GRANDGOOD » Q&A

Anthony Cruz (A-Butta of Natural Elements) – Abduction of the Aliens

CV — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 16:14:27 +0000

Unreleased A-Butta song that he had posted on his mysp*ce a while back. I recently asked him for some quick background information about the song (We also threw this on audiocast 36) and about upcoming music. Look out for a new 2Face song titled Belly of the Beast and hopefully an official A-Butta solo album sometime in 2010. Also, here’s an in-depth interview with A by Unkut from almost four years ago. Link, Peace to Swigga

Abduction of the Aliens written by Anthony Cruz produced by Bearfakts

So this alien jumpoff was recorded on my birthday back in 10/10 of 2007 – i think? it may have been 2006 — either way i’m still surprised that people hit me up about this record. My man Bearfakts had played me the beat and I wrote the song like in 1 or 2 days and jumped in to record it. It’s essentially inspired from all the conspiracy books I read (in particular David Icke). i was just trying to make a fun record but still talk about some next level – 4th dimensional material — I believe there are higher life forms out there and I just feel that as an artist it’s my responsibilty to create some awareness — i’m not really trying to say believe this or that – it’s more like just i’m just throwing some ideas out in the atmosphere and see what happens… but besides that i’ve always been fascinated with Extraterrestrials, UFO’s – Time Travel etc… so why not incorporate it into my music — word..

Yeti Beats – Photo Session Feat. Kool Keith / audio + Q&A

CV — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 18:58:17 +0000

Peace to Yeti Beats for taking the time out. Look out for a new Kool Keith album produced by Yeti Beats and a compilation album featuring Aceyalone, Sizzla, Jr Reid, Bushwick Bill, and others.

Yeti Beats – Photo Session Featuring Kool Keith

Someone you look up to, dead or alive?
I always felt like i could have been the offspring of Andre the Giant and Mr T!

Someone you look down on
science… you can’t prove everything guy!

Other than music, what’s worth living for?
multiple personality disorders. Ok, himalayan kush too.

You fasted all day, what are you dieing to eat?
a lost himalayan backpacker or wandering sherpa.

You’re at a party, what’s your drink?
kitty water! its a secret mix. yeti special.

Name a song you can’t stand.
Anything sung by the loch ness monster, bigfoot, the chupacabra, aliens,Barney the talking dinosaur, sesame street, or singing cats… or any of those types of major label a&r manufactured fakers!

You’re going to be deaf by morning, what do you ask to listen to?
hoooooowooooooo ooot ooot ooot! the song of lady yeti! On a 45!!!

Life after death?
without physical evidence you can’t prove that i ever existed.

How do you hope to be remembered?
a paranormal cryptozoological phenomenon…

How do you hope you are not remembered?
clearly defined and categorized into kingdom, phylum, class, family, order, genus, and species.

Free verse, anything else on your mind?
question the unknown… listen to your inner yeti. anything is possible!

Organize The People And Protect Your Family: Bambu Q&A + Music From The New Album …Exact Change…

CV — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 14:30:27 +0000

Peace to Bambu for taking the time out. His new album …Exact Change… is available n o w.

Big up FOBBDeep, Mass Movement, Pinoylife

Bambu feat. Geologic – Quit (Prod. by Illmind)

Bambu – Like Us

Bambu – Crooks and Rooks

—
Q&A
Someone you look up to, dead or alive?
Malcolm x

Someone you look down on
Republicans

Other than music, what’s worth living for?
My son and his mom

You fasted all day, what are you dieing to eat?
King’s hawaiin bread

You’re at a party, what’s your drink?
concordia bbq sauce

Name a song you can’t stand.
“Proud To Be An American” by some hillbilly — and not for the reason you may think. when I was in the military, they would use this song as background music for whatever stupid activity they had us do in bootcamp. fuck this song!

You’re going to be deaf by morning, what do you ask to listen to?
Miles Davis – Blue in green

Life after death?
No

How do you hope to be remembered?
As someone who tried his best to make it better

How do you hope you are not remembered?
As someone who had a voice and wasted it

Free verse, anything else on your mind?
Organize the people and protect the family

Bonus audio

Bambu – Truth Serum (From the album I Scream Bars For Kids) {one day, jb…}

Previously: Songs From Bambu’s New Album …Exact Change…

Swigga Q&A / Featuring Music From “Ready To Live”

CV — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 15:28:54 +0000

Peace to Swigga Da Don, super MC formerly known as L-Swift of the great Natural Elements, for taking the time out. Below are a few songs from his project titled Ready To Live released in 2006/2007. Swigga makes the type of music that inspires one to get back on their feet after hard times. Look out for his new album Swigganomics.

Swigga – Imagine Swigga

Swigga – Trouble On My Mind

Swigga – Why Not (Crabs In A Bucket)

—
Someone you look up to, dead or alive
I look up to GOD…..As far as human beings, my mother Agatha…R.I.P!

Someone you look down on
Anyone thats black, living in America, eligible to vote and NOT voting for OBAMA!

Other than music, what’s worth living for?
All the little things in life that people take for granted, like seeing, hearing, talking, breathing etc….And good head, that’s Definetly worth living for!…lol

You fasted all day, what are you dieing to eat?
Carribean food, cause that’s where im from…St. Lucia in the West Indies.

You’re at a party, what’s your drink?
Grey Goose and Grapefruit juice

Name a song you can’t stand.
NO COMMENT!…

You’re going to be deaf by morning, what do you ask to listen to?
Anything from SWIGGA!

Life after death? Yes/No
YES, im living in my afterlife right now!…L-Swift was my pastlife, SWIGGA is the afterlife!

How do you hope to be remembered?
As an individual that stayed focused on the BIG picture, and NEVER stopped till he fulfilled his destiny!.

How do you hope you are not remembered?
As a liar, a fuckboy or a fraud, or someone difficult to get along with!

Free verse, anything else on your mind?
Yeah, catch up on your SWIGGA cd’s by going to myspace.com/swiggadadon or agathamusic.com. I’m going on my 8th cd with SWIGGANOMICS coming soon!!…Geah!

Previously:
Swigga Da Don – Swigga On Steroids (HGH)
Natural Elements Should Re-Group…

Homeboy Sandman Q&A + There Is No Spoon / audio

CV — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 03:09:06 +0000

Peace to Homeboy Sandman for taking the time out. Download his latest mixtape There Is No Spoon. Shout out to Elmhurst.

Someone you look up to, dead or alive.
My pop.

Someone you look look down on.
I try not to look down on anybody, but these emcees who be selling blacks into slavery, they’re my toughest test.

Other than music, what’s worth living for?
Love.

You fasted all day, what are you dieing to eat?
Frozen mango chunks.

You’re at a party, what’s your drink?
Orange juice mixed with pineapple juice.

Name a song you can’t stand.
Ten Crack Commandments. When Primo spun it at the Brooklyn Hip Hop Festival and I looked out over a sea of beautiful people bopping in unison to a song about selling crack, an incredible feeling of shame, disgust, and sadness overcame me.

You’re going to be deaf by morning, what do you ask to listen to?
Everything Stevie Wonder ever did. I might not even get to finish that by morning. I’d go in chronological order from the oldest stuff to the most recent.

