FUTURECLAW Magazine Spring 2008

FUTURECLAW

www.futureclaw.com US $14.99 CDA $16.99

CONTENTS Portraits Versus La Bellaza De Lo Nulo Transcience Epic Battles The City Kweef

FUTURECLAW.COM EDITOR/PHOTO EDITOR Bobby Mozumder CREATIVE DIRECTOR Guy Derry MANAGER/EVENTS Adam DeMartino DEPUTY EDITOR/EVENTS Andrew Stock BUSINESS MANAGER Ben Weller MARKETING DIRECTOR Gordon Holden STYLING ASSISTANT Elizabeth Williams PROMOTION Thomas Wheeler STYLING CONSULTANT Margaret Watts MARKET RESEARCH Hilary Cook CONTACT info@futureclaw.com +1 860.670.2505 113 Church Street Burlington, VT

Interviews

SUBMISSIONS submissions@futureclaw.com

Burlesque

© 2008 FutureClaw LLC & Respective Copyright Holders No part of this magazine may be reproduced without written permission from content holders.

Thank you

Usine 106u Web Party

CONTRIBUTORS Ashley Paige Ben Finer Bobby Mozumder www.mozumder.net Cedric Taillon Daniel Krieger www.danielkrieger.com JP Candelier www.myspace.com/candelierphotography Kweef Lance Gigunderson Lindsay Tully berthaeartha.blogspot.com Nathalie Johnston Manu Sachdeva www.manusachdeva.com Max Power Molly Conant (back cover) Rocío Gordillo www.kunsthaus.org.mx/Rocio/MenuRocio.html Verena Gralert www.verenagralert.com

art MANU SACHDEVA

VEST: The Breed SWIMSUIT: Tankus NECKLACE: Fallon

VERSUS styling VERENA GRALERT

photography BOBBY MOZUMDER

TOP Boudicca BRA Tankus PANTS Gunex CAP American Apparel RING Fallon

TOP VPL SHORTS Brunello Cucinelli LEGGINGS Danskin SHOES Wanted BELT Stylists Own BRACELETS Fallon

Nolita NYC TOP Tankus SHORTS American Apparel LEGGINGS Davis by Ruthie Davis SHOES NECKLACE Subversive Jewelry

DRESS Elise Overland NECKLACE Fallon

Ter Et Bantine DRESS Beverly Feldman SHOES

makeup YIEKOV BERMUDEZ hair TAMAMI TSUCHIYA art direction LIZZY WILLIAMS styling assistant SHAY BAKER styling assistant AMY FRANCES FRAHER model CORY @ MC2 model EMILY @ Red NYC

DRESS Norma Kamali TIE American Apparel

LA BELLAZA DE la belleza de lo nulo:

LO NULO art ROCÍO GORDILLO

rocío gordillo ciudad de méxico

TRANSCIENCE photography JP Candelier

art BEN FINER

EPIC BATTLES

photography DANIEL KRIEGER

THE CITY

kweef kill what everyone else finks

INTERVIEWS Platinum Ice Records Putting South Carolina on the Map

H

ip-hop began August 11th, 1973 when Cindy Campbell decided to throw a back to school jam party. Fliers, written on 3-by-5 inch index cards stated that the the party was to last from 9:00 p.m. to 4:00 a.m., and that admission would be $0.25 for ‘ladies,’ and $0.50 for ‘fellas’. The party, thrown at 1520 Sedgwick Avenue in the Bronx, had to be moved to Cedar Park whereupon DJ Kool Herc hooked up his speakers to the electricity circuit of a light pole and rocked the borough. Herc continued to DJ parties from this location, incorporating elements of breakdancing, graffiti, and beat-boxing into his performances. Thus hip-hop was born at Sedgwick Avenue and Cedar Park.

Many hip-hop artists performing today have forgotten this piece of history, and in doing so they have also forgotten their roots.

At Platinum Ice Records, however, the history of hip-hop is of utmost importance. As president of the label, AB Mosely puts a big emphasis on roots. Platinum Ice Records, born August 2006, is a record company founded on morals and an understanding of hip-hop’s predecessors. With AB Money and Easy Mo Bee at the company’s helm, Platinum Ice is steeped in the foundations of hip-hop. They have worked with a long list of influential artists including Big Daddy Kane, Tupac, Biggie, Alicia Keys, Craig Mac, J Lo, Miles Davis, LL cool J, and The Lost Boyz. Mosley and Easy Mo Bee founded Platinum Ice Records in an attempt to bridge the gap between New York City Hip Hop and Southern Hip Hop. Based out of Cheraw, South Carolina, Platinum Ice Records cultivates a fresh and invigorating new sound of hip-hop, blending the North with the South.

FutureClaw caught up with AB Mosely and an artist from his new label, Jay. The Bossfather, to get a better idea of how shit’s going down in the South: FutureClaw: How did Platinum Ice Records start?

AB Mosley: Myself, AB Mosely, Easy Mo Bee, Mr. Tom Simjian, and Mr. Casey Hoban desired to start not just a record label, but a new way of doing business. Me and Easy Mo Bee have been life long friends. We are the cats that produced Biggie, Tupac, LL, Busta Rhymes, Alicia Keys, Miles Davis, Craig Mac, the Lost Boyz, and others. Basically we have over 25 platinum records. We are also originally from a group called RIF, Rappin’ Is Fundamental. We came out in the 1980s.

FC: Is RIF how you got your start in the industry?

AB: Actually my first start in the industry was with my high school friend, Big Daddy Kane. Me and him were in a group called “The Debonair 3,” with a guy named Understand. We were a battle group and would battle in New York City. From there, Big Daddy Cane got discovered and went solo. After that happened, The Debonair 3 broke up and I formed RIF with Easy Mo Bee and JR, a.k.a. Mr. Styles. We actually won the Best Album of the Year and the Best Rap Group of the Year in 1990. Then from there Big Daddy Kane, who had become extremely successful, asked me and Easy Mo Bee to start producing tracks for him. We produced the tracks “Calling On Mr. Welfare” and “Another Victory” on the album “It’s a Big Daddy Thing”. That album went gold.

FC: What exactly did you do for Biggie and Tupac?

AB: We did the background singing on a lot of their tracks, as well as producing some tracks. Easy Mo Bee did “The Warning” for Big. We also did “Machine Gun Funk,” “Gimme The Loot,” “I Love the Dough,” and “Going Back to Cali.” We produced “Party and Bullshit,” Biggie’s first single. We produced a lot of tracks.

