with my friends, with so many bands coming out and generating buzz so quickly, keeping up with everything that is happening in music and finding -among all the hype and buzz- really good records that deserve to be heard, has become more difficult. So I thought that the best way to know what was going on for me and my friends was to create monthly playlist with the music we have heard the most during that past month, that way we could know what was everyone listening to and have more things to talk about the next time we would hang out.

Then there’s the fact that I’m addicted to the Internet and of course, I’m a Blogger like everyone nowadays. I started to upload these playlists to my personal blog to have something different from other blogs. After two months, I saw that the visits to the site would increase tremendously every time I posted a playlist. As a marketing student, I saw the great potential this project had and gave it his own website.

But in essence it’s a tribute to my friends.

Click Image to download. Image by Valentina Alvarado.

The return of old friends for The Gopher Illustrated.
There’s nothing like the return of old friends, those whose stories are also our stories, those that know what we are thinking just by looking at us. The excitement of meeting an old friend after years without seeing each other is something I can only compare to when a band I love and miss has a new record coming out. This year, I have been lucky enough to see and hear the return of my favorite bands, those that know me better than anyone.

TRACKLIST

01 Chains of missing links – The Books

02 Mahalo – Ratatat

03 Grizelda – Yeasayer

04 Somebody’s Calling Me – LCD Soundsystem

05 Sweetest Kill – Broken Social Scene

06 Stitches – The Morning Benders

07 Blank Girl – Dum Dum Girls

08 Congratulations – mgmt

09 Round and Round – Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti

10 Sprawl II (Mountains beyond Mountains) – Arcade Fire.

How does Proyecto Playlist work? How do playlist makers become involved with the site?

Alongside music, sharing is one key element in Proyecto Playlist and it is what keeps it going. At first, there would be only playlists made by my friends or acquaintances, but as the site spread around the Internet, I started to receive playlists from people all over the country, Latin America and even Europe who wanted to share a playlist and post it on the site.

Everyone can be a part of Proyecto Playlist, there’s no genre or music style associated to it – though most of our collaborators tend to be on the indie side of things-. I feel that I’m no one to tell what bands or songs should be on a playlist, every person who sends a playlist picks the 10 songs make it up. I love getting playlists with music that is different from what I usually hear and discover new sounds from other people’s playlists.

To be featured on the site, you just have to send me an email with your playlist and the story behind it.

- Why playlists? Why not records or singles?

For me playlists are special, every time I make one it’s like I’m telling a story. A long time ago, I would just a lot, when I stopped I found that by making playlists, I could still exteriorize all the feelings and emotions that I would have put on paper before. But instead of using my words, I use songs that – as a friend of mine always says- I feel they were written by me.

I always joke saying that creating playlists is not easy, for many people it’s about taking some songs, picking a topic and putting them together in shuffle mode. For me it’s almost a science, every single song that is on a playlist has a purpose and a reason to be there, each song is placed strategically to develop an emotion and help me write the story that I want to tell.

For a band a record is a book, it’s their way to tell us a story. All the songs or singles that are on a record are chapters in that book. Since I can’t sing or play an instrument, a take a chapter from that book and put it together with other chapters from other books to tell my story. Sometimes, I think is like making an Exquisite Corpse but with music.

Tell us about a typical day for you.

My days start pretty early, I wake up and to go work –I work as a content and web editor for a local magazine-. When I get there, I visit all the music blog and look for new record leaks and start downloading music compulsively. I start working around 10am –I’m gonna get fired if my boss read this- and while I’m at that, I listen to the records I’ve downloaded and give stars to the songs that I like, that way I can keep track of them later on.

At noon, I stay at the office and take that time to post new playlists on the site, write back to the people that send playlists and look for new collaborators.

I’m also graduating –well almost there- of Marketing and Advertising in La Universidad del Zulia and spend most of my nights going to class, after that you can found me at a friend’s house talking or trying to sleep –thank you, insomnia- if is a weeknight. On the weekends I have a tendency to go party, but due the lack of choices on bars or pubs in this town, having a beer at a friend’s house is the best way to go.

A pretty normal twenty-something life.

