Seeing a reunited Blectum from Blechdom perform last night at Load of Fun took me back to the good old days of the early 00s (nearly 10 years ago!) It was a time when the whole laptop scene was blowing up-- all Kid606, Cex, Tigerbeat6, and Oakland, CA.
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I thought of that bunch as being a lot different than the humorless, chinning stroking Warp crowd. The Tigerbeat6 folk seemed like they were having plenty of fun, and maintained an irreverent human take on making electronic music. Most of all they had laptops, and weren’t afraid to use them as live performance instruments.
In the thick of it were two women from Mills College (which has the renown Center for Contemporary Music, with graduates and faculty like Dave Brubeck, Phil Lesh, Laurie Anderson, Donald Buchla, John Cage, Terry Riley, Steve Reich, etc.)
Kevin Blechdom (Kristen Erickson) and Blevin Blectum (Bevin Kelley), masters of the MAX/MSP software, made music ripe with that post-modern (I hate using that word, but I can’t think of anything else that fits) cyberpunk-nerd-prankster ethos. It was experimental music that was funny and never overly serious.
The group split up around 2001. Both continued on solo, but more recently Blevin formed Sagan with husband J Lesser, Wobbly, and Ryan Junell. Kevin is now doing her own unique electro-acoustic performance art.
This was the first time I had seen Blectum from Blechdom, or been to Load of Fun. When I got to there (I got off work late), Jibz Cameron (a k a Dynasty Handbag) was finishing up her performance art piece.
The performance was amusing and clever, judging from what little I saw. Dynasty Handbag was comfortable onstage and the routine was rehearsed and smooth. Unlike so much undergrad art school performance piece nonsense, I wasn’t cringing while watching.
Kevin and Blevin came onstage wearing Asian silk print robes, and headgear. A fur lined bomber cap for Kevin, and this bizarre goat-horn headband with spikes coming from the temples for Blevin. Martin and Drew of Matmos were in the crowd, but that should be no surprise as they are buds with Blevin’s hubby.
The amount of people in the room had drastically diminished, but I guess electronic music isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. There was initial trouble getting a DVD to start, so as to project visuals behind the stage. Blevin was visibly frustrated and worried. Not the best way to start a show. The problem was eventually fixed, and things got underway.
I’ve heard people say that in order for a laptop show to work, you need a really good sound system. Unfortunately, the system for the night was crap. The music definitely should have been a lot louder, but I guess the person mixing was wary of overload (or maybe just didn’t know better). Kevin and Blevin’s vocals could barely be heard (yes, this is IDM with singing).
The set didn’t really gain momentum until the Kevin Blechdom track “Interspecies Love.” When I first heard this song some years back, I swore it was built around sampled vocals from an obscure old 45. But I knew this couldn’t be the case given that the song’s lyrics deal with a girl’s confusion about her carnal feelings for species other than Homo sapiens. It sounds something like a Tin Pan Alley ditty, but with a country twang.
Both Kevin and Blevin remained seated for the entire performance (actually I think that was the first laptop show I have ever seen with seated performers). Kevin started to get into her singing, but it would have been interesting (and a lot more engaging) to see her get up and get into the theatrics of performing. I have the feeling that Kevin was somewhat restrained. For example, during her solo performances she strips naked and covers herself in animal organs.
Also take into consideration the fact that Kevin and Blevin did not speak for some time after the breakup of their group. To my knowledge this reunion is recent, and not necessarily lasting.
Onstage it just didn’t seem like things were firing on all cylinders. The transition between songs was never smooth. Kevin would begin vocals and playing chords on the keyboard, but would be drowned out by the lingering previous track. This happened a lot, and it always took them some time to figure it out. But to be fair, I think this as all due to poor, or nonexistent monitors (I don’t remember seeing any).