FC: Back to Platinum Ice Records. The record company is based out of South Carolina, but you are from Brooklyn. Why did you start Platinum Ice out of South Carolina and not Brooklyn?

AB: Well, my brother makes everyone gold teeth in the South – you could call him the Bling King. He created the fad. So I came down to South Carolina with him to open up some businesses; clothing and jewelry stores. I realized that South Carolina is the only part of the south that isn’t on the industry map; everyone jumps over it. And to me, I was figuring, how do you jump over South Carolina when it really is the foundation of the South? I also started becoming aware of the fact that a lot of MCs from South Carolina are country, but still got a flow to their country. It’s not like cats from Atlanta who have that Southern swing but their lyrics aren’t up to par. In South Carolina, they got that Southern sound and still have substance to their rhymes. So I will be the first cat to really put South Carolina on the map.

FC: You state that part of the appeal of Platinum Ice Records is that it is a blend of New York City hip-hop with Southern-style rap.

Could you clarify what the difference is between Southern hip-hop and NYC hip hop?

AB: The difference is in substance. The South is going through more of a depression than New York City, yet they are still having cookouts and partying. The South is all about partying and dancing.

But in NYC, they all want to kill somebody. And the media doesn’t want to hear about that right now, they want rap to take them

away from the problems, not remind them of those problems.

So NYC hip-hop speaks to the problems, but no one wants to listen, they want to forget them. And Southern hip-hop does that, it is happy, and about feeling good despite social and economic adversity. Right now we all know that the South is winning in the industry.

FC: What about crunk music? I know that crunk has become very popular in the South. Can you speak to that?

AB: Crunk music is taking over in the South, and it used to not be like that. Southern music used to be about the soul of the music.

That is what Goodie Mob and Outcast were all about. Music in the South is changing and it’s becoming more Crunk influenced, like Soulja Boy’s Superman. But that is not traditional down south music.

FC: So Platinum Ice doesn’t produce any crunk hip-hop?

AB: Not really crunk, but it’s still a southern flow. The majority of our artists are from the south.

FC: How many artists do you have signed?

AB: Four artists so far: Jay. The Bossfather, Miss Quick, Josi Wellz, and Borne Unfortunate.

FC: Jay, you have an album due out this spring, correct? And on it is one track with Wu Tang?

FC: So the South is taking over because there is more territory. Do you think there is anything else to it?

FC: We know Jay has an album coming out. Are there other current projects?

Jay. The Bossfather: Yes, I have one track with Wu Tang. The album is going to be some New York style, some southern style, and then a mixture of both. I am not a one-region artist. I do the best of both worlds.

JTB: Our music is more simple, more catchy, definitely easier to repeat. You can relate to the lyrics better.

FC: What were you doing prior to being signed to Platinum Ice?

JTB: Big, Tupac,

JTB: Before I became part of Platinum Ice, I was working in an industrial plant, and spent my free time doing my music.

FC: Current artists?

AB: Jay also did tracks on the American Gansta Soundtrack. We also just did a Lil Kim hook and two songs on Wu Tang’s newest album. We are working hard.

FC: What is the future for Platinum Ice? AB: Platinum Ice is going to be crazy big. We have a lot of projects in the works. We have a beverage drink coming out, we have Platinum Ice Rims, Platinum Ice liquor, and a Platinum Ice clothing line coming out. Platinum Ice is going to be a crazy big thing, and we are not just a label, but further: an artist development team.

And that’s the thing to do now in the industry, to not just be a label, but rather, an artist development team.

FC: Explain what you mean by “artist development team”.

AB: Yeah, being an MC is more than just doing music. It’s about the business side too and all our artists are “true artists” knowing the business aspect of the industry, as well as being able to produce music. Being able to deal with the strife of the business and the industry is very important.

FC:: In addition to being a music producer, you are a businessman.

What types of businesses do you run?

FC: What artists are you listening to now?

JTB: Professionally, three years now. But I’ve been writing since I was eight.

JTB: Jay-Z. Like I said, I’m not disrespecting NY style at all. That’s how I started off. I actually just started doing Southern style with Platinum Ice and I mastered it. It is the easiest thing to do. That’s why I don’t even have to write, it just comes to mind. But mainly I listen to older albums.

FC: What were you writing at eight? Raps?

FC: What is Cheraw, South Carolina like?

JTB: Yes, I was writing raps, and its funny because now that I’m professional, I don’t really write that much. I rap now just off the top of my head. I’d say 85 to 90% of my upcoming album has been done off the top of my head.

JTB: Honestly, there is not much going on here. It’s very slow here.

There’s a lot of mercantile jobs. Education is pretty much at the lowest within the United States. But I love it, and it has made me who I am. I am a very strong individual and I deal with a lot of things living here. I haven’t let any of them run me out of here.

South Carolina comes out in my music. I rap about things I’ve been through, hard times. That’s why my music sounds different, because I’m doing it for a reason. I’m not doing this because chicks like it; I’m doing it to get out of my situation, to better myself.

FC: How long have you been rapping?

FC: So just free styling?

JTB: I wouldn’t call it “free styling,” I’d call it mentally writing. I basically look at the musical canvas and start painting. I don’t like to call it ‘”free styling.”

FC: What advice would you give to upcoming rapper?

AB: Everything from real estate to jewelry. I do everything from scratch. I own my own clothing line called Sedgwick and Cedar, named after the avenues in the Bronx where hip-hop began. I love fashion and I love to dress. We have over 350 stores. T.I., Lil Wayne, Snoop, they all wear Sedgwick and Cedar.

FC: Are you going to be MCing again anytime soon?

AB: I’m thinking about doing an album, and everyone is trying to convince me to do another album. I might actually do another album with RIF.

FC: How did you get discovered professionally? Were you competing?

JTB: Well actually, I was inspired a lot by Big’s “Ready to Die”, and the guy who produced half of that album, Easy Mo Bee, is actually my personal producer now. It’s kind of funny that I’m working with him now because he did the album that actually got me wanting to become a rapper. I started following Biggie’s footsteps, but then I started creating my own style. I got positive reactions from people; they were loving what I was doing. I got bigger and bigger crowds, and I gradually saw people around me mimicking what I was doing.

FC: What artists are you currently listening to?

