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The Franz Ferdinand Interview

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Franz Ferdinand is ready to ‘take you out,’ as this award-winning British band makes their debut appearance in Richmond this Saturday. With a new album, “Always Ascending,” in tow, the indie rock band has hit the road once again, bringing their suave, bouncy dance music to the States.

Now nearly 16 years old, much has changed for these British boys based out of Glasgow, Scotland. Many of the members now have families, which was the motivation behind guitarist Nick McCarthy’s decision to step back from rocker life and into his role as a dad. After his departure, the band invited Julian Corrie to join, a 33-year-old keyboardist with a background in electronic music.

“Having a lineup change gave us the opportunity to push different things in the band than we have previously,” said bassist Bob Hardy. “When we sat down to write the record, we wanted to push that bounce to stress when we play live. We always had that bounce in our music, and absolutely having electronic sounds pushed more to the front. This album is maybe synth-heavier than previous albums, but we gave ourselves the time to play around with synths in the studio and we’re playing around with different instruments and different synthesizers.”

Corrie’s new band members are his seniors by nearly 20 years, but according to Hardy, they welcomed his fresh take. They found he meshed well with the other members of the band and could offer his electronic music background experience for their new album.

“It was something we just had to make the best out of and enjoy expanding the opportunity of having someone much younger in the band,” Hardy said. “It feels like the beginning of the band, or it feels sort of like a new band in many ways, which is nice, it gives a new energy.”

However, after two Brit Awards and several Grammy nominations, as well as 16 years of success, the benefits of their experience is not lost on Hardy.

“What we’re capable live and in the studio now is broader,” Hardy said. “It’s more enjoyable now, the more you’re capable and the more potential you have. As time goes on, I enjoy playing live shows more and more. At first, it’s overwhelming, but you get used to the touring life and you get focused on the energy of the show and putting a show together and playing.”

As Franz continues to experiment with new sounds, they make a point to include the bouncy, rock-pop dance music they set out to make in 2002, but are also excited to see the genre move with the times and the technology available to them. With Corrie’s participation, new tracks like those found on “Always Ascending,” which dropped earlier this year, bring more raw, disco or atmospheric sounds.

“That’s one of the exciting things about being a part of music, you don’t know what’s going to be happening in two or three or five years time,” Hardy said. “You just enjoy it in the moment. Often an album sounds like what we were enjoying on the previous tour and what we were enjoying musically at the time.”

Franz Ferdinand was also recently part of a project titled, “30 Days, 30 Songs,” self-described as “a playlist of songs written and recorded by musicians for a Trump-free America.” Franz’ contribution, “Demagogue,” slams Trump and all his antics. Hardy saw it as a way to release some of the anger and frustration at hearing Trump’s public sexist and xenophobic statements. However, when asked if the band might write similar music concerning the UK and Brexit, Hardy thought it unlikely.

“It’s far too depressing,” Hardy said. “[Brexit is] just a huge national folly. It’s just an act of self-sabotage.”

However, Hardy and his bandmates have been putting that out of their mind as they enjoy touring once more. He finds that playing music here versus playing back home carries almost no difference, as everyone enjoys dancing to their poppy tunes.

“I think humans beings have the same reactions to music and they go to live shows for the same reasons,” Hardy said. “There’s always a celebratory joy for seeing live music.”

Catch Franz Ferdinand this Saturday, Aug. 11 at The National. Show starts at 8 PM. Tickets are $24.50 and you can snag yours here. 

 

Music Sponsored By Graduate Richmond

Review: Illenium Drops Explosive Performance On Richmond Fans Monday Night

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Denver’s Illenium made Monday night the best day of the week with his explosive performance at The National. 

The producer has been dropping beats and shaking the dance industry since 2013 with his debut album Ashes, and was on tour promoting his most recent release Awake, and fans packed the Richmond venue immerse themselves into Illenium’s captivating sounds and visuals.