Life after death?
Absolutely

How do you hope to be remembered?
Honest. Principled.

How do you hope you are not remembered?
Money driven.

Free verse, anything else on your mind?
I used to love Ten Crack Commandments just like the next guy, but now that I’m honest with myself about how hip hop music is wielded against us, towards the aim of manipulating us into a feeble confused people who aspire to criminality and despicability, qualifying us for legal enslavement in prisons, stripping our children of their morals by making it cool to be everything you’d never want your child to be, I just can’t fuck wit it.

Dj Revolution Is King Of The Decks, Still Holding It Down For The DJ, Still Not Feeling Anything By Lil Wayne / Q&A

Fri, 29 Aug 2008 04:16:34 +0000

Besides holding it down for countless artists on the world famous Wake Up Show, Dj Revolution has been furthering the art of turntablism through his own records and contributions to a crazy amount of releases. He has always been an advocate of the DJ, providing lots of face time to the discussion of their role and the history of the form. His new album, King Of The Decks, is dropping September 16th. The first leaked single features KRS-One and is a reminder for you all of what a Dj is and what a DJ is not. Props to Noah and Will. Peace to Dj Revolution for taking the time.

Listen: Dj Revolution – The Dj ft. Krs-One

Watch: Dj Revolution – King Of The Decks Episode 1

Bonus: Dj Revolution – Your Dj ft. Styliztik

Q&A

Someone you look up to, dead or alive

Quincy Jones

Someone you look down on

Steve Aoki

Other than music, what’s worth living for?

Not Being dead is enough motivation for me

You fasted all day, what are you dieing to eat?

A slice of NYC pizza

You’re at a party, what’s your drink?

If it is a house party, water, if it’s a club, the best imported beer I can find

Name a song you can’t stand.

Anything by LiL’ Wayne

You’re going to be deaf by morning, what do you ask to listen to?

Mozart, Bob James, and Public Enemy, It takes a Nation of Millions to hold us Back.

Life after death? Yes/No

NO

How do you hope to be remembered?

As one of the greatest all around Dj’s to ever touch turntables and a person who made a contribution to the culture

How do you hope you are not remembered?

As an asshole

Free verse, anything else on your mind?

Support real music, not the shit you hear on the radio. “KING OF THE DECKS” in stores September 16th

previously:
DJ Revolution Talks In Detail About Producing “The DJ” Featuring KRS-One
DJ Revolution – The Dj ft KRS-One / audio

ED209° – Karma 360 ft. Imam THUG / audio + q&a

Mon, 25 Aug 2008 06:48:35 +0000

ED209° decided to make this banger available for free on his mysp*ce since it got bootlegged quick fast when he sent out the promo cds.

Download: ED209° – Karma 360 ft. Imam THUG

Since the Karma360 joint has been bootlegged over the web and is even for sale as mp3s ( nothing to do with me ) then its best for you to get it from the source and download from my page.

For those keeping it really real and supporting vinyl then be one of the 500 and grab a copy.

Whilst you have the wallet open then the P Brothers ‘Gas’ LP is nearly on us … Vivit Post Funera Virtus … ya get me!

Earlier this month when I ordered my copy of the vinyl I sent Ed an email alerting him to the bootleg sites and asking him about what he thinks. This was his response:

Yes G.

On your bootleggers topic … have you seen this :

http://vulguerre.blogspot.com/2008/07/altruistic-hip-hop-bootleggers-vs-money.html

i was going to leave a reply but I wasnt registered so left it. Would have been as follows :

“Nice piece – I sent a few ( like 10 ) CDs out for promotion on Karma360 and one found its way to be bootlegged – now its literally all over the web … I’ve even found sites selling mp3s of the track! I can’t see how sticking to vinyl and download can help – its only one simple step to get them to be mp3 files and then do what you want with ‘em. Even myspace you can record the track if its not downloadable and do whatever. I understand the argument that its ‘promotion’ but, as you said, its not. If it was there would be links to buy the vinyl? to contact the artist? Back in the day the ‘mixtape’ spread the word – copied and copied and copied again – but we wanted ‘proper’ ownership of the music – which meant buying the vinyl – the tape was just the ‘menu’ … vinyl was the main course arriving. Now people accept they are happy to not own anything … just a harddrive with some 0s and 1s on then theres no second step ( other than in the minds of the few ) – you have all you need already on your computer/ipod/whatever – I can’t see that you can call independent artists ‘money hungry’ … shit – if I break even it will be a miracle… but I can’t stop because I owe hip hop for all its given me.

1.ED

And here is my response:

Ed,

I find it very funny that you sent me that link because I wrote that.

The actual post is here:

Altruistic Hip-Hop Bootleggers vs. Money Hungry Independent Artists

It’s kind of strange that you found it on what appears to be a news aggregating blog. Also disappointing as it seems grandgood is being de-indexed from google, but that’s another story I won’t bore you with.

Thank you for sending your feedback. My original post was an attempt at sarcasm and subtle advice. I don’t actually believe independent artists are money hungry. I think bootleggers need to take into consideration that independent artists are entitled to some form of compensation. But I also see that independent artists can’t rely on others for their own benefit. They need to act on their own behalf. My advice isn’t necessarily to stick solely to vinyl. It is to use vinyl as promotional tool (the physical product that many people still want) but also to be “first to market” with mp3 distribution. In other words, from my experience, fans of your music that are willing to pay for your product are very interested in listening to the music, literally, as soon as it is possible. They would prefer not to wait around. If you are the one that makes the mp3s available first, then I believe the fans will support you with money, as long as it is reasonabley priced. But historically it is bootlegging sites that have made mp3s available first. Which I strongly believe is one of the main reasons they are successful in their dealings.

Thanks again for hitting me back. If you don’t mind, I will publish this on our site.

Chill,

This is raw, unadulterated hip-hop. Support if you can. Visit ED209°. Cop that P Brothers when it drops.

Witchdoctor – A-List (From The Album Escape To New York) / audio + Q&A

CV — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 22:35:31 +0000

I noticed that Witchdoctor had a bunch of albums available on his mysp*ce that I’ve never heard about before, including last years “Escape To New York.” Intrigued by the title and artwork, I asked Witchdoctor a few quick questions to get more information about this album.

Can you tell me more about your album Escape to New York?
Its a project that is designed 2 bringing it back 2 where the art originated..Also the Majors are set up in NY. Its me on my journey east!!!!

When and where did you record it? What songs are it?
ESCAPE 2 NEW YORK………………
Recorded in Atlanta in different locations……Songs include Tristmas Island,Collie Feat.Kurupt,,A-list,Who iz the biggest Gangsta,and more…

Who are some NY artists past and present that inspire you?
NY INFLUENCES: LORD FINESSE, RAKIM, KOOL G-RAP,BIG DADDY KANE,EPMD, SMIF-N-WESSUN,BUCKSHOT SHORTY, HEAVY D, FAT BOYS, SLICK-RICK, WU-TANG, K-SOLO, LL COOL J, KOOL MOE D, BDP, PUBLIC ENEMY, REDMAN, NAS, JAY Z, ETC…..

Think we can get a song from the album so cats can hear?
Hell Yeah! Anythang else let me know..