AB: I’m not listening to too much because I don’t like what’s on the radio right now. But I like Lil Wayne, and Young Jeezy. They are original at what they do.

FC: I noticed on your Myspace that you talk about how important it is for you to be a businessman. Platinum Ice Records also seems to preach the importance of that. Can you explain why it’s so important?

JTB: You need to have a second hustle, because it will definitely take money to become successful. You can’t just do music. Have a Plan B to go with the Plan A. And secondly, don’t let anyone bring you down. Stay proud of your work.

FC: Tell us a little bit more about your persona, The Bossfather.

JTB: I don’t wait for no one. I’m independent, self-sufficient, the boss of the boss. I’m not going to let anyone else make my situation, I create my own. But, don’t get me wrong, Platinum Ice is a great family, and I don’t work alone. But I need to know how to do it all just in case. We have a good team at Platinum Ice, they handle the business so I don’t have to. I am very appreciative of them.

More Information on Platinum Ice Records can be found at : FC: What advice would you give to someone who wants to get started in the rap game as an MC, producer, etc.?

AB: Find your history first. Find out about the history of the music industry. How can you be hip-hop if you don’t know what Sedgwick and Cedar means, that it was the birthplace of hip-hop? We have to know the history of our music. That’s my advice. Pay homage, and pay respect to the history. Also do your research as far as who’s who in the business. How can you rap if you don’t know who Big Daddy Kane is? If you don’t know who Erik B and Rakim are?

Understand that hip-hop and rap music are two different types of music. I’m a part of the hip-hop era. Also, keep your head to God. You must pray because this thing is more than just physical and mental processes, it’s spiritual too. Further, make sure your business skills are up to par. It’s not just about how well you can flow. Get your business plan and don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t do it. “Keep it moving, keep it moving,” that’s my motto. And write this down: Platinum Ice Records is about new music. That’s what we call it: new music right here. That’s what Platinum Ice is bringing to the table.

JTB: For me, personally, I feel a need to be self-sufficient to be on top of your business. Not only do I rap, but I can also produce, engineer, and write if I have to. I can also design my covers if I need to. So then when the engineer is sick and can’t come to work, I can still press on without him. I can depend on myself. That’s the whole thing with the Bossfather title, too. I want to always be the boss of my situation, and be able to be in control.

FC: In terms of hip-hop, the South seems to be winning right now.

What do you think about that?

JTB: The South is getting stronger everyday, and we even have our own category now. Everyone is paying attention to us. We are all over the airwaves in NYC and LA. Our culture is influencing everything. I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that we literally have more numbers. Think about it: South Carolina, North Carolina, Atlanta, Florida, Louisiana, Georgia, etc. Music is being made in all those places. But in the North, hip-hop is really only made in a few places: New York, Delaware, DC maybe. But I’m not dissing New York hip-hop, it’s just the South has more space, we are more widespread. We reach more people, and gain more interest.

http://www.platinumicerecords.com/pirhomepage.swf http://www.myspace.com/platinumicerecords

Interview conducted and documented by Lindsay Tully

vs

Digital (Girl Talk)

We’re just recycling ideas. I’d love to see orginal ideas and new notations of music, but I don’t see it happening anytime soon.

FC: So is there such thing as new music right now?

GG: In a strict sense, I don’t really think there is anything that is “new” music. Anything that’s properly recontextualized, though is new. Someone humming over a Led Zeppelin song is new to me.

As long as it’s presented in a different context, it’s new.

FC: What do you think about the DJ label being applied to people that use laptops for live performance?

GG: For me, I think I’m kind of in a weird situation because when I started this, the people I looked up to were like Kid 606 and were all laptop musicians who don’t necessarily make music like I do but definitely incorporate samples. There’s a whole world of live music. My music just happens to be based entirely on samples and I hope that it becomes its own entity. So the world that I come from is laptop-based producers and it’s a world that died off a little bit. Something that’s gotten really popular in the last few years, however, is the laptop DJ with the new software. Because of that, people’s easiest association of what I do is that in the laptop world.

I have friends who DJ and I think it’s a great art if you do it right.

But for me, I feel isolated from it. I think it’s cool to do laptop DJing, but for me, what I do is live remixes. That’s about it. It’s new music, live.

FC: What are you listening to right now?

GG: I just got Sirius Radio so I’m listening to so much pop. All I do is listen to that radio all day long. I got the new MGMT CD and I think it’s great. Total pop group but not on the radio yet. I listen to mainstream hip-hop and pop. I like the new Panda Bear record a lot. It’s phenomenal. Of Montreal. Stuff like that.

FC: You have accelerated pretty fast the past few years. You just got really big. How does that feel?

F

utureClaw met with Gregg Gillis following a performance in Burlington to discuss his Girl Talk project:

FutureClaw: What’s your opinion on the ‘mash-up’ label?

Gregg Gillis: I don’t like any label in general – it just pigeonholes music. It’s a descriptor to kind of make things easier on people as far as identifying music. It’s not something I’m really interested in or concerned about.

FC: Who are your technical influences as far as making music?

GG: For this style stuff, definitely experimental guys like John Oswald, Negativland, Kid 606. Particularly John Oswald. When I heard his stuff in the 70’s that was just eye opening for me as far as what you could do with recontextualizing other people’s music.

But the point I decided I actually wanted to start doing this stuff was when I heard Kid 606’s remix of NWA’s “Straight Outta Compton.”

I think when that hit that was like the template [I wanted to follow].

Even though I don’t really sound like that it made me aware that you could really use a computer to cut up somebody’s song.

FC: What was your “other stuff?”

GG: You mean right now? I mean I mess around doing pop music on the computer and stuff like that. I have a project called Trade Totem with a friend of mine named Frank Musarra and that’s similar to the Girl Talk stuff, it’s just has a bit more original instrumentation.

It weaves samples and instruments and kind of blurs the lines a little bit more, hiding the samples. The whole Girl Talk thing is very obvious about recontextualizing music from its familiar elements.

Though, it has changed over the years and become a lot more experimental.

FC: Why did you shift to experimental?

