Nu-Disco original Xinobi brings exactly what we’d expect of him to the table. Crushing Disco grooves and a chilled vibe that make Xinobi out-Disco most Disco acts. Girlfriend Records artist Gossip Culture come up with a suitably dreamy 80’s influenced tune which both captures the feeling of the original but makes it Gossip Culture’s own too. Getting a bit more electronic is Lazydisco who’s bleepy deep, DiscoPop take on the song is a hypnotic builder.
If you’ve been a regular reader of electronic rumors over the past year or so you’ll understand the difficulty I’m having finding something new to say about LexiconDon. Toward the end of last year they released their staggeringly good début album, ‘Pink + Blue’, and about that time we featured them on the site…a lot.
Also, LexiconDon were featured in all three of our Top 20s Of 2010! Albums, Songs and reMixes!
With the success they’ve had in recent months you could consider LexiconDon to be one of Binary’s flagship bands, and they are a band. Whist starting out as a project consisting of just Fabien Ordorica (he of Fabian fame) and energetic frontman Alex Koons, the act is now a four piece incorporating live guitar and bass, and in a scene dominated by DJs and hipsters hunched over Ableton controllers that’s something special.
It also gives the impression that LexiconDon sit at them slightly more rowdy end of the Binary spectrum. The music has a rawness, a live quality, to it. Injecting ElectroPop with the energy of post-punk and a narrative lyrical style that speaks of day-to-day lives and loves that we can all relate to. But LexiconDon are no one trick pony, their début record is one that flows from smooth DiscoPop to pumped up Electro-Punk before you realise it’s happening.
Alex gives us the lowdown on all things LexiconDon:
ER: How did you guys get together? Was is always to make electronic music?
AK: Fabian and I met at a studio in Hollywood appropriately named Hollywood Sound in 2007. I had actually been rapping since I was like 16 and Fabian was producing hip-hop tracks at the time. I don’t remember specifics but we ended up recording a song called “The Secrets Out” and the rest was history. We recorded a full length rap album, but about a year later wrote the song “Staying With My Girl” that would initially change our whole style.
ER: And how did you then get involved with the Binary posse?
AK: Josh and Kyle came to the first show that we played “Staying With My Girl” at. I honestly feel like they saw the potential of what could come if we continued to write songs with that same kind of feeling.
ER: Your sound seems to owe a lot of British SynthPop and Post-Punk artists, in that it feels more raw and live than your average SynthPop, is this where your influence lies?
AK: Personally, I draw a lot of influence in all genres. I love Celine Dion and Yanni songs, just as much as I love The Church and Psychedelic Furs.
ER: Who are your heroes and influences, both musical and otherwise?
AK: My dad is a big hero of mine, and I think a lot of the reason I am so into music. I have been a big Kanye fan since ‘College Drop Out.’ The Talking Heads, Third Eye Blind, and Atmosphere have played a pretty huge roll in the soundtrack for my life as well.
ER: Your songs seem deal with the everyday, lives and loves and losses, are you just making the soundtrack to your own lives?
AK: Yes.
ER: What’s in LexiconDon’s studio? What are your favourite bits of kit?
AK: Logic, armed with any plugin imaginable, a midi keyboard, an Mbox, an MXL condenser microphone, and a SM 57.
ER: And what makes up your live set up?
AK: Our live set up is like a rainbow with a pot of blow at the end of it. It’s made up of four guys having a lot of fun on stage, sometimes a little too much.
ER: How has the inclusion of live drums and guitar evolved the live sound? And will this be more and more influencing the studio sound?
AK: The drums bring the tracks to life. Fabian’s drums already are so important in his production and when played on a kit there is a certain breath that the live performance takes. Sam’s guitar and bass has added to the energy of the whole show and really makes a difference giving these tracks a totally different feel on stage. I think the studio sound will differently evolve like the live show has.
ER: If money was no object what synth would be your dream purchase?
AK: A Yamaha VSS30 I had one when I was a kid and wish I never sold that bad boy. Its not a synth but it would be really bad ass to have a real Roland 808 too.
ER: How does being part of Binary help you guys as musicians?
AK: You are always surrounded by such amazing musicians and people. In no way is it a competition, but hearing the new stuff everyone is working on all the time just make us want to work harder. It’s like pushing each other to reach our maximum potential. It’s a pretty amazing thing to be a part of.
ER: I’d be remiss if I didn’t ask you about, the Student Body video, or how you felt about the reaction to it. Opinion seemed to wildly differ between those who (like us) though it was a harmless, and quite funny, bit of fun satire and those who (and I quote) “couldn’t watch it to the end”. Personally I felt that if the video made someone feel uncomfortable then that said more about the viewer than the video. What did you think?
AK: All I know is that making that video was one of the funniest things we have ever down. It was amazing working with everyone and the video turned out perfectly. I guess we had a different point of view because we got to be on set, and we wrote the song. In the end I don’t think we have much to say to the people who think its super pedo. It deserves a reaction yes, but it should be a light hearted one at best.