Witchdoctor – A List (From the album Escape 2 New York)
TOURING SOON, COMING 2 NY

Upcoming:
NEW ALBUM — TRANZYVANIA 2008-9
Philadelphia the founding fathers gathered here, statistics show you can easily be splattered here!!! Coming soon!!!!!!!!!!!!

Previously: “I’m an Atlanta MC. Those niggas in New York and Cali know how to show respect to those that came before them”

Bateria (Formerly Known As Jedi Son of Spock) Q&A / Featuring New Music – Ride Til 305 w/Skam2

CV — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 17:41:07 +0000

Bateria is the MC formerly known as Jedi Son of Spock, known for rocking stages and tearing up ciphers with his crew House of Repz throughout the 90s. He’s working on a half Spanish and half English album titled “Universal Hoods” coming soon on Vent Music and is back in the studio with the other House of Repz members for an upcoming album on Kings Link Records. Peace to Bateria for taking the time out.

Bateria Feat. Skam2 – Ride Til 305 (produced by BEATFIRM)
[from the upcoming Universal Hoods album]
-

Someone you look up to, dead or alive.
mom & dad (alive), Bruce Lee

Someone you look upon?
honestly, I dont look down at anyone

Other than music, what’s worth living for?
Family

You fasted all day, what are you dieing to eat?
Arepa con queso

You’re at a party, what’s your drink?
Amstel light

Name a song you can’t stand.
macarena

You’re going to be deaf by morning, what do you ask to listen to?
sound of my first born’s cry

Life after death? Yes/No
Yes

How do you hope to be remembered?
As someone who made a real contribution to music

How do you hope you are not remembered?
Never really thought of that

Free verse, anything else on your mind?
Yes!! um, you are not an artist just because you have a myspace music page:)

Will Hiphop grow or will it continue to be watered down? Will our youth ever experience the true essence of it’s culture?

Ride Til 305 is off my Universal Hoods Album half Spanish half English
(coming soon) on Vent Music. Skam2 (also known as SKAM is the one who put A.L on to Em in NY which A.L helped Em get unsigned hype with Riggs Morales. He is an ill emcee and amazing artist, did the artwork for beats rhymes life etc) blessed me with the Artwork. It’s going to be fire. Also, look out for House of Repz long time coming album coming soon on Kings Link Records. First single by Dj Premire “U Gotta Love US”

Previously: House Of Repz (Five Faces Of Death) – All Day

Sean Price And Rock Of Heltah Skeltah / Q&A

Thu, 14 Aug 2008 14:40:25 +0000

If there is such a thing as classic NYC Hip-Hop, Heltah Skeltah epitomizes the flavor. The beats they choose to rock, the raps, the voices, the swagger. It oozes out of them and represents what the 90s were about for a lot of us. After dipping for a minute and testing the waters on their own, Sean Price and Rock have undergone a recombination to bring back what is aptly being called, Da Incredible Rap Team. As if you ain’t know, D.I.R.T is in stores September 30th. The first single leaked last week, the video is coming soon. Peep the interlude for some audio from other projects. Respect to Sean P and Rock for taking the time out. Shouts to Will and Duck Down.

Rock:

Someone you look up to, dead or alive

Tupac

Someone you look down on

My accuser

Other than music, what’s worth living for?

Bitches & Money LOL

You fasted all day, what are you dieing to eat?

Something without cheese

You’re at a party, what’s your drink?

Loose juice

Name a song you can’t stand.

BLAH by FAB 5

You’re going to be deaf by morning, what do you ask to listen to?

Fuck your hearing Nigga, you rich!

Life after death? Yes/No

YES. I will haunt yall mother fuckers

How do you hope to be remembered?

For who I am, the good, the bad and the ugly….oh and the handsome

How do you hope you are not remembered?

For only my bad

Free verse, anything else on your mind?

Heltah Skeltah album “D.I.R.T.” In Stores Sept. 30th

-

Rock – Attempted Murder / from the Shell Shock mixtape

Heltah Skeltah – Feel The O’s / unreleased?

-

Sean Price:

Someone you look up to, dead or alive

My Mom

Someone you look down on

My Mom

Other than music, what’s worth living for?

I know the answer should be my kids, but i don’t like kids, so fuck it i don’t know

You fasted all day, what are you dieing to eat?

Dos enchiladas…I’m a vegetarian

You’re at a party, what’s your drink?

WATER

Name a song you can’t stand.

Everybody’s shit except mine

You’re going to be deaf by morning, what do you ask to listen to?

Skihdur

Life after death? Yes/No

When I die if I come back and tell you the answer that means there is life after death, but when I die and there is no answer from me, then there is no life after death….stay tuned folks

How do you hope to be remembered?

Who says I wants to be remembered

How do you hope you are not remembered?

Skihdur

Free verse, anything else on your mind?

get the new Heltah Skeltah album on September 30th and look out for the random axe album with my man Guilty Simpson, & Black Milk on Duck Down in 2009. SKIHDUR!!!

Dj Soulpusher (aka Frank Conakry) Q&A / Featuring A Mix Of Pre-Afrobeat Music He Acquired During His 3 Year Record Digging Trip In West Africa

Wed, 06 Aug 2008 16:40:13 +0000

Dj Soulpusher, aka Frank Conakry, took time out of his hectic schedule to partake in our humble questionnaire and audio. As discussed previously, he is in the funding stages of developing a film based on his record digging travels throughout West Africa. The featured mix includes music acquired primarily in Benin and Satos and is described as ritualistic Voodoo music and Folklore.

+

Dj Soulpusher (aka Frank Conakry) Q&A

Dj Soulpusher – Mede Woui / tracklist & background

-

Someone you look up to, dead or alive

Hard choice since I have a lot of respect for a lot of people from very different walks of life. I could come up with various obscure personal heros of mine but I guess I’m going to be very cliché today and go for Fela Anikulapo Kuti. Just because the more I learn about his personal history, the more I’m blown away. I don’t agree with most people’s belief about him being the “inventor” of Afrobeat, that’s just the ignorance of those who don’t know much other West African Funk. I admire the effect he had and still has on people’s mind. I think that he is having some sort of revival amongst modern day African youth, even in the french speaking countries of West Africa. His music always carried a strong political message which sadly still perfectly matches the reality in most of the region. It is very important that music is being seen as a medium that can transport a message, an attitude and ideas. Music should always have a revolutionary spirit and not be misused for juvenile bragging about expensive cars, cheap women and overrated beverages.

Someone you look down on

I’m a much too bad person myself to be looking down on anybody.

Other than music, what’s worth living for?

Good food, strong drinks and entertaining company.

You fasted all day, what are you dying to eat?

Funny, I lived like that almost every day for the past three years while digging for records all over West Africa. You have to understand that most houses don’t have a bathroom. There is no sewer system. Sometimes, there are open sewers that can even be cemented and wide and doubling as draining canals during rainy season. if you have to go, you just squat down on the edge and try to keep your balance while you do your business. I’ve seen whole neighborhoods where everybody shits into plastic bags which get discreetly dropped at the side of the road on the way to work or to the market. I always tried to avoid having to go by not eating anything all day. In the evening, I regularly was hungry like a wolf and the most satisfying meals I ever had on one of those occasions was antelope meat marinated with habanero peppers and other spices, sauteed in red palm oil and served with fried, sweet plantains. A close second was Grasscutter (some also call this
animal cane rat and it looks just like a nutria) simmered in palm oil, potato leaves and small, crunchy crabs that you can eat with the shell. This delicious meal was served with pate mais, a sort of pudding made out of fermented corn.

