Artist's rendition of Institubes'
resident demon boss, AKA "the guy who says no"
To celebrate our addition to their digital store, the good folks over at Turntable Lab asked me a couple of questions. If you want to know what went down up until now and how and what we have in store, check out the interview.
Welcome to the third edition of our new guest-blogging feature "[Insert Name Of Site We Love Here]'s RCRD LBL". Basically, we love to tip our hats to the folks posting great tracks day in and day out and chat with them about their sites and what makes them tick, or blog, as the case maybe be. Also included in every feature will be a hand picked list of their favorite artists and songs from both RCRD LBL and their own site. In the next few weeks, you can expect brilliance from Music for Robots.
Needless to say, we are very psyched on this and we hope you are too.
Setting the stage this week is a massive site aptly named Big Stereo. In terms of writing, music, and general goodness, Big Stereo is a force to be reckoned with. Their tastes and dedication are unparalleled, and we're more than a little bit excited to have had the chance to put this together.
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Yesterday was Surkin's birthday and I wanted to have a serious chat with him regarding his future with the company, the wealth of untapped potential he was squandering, his chronic inability to get a haircut in time, missed deadlines, and, oh, possible forthcoming recordings, of course. Then I forgot. And today, I'm thinking, didn't I have better to do? What good is a birthday if you're not posting embarrassing pictures? The one above is certainly gruesome, if only for the company the young man keeps in his free time, but also because posture- and hairstyle-wise, he's obviously aping this guy:
arguably one of the best dance producers in recent times. What gall! Anyways. I also have this one, a useful reminder of the fleeting nature of youth:
In other, less crucial news, we're hard at work on Next of Kin (Mark II), with remixes and versions from Chromeo, Blaqstarr, Bobmo and more. Watch this space for more news.
PS: A video interview with the boy HERE (it's in French but then you can see he's not a chronic stammerer) interspersed with his set at Le Printemps de Bourges, where he clearly killed it.
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British blues-rock band the Heavy piece together the best parts of the Stooges, Sam Cooke and the White Stripes to create songs that are as soulful as they are, erm, heavy. They’re in the middle of a US tour at the moment, and their new album Great Vengeance and Furious Fire was released to rave reviews. Their track “Coleen” oozes sex appeal and the shared knowledge of dirty deeds done cheap like nothing in the history of rock for quite some time. We sat down with the band recently and lobbed a few questions their way. Check out their answers and an MP3 of “Coleen” below.
Surkin being Surkin on Pedestrian TV.
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This week, we invited radio DJ/club DJ/producer/music supervisor and all around great dude Jason Bentley (of KROQ and KCRW fame) down to our corner of the internets to speak a bit about his current projects and hip us to some artists he was really excited about. Not only did Jason hand pick some of his favorite tracks from RCRD LBL, he did one better and provided us with a great remix he did of West Indian Girl's "All My Friends".
West Indian Girl are currently recording their new album, so expect to hear more from them soon. In the mean time, click on the links below to read up on our conversation, download that WIG jam and then grab all of Jason's favorite tracks.
Read the interview and check Jason's selections here
Download: West Indian Girl - All My Friends (Remix)
Remember that track "Veronica Belmont" by the Carps that we posted last week? Well, as it happens there's a real live person that inspired the track: outgoing Mahalo Daily host Veronica Belmont. Veronica didn't have any connection to the Carps up until they named a song after her, but she did have a connection to RCRD LBL, oddly enough. I've known Veronica for years, but the song's appearance on the site was pure coincidence, I found out about it when Faith-Ann posted it up the other day. Anyway, since I had an in with her I figured I'd grab Veronica for a few minutes and ask her how in the hell she ended up inspiring a pop song.
So how did you first find out about the song?
The girlfriend of Jahmal from the Carps emailed me to let me know that they were releasing the song on the new EP. She sent me a link to their MySpace page, which is where I heard it for the first time!
Did she mention how they ended up writing a song about you?
They told me that they were fans of Buzz Out Loud [Ed. - A podcast Veronica used to host], and that they thought it was a good title for a song about "people on the internet and feeling like you actually know them."
Have you heard from the since?
Yes, I've traded some MySpace notes with Jahmal, and he commented on my blog post about the song. They're great! I teased them about stealing my "Google juice" and he promised it wouldn't happen! I was, of course, joking around about the Google juice thing. Kind of.
How many times have you listened to the song?
I've probably listened to it 10 times or so now that I have a copy of the track.
Were you relieved that it's actually a pretty good song? It would be pretty rough to have a song written about you that you couldn't stand. I wonder if Scarlett Johansson actually likes that Teenagers song about her.
Yeah, I don't really know what I would have done if the song were bad. Probably just try to ignore it. But I find myself humming it, and it's in the vein of music I listen to anyhow! So yes, definitely relieved. Either way, it's extremely flattering!
Are you going to make the song the ringtone on your iPhone or would that be too weird?
That would be a bit bizarre. Ryan already gives me a hard time when he hears me listening to it. "Are you listening to your song again?? You love that song."
Are they making a video?
Jahmal's girlfriend said they would be making a video for the song in the next few months, but they haven't asked me to be in it or anything. I totally would, though! *hint hint*
I'll see what we can do! What's funny for me is that Faith-Ann posted that track and didn't realize you had a connection to RCRD LBL.
Yeah, it was hilarious when I saw the blog post on RCRD LBL! I was getting quite a few emails about the song (someone even sent me a remix they found) but that must have been kind of weird to see on your site, huh?
It was the definitely the weirdest moment to date.
I should write a song about The Carps.
If you write a song about the Carps we'll definitely post it. Or if you want to get really meta, you could do the Veronica Belmont remix of "Veronica Belmont".
Haha! But seriously, I have no musical talent.
Thanks for chatting with us!
DOWNLOAD: The Carps - "Veronica Belmont"
Seen has just hooked us up with an exclusive interview of legendary music supervisor Alexandra Patsavas. She's been shaping the sound of film and television for years, and it's about time you got to know her a little better. She and Seen have also been kind enough to give us a taste of The Republic Tigers' upcoming Keep Color, out May 6 on Alexandra's own Chop Shop Records.
Exclusive Interview with Alexandra Patsavas at the SEEN RCRD LBL Blog
Check out Kid Sister's exclusive interview on MTVU's Backstage Pass. She covers everything from her musical roots in suburban Chicago to her recent work with the man himself, Kanye West, to her appreciation for finger-dancing.
Kid Sister is talented and charming. You just can't beat it.
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A couple of weeks ago we had a post on some of the new TV shows that will be
using music in interesting ways. One of the music supervisors who seems to be quite busy shaping the sound of TV lately is Gary Calamar. Along with stints on Six Feet Under, Dexter, Entourage, Weeds, House, and Las Vegas, he hosts a radio show called The Open Road on KCRW in Los Angeles that can be heard Sunday's from 9pm - midnight.
Obviously he's a busy guy, but we were able to catch up with him and ask him a few questions about his past work and some exciting new projects. Click here for the full interview.
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