[Playlist courtesy of Marie Hernández and Proyecto Playlist. Tracklist image and photo compositions by Valentina Alvarado for Proyecto Playlist. ]

Tasty, tasty Trastienda

Michu Benaim — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 06:18:56 +0000

We continue our series on netlabels with one we’ve followed for a while. trastienda.org was founded in Salamanca (Spain) during the summer of 2005, an odd frog type of netlabel and among the very few putting out material other than electronic music. The world and its wonders (or whatever made its founders move around) made it international. They write “Nowadays our headquarters are split between Taipei (Taiwan), Madrid and Barcelona (Spain).” Still, the multi-genre label is going strong with a continuous stream of releases – between one and two EP’s per month and fostering that ever-so-idyllic spirit of artistic collaboration.

The Dog – Ballena

How and when did you start as a record label?

We started on June 2005, just like a personal project. My brother and I wanted to have a site to centralize all the different projects we were working on. Then some friends joined us and today we are a great family with bands from all around the world.

What musical genre or style do you particularly/more often work with?

Mainly rock, but recently we are releasing really good folk stuff and electronica.

What are your goals as an independent record label?

Give these amazing bands we find around the net a place to promote their works, connect them to each other and spread the sound.

Curasán – Dichotomy

What sets you apart from other independent record labels?

The early years 99% of the netlabels used to release almost exclusively electronic music. Today this has changed somehow, but still we are one of the few that gives priority to rock, pop and folk over electronic stuff.

What is a defining aspect of the artists you represent?

Actually they are all really different from each other! Maybe that’s the point…

If you could steal any artist/band from another record label, who would it be and why?

Instead of stealing artists from other record labels I would prefer Waiting Room and Notes to Myself to work together again and record new stuff…

Experimental Little Monkey- Lluvias Sobre Xilo

What are some upcoming releases and projects to watch out for?

We are about to release the new albums of Experimental Little Monkey, Decurs and Jenna And The Jamesons. And I hope we can celebrate our 5th anniversary somehow…

What do you see as the current role of record labels in today’s music industry?

Since artists no longer need them to release their albums, thanks to new technologies and the developing of Internet, many record labels are moving to the management and promotion business. Far fewer people buy music these days, so live performances are the thing if you want to make some cash, right?

What are your methods for discovering new bands or artists?

Sometimes bands that already are in trastienda.org recommend us other bands they find interesting. The most of the times we choose from all the samples we receive by e-mail every week.

Medelia – Nose Dive

What kind of things do you look for in bands or artists you’re interested in working with?

The truth is we are getting more and more tetchy over time, but the most important thing is that we really like the songs of a certain band or artist. It is hard to promote something you don’t even like or believe in. The second important factor is whether the proposal fits or not in trastienda.org. It’s not so much a matter of genre or style, but something rather intangible… Then, the quality of the recording is something we have in mind too.

If we weren’t answering this interview, right now we’d be… releasing the next big thing!

A phrase we use far too often is… “¡mu’ rico!” (tasty!)

As a record label, we wish people would take more notice of… the hard work bands do.

The best age to be is… 20

The Peppermill: conquest through music

Carlos Ignacio Hernández — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 11:30:20 +0000

This here is a disclaimer for the change-sensitive.

Cool new idea we’re going for: this Sounds section will now have a series featuring music labels. Yes! We’ve decided to reach out to independent record labels that (a) are doing interesting things, and (b) are awesome. Why? Because with a tiny bit of research we’ve stumbled upon some of the most exciting, innovative creative people congregating around these independents. So, to the point, shall we?

The Peppermill Records is a fun little netlabel based in the mountains of British Columbia! These folks are fond of treeplanting (we kid you not) and attract artists from around the globe. They specialize in collaborative projects that are available for download once they’re completed. We can’t resist a musical reverse-lumberjack – just you ask around – and we were driven to interview them. Once again we invite you, Gopher friend, to take a peek at their work. Not only are they incredible at getting musical talent together, but they have a lovely approach to album art. If you like what you see/hear/feel, go ahead and dive into their sea of fantastic musical art; their website is so full of gems it might make you miss dinner.

Power und Beauty – Lavender

How and when did you get your start as a record label?
It all started back in, oh when was it… oh yes of course it was 1899 and some of my buddies had just returned from the Battle of Mafeking and we were throwing one of the first real outdoor “raves” out at Stonehenge (I swear we had nothing to do at all with the Incident, I believe that rock was still standing after the party) as sort of a homecoming, and also to ring in the new millennium, it seemed the stars were aligning and new styles were emerging and it just felt like the right time to start our own netlabel. Of course both Creative Commons and the Internet were quite primitive back then. But riding that high we got together and created an album in just 30 Days and the rest is history. Some of this is true.