GG: It was just what I was listening to at the time when I was 18. I mean I’ve always liked pop and hip-hop, all of that stuff, but what I was really into at that time was sort of experimental / avant-garde electronic stuff. VVM, out of England, were doing experimental music based on pop recontextualizations, but other than that there wasn’t a big field for it. I thought it would be cool to start a band to make raw, crazy, far-out, avant-garde music. I still check out noise, but for myself I just started playing more parties. I was always kind of pushing a party vibe, but I was playing music that was really not that enjoyable in the early days. It’s almost funny because it was more confrontational – it was like “party, enjoy yourselves, but I’m

actually playing this crazy music and how are you going to enjoy this thoroughly?” Over the years it slowly faded into being more accessible, partly because I became better at what I was doing.

I don’t think I could have made music like I do now 8 years ago when I started.

FC: What sort of programs do you use?

GG: Live, I use a program called Audiomulch and I chop everything up, do all the beat work, in a program called Adobe Audition, which used to be a cool program a couple years back that a lot of dudes use because it’s easy to find cracks for and get it for free. I do all the brute work in the .wav editor and then I do the arrangements and live performance in Audiomulch.

FC: What did you start using?

GG: Same stuff. I mean I’ve been getting into Ableton a little bit just because it’s really great. Well, it’s really powerful. It’s just like Audiomulch is not quite programming but it’s still kind of blank. You open it and you have to kind of build your own applications. How you’re going to use it is kind of up to you to some degree. Whereas the template that I’ve built, the style I’ve been using, that was what Ableton was making on here. Ableton, you open it up and it’s just like ‘boom!” loop players, etc. It just hit me a few years late. I would have loved to have worked with that in you know, 2000 when I started doing this. I just couldn’t trust performing live without the software that I’d been through so many shows with. You know, whenever you’re playing in front of a few hundred people and it’s just a computer it gets uncomfortable when shit doesn’t work out.

FC: What do you think the future of sound is?

GG: I think the future is going to – not to hype myself up or anything – but I think music for many years has been based around appropriating previous ideas and recontexutalizing them, whether it’s a guitar lick similar to The Beatles and making your own thing out of it. It’s obvious to people when they listen to a band, you can hear their influences. They didn’t really invent any of those core principles, they just manipulate previous ones that they understand and do their own thing out of that. There’s more bands these days like the Avalanches and The Go! Team who are really blurring the lines of what a band is with samples. I want to be a part of that if possible. I think in the future I’d really like to hear a band like, say, Disturbed sample a Led Zeppelin song and just speed it up or something. You know what I mean? People are going to be more blatant and physical about their influences in the future of music.

GG: One thing that’s really healthy for me is that no one gave a shit about me for seven straight years. And when that happens you’re very grounded in reality. I’m friends with so many amazing bands, and I know so many people who do great art, and you know it’s really a rarity for any of them to succeed. I feel like bands who make it have interesting music but I also feel like it’s a big part luck. It could have been anyone else. I just sort of ride it and think about it the least amount I can. It’s very, very bizarre. I’ve never really looked up to anyone and been like “Well there’s a guy who does a live collage on his computer,” you know? It’s not like I was DJing and I was like “I want to be like Diplo”. I never had fantasies of coming to a college and selling out a 1,000-person show. Where I’m at today, I’m psyched, but it feels completely retarded at the same time.

FC: Do you feel crunched by the business aspect? Selling music?

GG: Definitely. For my next album it’s like I know that people are interested in it. I’m sticking with the same label I’ve been with for 8 years, even though I’m getting offers from more mainstream labels do collaborations. I’m open to that, it’s just not what I want to do right now. I don’t feel much pressure financially. But definitely putting together this album is a lot more stressful than the other ones because I realize how many people are going to hear it and judge it.

FC: How long would you say it takes you to make a track?

GG: It’s weird because the time is kind of endless. I change up my live sets a lot. I’ll put in a new minute every weekend. When I sit down and do an album I look back at all the live sets and ask myself “What’s my favorite material from the last year and a half?”

So putting a time frame on that is impossible. Right now I know I have so many ideas that are going to be on this album. Actually piecing them together is the hard part. A good day I’ll work 8-12 hours and get a minute done of the album, which isn’t too bad.

There’s just so many options of what I can do, it drives me insane.

FC: Okay, lastly, how do you feel about making music with analog equipment?

GG: I love analog for making weird music, like in my old high school band, but I haven’t done that in a long time. For what I’m doing it would be really impressive to cut up physical tapes. I love glitchy sounds. Always impressed with people who use actual physical sounds in 2008.

More info on Greg at www.girl-talk.net

vs.

F

(Luke Awtry) Analog

utureClaw also caught up with Luke Awtry, a Burlington based producer, sound engineer, and analog master in his studio:

FC: What got you interested in sound engineering?

LA: I was probably thirteen years old, I had started playing guitar when I was twelve. I grew up in the middle of nowhere, in North central Massachusetts, a small town called Ashby, and I just started playing music. There was really nobody around, but I had a guitar, a computer, and a little four-track. I just started writing songs, recording them on the four-track, and realizing that I needed more instruments. So I started using Cakewalk Home studio. This was 1994-1993, and that got me started in recording and studio work, and ultimately got me started in computer programming with Calscript at the same time. With Calscript you could actually write code into programs, so I started writing drumbeats into Cakewalk with it to accompany the music I was writing.

FC: What is your favorite circuit bent instrument?

LA: Circuit bending is either taking an existing instrument or taking something that wasn’t originally intended for making music and produces sound and modifying the internal circuitry to enable it to produce sounds that either a) it wasn’t intended to or b) are unnatural. I’ve done this with a lot of stuff. I think my favorite one (let me grab it) is this “Kid’s Way Keyboard”. Basically I like it because it’s really simple -- what I did to it was pretty minimal but pretty effective. I added a a knob to control the clock speed of the CPU inside it so you can slow it down, or, you know, speed it up. It has all these built-in beats and songs which you can speed up or slow down and get some really unique patterns out of it. I also added a feedback loop into the little built-in amplifier which creates a distortion circuit. When coupled with the clock adjustment you can get the CPU to almost crash, but not quite crash, and it produces all these really unique sounds. It’s pretty dirty, though.

FC: What does computing have to do with music?

LA: Computing enables me to record music. As far as the music is concerned, it’s pretty segmented. I prefer to do as much as I can without using computers to produce the music. When it comes to recording, I prefer to use computers to do that, though I do use some software-based synthesizers, like Reason, for example.

FC: What is the future of sound?

