Seattle grunge instigators Mudhoney are the Sub-Pop record label success story, inspiring a whole generation of musicians to go forth and be Superfuzzed. In October the band will embark on their biggest run of dates for years playing Scotland, Ireland and England. Shazam got the opportunity to chat to the incredibly smart and witty lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Mark Arm who, in between fits of laughter at the strange world of being in a successful band, managed to tell us about the upcoming tour and the potential of a new record.
You are doing a tour in October in the UK, are you looking forward to that?
Yeah you know we haven’t done a proper UK tour since probably the early ‘90’s like ‘95 or ‘98.
Do you still enjoy playing live?
It’s important to me – I think it’s my biggest strength. Unfortunately I don’t think we get to do it as much as I would like, but I would rather work with these guys in the band than ones that don’t work as well together, you know what I mean.
On a balmy UK summer evening in August, Chords in Pool played host to a staggering line up of heavy alternative tock, with Chicago boys Madina Lake and rapidly emerging home-grown Leeds lads Kasiuss.
Luckily, we managed to catch up for a chat with both bands. Madina Lake drummer Dan Torelli told us about gigging, album artwork and the issues surrounding playing as a 3 piece after bassist Matthew Leone was serious injured whilst breaking up a domestic dispute on the streets of Chicago. We also spoke to Biz from Kasiuss about a new video they are releasing and how they feel about playing at upcoming behemoth rock festival Leeds/Reading.
Shazam Meets…Madina Lake:
You’re currently playing a few dates in the UK – how is it going?
Awesome! It’s been really fun. We kicked off with Sonisphere Festival then did some Barfly gigs so we went from massive shows to small shows but in general we are so glad to be here.
Do you feel it is important to keep busy?
Since Matthew was injured it has been important to us to keep going and not be depressed about it, we prefer to take positive action as opposed to sitting around being bummed out.
You must miss his presence a lot though?
We miss him tonnes, in every regard. Especially playing Sonisphere without him, it was a big stage to play as just a 3 piece. Matthew generally takes up every inch of a stage so not having him there was weird. We are actually playing to bass tracks that Matthew recorded literally a week before we came over here, he was well enough to get up and lay them down so it’s kind of like having him here in some ways.
Your released your last album ‘Attics To Eden’ in 2009. What was the recording process like?
It was awesome, but it was a labour of love – the producer David Bendeth was really rough on us! It was totally different to the first record which was a total breeze to record, every millisecond was checked over but ultimately I think it made us better musicians and the end result was great. Read more…
Chilly Gonzales is one of the most intriguing characters in music today. A (self proclaimed) musical genius from Canada, he relocated to Berlin in the nineties after his previous band disbanded. Since then Chilly Gonzales has delivered a clutch of albums which veer between rap, electro and instrumental piano. He has also collaborated, as a producer and writer, for a number of artists including Feist, Peaches and Tiga. If this wasn’t enough, Chilly also holds the Guinness World Record for the longest solo artist performance. In 2009 he entertained crowds in Paris for over 27 hours, with only a piano for company.
His current project, however, may be even more outlandish than anything he’s done before. His new album ‘Ivory Tower’ will also be accompanied by a film. About chess. In the film Gonzales and Tiga play brothers who battle each other on the chess table and also for the affections of a woman. The trailer, seen below, promises something between Dodgeball, Rocky and Purple Rain. It looks nothing short of amazing.
If that wasn’t enough, the album itself sees Gonzales working with electro producer du jour Boys Noize. The video for first single ‘I Am Europe’ (currently available to pre order on iTunes) also couples as a great teaser trailer for the film.
We were lucky to have a few minutes with the prolific musician to talk about the project and also how he managed to recover after that hand crippling world record.
At the start of each year, inevitably the music world offers up a wave of potential new acts that attract varying amounts of attention. One of the more intriguing of these was Magnetic Man, the dubstep supergroup consisting of Skream, Benga & Artwork. All members in the trio hailing from Croydon, South London, were instrumental in the early days of the genre and were also involved in the Big Apple Records scene where dubstep was conceived. It seems only right that they should be part of what is likely to become the genre’s biggest cross over band. Arguably interest in the group has risen ever since Skream lent his inimitable bass frequencies to La Roux’s ‘In For The Kill’, which combined with the fact that they appeared on the front cover of the NME before releasing any track has made Magnetic Man one of the most hyped bands of the year.
Their debut single ‘I Need Air’ saw the light of day this week. Pushing forward the boundaries of bass driven dance music, the track sees the trio collaborate with Angela Hunte; who originally composed the colossal ‘Empire State Of Mind’. It proves a great taster for the album and shows – if we had any doubt – that Magnetic Man will more than justify the praise they’ve already been given. We caught up with Artwork to chat about living up to the pressure of hype and to discuss how they found time to record an album in between their hectic schedules.
Primary 1 has been on our radar ever since his debut single ‘Hold Me Down’ – released on Erol Alkan’s ‘Phantasy Sound label’ ingrained itself in our ears back in 2008. Since then the British producer, aka Joe Flory has kept our attention with a clutch of singles and remixes. After his recent collaborations with fellow producer Riton, Primary 1 returns with his latest single ‘Princess’ on 5th July, the first release from his recent deal with Atlantic. It’s an addictive slice of perky electro pop that is sure to soundtrack its fair share of hazy summer evenings this year. It’s also backed by a fantastic video, which brings to life the surrealist art of Rene Magritte.