He’s a household name to most festivalgoers, with sets at Lollapalooza and Summer Set Music Festival under his belt just to name a few. Racking up almost five million monthly listeners on Spotify alone, and his remix of the Chainsmokers’ “Don’t Let Me Down’”, which has almost 300 million views on the YouTube, has put him in a category all his own.

Illenium stayed behind the mic and his MacBook Pro and was joined by opening acts, Said the Sky — a co-producer of his most recent album, who also put on a hell of a warm-up act, and Dabin — who I unfortunately missed. These openers as well a few others played guitar, keyboard, taiko and snare drums during Illenium’s performance to make up for an immersive masterpiece of a set.

Songs from the Awake album convey more of an emotionally driven vibe as Illenium mentioned during a Billboard interview that he was listening to a lot of Blink-182 and soft rock. To sum up the energy of the crowd that night, listen to “Fractures” on his new album and you’ll understand what I’m talking about.

Just like most EDM performance an array of colorful lasers and fog machines blanketed the crowd and engulfed the venue, getting the crowd hyped up by the second. What set Illenium apart from the rest, was his spiritually-healing tunes combined with the lighting and with his fans loved.

Illenium went all out for his encore, playing his single “Beautiful Creatures” and love — and phones- were in the air, as confetti guns came out shooting colorful paper into the air and falling down on dancing fans. It marked the perfect ending for the night. 

It looks as though Illenium will be touring through the rest of the year, ending with a New Years Eve performance at Decadence SLC in Salt Lake City where he will be joined by Dabin and Porter Robinson. If you happen to be there be sure to check him out because his music and stage presence is one not to miss. 

Photo Credits: Malik Hall 

EDM artist Buku leaves Richmond fans in a trance after Broadberry show

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Power, electricity, and love are the best way to describe the emotions being felt on the floor of The Broadberry Saturday night.

It was electronic artist BUKU’s first time in Richmond since 2013, and I certainly hope it won’t be his last. This time he was accompanied by LUZCID; whose fanbase is just as large, as well as Richmond’s own The Rico Suave, Agent and Elliott Ness.

Pittsburgh’s BUKU, who dropped his debut EP Janky in 2013, is certainly a master of his craft, being a graduate of Duquesne University’s Music Technology program; his years of experience paired with his vast knowledge of music theory certainly showed during his performance.

Photo by Renee Brown

Just like most EDM artists, BUKU makes use of well-timed “bass drops” after a build up during mixes. What distinguishes him from most in the business is his careful selection of samples accompanied by the perfect beat, that made for some remarkable remixes. His original material was also enjoyable, but it served more as filler as the remixes seem to evoke the most hype from the crowd.

His hands almost never left his Pioneer DJ Player, constantly tinkering and adjusting certain knobs which made for an unforgettable experience. The flashing lights at the venue perfectly captured BUKU’s vibe and it was extended to everyone else in the crowd.  

LED light toys were being twirled to the beat of each song and an inflatable light up alien was being bounced around during the whole performance like it was someone who was crowd-surfing. No matter what mind state anyone was in, everyone seemed to be overtaken by a trance of dancing.

The crowd was a mixed bag with die-hard EDM fans and returning college students who are just trying to have a good time and everything else in between. For a show going on during peak clubbing hours and the same night of the “Fight of the Century”, it was certainly a packed house.

Photo by Renee Brown

BUKU’s September will be a busy one with several music festivals and shows on his plate, including Lost Lands music festival and a performance in his hometown in the middle of the month. One of his tracks is also being featured in the new Madden 18 game. If anything this only indicates his star power is continuing to grow.

I can’t speak for the EDM fanbase, but from what I’ve seen and heard that night, I’m confident that BUKU will only continue to make waves throughout the scene.

 

Animal Collective, Flying Lotus and many more make up Moogfest 2017’s epically weird and diverse lineup

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We love Moogfest – it’s weird, small and full of music we haven’t heard of. And while the Durham, NC-based event, happening the weekend of May 18th, has been building hype around their daytime speaker events, the release of their music lineup has put us into full fanboy mode.

Check out some of the stand out acts below, but keep in mind the list is long and there’s tons of shit we haven’t heard of yet.

