Free your Mind and your Ass will Follow

May 21st, 2009 | Posted in Interviews by mache

by Leo

Fans of Madlib and J.Rocc will be happy to hear that one of Los Angeles’ finest live sound modulators is coming to Shanghai later this Saturday, lighting some quality musical fire to Yuyintang’s stage.

The cat responsible for this much refreshing sonic arson is Chris Alfaro, aka Free the Robots, a genre-busting artist who mixes in his live sets all sorts of crazy psychedelia, jazz, Bollywood, twisted beats and B-boy scratching that have seen this dude rock shows in Europe, Japan and, of course, the States.

Before flying out to his 5-city China tour, Layabozi caught up with Chris and chatted about the mechanisms of his music, his musical ADD problem and “the LA VIBE”…

Layabozi: What led you to baptize your project ‘Free the Robots’?

Free the Robots: I had several music projects with experimental rock bands, producing for MCs, DJing and battling. There were too many projects to count back then and I felt like none of them was getting the attention they deserved. I then saw how artists were using MySpace to get their music out there and that gave me some ideas. When I discovered that Yesterday’s New Quintet’s music was made in its entirety by no one less than Madlib, THEN I was really blown away and decided to do something for myself, uniting all my artistically disparaging projects into one. I chose the coolest name among my projects at the time and it stuck!

LYBZ: Nice! And how is the scene in LA these days?

FTR: The energy in LA is Huge! So many talented artists condensed in such a small area, it’s insane. Daedelus, Flying Lotus, Nosaj Thing, Gaslamp Killer… it’s got one of the healthiest, strongest scenes anywhere.

LYBZ: Is it something they have been putting in the water there?

FTR: To lay it simple, it’s The Vibe. It’s like all the artists in LA are actively doing something in their own world. All the worlds inevitably connect by association. There are so many different styles and flavors, no egos… just music and mutual respect.

LYBZ: Is there anybody that you find particularly inspiring?

FTR: The Gaslamp Killer! With a don’t-give-a-fuck-who-likes-this-music attitude, he cracks heads open with his free-spirited inclinations. He never catered and that’s why I respect him so much. When we were all coming up in the scene, no one really understood him. He played what he wanted to hear regardless of what the crowd wanted and he did it with pure energy and undeniable skill. And the music he plays!!! It’s enough for years of inspiration!

LYBZ: You are releasing your new album this year. How different is it going to be from your self-titled EP?

FTR: My first EP was heavily inspired by jazz and psych from the 60’s. I’ve grown a lot since that last record. The new album pretty much tells the story of the last 2 years of my psychotic life. It will be heavier, dirrrtier, and more pysched out… with special guests, bearded ladies and more.

LYBZ: Sounds like a circus on tape… Now people here like to hear something different from the usual DJing… How LIVE is your live set?

FTR: I’ve got my MPD32 drum machine locked and loaded with some Kaos effects, sampler & turntable locked and loaded! All parts are chopped up for improvisation. Then all the additions and effects are like sprinkles.

LYBZ: What is it gonna sound like then?

FTR: It’s a progression. You have to hear it from beginning to end to get the full gist of the direction. Some parts are psyched out and sustained, others are bass heavy and bouncy, while the later end is more up-tempo. I have a serious case of musical ADD, so there are a lot of changes and different moods. It’s all about keeping things fresh and interesting.

LYBZ: So, do you feel more like a DJ or a producer?

FTR: Producer first, DJ second, although scratching is a big part of my original production.

LYBZ: But at the same time I read somewhere that you won a Music Award in O.C. for “Best Club DJ”.

FTR: Yeah… It is a bit of a surprise to me because I don’t consider myself a club DJ. OC’s club DJs play to packed clubs and keep people moving.  I play at only one spot (my Restaurant called The Crosby), and I play what I want to hear, in hopes that I could open people up to something new. Not really fitting the description of a “Club DJ”, but I won, so… whoohooo!!

And to finish it off… if you could bottle up any local sound in China and take back home to sample, what would it be?

FTR: Probably just strait up traditional Lute or Zither music. It’d be fun to flip up something so soothing with some Psyched out dirt. See you this weekend!