You’re at a party, what’s your drink?

My preferred party beverage is Tequilla, either Patron Silver or Cabo Wabo if I can afford it or Sauza Hornitos if I’m less flush. I also love Sodabi but you can’t find this stuff anywhere outside of Benin.

Name a song you can’t stand.

There is too much music that I passionately despise all on an equal level, I simply can’t mention one specific song. Even thinking about what shit music is out there makes me nauseous . I really hate all those fake ass wanna-be punk bands, spoilt little brats. I hate electronic dance music, that shit never sounded new in the first place and now it’s even staler than an old fart. I hate modern R&B and all this overproduced whiney shit. I hate corny testasterone frat-boy rock. I hate test tube generated talent show boy or girl bands. I hate country-pop. I hate smooth jazz. I hate Middle class SUV classic rock and I hate fucking Bono Vox from the darkest bottom of my heart.

In real life, I’m a lover by nature and not a hater, that’s why I don’t listen to the radio (besides non-commercial stations like WFMU). First thing I do when stepping into a cab is to tell the driver to turn off the radio. I never watch MTV.

You’re going to be deaf by morning, what do you ask to listen to?

I’d start getting used to not hearing and not listen to any music at all. I guess I’d start buying a ton of books.

Life after death? Yes/No

The idea of life after death for me is somehow ridiculous. How should this work? No-one who’s mentally sane has any recollection of his previous life so your conscious life definitely ends with death. So that’s it. When it’s over, it’s over. I guess some people believe such nonsense because their life sucks and they can’t get comfortable with the fact that once they die, they’re dead. They need the hope that there is more. If it makes them happy, let them have this silly little fantasy. I try to lead a life that is fulfilling enough so i could die any day without having the feeling I missed out on anything. Why even waste a thought on such things? Humans take themselves way too seriously. Why should they get reborn? There’s nothing that special about mankind for this to make any sense.

How do you hope to be remembered?

If my wife has some nice memories of our time together, that would be plenty enough for me to be at peace.

How do you hope you are not remembered?

My wife gave me the best years of her life. I don’t want her to have any regrets about that. I don’t care what anybody else remembers or if they remember anything at all for that matter.

Free verse, anything else on your mind?

To be really honest, right now I can hardly think about anything else but how to succeed convincing the owners of this hot, new NYC nightclub to give me Thursday nights to do my new party. This is the most risky and important time of my life. My last money will soon run out and the question is if I can afford to stay in NYC or not…

Much respect and admiration to Frank for his time and his work. Visit Voodoo Funk.

Gile and Luka (The Dublinerz) Q&A / Featuring New Music “Dancing Dub” & “Lonely Dub”

CV — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 01:11:15 +0000

New dub songs from Gile & Luka aka The Dublinerz, reppin’ Belgrade. We recently conducted a short Q&A with the hip hop and dub production duo. Previously, we featured their music on GRANDGOOD audiocasts 29 and 34.

Visit Gile and Luka

Dancing Dub

Lonely Dub

Where are you from?
We are from Belgrade, Serbia. We are both guitar players, Gile played for years in many bands in many diffrent styles punk, hc, funk, hip hop. Luka, younger member of the duo finished the musical school for jazz guitar and plays in some jazz bands. We got together about 4-5years ago, we liked the same music and had some ideas but at that moment we did not have a band to play it, and at that same period we started to work on computer…

What kind of equipment do you use? Do you record live instruments?
Most of the music we made on a PC with a creative live soundblaster so we had no conditions for live recording, but we are trying to make it in a box live as we can! Recently we have bought better pc and a better sound card.

Who does what in the group? How do you work together when putting together songs.
It depends from song to song, there is no strict rules. One of us brings some melody or riff ,and we work together on developing and producing it to song.

Someone you look up to, dead or alive.
Luka: For me it is Bob Marley because his music and thinking gave me strength and fate to work and live many times I was down,he is my ideal because he was not just a complete musician but complete concius man thinking and speaking of the world that we live in, speaking and struggling for his people.
Gile: Chuck Berry, Nelson Mandela, I admire his strength and endurance in fighting for the right cause.

Someone you look down on.
Luka: All the guys in the music who forgot where they are comin’ from after getting few bucks and some jewels from the industry,and decadent musicians selling illusionary and greedy views on life to the youth…the list is long. I live in a poor country, it is really perverted to watch them on tv, poisoning the mind of my people.
Gile: Marylin Manson, because he is misguiding the youth,promoting bad spiritual and life attitude.

Other than music, what’s worth living for?
Luka: There are many things…friends, ladies,Wing Chun Kung fu, dancing, Big Splffs…
Gile: Big Spliffs

You fasted all day, what are you dieing to eat?
We are both vegeterians!
Luka:Soya steaks and tomato salad
Gile: Fried cheese and fries

You’re at a party, what’s your drink?
Luka: Beer
Gile: Beer!

Name a song you can’t stand.
Luka: Madonna-Hung up,Anything from Madonna she makes me throw up…
Gile:Guns and roses-Live and let die (cover)

You’re going to be deaf by morning, what do you ask to listen to?
Luka: Bob Marley, Wes Motgomery, Gregory Isaacs, Roots Radics Band, King tubby, Black Uhuru, Jimmi Hendrix, Abyssinians,Wu tang Clan, Johnny Clarke..
Gile: By songs:Black star ft. Common-respiration,Wu tang clan-cream,Cypress Hill-Boom biddy bye bye,Mos Def and Scritti politti-Tinseltown to boogiedown,Massive attack-Sly

Life after death? Yes/No
Luka: There is…
Gile: I think there is, but many think opposite, so maybe…

How do you hope to be remembered?
Luka:Like a good musician,friend and husband!
Gile:Like a good sound producer

How do you hope you are not remembered?
Luka: I don’t know…by letting down people I care for
Gile: For nasty street Fights…

Free verse, anything else on your mind?
Luka: I am that I am – Peter Tosh
Gile: I fight in a holy war with my menthal – Shabbazz the Disciple

Bless,

Luka & Gile

Envelope Q&A / Featuring Music From His New Album “Shark Bolt”

Sat, 12 Jul 2008 14:57:46 +0000

We’ve been looking forward to Envelope’s Shark Bolt for some time. So when I got an advance a few weeks ago, I was very freakin pleased. I have been bumping it consistently since. I kind of make it a point not to write involved reviews ’cause I know how relative they can be (see this very skewed review as an example). But I did go in a bit on Envelope’s style when the first single leaked. In the one sheet, Blueprint describes his man’s style in a similar fashion as “regular dude raps,” contrasting it with battle raps or street raps. To add to that, I would just point out that most of our lives are made up of regular dude type things. Which is why Envelope and his regular dude raps are so damn meaningful. “Looking In” features Blueprint vocals and production. A two verse piece, both MCs show their grace on the mic while discussing social perspective. This track is an example of the excellent craftsmanship that can be found throughout the album. Hard beats, unexaggerated, intelligent and sincere lyrics. If you are going to buy one cd this year, let this be it. Peace to Weightless for the promo and to Envelope for his time.