LA: I don’t know what the future of sound is for me. I really don’t think about it. I don’t think that far ahead, and I prefer to live in as much of a moment-to-moment way that I can. That applies to my daily life as well as the music I create. I know that I will be involved in music for the rest of my life, and that I will keep producing sound, and making things that produce sound. I’m not sure where it will take me, or where I will take it. There’s really no boundary right now.

It’s just going to keep evolving over time.

FC: What is the process of making a synthesizer?

LA: The first step I always take is to break it down into modules and decide what modules I want to have that comprise the whole of the synthesizer. You have various mods that produce actual signals and converted into actual sound that you hear – oscillators.

Then you have filters, and modulation sources that can be added to the oscillators or the filters. Then I decide, as far as hardware goes, how I want to be able to link them together – if I want them to be hardwired, or if I want them to be some sort of patch field.

The next step is research. I do a lot of research on how to actually make that happen. I feel like anybody can go out there and grab a schematic from the internet and copy it, and build it, and say that they’ve made their own synthesizer, or guitar pedal, or whatever.

But without knowing how it works internally, without actually designing it yourself, from the ground up, you’re really not making your own. And it’s tough to do because so much has been done already.

The final step is actual development. After all the research is done and you’ve decided what kinds of components you need, you need to figure out how they are going to work together. Then it’s just a matter of prototyping – building little test circuits, linking them together, hearing how they sound, and seeing how they react to different things. That takes a long time. Normally all the research you’ve done, and the things you’ve decided on initially, get thrown out. It evolves, and hopefully it converges on what you originally wanted.

FC: How long would you say the process takes you from start to finish?

LA: For an analog synthesizer, anywhere from a month to six months. You put a lot of time into it. The more time you put into the research part of it, the easier the development is going to be.

would just think about where I wanted my life to go at that point, what I wanted to be doing.

FC: Who’s your favorite muppet?

FC: Tell us a little bit about the organization you are trying to put together.

LA: Gonzo. He loves life, and always seems to be having a great time. Maybe he’s a bit irresponsible, but there’s a beauty in his innocence.

LA: Well I’m not sure if that’s ever been confirmed or not.

LA: I’m in the process of starting up a local organization that brings together the community that is centered around music production and music-related gear, vintage and new. There are two different sides to the community: people who use the gear actively, and people who make and repair the gear. I’d like to just kind of pull everything together and have everybody pool their resources, and offer seminars and workshops and stuff maybe.

FC: Who are your influences in engineering design?

FC: Analog or digital?

LA: A personal influence was my high school electronics and music teacher. He was the greatest influence on my life. He was an old jazz cat back in the 70s and then he started teaching high school music. He was an amazing player. Even though he played piano and I played guitar, we related on theory. He taught me how to hear music. He had an amazing collection of vintage synthesizers, too. All through high school, three classes a day, I would sit in that room. We had a MIDI based recording system and synthesizers everywhere. I would sit in that room surrounded by gear, and I

LA: There’s merits to both of them. I use both on a daily basis, but in different ways. I prefer to produce music textures analog (guitar or piano), or some kind of sythesizer, and then record digitally.

Once it’s recorded digitally, you can do almost anything to it. I love spending hours and hours just tweaking a sound. I love trying to perfect the raw analog sound into the next level – just dialing in the perfect sound, you know?

FC: Nothing to do with his alien nature?

Both interviews by Adam DeMartino Both photographs by Bobby Mozumder

Bicycular Manslaughter with the Black Rebel Fixie Club B

eer, whiskey and no brakes needed. The Black Rebel Fixie Club tends to follow their own reckless set of rules in terms of riding a bicycle. It’s fast, fun, and a slightly perilous way to get around town. No brakes, no coasting, and a fixed gear cog – it really can’t get any simpler. With the constant influx of “extreme” sports and their poster boys, this is one activity that is off the beaten path with an even more off the beaten path gang to go with it. Especially being located in the frozen tundra known as Burlington, Vermont, parking garages and back alley ways seem to be the sanctuary for the Black Rebel Fixie Club to conduct their business.

FutureClaw: Can you explain what exactly a fixed gear bike or “fixie” is?

Derek: No brakes, no gears, no coasting.

Allie: Basically, if you’re moving, you’re peddling.

FC: What got you interested in fixed gear bikes?

Derek: Three years.

Derek: Come on, mom’s gonna read the interview.

Hero: One year.

FC: Don’t worry, we won’t put that in there. Anyway, what style or kind of bikes do you ride?

Allie: Three months. No wait, four months.

FC: What kind of stuff/tricks can you do on a fixed gear bike that you can’t on a regular bike?

Hero: It’s a different way to ride. And you gotta pay attention all the time especially when bombing hills. You know, just ride fast and take chances.

Derek: Run a leg over, skidding, track stands, backward circles.

There’s just so many ways you can manipulate the bike when there are no brakes. Really, it’s just fun, being able to not have brakes makes things more interesting and you actually have to be on your pedals. The only other thing kinda comparable is a BMX bike, but not even cause those bikes have a free wheel.

Derek: It made riding a bike more interesting, like driving a car in standard is more interesting compared to automatic. Similar to bombing a hill on a skateboard where you would usually power slide, but in this case you just lock up your pedals, then when you’re done you got an easier way back up to the top of the hill.

Allie: It kind of reminds me of being 10 years old and being pumped on riding bikes, but with an added feature. Racing around from place to place, bombing hills, and skidding.

Hero: Totally, it’s a lot like skateboarding; you can do a lot of tricks.

They’re big in New York with messengers and stuff, it’s kinda just taking off up here, it’s cool.

Allie: Derek just ate shit tonight! (laughs)

FC: How long have each of you been thrashing the streets of Burlington on your bikes?

FC: Does that mean that you fall a lot?

Derek: Basically conversions and whatever anybody can find for the most part. I’m the only one in the gang that has an actual track frame. It’s a Surly.

Hero: I have a cross frame. It’s a Bianchi.

Allie: Mine’s a straight-up road bike. Oh ya, I think Graham has a road frame too.

FC: That seems pretty easy to do. Can you turn any bike frame into a Fixie bike?

Derek: As long as you have horizontal dropouts on your frame you can make it a fixed geared bike. Mountain bikes don’t work cause you have one place where you can put the hub versus a road bike or a conversion frame where there are many places you can place the hub as far as the chain line goes.

Allie: Yeah, the dropout has to go straight across. It’s on the back wheel where the frame meets the hub.

FC: Who are the minds behind the Black Rebel club and starting it up?