What musical genre or style do you particularly/most often work with?
Here at The Peppermill, we purposefully incorporate as many styles as possible. The upcoming Ace of Base tribute called ‘It’s Not A Day For Work’ is an exercise in variation… there’s folk and metal and bluegrass and hip-hop and any others styles but not barbershop or bhangra as intended but hey I tried. Sometimes though I like a more focused approach, such as 2999 which is attempting to reign in futuristic dub music. However, within those parameters there is plenty of room for innovation. Often the best genre is that which can’t be described quite yet.

Looking into the future, what are your goals as an independent record label?
World domination. Throngs of mindless musical slaves succumbing to the hidden control frequencies buried deep within these innocent “free” tracks, triggered at the moment of our choosing. That moment is soon.

What sets you apart from other independent record labels?
We’re Canadian. That’s one thing. Another is that we mostly do themed collaborative projects, so while we don’t have a stable of artists releasing all their work under our protective gaze, we instead have the opportunity to invite anybody we like, to painlessly contribute a song here or there whenever a window of opportunity opens up.
The third and most important but less obvious thing is that we’ve managed to subvert RIAA and FDA regulations altogether and lace every one of our releases with physically addictive chemical agents. Which goes in conjunction with answer #3.

Power und Beauty – Peaches

What is a defining aspect of the artists you represent?
They’re mostly all adventurous types who have a love of melody and harmonics and creative production techniques and also enjoy the actual texture of the sound. There’s some lyrically brilliant stuff we’ve put out but I’d have to say that overall Peppermill treats the human voice more as another instrument than a storytelling device.

If you could steal any artist/band from another record label, who would it be and why?
I would steal Parliament away from Casablanca circa 1975, and reintroduce the world to P(eppermill)-Funk. Or if this question doesn’t involve time-travel, I may settle for releasing Chad Vangaalen‘s next album, although my friends at Flemish Eye do a much better job at promoting him than I ever could. But as previously discussed, a positive aspect about this label is that we only usually require one short contribution at a time from the artist, and can therefore invite almost anybody to take part with a fair shot of them accepting, that is if the project’s concept appeals to them.

Montag – No Aloha (The Breeders Cover)

What upcoming Peppermill releases and projects should we watch out for?
2999 is the big new project, a futurist dance album where producers of sub-bass-happy electronic music soundtrack the distant future… and then have their visions interpreted by illustrators. Taking part are many many amazing artists from all over the planet but also a few from Caracas… Pacheko, Pocz, Delarge and Cardopusher. We will start releasing one song/image a day for fifty days, starting in early July I hope.
Another dubby release shortly after will be from a Los Angeles fellow who goes by the name Fancy Mike, an EP plus remix I’m looking forward to.
Besides the Ace of Base album mentioned previously, shortly afterwards we’ll begin on more tributes… to either Massive Attack’s ‘Protection’, or Stereolab’s ‘Margarine Eclipse’, or both.
Something I’m very excited about, that we’ve only recently started and will be ongoing for a couple of years, is The Wolverine and the Bee. Sort of an audiofilm, where various artists create ten-minute segments of dialogue, sound fx and music that continue from where the previous narrative left off. I think it could go in some very interesting and bizarre directions.
And lastly is ‘If You’re A Pretender, Come Sit By My Fire‘, our big project from last winter where we interpreted Shel Silverstein’s amazing children’s poems, it’s another artistic exercise, this time in taking literature and turning it into melody. The result was fantastic, and we had around 40 submissions before the late-great-Shel’s family made us stop using their team of lawyers, claiming their dad/uncle wouldn’t approve of this, however the family then went and mimicked this idea and did their own version that was recently reviewed positively on Pitchfork. However ours is much, much better. I believe in the rap community this is called “biting”.
But ours will come out in some form later this year, if the Man In The Sky wills it.

How do you view the music industry today? In your opinion, what is the role of independent labels?
A good label is a home that will send you around the world, pay your bills, and make you hopelessly cool. They have a network of artists and fans that band together in an international clique. A good netlabel on the other hand is a poor-man’s version of this, we try to achieve as much of the above as we can but we all have real jobs, so this is more of a (serious and time-sucking) fun hobby.