For me the highlight of the night was a track that I suspect to be new material from Blevin Blectum. The track was definitely “Foyer Fire,” which I believe will be on her Gular Flutter solo album due out later in April. Man, that track has some serious groove going on. The crowd response began with the head bob, then the body sway, and finally outright dancing. The song just had that bouncy twitch to it. The visual synced up with the track was interesting too, and you can view it below.
Overall a solid night, but dominated by the feeling that plagues any reunion—nostalgia. I feel pretty strongly that electronic music, especially laptop performance music, (I don’t know what else to call it) should always be progressive, not stagnant, and never backward looking. Then again my standards are always too doctrinaire. Blectum from Blechdom seemed, to a degree, to be about goofing off, and making sincere jokes. As an overly serious guy I enjoyed seeing two whimsical women making cool music on their laptops.
Ryan Junell video for Blevin Blectum's "Foyer Fire" from forthcoming "Gular Flutter" solo album
Sunday, April 6, 2008
4.5.08-Blectum from Blechdom @ Load of Fun
Thursday, April 3, 2008
Get 'Em Mamis Interview
I recently caught up with Symphony and Roxzi of the Baltimore hip-hop group the Get 'Em Mamis. GEM will have video premier party April 5th at the 5 Seasons for their single "When You See Us" from the Beyond Hamsterdam album.
Their new single "Cold Summer" will be released June 24 as a part of the new Hamsterdam album by Darkroom Productions and Koch Records.
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Aural States- Where are you from in Baltimore?
Roxzi- I’m pretty much from all of Baltimore. You know those people that have certain areas of the city that they primary represent, or come from? I’m just from everywhere. We moved every two years.
Symphony- I’m from Westport. I don’t live up there right now, but that’s where I grew up.
AS- Roxzi, what were some places that you lived in Baltimore?
Roxzi- Well I lived in Park Heights, Yale Heights, Forest Park, Woodlawn, Randallstown, Reisterstown…I’ve lived in West Port, Cherry Hill, Lafayette Terrace, East Baltimore around Moravia. I’m telling you I could go on for days, but that pretty much most of them.
AS- What were the reasons for moving so often?
Roxzi- My mom, I don’t know what it was, but she just liked to change areas. We never really had a specific place that we grew up in, because we would move every year or two. Then the older that I got I would just go live with an aunt, not for any other reason than me just wanting to get away.
My mom, she just moved all the time. I don’t know what it was. I guess she was just trying to keep us safe from being…I don’t know. I think she was just trying to protect us so we didn’t get caught up in certain things.
I can’t believe it myself. Like, when I think about it I can’t believe I lived all those places. But I did.
AS- How did the Get ‘Em Mamis form? I know it came out of your previous group the Plague, but how did that come about?
Roxzi- Pretty much it was a group decision over, how can I say this…
Symphony- …Creative differences, as far as The Plague was concerned. Roxzi and I were more of the same mindset, you know, had the same ideas as far as the future that we saw for the group and what we wanted to happen. So we just kind of separated.
Roxzi- Both sides, Symph and I, and L, the other girl in the group, thought it was mutually beneficial to part ways. But we are still friends, we still talk to her, and we just shot a video with her. We are still friends; it’s just that we thought that this would be best route for us to go.
AS- How did The Plague initially form?
Roxzi- It was kind of crazy. It started out with us all as best friends. It wasn’t like Making the Band. Nobody had to make us. It was just one of those things that kind of happened.
Symph and I were best friends, and I was friends with L. So we all use to hang out and party all the time, and it just kind of came up that we all did music. Like I rapped and Symph rapped, but we didn’t know L rapped. We heard her rap for the first time and we were like “Oh lets bring her in.” So that’s pretty much how it started. We started out as friends who realized we all do music. At first it wasn’t a group, but more of a crew.
Symphony- We wanted to do the opposite of what you see now with a crew of guys with the one token female. So we were a crew of girls with the one token make, which was Rev.
Roxzi- Which is my brother, Rev.