Derek: Yeah, but it’s just small falls most of the time, like when you actually do fall is when you’re just not paying attention.

Hero: Yours right? (Pointing to Derek)

Hero: Or you’re really drunk.

Derek: Yeah, I guess. I got Graham to buy a bike.

Allie: Wasn’t it more like he borrowed it cause he was drunk and wanted to go get beer at the store?

Derek: Basically, he was like, ‘How do you manage to ride that thing?’ After he hopped on it, rode it for a while and was like, this is awesome! Hero shortly followed.

FC: So, is that how the Black Rebel fixie club came to be the notorious gang it is today?

Derek: One night I brought two 30 packs down to Graham’s place on the fixed gear bike. He jumped on the wagon, about a month later Hero got a fixie bike and was like hey, lets do something. We started riding around and hangin’ out every Thursday.

Hero: Yeah, I saw him at the skate park down by the waterfront. I ride it at Talent (Indoor skatepark) once in a while too…I got keys.

Allie came up one day and has been riding with us ever since.

Allie: I heard about them sometime last winter, so I went to Old Spokes (bike shop) tried one out and was so stoked.

FC: Who and what were your influences in starting the Black Rebel fixie club?

Derek: Well, my buddy Forrest got me into it. He used to ride a fixie.

Told me you gotta start riding fixed, it’s so much more interesting.

Hero: I’d say like the video MASH, its sick. It’s a bunch of fixie riders from out in San Francisco, who are pro skaters, too.

Derek: A lot of people in our club and the crew we sometimes ride with used to skateboard; its where the influence and drive really comes from. It’s hard to have direct influence that go farther back because a year ago there were no fixed gear bike videos made, not even on YouTube.

FC: You guys keep making comments about Thursday nights, is there a special routine the Black Rebels have?

Allie: Like a typical Thursday night?

Derek: Typically meet up at Manhattan Pizza at about 10:00 p.m., and drink a couple beers, mash straight up College Street, skid all over town and make it down to the waterfront, stopping in parking garages along the way, having more beers in between. Honestly, we’re pretty fucking useless.

Hero: And we end at Esox [a bar]. Always Esox. Shots of whiskey, and pretty much get wasted.

FC: There are a lot of ‘no bikes’, ‘no skateboard’, etc. signs everywhere. Do you get kicked out of a lot of places for riding or ever been arrested?

Hero: We get kicked out of some places, but no one has been arrested yet.

Derek: Most of the time they give you shit when you’re on a skateboard. When you’re on a bicycle, it’s an accepted mode of transportation. So when cops actually give you shit, its 35 minutes before they notice you don’t have any brakes. Technically, the law in Burlington along with many other cities says it’s illegal to not

have brakes on your bike. You need to have front and rear brakes.

Allie: It’s like that in Portland, Oregon too. I just left my brake levers on to make it look like I had brakes while I was there.

Hero: They only really look for it in San Francisco and Portland.

Cops will give you a ticket for it.

FC: I was somewhat under the influence that your club is more of a gang status. Is it crucial to kill someone for initiation into the club?

Derek: Honestly, if we had to tell ya…(Laughs) No, but if anyone wants to join the bike gang the first official test to be a part of the Black Rebels is you need to have the alcohol tolerance of an Irish dock worker.

FC: Anything else you want to add?

Derek: We gotta give a big thanks to Tim at Alpine Shop in South Burlington.

Interview by Gordon Holden Photography by Bobby Mozumder

The Lotus Rises from the Mud, but Does Not Smell of It A Discussion about Art in China with Liu Zhuo Quan

W

e took a short taxi ride across railroad tracks, down a dirt road, and into what looked like a prison compound. Fences topped with barbed wire and large brick walls divided the area into barracks-like sections. This little-known section of Beijing is called the Huan Tie Art District. It is a government funded artist collective which allows artists to live next to their studios.

My host pulled out his Beijing King Size cigarettes, and I my pen and Moleskin as we began. Liu Zhuo Quan, or ‘Teacher Liu’ as I called him, is a professional artist from Hubei Province. He grew up in Wuhan along the Yangtze River, and studied design at the local university some twenty odd years ago. He credits the Bauhaus school as his biggest influence professionally, but in terms of personal influences, his father and mother hold the highest seat, and this is apparent in his work. His most recent body of work consists of 50+ clear glass bottles of various shapes and sizes, all of which appear to have objects inside of them.

Upon closer investigation, it becomes clear that these “objects” are merely painted replicas of possessions that belonged his father and mother--all manner of items from a pair of spectacles to a bloody heart. Clearly nostalgic when speaking of his parents, he described these delicately executed paintings as referring to the simpler life of his childhood. We discussed at length what it means to be a middle-aged artist in China today. Here are some of those remarks: How did you decide to pursue making modern art?

The traditional art is also important, especially in China. We have a long and distinguished history and our art helps to explain that. But the meaning is not the same, so if I’m living now why don’t I create now, join the modern art movement, create my own meaning? Five thousand years ago has no meaning to me now.

define the buildings, the buildings define the space. Materials define the artwork and that is what creates social acceptance: an understanding of material be they culture, history, current events, and so forth.

Do people understand why you do it?

Most people don’t understand modern art, especially those who stake a claim in the ancient techniques of Chinese art forms.

Foreigners, despite what many now think, don’t define modern art either. What someone says is not the same as what modern art actually is. It has taken centuries, even millennia to understand traditional art, so we can’t begin to describe the meaning of modern art. We Chinese are especially hard to convince because we are used to certain standards of beauty, we like to categorize. Modern art is breaking those standards.

Do you cater to foreign tastes and markets?

What is the meaning of our art if we’re making it for foreigners?

We have to protect our traditions and identity when we make art, otherwise the work becomes careless and all about money. Some artists today are falling into this trap.

If you were making art abroad, would your subject matter change?

Of course. Most artists are affected by their surroundings. Because art, for me, is about five things: looking, determining the scope, characters, extremes and history. These factors and actions are what define the work that I make. If I were in another country, the scope and the subjecr would change.

What affects your art? Personal beliefs, history, etc.?

With this particular work, it was my parents’ possessions, and they are painted on the bottles to represent the games I played as a child.

The pieces are like game pieces, pieces of my life, what shaped me.

My reasons for creating what I do clearly define my method.

How do you feel about foreign markets and institutions just noticing China and the opportunities here?