ER: Did it even cross your mind that some people would be uncomfortable with the video when you
were making it?
AK: Yeah, I think we knew that it would upset some people. There is always gonna’ be a paradox in anyone’s art. People can look into anything too hard and make something out of nothing. I don’t think we were prepared for some of the reactions from certain people. It was rough having people very close to us not getting it.
ER: How are you feeling now Pink + Blue is out? Proud I’d expect?
AK: Yeah, very proud and it feels good that its out. It took a long time to make that record. I really don’t think its reached its maximum potential, but so far I think we are all pretty happy with where its at.
ER: How do you feel it has been received?
AK: We are happy with the results thus far. Its rough writing SynthPop in a lo-fi, Chillwave saturated forum.
ER: One of the great things about Pink + Blue is that it contains quite a mix of styles, is this just ‘cos it represents the last few years of LexiconDon evolution or can we expect you to mix it up a bit in future?
AK: Its because Fabian & I write in such a sporadic way. We have no formula, we have always just made songs that we like. Every single song we have made has been done in such a different way, and when we try to repeat previous attempts, it never works the same. We hope to have a bit more consistency on the next record but be prepared for a roller coaster of genre crossing.
ER: Can we expect to see you touring Pink + Blue, and sign of you guys crossing the Atlantic?
AK: I am pretty sure we will be hitting the road sometime in late May. As for crossing the Atlantic, which by the way would be a dream come true just playing a show over seas, might be a little while away. In reality we need a higher demand in the states and elsewhere. The next year holds a lot of gold and we intend on grabbing as much as possible to share it with everyone else.
ER: Are LexiconDon more cereal or pile of pancakes for breakfast kinda’ band? Would that change the morning after a show?
We are more like a 4 shots of espresso on ice and a cigarette band. The morning after the show we would probably be a bloody mary.
Welcome to Binary week, here on electronic rumors, readers!
Over the next seven days we’ll be dedicating most of our output to Binary Entertainment, that haven for all things ElectroPop, all things Indie-Electro, all things Nu-Disco. That’s right…all things Dreamwave!
A couple of years ago this sound had no name, the Valerie crew had their little corner of the retro, 80s, inspired ElectroPop/Nu-Disco world pretty sorted, but not named, and around the world there were great artists producing music you could only really describe as Valerie-esq. While The Valerie Collative were making music largely inspired by American teen movies of the 80’s their sound still had a strong European quality to it…enter the Binary stable of artists, who took this mixture of melodic retro ElectroPop and contemporary, dancefloor aimed, production and ran with it. Adding a healthy dose of LA-centric Americana, a certain swagger if you will, to the genre and naming it. Dreamwave.
I’ll admit I was a little hesitant about the name when I first heard it being used. ‘I’ve been listening to ElectroPop for over 20 years’ I thought ‘it really doesn’t need a new name’, but credit is due to Josh and Kyle (Binary’s founders) as their vision of Dreamwave has stuck, and makes sense (even to me!) now. In retrospect the guys did a amazing job by giving this scene a name, it’s more than just a style of music (the Binary artists themselves span quite a diverse range of electronica), it’s an attitude, a soft focus outlook on life where loving and dancing are the priority. When you think of Dreamwave, not only do you thing of the perfect smooth ElectroPop/Nu-Disco blend but also of warm summer nights, partying in LA.
Whether it’s the laidback Indie-Electro of NightWaves, the Disco flavours of Keenhouse or LexiconDon’s real world ElectroPop the Binary crew are putting melody back on the dancefloor, or Disco back into songwriting, and the term Dreamwave is becoming so ubiquitous now that January’s print edition of The NME named Dreamwave their ‘D’ in an ‘A to Z for what to watch in 2011’. Let’s hope their readers take note!
Not only did Josh and Kyle pull off the (pretty hard) task of branding a type of ElectroPop, but they also branded a feeling. An aspirational lifestyle that can be yours, even if you can’t get to LA, through the music of the artists who call Binary their home.
J: Well, I suppose it started out of a frustration for doing what people consider to be conventional lives and jobs. Kyle and I both desperately wanted to try doing something special and different before we became tied down by things like a mortgage, a marriage, or kids. We’ve been musical compatriots practically since the day we met (sailing in Long Beach!), so starting a music company was something we felt really excited about trying. We spent a bunch of time thinking long and hard about what we wanted Binary to be, and eventually, near the middle of 2008, we quit our jobs and haven’t looked back since!
ER: Is there a Binary Mission statement?
J: For a long time we were somewhat known for saying that our mission was to “bring the song back to the dancefloor”… In a lot of ways that is definitely still a mission of ours. Most of the music we work with, put out, or write about is expertly produced electronic music that’s made for fans of all music, not just dance junkies. I don’t think that part of the mission has changed. What I’m no so sure about anymore is whether or not you could call Binary a ‘dance music’ music factory. Kyle and I love a lot of different kinds of music and I think Binary will end up being a home for a lot of music that people can’t dance to. I believe our mission is to provide an artist friendly home for great songwriters, be it on the blog, on our label, or as an artist that we manage.
