CONCERTCLUB
Trans Musicales: South Central |
Written 30 January |
Wednesday 02 December, 15:00Various, [map]South Central, The Field, Mr Oizo, Popof, Major Lazer, Gaggle, Aeroplane, OOF, 69, The Twelves
Hint - the MP3 downloads are at the bottom of the page :)
Not strictly a Parisian event, but only the most hardcore exclusively-inner-periphique dweller would give this one a miss - it's two hours on the train, it's pretty inexpensive and it's a storming lineup this year.
The Field,
Mr Oizo,
Popof,
Major Lazer,
Gaggle,
Aeroplane, OOF, 69,
The Twelves... plenty to drool over. One of the highlights is bound to be UK/Malta duo
South Central, whose DJ sets have been setting clubland on fire recently. We caught up with the band before their set at the Social Club recently...
So you've been going almost four years now?
Three years - the first remix was Metronomy at the end of 2006
And since then your style has matured and been rarified, but the scene has changed a huge amount around you...
Yeah, obviously we've been writing the album and been listening to what's been happening around us - we've been incorporating all that but still using guitars and stuff, so our sound has matured a lot, production wise and music wise. Production wise because before we didn't have a lot of equipment which is great in it's own way - you're restricted... we still restrict ourselves when we write, but at least now if we want it to sound big, we can do that. Before, we were inspired by Bauhaus, that kind of music - in fact I still listen to Bauhaus every day probably... but when we were writing the album we were listening to a lot of Slowdive, shoegaze stuff, My bloody Valentine, Cocteau Twins...
For Slowdive, for example, it was all about bringing electronics into guitar music - is that what it's about for you, or are you pushing from the other direction?
It's both - the album has the hard edge and the nice edge, the nice us and the heavy us, if you like.
The "heavy us" being Higher States cover versions, for example?
Yes! Exactly. But we don't want to be an act that you go and see and it's just thrashing out all the time, we want to have bits where people go "fuck, that's a nice piece of music" kind of thing. Still, the beats are heavy but it's musically nice. Obviously we've been listening to a lot of kraut rock too - it's not there in the album per se, but the feel is there, the mechanisms, the sounds they used to use. All this year we've been playing in France three or four times a month, then there's the big bass English scene, and we've married the two together - French distorted sounds with the big bass English style. There's a luxury of music which we can choose from, and it's all linked.
It looks like the scene has come round to you - it's the perfect place for you right now, right?
Definitely. We're not signed, which is perfect for us. We can change the music without anyone telling us what to do. But I think we're ready now to be married to a label, there are interests.
So you're self releasing the album?
There's big interest in Japan, France, USA... I don't think we'll be self releasing the album in every country...
Some licenses then?
Yes, but obviously it's not quite finished yet... we've had a few labels come down to the studio to listen but a lot of A&R men right now are afraid of losing their jobs, so we're a big risk for them! And then if they don't sign it they might lose their job anyway if you do well...
So have you always been self released? Self distributed?
Yes, except in Japan - everywhere else we arranged distribution, in Japan we're signed to a small indie who have done really well for us.
Have you played much over there?
Yeah, we did Summer Sonic and we played with the Prodigy.
How was that?
Brilliant. It's great - we're big Manga fans and they bring us Manga dolls and stuff, we really appreciate it. The people are really personal, they care, it's weird because we're not used to it! Weird in a nice way.
How's Brighton working out for you?
We don't see much of it - we're always locked in the studio, or touring, or rehearsing. We're starting rehearsals with the band in November to get ready for next year. We're really stepping up what we're doing live with the band. When we used to play we were perfectionists - it's a big sound, but when we played live we weren't sounding right. So, we really worked hard for the sound to get where we want it - it's a big difference technically, a big learning curve for us. Touring with Pendulum and Prodigy we learnt a lot - like, this is how it's done; it was like opening a book. You meet the right people, it helps. You learn from each other, it's an exchange of information. Nerdy stuff, too…
That's a big thing for you guys too, right?
Yeah, I just built a big compressor, I go right down to capacitors - what they sound like - I dig into that quite deeply...
Is it all processing equipment or do you build instruments?
I built a keytar - we had a keytar before, a Roland X7, it was so big I felt like I was selling hotdogs, I'm not the tallest person in the world so it looks kind of weird... so I wanted a smaller one...
So are you using that live?
Yeah, we're starting to use it live now.
You mentioned The Fall earlier this evening - is the whole post punk Manchester thing a big thing for you guys?
Yeah definitely, Tony Wilson, the Hacienda... the things is, it was always basically about rebellion against the system and we dig deep down into our tracks with that.
So the whole Factory records era - that was one time when the whole thing came together (electronic, guitars) - is that what you're aiming at?
I think the technology helps you do that now - before, when you heard the Hacienda records they sounded amazing for the time - with the bongos and the synths and stuff, but when hardcore and then jungle and garage started, the dance sound was so much bigger than that sound, production wise. So people who were into The Happy Mondays were into that. But now, with the technology, you can get the big sound for a band. But saying that, then you drop a New Order track and it sounds amazing!
So what have you got coming up?
The new album - we just want people to listen and appreciate. We're doing it for ourselves, though it's nice to get paid for it.
Do you care about the distribution model - physical, digital, iTunes, Spotify...
Music is music. Ok, vinyl sounds better, always. But people don't generally have a clue as to formats and differences, music is music.
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South Central are playing at Trans Musicales on Saturday night (5th Dec). We've also been given this rather tasty remix of "Keep Slipping Away" by A Place To Bury Strangers to offer our beloved readers - enjoy!
Keep Slipping Away (South Central Remix)
| What: | South Central, The Field, Mr Oizo, Popof, Major Lazer, Gaggle, Aeroplane, OOF, 69, The Twelves |
| When: | Wednesday 02 December, 15:00 |
| Where: | Various, [map] |
| Cost: | 10 - 60EUR |
| Web: | www.lestrans.com |
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