Envelope Q&A

Envelope – Looking In ft. Blueprint

+

Someone you look up to, dead or alive

Roberto Clemente

Someone you look down on

Teethsuckers

Other than music, what’s worth living for?

Teethsuckers w/ an ass

You fasted all day, what are you dieing to eat?

Pussy, cause id be lookin all cut and shit

You’re at a party, what’s your drink?

Steel Reserve, so no one asks me to share

Name a song you can’t stand.

that handlebar shit

You’re going to be deaf by morning, what do you ask to listen to?

sam cooke

Life after death? Yes/No

hope so

How do you hope to be remembered?

at all

How do you hope you are not remembered?

“oh…. that asshole”

Free verse, anything else on your mind?

paying my mortgage

revised 07.13.08

Mr. Cooper – Work Progressing / q&a

Wed, 18 Jun 2008 04:55:26 +0000

Originally q&a was for questions and answers. Hopefully going forward, it will mean questionnaire & audio. First feature is courtesy of producer Mr. Cooper. UK is his home, beats are his fancy. May of 2007, we featured his instrumental work as part of our audiocast mix. Very pleased was I when I came across his latest release, another instrumental contributed to Project Mooncircle’s “The Heart On The Right Spot“. I’ve been playing this for my unborn child. Below you will find the audio plus his responses to questions we developed to give you a sense of the everyday man behind the music. Peace & respect.

Mr. Cooper Q&A

Mr. Cooper – Work Progressing

+

Someone you look up to, dead or alive

David Hume. Philosopher from Scotland. Long dead. The guy was a genius I think. He profoundly affected the path of philosophy in several key areas and profoundly affected my own outlook.

Someone you look down on

Robert Mugabe. Pretty obvious why.

Other than music, what’s worth living for?

Life. Taking it all in, trying as much of it out as you can.

You fasted all day, what are you dieing to eat?

A roast dinner with chicken, really good potatoes and lots of vegetables.

You’re at a party, what’s your drink?

Strictly Louis Roederer Cristal 1990

Name a song you can’t stand.

Anything by the Spice Girls. Their stuff isn’t even funny because it’s bad, it’s just bad.

You’re going to be deaf by morning, what do you ask to listen to?

That’s the hardest question on this page. If we keep it to one peice of music, at the moment I would choose ‘Music For 18 Musicians’ by Steve Reich. Because it’s long, so you would get your ‘money’s worth’ before deafness, and because it produces feelings of both being detached and of deeply introverted melancholy which would very much match how I would be feeling if I was to go deaf in the morning.

Life after death? Yes/No

I’d say i’m agnostic; I don’t think you can know, so I don’t profess to make a choice on matters of religion, the existence of a devine being and so on, but I fall to the more skeptical and atheistic side of that: No I don’t think there is a life after this one but I accept that I could just as well be wrong as I could be right.

How do you hope to be remembered?

A good man, a good friend, a good partner, maybe a good father, and someone who created some things that some people really feel.

How do you hope you are not remembered?

A moody, difficult, detached bloke uncomfortable in his own skin and uncomfortable with those around him.

Free verse, anything else on your mind?

I think i’ve talked enough profound crap above so i’ll leave it at that, thanks for featuring my track. Cheers.

Paul Cooper
projectmooncircle.com

Omid Q&A by grandgood

T.Reynolds — Mon, 24 Sep 2007 16:28:21 +0000

Omid (photo by Barbara Talia, click for larger view)

We sat down with one of Los Angeles’ staple producers, Omid (or OD), to talk a little about his new works and artistic direction, in depth recollections about the making of Beneath the Surface, his debut project, and his role as an Iranian American producer in the world today. A genuine music man, Omid gives us a perspective from behind the boards in what is still a dynamic music scene. Visit him at mysp*ce.com/omidhiphop.

stream Gole Gandom by Omid
from forthcoming new untitled album

stream The Lakes of Turku by Omid
from Afterwords3

So thank you for your time. First, I wonder if you could tell us a little about the Afterwords 3 album that was released on itunes only. It seemed to have limited promotion and was not released on CD, what was the purpose of that?

Yeah basically it’s a lot of tracks that I made the last couple years. A lot of them had to do with when I was going to go tour Europe, just wanted to have some new stuff; I was working with this dance troupe out there and they wanted…

Yeah! I saw that online they choreographed something to your music, basically, right?

Yeah, it was like real experimental, interesting dance.

So was it expressionist dance or like jazz dance…

Yeah, yeah, kinda, kinda. Contemporary stuff, it was dope, it was different. So a lot of the songs from that, and just some tracks that a lot of people would just hit me up on the e-mail [about], instrumentals, just a lot of stuff that, before I put out my next album, that I wanted people to hear. Basically, it’s just a collection of tracks that I like that never really came out, and I said “I’ll put it in the Afterwords Trilogy!” Afterwords 1, was a little beat tape I did…

Yeah I remember that, actually one of my friends had that tape

Oh dope.

Yeah, yeah, yeah,

And then Afterwords 2 was a CD-R, and I thought it would be interesting, the first as a tape, second as a CD-R, and then make the third, which is digital, you know.

So this is different type of project, basically?

Exactly, yeah. It’s just a collection of tracks that the last couple years I’ve been workin’ on, and didn’t really fit one theme, and I put ‘em all together.

We spoke a little bit about the dancers, but I also read that you had an interest in working with a guy, Kurt Elling [jazz vocalist].

Yeah I talked to him before and he’s a really dope singer, a jazz singer. Grammy nominated guy, he does a lot of vocalese stuff. That’s someone with whom, in the future, I might do a song with. But that’s in the works.

The reason why I ask that question is that with the Good Life, where you started out, being so jazz influenced, and with Blowed being around the corner from 5th St. Dix, I was wondering about jazz vocalists and musicians that might have influenced your music or that you see yourself working with, besides Kurt Elling?

Well yeah, definitely been influenced by jazz. But as far as musicians that I want to work with? There’s a dude from the East Coast, a really dope drummer, Wynard Harper I think his name is. Dope drummer. That’s someone that actually performed at Leimert Park one time, and pretty much served everybody there!

Oh wow… he’s from the New York City area?

Yeah, he’s from New York.

OK, cool, I’ll look him up.

Yeah, yeah, the stuff I heard live was a lot [different], like his albums were a little more mellow and commercial, but, when he played, it was a whole different level.

Yeah, Kurt Elling I noticed, like I checked out his albums, like he seemed to be a little commercial too, but…

Yeah you gotta… you gotta, find the right songs. There’s a song called “Tanya Jean” That one sounds like Myka Nyne times ten.

Word, really?

“Tanya Jean” it’s on the album called The Messenger. And then he does another song called “Night Dreamer”, and he does a Coltrane cover, of “Revolution”, where he’s singing to all the notes of a solo.

I’ll check that out.

Yeah pick up the old stuff.

So do you feel like the audience has grown up from Beneath the Surface, to Distant Drummer, then Monolith, in the sense that Monolith was a more laid back, instrumentalist sound? It was a compilation of underground mc’s too but it seemed to be reaching beyond the standard hip-hop sound, especially of the LA underground. Did you grow as an artist?

