Jesse Rose What Do You Do If You Don’t?

The album begins with Hot Chip spelling out R-O-S-E, and the goofball antics have only just begun. Already recognized as one of house music’s biggest talents, Jesse Rose has elected to devote his debut artist album to demonstrating just how fun, and funny, dance music can be. Produced with the help of his fidget-house partner-in-crime Switch, What Do You Do If You Don’t? is simply bursting with gregarious energy, not to mention enough tweaked synths to keep listeners twisting and turning across the dancefloor for days. “Touch My Horn” carves up a brass section and spits out an acid-house monster, while “Well Now” throws an antique blues stomp over a bouncing beat. Tracks like “Pop Your Porn” and “Wine Gum” are pure jackin’ house workouts, and Rose was also smart enough to include a couple of his past floor-fillers—“Asided” and “You’re All Over My Head.” Simply put, this is F-U-N.

Mi Ami Like It Loud

Mi Ami is a three-pronged assault from San Francisco. Ex-Black Eyes members Daniel Martin-McCormick and Jacob Long, along with explosive drummer Damon Palermo, won’t stand for anything less than a full-bodied sonic experience and can’t understand why anyone else would either. As they sip cocktails in Chinatown, they talk about physicality, volume, and being a “disco” band.

Clothes Captioned: Evil Genius

Space-age prints, rainbow foil, and tie-dyed plaid satisfy your wild side.

As the name suggests, Evil Genius is not for the timid. With metallic foil graphics, bold prints of lips and bird skeletons, and colors ranging from neon red to the brightest turquoise, the seven-year-old brand channels Sunset Boulevard glam, Harajuku pop, and London sass with a sunny, sexy outlook that’s pure Los Angeles. “I wanted a little bit more of a space-agey, Tokyo, rock ’n’ roll vibe for the spring collections,” explains designer Toni Young. “Raw edges and distressed elements mixed with touches of fluorescents and gradient prints.” Young keeps her work environment similarly fun, luxurious, and laid-back, with a vintage Thierry Mugler rhinestone jacket on the back of her chair, a bottle of Dom Perignon on her desk (a gift from Three 6 Mafia), and Kaiju, her rescued terrier, at her feet. With Stones Throw oozing out of the stereo, we asked Young to tell us more about the tees, tunics, and eye-popping patterns she brings to life.

Logo t-shirt ($40)
This tee incorporates many of my favorite things: metallic foil, funky fonts, and gradients. My first attempt at a “foil/ink gradient.”

Starry Lips t-shirt ($40)
I wanted this to look like an old-school heat transfer but didn’t have the resources for the real thing, so I printed a layer of clear gel over the screenprint for a shiny, heat-transfer effect.

Snake Skull t-shirt ($35)
Continuing with more of my obsessions: bones and rainbow foil.

V-Neck cut-out tunic ($48)
This fabric was an accident–it was supposed to be a burnout print but was printed on the wrong fabric and it burned holes all over it. Happy accident!

Double V tunic ($60)
Continuing with the space-age influence, an all-over starry print on fluorescent yellow.

Tie-dye plaid hoodie ($120)
This is super-limited edition for my flagship and online store only. I’ll probably make about two dozen of these unisex hoodies–just enough for the people bold enough to wear them.

Myka 9 1969

If they handed out Grammys for Lifetime Achievement in Keeping Hip-Hop Artistically Interesting, South Central street savant Myka 9 would surely have himself a statue. Myka’s scat-like delivery and alliterative phrasing have made him a purist’s purist. He’s beyond “true school”—“jazz” or “zen” more aptly describe his approach to the verbal arts. The same dedication to creative wordsmithing and soulful conceptualism he displayed on the classic Freestyle Fellowship albums is still evident on his latest solo album, 1969. Highlights include “Soul Beat,” “Snake Bite,” “Options” (with Aceyalone), and “Chopper” (with Busdriver), but the entire album is further proof that L.A. hip-hop isn’t limited to pimp talk and Crip walks.

Exclusive: Lithops “Dear Dorant”

At times this track—a part of Lithops‘ new, limited-edition collection of sound installation works he’s dubbed Ye Viols!—is a lo-fi parade of clicks, ratatats, and undulating synths. During other instances, it sounds more akin to a telephone that’s been left off the hook. Behold, “Dear Dorant.”

Ye Viols! is out now on Thrill Jockey.

Dear Dorant

Thomas Fehlmann, Gudrun Gut Play CMKY

Multi-day electronic-music gatherings are to be expected in places like Miami, Barcelona, Montreal, and Detroit. Boulder, CO is a less likely destination for artists like Thomas Fehlmann and Christopher Willits to wind up, but that’s exactly where they—along with 50 or so other artists from around the world—will perform come April, for the second annual Communikey Festival of Electronic Arts (CMKY).

The three-day event is set to coincide with Earth Day 2009, and that’s no coincidence, since CMKY’s credo is all about showcasing artists in a “green” environment. “If the dancefloor builds the strongest community we know, I feel the issue of sustainability needs to be breathed into the industry,” Kate Lesta explained in a 2008 interview with XLR8R.

Ergo, this is a “zero waste” festival we’re dealing with, one that implements recycling and compost bins, bio-fuel generators and carbon offsetting, and “how-to” workshops about creating environmentally friendly events.

Not to be forgotten of course is the music, which will take place in six different venues around Boulder and feature a hefty roundup of electronic artists showcasing their tunes from April 17 – 19. Check the festival’s site for updates.