Animal Collective

Among Baltimore’s top weirdo claims to fame, Animal Collective continue to produce bizarre tracks as they slide into a new musical phase. 2016 saw them release their first full length, Painting With, since 2012’s Centipede Hz. While I might not have been keen on the new record, their live show at The National last year proved to be a friendly reminder of how talented these dudes are. And they’re not slowing down – they’ve got a new EP, The Painters, which dropped last month. Check out the single from that record below:

Flying Lotus

This producer/multi-instrumentalist should need no intro but for the uninformed, Flying Lotus has been behind some of the biggest names in hip hop and alternative R&B and soul in recent years. He’s worked with the likes of Thundercat, Thom Yorke, Earl Sweatshirt, Mac Miller, Hodgy Beats, Kendrick Lamar, Burial and many many more – he also covered bumper tracks for Adult swim for a bit. While he hasn’t dropped a full album since 2014’s You’re Dead!, he recently made his cinematic debut with KUSO, a film so intense it reportedly lead to viewers running from the theatre screaming at Sundance. Check out the trailer below:

Suzanne Ciani

Known as one of the founders of electronic music, Ciani returns to Moogfest this year with what appears to be a more traditional set – last year she hosted two four hour durations which are as intense and weird as they sound. But starting back in the early 70’s, Ciani helped form electronic music as we understand it today. Check out some of her early work below:

Derrick May

Like Ciani, Michigan native Derrick May is similarly credited with defining a musical genre. In the mid-80’s he, Juan Atkins and Kevin Saunderson – known as the Belleville Three – helped lay the ground work for the thump-thump-thump that would eventually become EDM.

Jessy Lanza

Once called “the latest and possibly greatest of the new ethereal soul girls” by The Guardian, Canadian-native Jessy Lanza aims to bring her electronic beats and soulful voice to the Moogfest stage. Her 2016 release Oh No topped some internet-hipster best-of lists as well, with Gorilla Vs. Bear putting it at the #2 slot.

Simian Mobile Disco

Anyone who has spent more than 15 mins with me knows I love two things: Carly Rae Jepsen and Simian Mobile Disco. While CRJ might be hard at work at a new disco record, SMD will return to Moogfest fresh off the back of their late 2016 release Welcome to Sideways which is a slam dunk for fans of minimalist techno like myself. While Moog’s price tag includes the band’s mentioned above and many more, I’d pay as much to see these guys on US soil anytime. Check out one of the tracks off the new record below:

Moore Mother

Philly based mega-weirdo DJ and performer Moor Mother will bring their terror-filled mix of lyrics and beats to the Durham stage in what is sure to be an unforgettable mix of good and horrifying.

Syrinx

Continuing the theme of throw-back weirdness, Canadian electronic music group Syrinx will reunite for a Moogfest performance that is sure to make modern vapourwave fans cream their ironic jeans.

S U R V I V E

The dudes behind the Netflix-Famous series Stranger Things’s original sound track will make a stop and perform the show’s incredible soundtrack in its entirety. Audiences will be fueled with nuances of forbidding eerie and sparse droning analog synths tinged with noir-ish ambient flourishes and menacing atonal extraterrestrial compositions.

This is, sadly, a painfully short list for a festival that is sure to stand out as not a hippy-field meet up or an explosion of drugged-out 17-year-olds – not that anything is wrong with either of those kinds of festivals, it’s just Moog offers a unique alternative for fans of numbers and knob turning.

If this fits your bill, head over to their website and find out more about what’s in store this year when the event kids off May 18th.

Late Night Radio Keeps It Old-School Next Tuesday at RVA Theatre (Ticket Giveaway!)

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Colorado’s Late Night Radio will be bringing his soulful, hip hop-infused electronic grooves to RVA on Tuesday, April 8. He’ll be performing at the RVA Theatre (formerly known as The Hat Factory), introducing the city to the tripped-out electro-soul sounds he explored on last fall’s full-length debut, Far Into The Night.
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