I mean, yeah, I think so. I did Monolith in like ‘03, ‘04, and I definitely wanted to try some new things. Yeah definitely wanted to reach out, and sample a lot of different types of stuff.

More Eastern stuff?

Yeah, exactly. Exactly. And then with my new stuff, my next couple of albums, it’s gonna be real different, too. I think it’s gonna show a lot of progress. A lot of stuff I played out, but it still sounds sampled. So you know over the years, Beneath the Surface was more like “a fan of the Good Life / Project Blowed giving respects for their favorite artists”. Distant Drummer was like my quest to do something without any emcees, and see how crazy I can get, so big experimentation. Monolith was kinda like bringing it down to earth a little bit but still trying to grow musically. And then my next couple projects, like you remember the song “Sound of the Sitar” [from Monolith]?

Yeah, I do.

Yeah, I’m trying to do an album with that whole theme, like very Eastern sounding tracks. So it’s gonna be an album just of that.

That leads into another question actually, which is, in many ways your sound is distinct because of your use of Middle Eastern samples; Do you work exclusively with classic Middle Eastern material, or do you also listen to Iranian funk records from the ‘60’s and ‘70’s?

Yeah, I do, I do. And I also sample some Psychedelic Rock from the 60’s, where they would use a lot of the [Middle Eastern] instruments, and put effects on them. It’s really like, wherever I can get that sound from. And lately I’ve been listening to a lot of Turkish stuff, Persian stuff… I actually just got this really dope Iraqi record, spelled C-H-O-O-B-I, Choobi, you ever heard of that?

No! That’s crazy. What does it sound like?

[thinking] It sounds like some traditional stuff, but like if Aphex Twin kinda made it. It’s made in eighties but it’s so weird and it had different time signatures… it’s really crazy.

Kind of ahead of its time?

Yeah, definitely ahead of its time. It was made in like ’79 or ’80, but then a lot of effects, and just weird time signatures. Just weird stuff on it! So yeah, wherever I can get a specific sound from, I’ll use it.

I had another question about that; it’s about incorporating the Middle Eastern music into a 4/4, kick-snare element. Is it difficult to incorporate that, because a lot of it’s not in 4/4 rhythm, you know?

This album I’m working on, uh, if you go on my Mysp*ce, the first track [Gole Gandom – now the second track] is an example of what it’s gonna sound like. So that is an old school song, like old traditional funk, I took two different versions of it and chopped it up, and played bass under it. Basically that’s what I had to do, is use chopping a lot and effects, ‘cause otherwise it was like 6/4 time. 6/4 or who knows what it is [laughs]!

Yeah that type of music is very rhythmically complex so I definitely feel you on that.

Yeah and it’s old! And it’s got a lot of history, so to make it into hip-hop takes a lot of work. AND, to avoid making it sound like World Music and shit.

Right, right. Now, I want to go back a little bit and speak about you being a historical figure at the Good Life and Project Blowed. Why do you think the scene you came up into, and that you managed to bring to life on Beneath of Surface, and that album brought that whole scene together so cohesively, but what do you think makes that scene special, and LA special artistically?

That’s interesting you brought it up ‘cause, right now I’m working on a documentary on the Good Life. And you remember Figures of Speech?

Yeah, I do remember them.

Yeah, one of the emcees, Eve, she’s directing it. And I’m doing the music supervision, and all the sounds… and, it’s really bringing back a lot of memories. But basically, that scene, The Good Life, inspired me to become a producer. With the Beneath the Surface, I think I was able to capture those emcees at their peak, while a lot of them were making great music, but they weren’t able to either get signed, or do a whole project. I was just lucky enough to be able to capture that moment.

Yeah a lot of these emcees you don’t hear from anymore, St. Mark 9:23, Puzoozoo and the whole Onomatopoeia, it’s like they were dope at the time and then you didn’t see them for a while, it’s cool that you were able to do that.

Yeah, to think about it, I kinda wish I did a Part Two to that project right after it. I wish I had, because around that time they were still dope. If I were to do a Part Two now, I don’t know if it would be as good. A lot of them are still making good music, but… it’s not the same.

What do you think about the Blowed now, would you do a project with some of the younger emcees?

Uh, Nocando, and Kail is really dope. I haven’t heard too much of the other ones, but those two definitely.

So did Blowed slip or…

Oh I haven’t been to Blowed in three years, four years probably…as opposed to going every Thursday for five years [laughs]! It wasn’t the same, and it was more of a freestyle spot, instead of people practicing all week to do a show. I had to move on.

And more about the Beneath the Surface project, I actually bought that off you outside of Fat Beats back when it was on Vermont in Silverlake.

Oh word? So we met?

Very briefly, man. Just for a second. I’m gonna name like five songs, and they’re songs that I like, and maybe you can give like two sentences about them – either about the emcees, the process of making the songs, or ideas you had while making it.

No problem

(in)sense

Word, okay that track originally, that was supposed to be for Medusa and St. Mark. And the concept, was like, well Medusa had a concept where she was the Mom, and St. Mark was the baby in the stomach!

That’s ill!

St. Mark’s concept, he wanted to do a song with some Egyptian pharaohs or something… they both had dope concepts but it was taking forever to do the song…

[laughs]

…and at the time I was kicking it with Slant and them, and they’re real cool, and I saw that they were blowing up. I was like, “yo, you want to get on this?” and they were definitely down, knocked the song out. And they were like yeah we got this concept you know each of us is like a sense, and luckily, you know.

Yeah the ‘smell’ verse was crazy.

That was Slant right? I remember that. We did that at Kutmaster Kurt’s house.

You Are In My Clutches

Oh that one, we were doing the Shockadoom project. And I picked up P.E.A.C.E. and we were driving to a studio and I was playing him that beat, and he just started doing the chorus! He started doing the “You are in my clutches”, and I was like “Ah man, we gotta record that shit!” [laughs].

So it was kinda natural then, it just happened…

Yeah it just, I was like check out this beat, and he started doing the chorus? I was like… alright… it’s over. We knocked it out in one take.

The whole thing in one take?

Yeah… in one take.

When the Sun Took A Day Off

That one… [thinking]. It’s funny how that one happened. I had that beat and originally, cause the album took so long to make I was going from studio to studio, I remember at the time I was recording at Fat Jack’s. I mean Acey was up there, I didn’t know him that well then. But he was like “What’s this project you were working on?”, and I was like “I don’t know who’s gonna be on it, but it’s serious.” And then this dude named Orion South…

He was partners with Phoenix Orion, right?

Exaactly yeah, they cousins I think. He was like “Yeah, just make us a beat” and I tried to get him on there. I made him that beat, but it was taking forever to knock out so I ended up doing the other song with Orion and Phoenix. And then one day Acey was like “What ever happened?” when we were wrapping up the project. I went to his house to drop off the beat and Jup [Self Jupiter] happened to be there. So I played it, and then he was beneath his breath, doing his rap, and he was like ‘huh, that’ll fit for this one concept! I’ll take a day off’, and then he started doing it, and you know… I was trying to keep cool, but [in my head] I was like “Oh shit, this is the craziest shit I’ve ever heard!” [laughs] And so it kinda happened like that, and they showed up to the studio, and dropped it.