We caught up with Primary 1 – fresh from his first appearance at Glastonbury – to discuss the single, future collaboration plans and if England’s disappointing exit from the World Cup soured the mood at Glastonbury.
This week sees the release of the third album from New Jersey rock band The Gaslight Anthem. ‘American Slang’ follows on from the bands breakthrough album ‘The ’59 Sound’ which received great critical acclaim and saw the band play to huge crowds in various festivals across the globe. Their status was helped in part by the patronage of one Bruce Springsteen, who picked the band to support him at his Hyde Park Calling show. If this accolade wasn’t enough, The Boss pulled up lead singer Brian Fallon to join the legendary singer for a joint rendition of ‘No Surrender’ – something that was repeated during Springsteen’s jaw dropping Glastonbury set last summer.
Their blend of Jersey Shore rock combined with punk sensibilities has certainly struck a chord with their burgeoning fanbase. A fact that was confirmed by a dramatic increase in venue size for their forthcoming London show – such was the demand for tickets. ‘American Slang’ once again showcases the bands ability to be anthemic without being overly pompous – proof that songs can unite the masses without being overly sentimental.
We managed to speak to guitarist Alex Rosamilia about the new album and his love of the classic English breakfast.
Back in 2006 Uffie burst on to the scene with her debut single, ‘Pop The Glock/Ready To Uff’. The American raised Parisian based rapper attracted a wave of attention due to her risqué lyrics and addictive beats – courtesy of producer Feadz. Signed to French electro label Ed Banger, Uffie released a string of hot electro singles. She even hooked up with fellow Ed banger signings Justice and collaborated on the single, ‘Tthhee Ppaarrttyy’. However, several developments in Uffie’s life – ranging from marriage, divorce and pregnancy – delayed the making of her debut album.
2010 will finally see the release of her full length album, ‘Sex Dreams & Denim Jeans’. Production duties were split between the aforementioned Feadz, Ed Banger cohort Mr. Oizo and sometime Madonna producer, Mirwais. The album also sees the singer hook up with former Rapture bassist Matty Safer and Neptunes frontman Pharrell Williams. The latter appears on the latest single ‘A.D.D SUV’, a slickly produced slice of electro layered hip hop.We caught up with Uffie to chat about the album, her time spent out of the limelight and how she feels about Ke$ha “borrowing” her sound.
Grum is one of the hottest properties in dance music right now. Following in the footsteps of Mylo and Calvin Harris, the Scottish electro wizard creates lively dance music with its aim set firmly on the dancefloor. We’ve had our eye on him for a while and his debut album, ‘Heartbeats’, certainly lives up to our expectations. With dates lined up over the summer across Europe and at several Festivals including Creamfields; Grum is a name you’re sure to see a lot of during 2010.
We spoke to the in-demand producer about his future plans, remixing Lady Gaga and if he’s had any feedback from David Bowie after covering ‘Fashion’.
Max Cavalera is best known for his enigmatic performance and creative influence in one of thrash and metal’s most successful acts, Sepultura. He currently fronts and writes the material for Soulfly; just one of his ongoing projects and a hugely successful band in their own right.
Meeting Max Cavalera was an honour and an experience, from his wild brown eyes to the tattoo on his knuckles declaring ‘Zyon’ he is a calming and intelligent man, who Shazam spoke to on everything from his choice of films to touring, and the release of his latest album with Soulfly, Omen.
So you are currently on tour, how is that going?
Good, it’s the second UK show so far. We played Southampton last night and it was really great; it was packed. Looking forward to tonight, the London show is always exciting.
Do you like playing London?
Yeah, it’s exciting playing the UK in general . We are coming back for Sonisphere later in the year so it should be a good year for us.
Do you like touring, especially the long tours you seem to do?
Nah, its cool. I like it – I love the shows. The crowd to me is like a drug, I need that drug. So when I’m home for like ten days and I don’t have that drug I feel like I need it! I need my crowd fix.
What about the waiting to play?
That’s the hard part. It’s good to have interviews. It makes the time go faster , otherwise we are just watching movies. Which I do a lot anyway – those are my movies there (gestures to an enormous CD binder); there is about 200 in there.
Langhorne Slim is a singer songwriter from Pennsylvania currently on tour throughout Europe in support of his new album, ‘Be Set Free’. Shazam were lucky enough to catch up with the man himself at London’s Borderline to talk tours, moving house and learning to play guitar.
You have been on tour; first Germany, now the UK, and then onto the rest of Europe. How is it going?
It’s been great so far, I think it’s our best tour in Europe to date. We are a little over half way done then we are off back to the States to do a few festivals over the summer.
Are you looking forward to going home to the States?
Well I’m not in a huge rush but in two weeks it will be time. I’m also moving house so I’m looking forward to that.
Moving house – that’s supposedly one of the most stressful things you can do. You sure you’re looking forward to it?
I feel very peaceful about it yeah. I’m not doing it right now though so maybe just the fantasy is delightful and the reality will be stressful.
How did the other UK dates go? I saw you played Newcastle for example?
The shows have been going great, still not quite as many people as we would like to see, but the people that are there are beautiful people. They are really getting it – which is great as we have been over here five or six times so it’s time for people to get it. Read more…