The foreign definition of success is not good. Foreign markets choose one person, one representative, and one way and make it trendy. All of a sudden that chosen way of representation has an international influence and limits everyone, Foreign investors don’t realize that they are supporting the system, not necessarily the artist.

Do you find society accepting of modern art?

We Chinese are careful when it comes to acceptance, and take every consideration very seriously. Because there are new materials and concepts, the opinions change. Materials and opinions are directly related and define each other. Let’s say we’re talking about the building boom in China right now. The materials and concepts

How do you think art will change in the next 20 years?

Time produces style, revolution and open-mindedness. Without that revolution in art, our history would be totally different. Art defines the future, but what that future holds, I cannot say. The main thing we need to remember is that 20 years from now there must be a concrete reason for all the popularity in the present.

What does art mean to the future of China?

Right now, artists create for work, not for the sake of creating. Too many are getting caught up in the lifestyle instead of the importance of forging ahead and demanding more from our brand and our signature. After all the development, what are we left with? We must continue to create to define generations, explore meanings and have a voice. Europe and America have been feeding off of each other’s art. China and Asia must create a market not defined by the Westerner’s absolute terms. The more of a market there is, the better the exposure and insight the better the exposure and insight into what it means to be Chinese. Of course money is also a big factor, and when there is money involved the world of art oe whatever, that world becomes like a bubble – beautiful, delicate and easily broken. If people continue to follow the energy of the crowd, even when they don’t like the art, China’s art world becomes like this bubble.

Teacher Liu and I hit it off so well that he treated me to hot-pot (the most popular dining-out option in all of China) after our onthe-record chat. Over dinner, we spoke of politics and religion, art and childhood, education and belief systems, and I walked away with newfound enthusiasm to redefine today’s art market.

My journal entry following this fateful meeting described it as such: The bottles, all empty, all clear, convey a sense of experiences past, can they, will they come again, be filled up with the experiences and objects that used to comprise the simple life, life before revolution, of his parents, his childhood. Not gathering dust in an exhibit or choked by the wave of newly-moneyed fashion victims, convinced a good investment needs no nostalgia, tradition or historic value, but which reeks of western pop culture displaced in Asia. By supporting that which is en vogue, what do we know - of the artist, of his heart, of his intentions? Is this work mocking, supportive, entrenched in guilt or doubt? Or is it faithful, subdued, following the rules? If you buy it, invest in it, shouldn’t you know what idea it is trying to convey?

Translated, written, and photographed by Nathalie Johnston

NeueMusikdurchbostro pesopeo F

lorian “Lo” Peter is a young (nineteen years young!) music producer from Munich, Germany whose project bostro pesopeo has recently been signed to the all-things-balearic Permanent Vacation record label also based out of Munich. His debut song “bisogna” was included on Permanent Vacation’s Compilation #2 alongside remixes by Hot Chip and Holy Ghost!, and a track from disco re-invigoraters Glass Candy, among others. This spring, Lo will make a further showing of his talent with the release of his 12” single “falls” which will come complete with a classic house inspired remix by DFA Records newcomer Hercules and Love Affair.

FutureClaw recently had a chance to ask this precocious newb some questions. Here’s how it went.

FutureClaw: How’s it going? Where are you right now? What you doing?

Lo Peter: Hey, thanks. I´m fine right now. I´m in Berlin visiting a friend of mine, checking my emails...

FC: We understand you’re putting some things together for Permanent Vacation at the moment. Care to tell us about how you first got involved with them?

LP: I got to know their owner, Benji, through his record store Play Records, which is in Munich. They knew the stuff I’d been doing, and after some time and some demos, they decided to give me a chance. That´s the way I see it, anyway. I get great support from them!

FC: You’ve got some other projects going, though, right? What other aliases do you operate under besides bostro pesopeo?

LP: My other alias is ariel ueberschall. Some ueberschall tracks are going to be released on Roccodisco, a new label started by Rodion and Hugo Sanchez based in Rome. The ueberschall tracks are actually a bit older. I produced them with Reason software. My friends and I also throw a party in Munich called DISCOINFERNO. FC: We’ve been wondering what exactly bostro pesopeo means?

LP: Ha! Nothing at all! One of the first things that came to my mind...

LP: I took guitar lessons for about ten years and about two years of piano lessons It also helped that I played in some bands, plus a friend of mine whos been producing music since the age of fourteen has been very helpful to me.

FC: What is your perception of what’s going on with electronic/ dance music (or just music in general for that matter) in the US right now?

LP: It’s hard to tell really. Some acts appear through the internet to be bigger than they maybe are in real life.

FC: Is there music that you are really excited about right now?

LP: I think Joakim is one of the greatest producers at the moment.

He´s such a talented musician. I love âme, too--their sound is stunning. Chateau Flight always pick the perfect drums sounds and the tracks, much like the tracks of I:Cube, are very detailed drum-wise. You know, not just one drum pattern through the whole track. DFA also make a difference simply through their drums. I love the live feeling of Kalabrese and Herbert stuff. Also, big respect to Nôze, Carl Craig, Luke Solomon and The Freaks, Matthew Edwards and Villalobos.

FC: What do you feel has influenced/inspired your creative sensibilities the most?

LP: I guess that would have to be my favorite band of all time, The Walkmen! I would love to do a dance track with their sound. The Doors might have been influential. Of course, the music listed in the above question as well... My girlfriend, friends, and people I’ve done music with...

FC: Is there a particular idea driving the music you are producing or are you just noodling?

LP: In most cases there is always something I want to try out with a track, like a sound or melody or something.

FC: You have been doing some DJing, right? What kind of stuff do you like to play out?

LP: Yeah, yeah. I mostly play house music. Stuff by the people I listed before. My ‘top five’ right now would probably be Italoboyz’s FC: Sounds Italian. Ok, so what were your formative musical experiences? Did you have any schooling or professional training, “Zinga”, Anthony Collins’ “Bricolage”, Luke Solomon’s “The Darkest Secret”, Jimpster’s “Dangly Panther”, and Hercules and Love or did you just get started in the bedroom so to speak?

Affair’s remix of Aeroplane’s track “Whisper”.

FC: Herc’s Andy Butler has remixed your song falls, too, right?

Who else would you like to work with? Tried doing any remixing yourself yet?

LP: Permanent Vacation passed me the files of the new EP Woolfy’s releasing with them. I did a remix of Starlight, but I’m not sure if it´s gonna be released. I do love the idea of remixing, though!