So he did his verse live and it blew you away?

You know I could kinda hear it, I couldn’t hear every word, ‘cause he was kinda doin it under his breath, but I could tell that it was on some next shit. Basically Jup had the verses, and Acey rewrote his to fit the theme.

And what was it about, was it just like a fairytale kind a thing?

It was kind of like a small town where all this crazy shit happens, like a Jup concept of him taking it to another world, and kind of an intro to the album.

OK… how about Farmer’s Market [Farmer’s Market of the Beast] that was another one, with another crazy concept.

That one… that one started out with me hangin’ out with my friend – I was kickin it a lot with Radioinactive at the time, I mean I still do. Not as much as I used to but he was like “Yeah man, we should do this song about animals”, cause he had a goat verse he was working on, and I had laid that beat. And he was like “Yeah, we’ll get my homeboy Awol and Circus on it, and I also told Jizzm to be on it.” So then I was like, “Alright, if we’re gonna do a song with animals, we gotta get Xinxo!” He had already done a song where he was a butterfly, and another song where… he was always doing those type of things [I think there was also a song he did with a cougar on “A Tape From a Stolen Car”]. So originally we went to the studio, Xinxo didn’t show up, and Circus’ verse was three times as long! We recorded it on a reel to reel and the reel ran out! So were like “aw man you gotta do something else!”. So then we went to another studio, and he wrote another verse, which was still long, but not as long, and Xinxo happened to finally show up that night, and it just turned out like that. And at first I didn’t even know what to think of the song, I mean I knew I liked it, but it was so like, weird. [laughs] It was so long, and I was like “If I put this out are people gonna like this?” And so I ended up choosing to put it on there. Luckily I did it.

Yeah it came out amazing. It was weird and then it just grew on me.

Yeah I think it grew on me because, especially Circus’ part, I wasn’t sure about it. But then I played it, and I think Phoenix and them, when he came on, they were like “Oh shit! This is the craziest shit!” People that I didn’t really expect to like it was really pumpin’ it up! So then I started listening to it more, and then I was like “Oh… this is off-the-hook shit.”

OK this last one… BustMustJustUs?

Right, that one was supposed to be an OMD track. But the beat came out so hype that I had to jack it for my album [laughs]. But I was like “2Mex you gotta still be on it” and at the time I don’t think I had done “Sunny Side Up” so I wanted Khule on there. And then, it would have been too short with just two emcees, and I wanted to get Wreccless who at the time was in Hip Hop Kclan still so… he came on that too. So you know get the Afterlifers on there to [rip it]

Are there any other songs on there you wanted to talk about? Those are the ones I had written down…

I mean each song, started out different that what it was intended to be. Who’s Keeping Time? instead of Rakaa Iriscience, it was supposed to be Volume 10.

Oh, that would have been sick! Word. What happened to Volume 10, I’m surprised he wasn’t on that project.

Yeah he was supposed to be on there. Myka Nyne was supposed to be on that too. [laughs] He flaked on the session, he was supposed to have a solo song. He said he showed up to the studio and I wasn’t there but I, I…. I’m not buying that one!

[laughs] Yeah, man.

And… Medusa was supposed to be on the song with St. Mark and J-Smoov. And then that song actually had a cool story.

Oh, Line Posting In Pedro?

I took ‘em…that is San Pedro, hence the name… and in the sky, man, I don’t know what was wrong. There was something going on that day, the sky was totally like pink, and it had all these crazy colors. And St. Mark didn’t have a verse ready. So he was like “alright just turn it on”. He just went down and freestyled for 3 minutes singing! Which is what you hear parts of. And that was the first time… I didn’t even know he sang. And he’s doin’ that shit and I’m like “What the fuck?” It’s crazy. So he just basically sang for three minutes freestyle. J-Smoov ended up saying, “Alright, I gotta rewrite my verse,” after hearing that. So he went back rewrote his verse, and then based on Smoov’s verse, St. Mark wrote a verse with the same pattern as he did. So then the singing is the original freestyle that I chopped up to have an intro, middle, and outro. So there’s an original version, which is him singing throughout the whole thing.

Would you ever release that?

Yeah when I find ADAT’s eventually, I’ll definitely release that.

So anything else you remember about that project?

I think those are the more interesting stories, yeah.

So the last question is about your background as well as your politics. How do you see your role as an Iranian American in hip-hop, and also your role as an artist and the connection between politics and art.

Yeah I mean on Monolith, we did that anti-war song with Bus[driver]… I would try to at least here and there. I mean there’s only so much you can do as a producer, ‘cause you’re not saying words, but that’s another reason that I try to choose the more political cats. Or like even Sach who isn’t… like up front he isn’t political, but he’s real political if you listen to it. Just a lot people with a lot of messages and just try to work with emcees who are on the same wavelength as far as, you know, view of the world and things like that. I try to fit that in but not where it’s too preachy. And as far as my origin, just the fact of using that type of [Middle Eastern] music in there to maybe get people to say, “Oh okay, they got some cool sounds… maybe they’re not a bunch of crazy killers after all!” [laughs]. To show the artistic side of the culture, you know what I’m saying?

Word! So in a way you feel like you might be enlightening people to the culture…

I hope so! I hope so, yeah. And that’s while I’m getting enlightened myself, trying to learn, ‘cause you know I’m still a student and learning too. I’m definitely influenced by that. I was raised here [in the States], so I didn’t get the full spectrum, but…

My friend goes back to Tehran occasionally, do you ever go back there?

No but my brother did a couple years ago they had a great time, and eventually me and my wife want to go visit too, yeah!

Cool, thank you for the interview, it was a real pleasure!

-

Omid went on to talk more about his next (untitled) project, the documentary film on The Good Life café (which is being produced mainly by Eve from Figures of Speech with additional significant contributions by Omid), as well as the state of the music industry. In the independent game, where somebody like OD has lived solely from making unique music that caters to a globally-scattered niche fan base, it’s becoming harder and harder to get by using the same platform. But ultimately he has been able to succeed with his work and has come even further in developing his sound on Afterwords 3. So pick up this new prelude to future projects, it’s an impressive piece. Also be on the lookout for the Good Life documentary in the works!

Peace,

T.Reynolds

Mumbles – Transformations/Illuminations

CV — Wed, 05 Sep 2007 04:34:51 +0000

Producer Mumbles new album Transformations/Illuminations is available on Itunes now and everywhere else later this month. Features Aceyalone on tracks that could have been Book of Human Language sessions, legendary Brazillian singer Flora Purim, Cut Chemist, Blu and others. While the album has a live indian instrumentation feel to a lot of it, its in a completely different direction than say Bombay the Hard Way or Madlib’s latest beat konducta in India joint with samples from Egon’s indian stash or some Timbaland beat. link

Mumbles – Rise Reprise w/ Cut Chemist

We recently asked Cut Chemist about working with Mumbles:

GG: What was your involvement on the new Mumbles album?

CC: My role as an active participant was very small. I did cuts on Rise Reprise. I think thats about it. My role as a supporter of Mumbles and his album is and was quite involved. We’ve have been sharing music together for a lot of years. I dont think there has been anyone thats inspired me to make music more than him. We are cut from the same cloth with the ethic: find music from separate sources that were made to go together and put them together. He hasnt lost a step with this album. His use of samples is seemless as though it were made from live musicians. I had input on ruff mixes and giving my advice on certain things just like he did for my album.