Symphony- And again creative differences, you know. He separated from the crew and we became a…
Roxzi- When he left that’s when the crew turned into a group. Rev left and it was us three and he became a group. But we decided we were never going to have no other guy than him in the crew. So he was always going to be there. But he recently passed away. He was murder last year. Rest in Peace to Rev. Actually, it wasn’t last year, it was ’06. So we won’t be replacing him, he can’t be replaced. He’s irreplaceable like Beyonce.
AS- How did you first start working with Darkroom Productions?
Symphony- They actually reached out to us when they initially started the Hamsterdam project. They just showed us so much love. We kind of dug our feet on the situation and ended up not recording to a Darkroom beat. They just took the song that we had and still put it on the CD, which kind of destroyed their concept. But they still showed us that much love and appreciation…
Roxzi- Not necessarily destroyed the concept, but it was crazy that they decided to still use our song. That’s how much love I think Darkroom had for us. It was like “Ok, you guys aren’t on one of our tracks, but we like you and are going to still put you on the CD.”
AS- What song was this?
Roxzi- It was “Rep Your Set”. It was crazy, because it was this crazy Superman beat. It was a sample of the Superman music. So if you can imagine that with some type of crazy, sick hip-hop bass, or something like that. That was pretty much what that song was. It was really big at the time. We were booked for mostly any show out at that time period, and that was one of our hottest songs at that time.
AS- When you are working on a new song does the beat come first, or the lyrics first, or does it change every time?
Symphony- It changes.
Roxzi- Me, I really like to listen to the beat, because I kind of study the beat. I don’t want to sound crazy or nothing, but when I listen to a beat, I hear words. Say if I’m listening to the hook, that’s usually how I create the hooks for a lot of songs that we do.
So I listen to a song 25, 30, 40, how ever many times it takes until I hear exactly what the beat is giving me. That’s pretty much how I write, but it can go both ways. Sometimes we may be writing with a beat. Sometimes we may just be riding in a car and write, or just outside free styling, and it will become a song.
Symphony- There is no standard. There is no formula.
Roxzi- The formula would be no formula. That’s the best way to put it.
AS- Was it harder to gain credibility as an all female group?
Symphony- Yes. Yes, because female are generally looked at as the understudies in the hip-hop community. The guys pretty much dominated. The time that we came out there weren’t many other female groups.
Roxzi- Actually when we came out there was nobody out in Baltimore, groups or solo acts.
Symphony- Right, there weren’t any other females out. So I think that helped because people were more open to hear us, because we were filling a void. But we still had to prove ourselves because we were young and we were females.
AS- When you wrote songs were you conscience of the need to prove yourselves?
Roxzi- No, not really when writing. It was crazy; it kind of helped us. I think it made us better that people just kind of looked down on us, because it just made us stronger.
We’d go to shows and we’d come and we’d look like we were singers. Like I don’t look like I rap. Nowhere I go would people say that I look like I rap. Like we’d come in dressed up in heels, well not Symphony. She’s the rock star, and she wouldn’t wear heels. People would be like “Oh you’re going to sing?”
It would be an all hip-hop show and they would ask us if we were going to sing. I’d be like “Yea we are going to sing.” We’d tell everyone we sang, and then when we got onstage the look on people’s faces was priceless. We had this energy on stage that was crazy. People would just have this look like “Oh my god, they aren’t singers.” We still tell people we sing sometimes, even though we can’t sing at all.
Symphony- I tell them I tap dance.
AS- When did you both first start rapping?
Roxzi- I first started rapping, when I really started to pursue it, when I was about 11.
Symphony- And I knew I wanted to do it since I was 7. 7-11.
Roxzi- Oh I never thought about that. That is so cool. That is interesting.
AS- So was The Plague the first group you were in, or had you been in other groups?
Symphony- We were doing our thing individually before we were actually in a group.
Roxzi- There was a lot before, but not necessarily a group.
Symphony- Well actually you were in a group.