Confirmed Lineup
Claro Intelecto
Christopher Willits
Kilowatts
Morgan Packard
Gudrun Gut
Thomas Fehlmann
Mr. Projectile
Future Simple Project
Cacheflowe
D Numbers
Christian Martin
Frivolous
Nicolas Jaar
The New Denver Orchestra
Lukatoyboy
Many more

Festival website launches late February, 2009

Elliot Lipp Peace Love Weed 3D

Eliot Lipp’s premiere release on his newly formed Old Tacoma imprint is another solid step forward for this Brooklyn-based synth specialist. Originally recorded to analog tape and then tweaked, these beats are retro and, at times, risky. “Sentinel” is among the best of the bunch, blending 8-bit arcade blips, snappy synths, and tribal-minded riddims into one concrete cut. Lipp does get too carried away with sound effects on tracks like “Glowstick,” but he balances things out with a little live instrumentation on the dusty electro-funk-tinged “Sandcastle”—one of the most multi-layered numbers here. For the bulk of this LP, the beat scientist manages to make the old sound brand new again.

Reefer Reefer

Leftfield pop veteran Nick Thorburn (alum of Unicorns, Islands, and Th’ Corn Gang) is back with a new project, this time with the help of Los Angeles-based hip-hop producer Daddy Kev. The album’s production was heavily influenced by the pair’s temporary tropical environs (the Maui coastline) and is subtly beautiful, full of steel guitars, ukuleles, minor keys, and melancholic arrangements. There are quite a few gems, including the hypnotizing “Body Heat” and the spooky and melodic “Hit and Run,” but Reefer’s beautiful, sinister vision suffers from a couple of surprisingly so-so remixes from Dntel and Flying Lotus.

Inbox: Abe Vigoda

Sure, we’re always curious to know about an artist’s upcoming release, most recent tour, or arsenal of analog gear, but XLR8R‘s also got a curiosity for quirk. Thus, each week, we email a different artist and find out what makes them tick, in the studio and in life.

Now, the boys in SoCal punk outfit Abe Vigoda will be the first to tell you their musical direction has taken a slightly darker turn with the release of their Reviver EP, but bandmembers Michael Vidal and Juan Velazquez prove here—through discussion about flashfloods, digital cameras, and prized t-shirts— that they still have a fun-loving side.

What are you listening to right now?

Michael Vidal: I’m listening to Television Personalities right now. So English, it’s great. I just picked up this Man is the Bastard LP and I always end up throwing that on. Also, Cold Cave—a pop duo, I presume—just released a cool 12″. Sounds like melting new-wave. Dance Mother, short for “dance mother-fuckers,” is a new album by Telepathe. I just love it.

What’s the weirdest story you ever heard about yourself?

MV: It was probably about something I did while I was drunk.

What band did you want to be in when you were 15?

MV: I wanted to be Billy Corgan, but I pretty much started the band when I was 15, so I guess I really wanted to be in Abe Vigoda.

Worst live show experience?

MV: We played this house party in Chicago after the Pitchfork Festival last year. It was this really crammed basement spot and it was raining pretty hard, but everyone was having an alright time. We started the set and it was feeling really good—like, best show ever status. We were three songs into our set when people start screaming “I don’t want to die!” Water was pouring down the basement stairs like a waterfall, a freaky flash flood incident. It felt like a really vivid dream. Nobody died.

Favorite city to play in?

Juan Velazquez: We really like playing in New York. Todd P. always sets up really amazing shows with us. I feel like when we are there, it’s super-hectic and we are so busy, but we get to play with some of our favorite bands and get to eat amazing food.

I’ve heard several times that the Reviver EP is a new musical direction for you guys. How do you think this release differs from previous ones?

JV: It’s definitely darker and it varies more in tempo. I think it’s also a little more polished vocally. Also, I think that we use different guitar tones and much more distortion and feedback. I feel like the songs are more focused and not as jarring and fast as [tracks on] Skeleton.

What is your favorite thing you own?

JV: My digital camera. I feel like, 10 years from now, I’ll be glad I took it everywhere and annoyed my friends with it.

Name one item of clothing you can’t live without.

JV: I have a really awesome Jesus and Mary Chain shirt that one of my best friends gave me. I feel real goth wearing it! It’s also featured in the Greg Araki film, The Living End, which is one of my faves!

Tell us a funny story about growing up in Chino, California.

JV: When Michael and I were younger, we went to this place called the Cooper House, which is where this family [was] murdered. It’s totally true, not one of those suburban legends. One night, we were driving up there with a friend and [had] to take a smaller dirt road to get to the house. I saw a really old horse and buggy with a guy in it riding on the other side. It looked super colonial and scary, and when we looked back after the buggy passed us it wasn’t there anymore. It was fucking spooky!

What did you always get in trouble for when you were little?

JV: Talking in class all the time. I’ve always had a hard time shutting up.

What other artist would you most like to work with?

JV: Well, the Diplo/Telepathe tour we did was super-inspirational to me. I really would like to collaborate with Busy and Melissa from Telepathe. They have some really amazing ideas about songwriting and pop that were super-inspiring to me. Also, they can dance really well, so I would like to incorporate that into my life in general. I would be so psyched if Diplo would remix one of our songs, but I guess we wouldn’t be working with him per se… but he is a really awesome guy.

What’s the last thing you read?

JV: An interview in Unzipped magazine, with gay porn star Logan McCree. Coincidentally, I’m going to send him copies of our records in the mail, because he’s DOPE.

Complete this sentence: In the future…

JV: Jungle is going to make a HUGE comeback.

Stupidest thing you’ve done in the last 12 months?

JV: A combination of being brutally honest with people and being a little drunk.

What’s next?

JV: Touring, touring, touring, and writing a new record!!

Photo by Sarah Cass.

MP3: “Don’t Lie”

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