Catch FREE THE ROBOTS live at Yuyintang this Saturday, starts 11pm. Cover is 40 RMB – free for Cu&Paste Design Tournament attendees. Support: Sickstar, Jammala (Thunder Percussion Group).

tags: China - Daedelus - Experimental - Free the Robots - Free the Wax - Japan - Jazz - Rock - Shanghai - YuYinTang

Midi Music Festival 2009 Zhejiang

April 25th, 2009 | Posted in Articles by mache

The the continuous changes of plan and misinformation about the Midi Music Festival have created a great deal of talk and gossip about it; possibly the marketing campaign couldn’t have gone as well as this if they’d planned it.

The great news is that finally we know the line up, and all the information you need to go and rock your head off.

The Midi Festival will run from May 1st to May 3d. The place is Youshan Meidi Square (优山美地广场) next to the Jiangsu University in Zhejiang near Nanjing. Zhejiang is on the train line connecting the major cities of Nanjing and Shanghai, and most trains along the line stop there; both regular trains and the faster bullet trains. The cost ranges from ¥13-30 (regular train) to ¥30-75 (bullet train); you can find more information about it on China Highlights site. And those willing to use the event as an excuse for a longer trip can choose the Yangtze ferry from Shanghai to Chongqing that stops at Zhejiang; the trip takes about 14 hours.

Every day the shows will begin at 2 pm and finish around midnight. Tickets are ¥120 for the three days and ¥50 for a single day.

On May 1st the bands begin at 2pm with Beijing dance rock band TOOKOO (more about them here), then Honey Gun Band, Sand Orgy, Turdus from Norway, Twisted Machine from Beijing, Again, Mike TV from the UK (who will be on April 30th at YuYinTang), Thin Man, Army of Freshmen from the U.S.A, and closing the night is the famous Cui Jian. The DJs playing on the Electronic side of the Festival will be DJ Sky Zhang from Chongqing, DJ Bob Chen from Ningbo, DJ Gary from Guangzhou, DJ Harry from Chengdu, DJ Xeum from France, and DJ @llen from Taiwan.

Performing on May 2nd are Yu Guo, Hollerado from Canada, Spring Autumn, CMCB from Beijing, Priestess from Canada, The Subs, Gammalux from Germany, El Columpio Asesino from Spain (who will also be playing on May 1st at MOcA’s Art Lab), AK 47 from Beijing, and The Stills from Canada. On the electronic stage will be DJ Ivy V from Shanghai, DJ Jerry K from Guangzhou, DJ Fish from Shanghai, DJ Tootekool from German, and DJ Mickey Zhang from Beijing.

On May 3rd LRight Band will open at 2pm, then Bonk from Norway, Reflector from Beijing, Jets Overhead from Canada, Cold Fairyland from Shanghai (you can read more about them here), So Called from Canada, Roshme Band, Yaksa, Muma & Third Party, Blind Sight from Holland, and Miserable Faith from Beijing. DJ Cody K from Hongkong, DJ Jerryson from Shanghai, DJ Eagle Ningbo, DJ Baru from Japan and DJ Ben Huang Shanghai will be scratching tables on the 3rd.

You can buy your tickets for the concert on line on Beijing’s ticket company Piao. And for all those organizing road trips to the concert let us know: take photos, film videos and send them to us- we want to see who wins the “best rock face” award.

tags: Beijing - Ben Huang - Canada - China - Cold Fairyland - Dance - Electronic - Emo - France - Japan - Midi Music Festival 2009 ZheJiang - Miyadudu - MoCA - News - Norway - Rain - Rock - Shanghai - Spain - TOOKOO - UK - Video - YuYinTang

Soil & “Pimp” Sessions Pimping at the BBC

January 31st, 2009 | Posted in New Music by mache

These six guys from Japan are crazy fun jazz/funk cats. The BBC just reviewed their last album Planet Pimp, which is a “full on death jazz attack,” as Soil & Pimp accurately described it themselves. It’s not a very new release (it has been out there since August 2008), but we are betting it’s new for many of you.

The first time we heard it, we wanted to go running to Japan to hear them live and if possible bring them to Shanghai to exchange sounds with our very colorful and awesome local jazz scene. Check the review and if you want to hear more than what’s on their myspace let us know, and we’ll share some with you.

tags: Japan - Jazz