Roxzi- It wasn’t a group, it was just a label.
Symphony- No, your group.
Roxzi- I had a group?
Symphony- Yea. R. D. M.
Roxzi- Oh yea! I don’t want to talk about that group. It was a little middle school groups, like “Oh I wanna rap.” The other two people, well no, one other person in the group could rap. The group was Rev, myself, and another girl that couldn’t rap at all. No one has ever heard this before and I cannot believe Symphony put me on the spot like this. And I’m not going to tell you what it stands for because it’s so embarrassing. It’s kind of the initials for something, but you don’t have to mention this if you don’t want to.
AS- How would you describe your sound?
Symphony- We’re like hip-rock.
Roxzi- We’re like everything. If you mix ever genre of music together, that’s us.
Symphony- I mean we’re complimented by the Darkroom beats. They use a wide range of instruments. Like things you would never even think about putting into a beat. From there we just go whatever way the beat goes. Sometimes we need them to create something for us. Like say I got this crazy idea for a song, and I need some flutes and bells, and they’ll use it.
AS- How is it working with Darkroom?
Roxzi- It’s really nice working with somebody that you actually like. The relationship that we have built with Darkroom...it kind of built the foundation for greatness, you know what I mean? Because we’ve been working for so long, and been through so much together…I mean they have really helped us. It’s been excellent with Darkroom.
Symphony- They give us complete creative control. They basically are with whatever we want to do.
Roxzi- They trust our creativity and we really appreciate that, because that is hard to find. A lot of times when working with other people they want things done their way. Not to say we can’t follow directions, but it’s good to work with people that allow you to express your creative ability. Then you get the artist, not something that somebody else is telling them they should be.
Symphony- Like a package, something created in a lab.
AS- It seems that Baltimore hip-hop is at a crucial point as far as getting national exposure. What needs to happen to ensure the Baltimore scene blows up for real, and not succumb to hype?
Roxzi- We all need to stick together. Like no matter who is doing the best, or who is not doing so good. We just need to stick together and help each other. If we just do that then we are bound for success, bound for greatness. You can’t stop something like this.
Symphony- You can’t stop a movement.
Roxzi- Especially when it’s this strong. So if we all stick together, no matter who makes it first…I hate to use the term “make it.” But whoever does make it first; we should all support that person. What I think is that the Beyond Hamsterdam project that was just released is the best way for Baltimore to come out. It made everyone come together and stick together. It wasn’t one person’s CD that got distributed nationally; it was the whole city put together. We didn’t have a choice but to stick together, because we are all on the same CD. That was genius to put everyone on one CD.
Symphony- And you know it’s a credible source. It not like it was just put together by just anybody. You have a good name on it, you know HBO. They’re out there pushing it. It’s not like it’s sold out of a trunk of a car. You can actually go in the stores and pick it up, and it’s worldwide.
AS- You’ve talked about trying to grow Baltimore hip-hop nationally, but in what way has the city influenced your music?
Roxzi- Baltimore, of course, has a huge influence on our music. You can’t rap about something you don’t know about, and this is pretty much what we know. We’ve lived here our whole lives.
Symphony- Probably about 55% is influenced by Baltimore, and the rest is influenced by where we want to be. Of course we’re not going to keep rapping about Baltimore this, Baltimore that. We want to branch out on to other things. Dare to dream, you know?
AS- Being so closely connected to The Wire, what happens when the show ends? Were does Baltimore’s reputation go from there?
Symphony- It’s up to the music. That’s why the CD is there. It gets you listening, and then you look forward to hearing more from this artist. And because you can’t get more of the show…we’re basically all that is left of The Wire.
Roxzi- We’ve already moved on. This isn’t it for us. Darkroom is releasing an album called Hamsterdam. It’s going to be nationally distributed. It’s Darkroom and Koch Records actually. We are already moving to the next step. This is just the beginning...trust me.
AS- And what is the new material for that album?