What are your methods to discover new bands or artists?
In the past it was mostly Myspace and word of mouth, however in the near future it’ll be done mostly through our vehicle Peppermill Idol, which will be a joint venture in conjunction with Okcupid and Simon Cowell’s twin brother Darrell. It will combine the all the fun of television and dating and indie music, as well we’ll feature a giant Gong, that is as long as we can land Chuck Barris as host… otherwise it would all seem a tad tasteless.

What kind of things do you look for in bands or artists you’re interested in working with?
They are boundary-pushing musicians with a strong sense of melody. With illustrators who compliment them. Hopefully more and more animators as well, I’d love to set these songs in motion although there’s already some of that on the way (google “ZUMBAKAMERA“).

Le Rok – Le Rokford Files

Power und Beauty particularly caught our attention. What can you tell us about their distinct duo character and charming childish musicality?
I discovered this EP while doing a special on Spokane for my radio show, as I focused on a different community every week last winter. Their city is a bit south of the border from here so I was curious what I’d dig up and Karli almost immediately caught my attention, as she spearheads a lot of the cool local events. And of course when I heard this supergroup with Anna, Sarah and Caroline I was instantly in love. They’re spread out now but I really hope that they’ll have a chance to do another EP some day soon.

Rafter – Long Ago, A Rodent As Big As A Bull Lurked In South America

We were also quite interested in one of your newest releases, ‘Greatest It’, that you produced in conjunction with other independent record labels. Do you want to share with us some impressions about the production process of this album?
I had wanted to work with some of my favorite netlabels for a while now, but hadn’t thought of anything too typical yet… and then Upitup proposed that we introduce us all to each other’s fans, bring out some of our favorite old tracks and I thought that was perfect. I just listed ten timeless Peppermill classics and let them choose 3. As well I helped choose some of theirs, and then Proot introduced us to Amandine and we had our cover artist, we wanted something dense, and she delivered it’s incredible. I have many more labels I’d like to collaborate with in the future, and have some ideas but am open to suggestions. As well, at least some of us from Greatest It may soon go through with a music/arts blog where together we could further pursue our CC agendas. Look out for that.

‘Faces and Hands’ sounds like a really innovative idea. What is it all about?
Well Mille approached me about this documentary style series of episodes she had created, about life in her old treeplanting camp, at first just so she could use some of the music from Hi and Ho, We Plant Trees, but then we agreed that Peppermill might be a nice place to host the series. Hi and Ho was initially put together for a very niche market, namely, other treeplanters… but it’s proven to be the most downloaded release ever in the history of the Peppermill. It became apparent that there were others who are fascinated with this culture, and so I was happy to help show the world what it is that some of us do every summer here in the Canadian forests. It’s quite a rite of passage for many of our disenfranchised youth.

Bakers At Dawn – Might

Please complete this sentence. “If we weren’t answering this interview, right now we’d be…”
…carbonating the dark roasted-barley cranberry ale we made for the festival.

In your opinion, what is the best age to be?
…whatever age you’ll be in 2012, when all you Peppermill listeners become willing captives to our secret mind-control bass frequencies. The revolution will be televised.

Pick a Piper makes us wonder about drums

Michu Benaim — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 14:03:00 +0000

Having made the (admittedly very basic) Internet rounds it’s clear that Pick a Piper is exciting the ears it reaches. Their sound gets described in elaborate, evocative, complex and sometimes downright nonsensical terms like “Ecstatically charged yet almost trance-inducing, PAP are a vodka-redbull with none of the edge, all of the euphoria and zero unpleasant aftertaste” (source). What fascinated us was the absolute ubiquity of the word “tribal” to describe the music. Is it that drums, heavy drums, and superimposed rythms taps into our monkey-brain so that we can’t help but dub it something like “tribal”? (we would love to know your thoughts!) What we hear is a brilliant display of heavy percussion – they play “Siamese drums” which is a fancy way of saying two drummers playing two drum-sets that are attached at some point – married to floaty melodies, and the overwhelming desire to get up and dance around. Go ahead, play a song. We dare you to sit still.

Pick a Piper – Yellowknife

PAP is (and this is straight from the horse’s mouth) “A collective featuring Brad Weber of Caribou, Angus Fraser of Tenth of May, Dan Roberts ex-Winter Equinox and Clint Scrivener.” Their self-titled EP was released by Crony Records (which Weber and Fraser founded) and you can download the whole thing there for free! The Pick a Piper folks are in Canada and rumor has it they play a mean live show – see the video below and be amazed.

