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June 5 2008
Film: Bomb It - LA premiere + exclusive interview
The wait is over. This weekend sees the Los Angeles premiere of graffiti documentary, Bomb It. Anyone who considers themselves a hip-hop head or a street culture aficionado will need to see this. Running from June 6th-12th (more details below), Bomb It is a study on graffiti and urban artwork, taking us from early cave paintings to its explosion in the late 70s and early 80s on the streets and subway cars of New York, eventually landing in galleries and influencing all aspects of pop culture.
Using interviews with artists around the world and footage of the artists in action, director Jon Reiss uses the film to take on the question of "what is public space and how should it be used to benefit the public?" Reiss shot Bomb It on five continents and immortalized some graffiti legends including Taki 183 (who's credited with being one of the first taggers in NYC), Stay High 149, T-Kid and Cope (NY), Cornbread (Philly), Revok (Seventh Letter crew), Mear One, and the prolific Shepard Fairey.
And where there's art there's music. We were fortunate enough to score an interview with music supervisor David Garcia to get his take on the process and where the musical inspiration came from. On a sad note, one of the composers of the film, hip hop producer Disco D, passed away during the final stages of the project, but thanks to his family his music lives on in the film.
After the interview is screening info for the LA theater engagement.
SEEN: What was the filmmakers' initial inspiration for making this movie?
David Garcia: The filmmakers wanted to confront the idea of public space. Advertisers throw a message in your face on a daily basis. You are forced to look at the giant billboards that line the streets. Graffiti artists work with the same mentality. They want to get their names up as large and as visible as possible.
SEEN: How did you come up with the sound of the film? Were there any artists that set the tone for the film?
DG: There were a few artists that we liked early on that we couldn't get, like Rage Against The Machine. That was the biggest upset for us because they are so counter-culture that their music and attitude fit so well. The director had abstract music ideas, left of center and really funky but also rooted in hip hop. That's why Disco D really worked well, because his style is very rough and eclectic. It also helped that Disco D lived in Brazil and part of the movie took place here.
SEEN: How did the collab with Disco D come about?
DG: That was a discovery by the director, John Reiss. They were hooked up and Disco sent him 5 different cues. Next thing you know he used all of the tracks and asked Disco to score the whole movie. They got 15 more cues which all ended up working perfectly.
SEEN: How did Disco D's passing affect the process?
DG: After we got the second round of tracks from him we didn't hear from him for a while and the next thing we heard was that he had passed. Fortunately his family and estate really wanted his work to get out to the people. They wanted to celebrate him as an artist and make sure his music is heard.
SEEN: Any moments or uses that you are especially proud of or excited about?
DG: The use of Cornbread by Donald Byrd. There is an urban myth that this song was written because of Cornbread the graffiti artist, so of course it works perfectly for his scenes. The stuff from Ninja Tune was great. Virgin Tears, Spankrock, everyone was really supportive of the project and great to work with. I really want to shout out to everybody and thank them for working with us on this. The composers also really made this project sound great. Big props to MIke Ginato, Illphonics, Disco D, Federico Ramos, Zinndeadly, It's been amazing to see the support graffiti has overall with any musical genre.
SEEN: Now that his project is reaching the public, what are you up to now?
DG: I'm DJing and I've got my label, Solematic with a couple singles coming out. I have a new single called "Warlock" which is available now on Beatport.com
The engagement runs from Friday June 6th until Thursday June12th at Laemmle's Sunset 5 Theaters in West Hollywood. Director Jon Reiss will be in attendance for the Friday June 6th 7.50pm screening and probably at the after-party too at The Vine Bar in Hollywood.
For a full list of songs in the film and more information on the film and composers check out the official website.
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