Roxzi- “Cold Summer” will be one of the singles released from the album. “Cold Summer” is…I don’t know if I can give it away.
Symphony- It’s a real feel-good song. It’s icy, we’ll leave it at that.
Roxzi- It’s looking cold for the Summer. That is our next project that we are working on. We are shooting a video for that.
AS- And that is separate from the video being released on April 5th?
Roxzi- Right, this is for new material. That video is for “When You See Us” which is on the Beyond Hamsterdam album.
Symphony- Again another example of taking it to the next level, putting visuals with the sounds so the people interested in The Wire, interested in the music, have something more to look forward to.
AS- Who directed that video?
Roxzi- We did. We pretty much came up with the concept for the whole video; we pretty much directed the whole video ourselves. We financed the video ourselves. When we tell you we pretty much did the whole vides-from directing, to financing, to creative…dancers. We found our own dancers. We were the designers, the make-up artist. We weren’t the cameramen. 1 Vision Entertainment, they shot the video and edited it.
AS- What were some of your influences?
Symphony- Beethoven. He’s awesome.
Roxzi- She likes classical music.
Symphony- It’s like orchestrated confusion. All those instruments put together to create this wonderful sound. And he was deaf when he wrote the greatest symphony that you will hear in your life.
Roxzi- We listen to classical music all the time. It’s weird. We’ll be riding in the car and just turn in on. It’s that channel right before 92Q, you know what I’m talking about?
AS- 91.5 WBJC.
Roxzi- Yea, we just listen to that for no reason.
I’d say my biggest influence is my best friend. Symphony has really helped me out. I think she is one of the best female rappers ever, and you can quote me on that. She has definitely helped me with just growth period. You just learn from the best. That’s all I can say.
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Remixed for your pleasure...
I present to you remixes of tracks from Syndey Australia exports the Presets (Wiki, pictured right) and the deliciously dirty, now-defunct Death From Above 1979 (Wiki) . They can all be found on the remix disc Re-Sets originally bundled with the latest versions of the Presets' debut Beams and the bonus disc from DFA1979's LP You're a Woman, I'm a Machine.
The Presets will be playing DC's RnR Hotel on June 7th and I cannot wait. Enjoy the music in anticipation.
The Presets:
The Presets - Down Down Down (Digitalism Remix)
The Presets - Girl and the Sea (Cut Copy Remix)
DFA1979:
DFA1979 - Blood on our Hands (Justice Remix)
DFA1979 - Little Girl (MSTRKRFT Edition)
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Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Review - Fuck Buttons @ Rock and Roll Hotel, DC
Monday, March 31, 2008
Beatbots shutting its e-doors...April Fools!
Read more for the full news posting:
Friends
Three and a half years ago I started Beatbots in my basement appartment in Hyattsville, MD. What started as a simple excerise in creating my own Content Management System, evolved into me trying to run an online magazine with no funds, no writers and no audience. Since that time (and my moving to Baltimore) Beatbots as a creative endeavor has really blossomed. We've had a lot of great writers grace the pages of the webzine. We've seen the incorporation of Audio/Video recordings on the site and the only public authored events calendar in Baltimore that doesn't suck. We've made a lot of great connections with the people involved in the Baltimore arts/music scene, and for that I'll be forever thankful.
But after much soul searching, I've decided that Beatbots as this thing that I do with all my spare time will never be sustainable. It will forever be an uphill battle for me to bring people together to create something wonderful that isn't about hype, money or fame. So it saddens me to say that in May, when the next Beatbots hosting plan is due for renewal, that I'm not going to renew it. While I would like more than anything to see Beatbots live on for 5 or even 10 years, it's just not in the cards. It's just become such a heavy weight on my shoulders that I think it's for the best.