Pick a Piper – Bechtel Park

Pick a Piper Live – Sir Lancaster from Reed Video Production on Vimeo.

Pick a Piper – Rooms

Pick a Piper – Dené Sled

Retrato Robot gets us all mixed up

Michu Benaim — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 12:30:06 +0000

Super Lambada en Hollywood

By some twist of fate, two Gopher editors found themselves listening to a strange lecture on independent and self-produced music projects curated by cult creature, performer and sometime alchemist Internet2 this weekend. Despite the longish presentation sets – we sat through several – and the presenter’s strange choice of player (WinAmp? Really?) we had some laughs and came out kind of obsessed with Spanish music project Retrato Robot. Retrato’s bleeps and bloops made us feel like someone should design some sort of dancing Space-Invaders type game to pair with this. The brain(s?) behind this kooky mashup of iconic Spanish, Latin American and global cult tunes remain(s?) a mystery, but they do have a MySpace where you can stream their whole album “The Essential Retrato Robot 1.0″ and it links to a Rapidshare file in case you want to keep these tracks four-evarrrr. We’re especially looking at you, kid with the Atari design skills. Hustle!

Carros de Sésamo – Retrato Robot

Rocky el Chocolatero – Retrato Robot

Pajaritos de Maiz – Retrato Robot

The tallest man on earth is freakishly good.

Michu Benaim — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 13:29:40 +0000

Tallest Man on Earth - Burden of Tomorrow

Shallow Graves, the previous Tallest Man on Earth record left us with two questions: “how did it manage to be so good?” and, “why in the name of ears is this such a short record?” Our trusty Wikipedia tells us that The Tallest Man on Earth is the stage name for Kristian Matsson, whose name, in turn, is not the kind of name one automatically associates with Americana sound of “Shallow Grave” and even less with that Dylanesque voice of his. Turns out that the Tallest Man on Earth is a Swedish act that has accrued a solid base of worldwide fans. So, once again we Gophers were baffled with the land of ABBA.

Tallest Man on Earth - King of Spain

As for the length? Well, the record clocked just under the 40-minute mark. Not even Wikipedia knew how to answer that question. It appears that as tall as his moniker claims that glass of Swedish crooning to be, Matsson’s upcoming record, The Wild Hunt clocks in at thirty four minutes. So the formula seems to be set: big tunes that are impossible to get out of your head, in single-serve packaging. And as for that most obvious of questions? The wonder that is Kristian Matsson is not, in fact, the tallest man on earth. We hear he’s actually pretty average-sized.

Tallest Man on Earth – The Gardener – A Take Away Show from La Blogotheque on Vimeo.

Flying Lotus shows his Nintendo bleeps

Michu Benaim — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 04:51:53 +0000

GNG BNG – Flying Lotus (Los Angeles)

Steven Ellison, a.k.a. Flying Lotus is a musician and producer from Winnetka, California. His music is often categorized as “experimental” and was at least once called “California’s answer to the Aphex Twin” (see Tong, Pete) – a band, incidentally, also signed to Warp. According to the man himself, this experimental-ness can be attributed to the Nintendo-generation: “I’m used to hearing bleeps and those things and whatever it is that we’re listening to.” Good stuff, Nintendo.

We may be a bit slow on the uptake and a couple of years too late, according to everyone who is cooler that we are (Thanks Wil!) but we are rather enjoying ourselves at the moment. It also seems opportune to talk about Flying Lotus as he is releasing a new album later this year, and thus we see no shame in walking the fresher side of memory lane. As always, if you like please purchase these tracks and the whole album. Support the arts and yadda yadda. In this here post, two songs from his album “Los Angeles” and a track from Mary Anne Hobbs‘ compilation “Evangeline.” Oh and for trivia’s sake, and since it’s on every single article we could find: Flying Lotus’ great aunt is Alice Coltrane.

Parisian Goldfish – Flying Lotus (Los Angeles, 2008)

Parisian Goldfish – Testament ft. Gonja Sufi (Los Angeles, 2008)

Flattery (Sympathy for the Biters) – Flying Lotus (Evangeline, 2008)

[To watch the whole video for Parisian Goldfish, click HERE.]