FC: Do you enjoy doing other things besides music?

LP: Hmmm... I like to watch movies,but I guess I spend most of my time on music.

FC: How do you feel about the music business right now?

LP: I dont expect to make much money from it!

FC: Yeah, the internet’s a double-edged sword. Well, what’s next for you, then?

LP: I be finishing my EP! FC: All right, last one: What’ve you learned about the music business and production that might be helpful or relevant to other young musicians reading this?

LP: Uh, I´m more so in a situation of needing some help there.

To hear Lo’s tunes and get more info on bostro pesopeo, ariel ueberschall, Permanent Vacation, and some of the other artists mentioned in this interview, go online and check out: www.myspace.com/bostropesopeo www.myspace.com/arielueberschall www.myspace.com/permanentvacationrecords www.myspace.com/herculesandloveaffair www.myspace.com/dfarecords www.myspace.com/jimibazzouka www.myspace.com/holyghostnyc

Interview by Lance Gigunderson Florian Peter photographed by Lucia Elisa Stamati

North American Burlesque Revival Burlesque is back and making a big wet splash. Showing some skin is nothing new in the world of performance, but showing some talent is. Neo-burlesque adds the old elements of skill and technique back into today’s performance art, combining it with fresh talent and supple frames. Where acts like Timberlake and Britney might be shameless, new burlesque is proud. It celebrates the traditional feminine value of seduction. Striptease burlesque is North America’s most flamboyant rising star.

Traditional burlesque has European roots. Brought to North America in the 1860’s, it quickly established itself as a traditional American folk art over the subsequent years.

It involves exciting skits, off-color comedy, and sexy strip teases that focus much more on the tease, rather than the strip. The costumes are usually elaborate, revealing, and decorated with sequins and a precisely placed tassel or two. Incorporating pasties, feathers, garter belts, and corsets, costumes manage to range from flirtatious to seductive, just like the theatrical acts they are complimenting. Burlesque faded away from the spotlight in the 1960’s with the advent of the hardcore porn industry, but made a comeback in the mid 1990’s. Many credit the sexy revival of burlesque to big time celebrities like Madonna, Paris, Christina, or Pink and their incorporation of “the tease” into their routines. More recently, burlesque has been in the spotlight due to acts like Dita Von Teese and The Pussycat Dolls.

Neo (also known as nouveau) burlesque stems from a grass roots foundation of likeminded people that band together and create their own performance troupes. Over the past few years, the scene has become more about creating something new than following tradition. The original revival of this glamorous artistry is said to be pioneered in the mid 1990’s by two troupes; Ami Goodheart’s “Dutch Weismanns’ Follies” revue in New York and Michelle Carr’s “The Velvet Hammer Burlesque” troupe in Los Angeles, and many more troupes are blossoming up from coast to coast.

One such troupe is the Blue Light Burlesque from Montreal. Founded by Mademoiselle Oui Oui Encore. Apart from organizing and performing tease shows all over the city with her troupe, Mlle. Oui Oui Encore is also teaching a burlesque dance class called “Burlesque for Beginners.” Learning burlesque helps people to gain confidence in their sex appeal. Over time, it is possible to gain a repetoire of sexy moves and eventually even develop a tease routine.

Burlesque 1 focuses on short choreographed pieces, how to walk in heels, pivot, remove gloves, skirts, and shirts to old tunes with class and sex appeal. It is a small girls-only class of about ten people. Choreography and recital are taught when a girl progresses to Burlesque 2. In Burlesque 2, you really begin to learn the fun stuff like how to twirl the tassels on your pasties (nipple tassels), and longer choreographed numbers.

For those of you looking to involve yourselves in the burlesque revival or an easy way to satisfy your hunger for retro-kitsch art, you should consider registering for an introduction dance class near you. Even if you are just looking for some new tricks to use at home, burlesque dance can invigorate both you and your partner.

If you don’t think a dance class is your style or would like to be a voyeur first, you can always check out one of the many performance troupes in your area.The shows are titillating and inspiring, and just what you need to keep you warm at night.

LINKS New York School of Burlesque - http://www.schoolofburlesque.com/ Burlesque for Beginners, Montreal - http://bluelightburlesque.com/bluelight/Frameset-1.htm Mademoiselle Oui Oui Encore - http://ouiouiencore.com/ BOOM Chika BOOM class, (Toronto) - http://www.boomchikaboom.ca/ The Boston Babydolls - http://www.bostonbabydolls.net/

Text Tia Marosy Painting Cedric Taillon

Wood & Bones

It was one of those Northern Qubecan days where you couldn’t see five feet ahead, your eyebrows are white with ice, and wearing your Air Max Nineties soon proves to be a very stupid idea. I painfully trekked my way five miles into a crazy-ass snowstorm to an old run down building covered in graffiti.

This was the home of Montreal’s premier underground, artists-run gallery, and the man of the house, Eric Braün, is getting things ready for Usine’s one year anniversary show.

Eric has been a cartoonist since he was two years old. As he grew, so did his methods and mediums of artistic production. He has experimented with paint, music, kinetic sculpture, and has recently begun to add materials such as wood, fur, and bones to his repetoire of materials. No, he doesn’t go out and kill these poor beasts himself.

He receives most of his animal matter (as well as other stuff) through donations, each new donation being larger than the last as he continues. The more he gets, the more he makes. It’s pretty damn cool – especially when he shows you the box of stuffed animals he is planning to disassemble.

For those of you who aren’t French, “usine” means factory, and 106u sounds like “sans issue”, which means no way out in English. The gallery was brought to fruition in 2006 when Mimi Traillette, Puce a l’Agonie, Jean-Michel Cholette started having promotional events together. Eventually, they procured a space above Paul boutique on Mont-Royal, began making art there, and selling it on the spot.

Usine 106u was opened in March.

The gallery is artist-run. The curators amass creative people from various career stages with diversified work and cater to a different Montreal audience. Usine offers a breath of fresh air to Quebec. The creative displays it houses reflect artists that don’t give a shit about what’s going on outside. They don’t try to please. They make art because they have to – it’s compulsive to them, and everything else comes after it.

Usine 106u

111 Roy Montreal

www.myspace.com/usin106u Cedric Taillon

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burlington VT | winter 2008

drag ball futureclaw dance week girl talk concert