I want to thank first and foremost the Beatbots writers who have poured so much time and energy into the writings for the site. It's really remarkable to think that we as a group could amass hundreds of really quality articles with no formal staff, and no pay. I'd also really like to thank our A/V people but most especially Jeff Mewbourn for his tireless dedication to documenting the Baltimore music scene. Thanks to everyone that has helped to make the message board the best place I know on the internet to kill time at work (and find out about the best shows in the city). Beatbots is made of people, and I really can't think of any better people around.
So in closing, I feel that Beatbots was in many ways a success, even if the audience that knew about it while it was still around was small. I'm glad to think that there's this thing that we all did together that will forever leave a mark on our lives, as they were here and now. Until the hosting runs out (May 14) I encourage everyone to make the most of the site.
All the best,
Justin Blemly
I highly recommend you check the site out before it is lost forever. There is some really great content and some really great people roaming around there.
April Fool's from Justin! well written note.
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4(artists)-for-1 Mostly Metal Monday
Dream Theater - Fatal Tragedy
Dream Theater - Master of Puppets (Metallica Cover)
Darkest Hour - The Sadist Nation
Wooly Mammoth - Head Full of Collision
Mastodon - I am Ahab
Isn't that heavy metal image hilarious?
The first two tracks come from progressive metal standard-bearers Dream Theater. Almost all of them students from the Berklee school, their instrumental prowess is awe-inspiring. Fatal Tragedy comes from their prog opus/concept album, 1999's Metropolis Pt 2: Scenes from a Memory while the second track is a cover of Metallica's "Master of Puppets." For a previous tour, Dream Theater played several "Evening with..." format shows where they played seminal albums from rock history, namely Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon and Metallica's Master of Puppets, in their entirety.
DC locals follow with the bands Darkest Hour (lead track from their ridiculously good LP Hidden Hands of a Sadist Nation and Woolly Mammoth (channeling some classic metal ala Sabbath and a load of blues-inspired rock). Mastodon rounds out your 4-for set. Enjoy!
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Sunday, March 30, 2008
Yelle: get your fille
I have a crush on a little French fille named Yelle. This is both a musical crush and a physical one. Emotionally...not so sure. How do the French just get electro and synth so much better than us?
Check video after the jump. Here are some tracks off her upcoming LP Pop Up, to be released this week!
Yelle - A Cause Des Garçons
Yelle - Je Veux Te Voir
Yelle - 85a
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Je Veux Te Voir
Friday, March 28, 2008
Matt & Kim - Lo-Fi Social Club (03.27.2008) Live Recording
Check my show review at BYT.
Jeff the Taper was in the house as well and was kind enough to provide us with the entire live recording, exclusively.
Check after the jump for the tracks. Download MP3s of each song by clicking on the name or a ZIP file of the whole set by clicking the band name.
You can find the Death Set's set here.
03-27-2008 - Lo-Fi Social Club, Baltimore, MD
Matt & Kim (download entire set as MP3) / FLAC
01-The Final Countdown
02-I Wanna
03-Grand
04-Yea Yeah
05-Dialogue
06-Cut Down
07-5K
08-Dialogue
09-Verbs Before Nouns
10-Fast
11-Dialogue
12-It's A Fact
13-Dialogue
14-Silver Tiles
The Death Set - Lo-Fi Social Club (03.27.2008) Live Recording
Check my show review at BYT.
Jeff the Taper was in the house as well and was kind enough to provide us with the entire live recording, exclusively.
Check after the jump for the tracks. Download MP3s of each song by clicking on the name or a ZIP file of the whole set by clicking the band name.
You can find Matt & Kim's set here.
03-27-2008 - Lo-Fi Social Club, Baltimore, MD
The Death Set (download entire set as ZIP file) / FLAC
01-Soundcheck
02-Intro
03-Impossible
04-Day In The Wife
05-Intermission
06-Around the World
07-Zombie
08-Listen to this Collision
09-
10-Negative Thinking
11-Bombshell (Op Ivy cover)
12-Oh Snap!
13-Territorial Pissings (Nirvana cover)