Ben Barnes Q&A by grandgood

Thu, 26 Apr 2007 02:47:14 +0000

igohide by Ben Barnes (click for larger view)

We recently had the opportunity to exchange some words with Ben Barnes, a talented artist whose work has graced our pages in the past. He is responsible for some of our favorite music videos and most recently he directed the promo spots for Busdriver’s album RoadKillOvercoat. Besides creating quality videos he is an experienced cartoonist and a nice guy, why else would he take the time to entertain our questions? You should check out the hi-res versions of his work and the promo spots over on benbarnes.net.

After extensive googling and only being able to confirm that you weren’t once the lieutenant governor of texas, can you please provide a brief overview of your background? Did you attend film school? How many years have you been directing or involved in the arts? Is this your primary career?

I grew up in Pittsburgh, PA and originally was a cartoonist. I switched to directing in 1997 and went to grad school for film in Miami, FL in 1999 then moved out to L.A. in 2001. I direct and write, for the most part.

How did you become associated with the artists you’ve worked with? Did Mush/Epitaph approach you? Are you a fan of the music?

Labels haven’t really approached me; either the artist wanted to work with me and brought me to the attention of the label, or I made the video with the artist on my own.

I worked at Amoeba Music when they first opened until 2004. I worked with people like Thavius Beck, Gino Marks and Lance Rock and became very good friends with, and fans of, them. The first video I made was for The Ray Makers, a band comprised of Lance Rock and Chris Curtis. We shot it in the summer of 2002. After that, Gino was coming out with an EP and I wanted to do something for it, so I got photographer Tim Reed to shoot some 35mm stills and I shot some video in Gino’s apartment one night. It was mostly a lot of post work using National Geographic photos, textbook illustrations and an old, old version of After Effects. I knew Daedelus through Dublab events and our own DJ night, Forestry Service, so we got acquainted that way. Thavius and I shot a bunch of different promos and screen tests for his Adlib releases before he went to Mush Records about shooting a video for To Make Manifest. As far as the new stuff, Busdriver pitched Epitaph the idea of shooting promos and they liked the idea.

I would say I’m a enormous fan of everyone I’ve done videos for. I think Fear of a Black Tangent and Zwarte Achegronde, for example, are classic, classic albums. I haven’t made a video for a song I wasn’t totally amazed by, which is a huge help creatively.

We noticed the drawings on your site. Is that something you’ve considered pursuing seriously also? What’s with the tendency for big eye balls?

I used to be a cartoonist for a long time, from childhood on. About ten years ago I had a daily strip called “Despot Theatre” which ran in my college paper. All the eyeballs in that were of relatively normal size. I always thought I’d be a strip cartoonist, but I started making films.

Can you discuss the concept behind the Forestry Service? Besides having a good time your events seem to incorporate some greenish type goals. What drives you to promote these themes?

Forestry Service was a monthly DJ night put on by myself and Rob Schroeder, who has also produced many of my music videos. It ran from June of 2003 to June of 2004. We played mostly IDM. We had a bunch of guest DJs perform, including Daedelus, Thavius Beck, Ars. Nova. Strata…, Octavius, ADDj, and Boom Bip. Our one-year anniversary had all those folks, plus Adventure Time, Busdriver, Dntel, Morpho, and DJ Jun. It was a lot of fun. The green aspect was something we incorporated into our website but we ended Forestry Service before we could really incorporate it into the actual night.

Forestry Service was briefly revived in spirit later that year, when Rob and I put on a registration drive / concert for Kerry in Miami, with Metric, Midnight Movies, Busdriver, Thavius and Machine Drum. It was a great show. Kerry still lost.

You’ve done a great job at portraying Busdriver’s humor and sarcasm in the promo spots. How did you arrive at the concepts? Were the settings your idea? Does your process tend to be very collaborative in nature?

Busdriver is easy to direct, because he’s a naturally dynamic performer. The concepts were mine for the most part, but Regan’s
performances were all him. I’d tell him what I was going for, and then he’d just be himself. He’s really fun to watch, on stage or on film.

I really just listened to the songs we were going to use and some sort of idea would form. Some of them we changed on set, some were almost exactly as written.

In general, when I direct I like everyone I work with to bring their own perspective to what we’re shooting. People get much more involved and work harder at making a great finished work if they’re engaged in the creative process.

Besides artists you’ve already worked with, can you name some artists or just anyone or anything that you draw most of your inspiration from?

David Lynch was a gigantic influence on my life growing up and probably the reason I switched to film. I’ve also been heavily influenced all my life by Bloom County and Kurt Vonnegut. Oh, and seasons 4 through 8 of the Simpsons. There are many others, I’m sure, but there’s a good start.

Music that changed how I looked at things, in chronological order: Cat Stevens, Talking Heads, Frank Zappa, Aphex Twin, mu-Ziq, Guided By Voices, Neutral Milk Hotel, Neil Young, cLOUDDEAD.

Music videos that changed the way I looked at things: Radiohead’s No Surprises by Grant Gee, & Karma Police by Jonathan Glazer, R.E.M.’s Imitation of Life by Hammer & Tongs, and Bjork’s All Is Full Of Love by Chris Cunningham.

As far as exposure goes, what do you think about the declining influence of MTV? Do you see this as a positive? Has the proliferation of social networking sites and video sharing sites like youtube and myspace benefited you greatly personally?

They haven’t benefitted me very much, personally. I think with YouTube and Myspace video, more people have seen my stuff but at a shitty, shitty resolution. They are great for spreading work, but the format leaves a lot to be desired in terms of content. On the other hand, you can make something for no money and walk into a meeting with a development exec and say “this thing’s been seen 1.4 million times” and they’ll throw a development deal at you. It’s exciting, but every aspiring filmmaker is trying to do that. So we get glutted with stunts, like lonelygirl and the haircutting bride, that are created to garner attention and rewarded for garnering it. It’s like a new genre. I’m not sure what to think yet, really.

Music video directors have a reputation for being cutting edge and pushing the envelope when it comes to editing and presentation. What would you consider one of the biggest drawbacks to specializing in music videos?

Music videos are very difficult to make a living off of. A lot of times, it’s a director’s hobby or vanity project between commercial
work. There’s also little chance to hone other aspects of directing. I think music videos are primarily good for honing your visual sense. If you want to be a good narrative director, you have to direct narrative films.

Is there a genre of film/movies that you prefer?

It’s really great to be surprised by whatever i’m watching. Just saw Children of Men. When all is said and done, i think it’s going
to be one of the highlights of the decade. Five of my favorite movies in no particular order: Eraserhead, Stardust
Memories, Miller’s Crossing, Boogie Nights, Rushmore.

Any projects you’re currently working on that you’re excited about? Can we expect more music videos or maybe a film down the line?

I’ve been working on a tv/online project for a couple years now with Joel Huggins called Fish Out Of Water (www.fishoutofwater.tv), about three Pittsburgh roommates hitting their thirties, one of whom is a 2-foot-11 fish. I’m shooting some shorts with a comedy troupe called Cabbage! and currently at work on a feature.