ER: How do you find your roster?
K: Well our roster hasn’t changed since it was fully in place back in September of 2008. But for that process, it was a mix of musicians we were associating with at the time through a friend and we were really impressed by the material they were putting together (Fabian and Alex from LexiconDon), a couple guys we found on some blog posts (Short Circuit and Alfa), we found The Kids Are Radioactive by scouring through MySpace, which took up a lot of our time in the early days of Binary. And we saw Keenhouse play a show that another one of our friends was promoting. We spent a ton of time just jumping in head first into this community of artists online, on MySpace, that were making original music and showed a certain creative edge rather than just chopping up some songs and making remixes…it was really a great journey to take. So we found what we thought was the best and the guys that showed the most potential, and guys that were in the LA area since we were trying to build a local scene and community here, and that’s how we ended up with the roster we currently have. Nowadays, because of the blog, we get a lot of promo emails, so we’ll find a lot of upcoming talented producers that way, and just staying on top of blogs looking for new artists. I personally really like finding the totally unknown guys that I can just sense have a lot of potential and watching them grow into bigger things, whether that’s due to us or not, but unfortunately that’s getting a lot harder since MySpace has died…which is the only bad part about MySpace dying.
ER: Is LA really as cool and romantic as the music would suggest?
K:Haha, yeah, I think so. LA is as cool and romantic as you make it. LA gets a bad reputation around the world (though I think this is changing a lot) and people think it’s plastic and fake, and yeah, there are certainly big parts of the city that are like that. But it’s a very big place…big enough for all of us to create or live the life we want to live. When I first moved out here from Chicago I actually kinda’ hated this place, but once you settle in and can comfortably call it home, you start to find your own little world that works for you, with the friends you want, going to the places you want to go to, doing the things you want to do. I can’t think of a better place to live in your young 20’s than the east side of LA. We’re just all such like-minded people here, and everyone kinda’ gets each other, and we all know that we’re all kind of out here trying to live the dream. So it all works out, and some days you’ll find yourself on the freeway looking at the big green hills and the blue sky with the sun shining and you take a breath and really appreciate being here right now.
ER: Where the ladies at?
K: My lady’s at home, she’s awesome. Oh you mean where are the ladies on Binary? Haha, man there are a lot of times we wish we had more of a female presence on the label, whether that be having a full fledged Binary female artist, or even just a source to go to for female vocals on some tracks. I really hope that day comes soon, cause we could really use it. The problem is that it just seems harder to find…as I said we haven’t really expanded our roster in any case, but even if we had, I don’t usually come across female producers or singers sending us their music that would fit well with Binary. We try and push our current artists to collaborate with other singers, especially female singers, because a lot of times that is the best thing that could complement a track they may be working on, but it’s tough working on random collaborations like that. I don’t know, I think we’re going to need to start exploring some other channels. But that day will come and it will be a great day.
To get you started on your week long journey down the Binary rabbit-hole here’s NightWaves ‘Binary Hour’ mixtape, showcasing some of the best from the label:
Over the course of this week we will be profiling and interviewing each act on in the Binary stable. We’ll be featuring loads of awesome music, some exclusives, mixes and a competition so make sure you check back daily as we bring you the low-down on some of the finest ElectroPop being produced today.
Here;s the brand new video for Minitel Rose’s forthcoming single ‘Heart Of Stone’. It’s a great choice for a single release, it a catchy and upbeat French ElectroPop tune with a little Indie slant. Nice looking video too!
Directed by Thomas Delebecque & Thomas Davenel.
‘Heart Of Stone’ is taken from Minitel Rose’s awesome ‘Atlantique’.
The Danish duo continue along their journey of slick ElectroPop with a quirky Scandinavian edge. The title track is a prime example of the sophisticated electronic music that these guys produce. Owing equally to the 80s and contemporary Indie-Electro the track is rounded and retro without sounding like a homage to anything. A cavernous sounding chorus is complimented by introverted Indie verses.
A few weeks ago ElectroPop producer extraordinaire Starsmith did a streaming video studio chat thing. While most of the airtime seemed to be Fin realising it was a bad idea ‘cos he was trying to get on with some work while the internet was shouting at him, the actual track he was working on was very interesting. It was a reMix of Gypsy And The Cat, now quite old, track ‘Jona Vark’. And here it is!
The appearance of this mix and rumors of some other pretty cool reMixers seems to confirm the track is getting a re-release, with this mix at the forefront this tune could go huge. Starsmith walks the line between ElectroPopping up the actual song and getting some deep Moog Disco going. There is so much going on in this song that is really is a credit to Starsmith’s mixing skills that it all sits together so well.
It’s been almost 2 years since there’s been some new Metronomy material, but the wait is over. They have just premiered the video for their forthcoming single ‘’She Wants’ and it’s an impressive slice of deep Indie-Electro and a suitably jarring video.
Unfortunately the QR code in it isn’t anything exciting, just a newsletter sign up page.
It’s been a while since we featured Gossip Culture here on electronic rumors, but the Cleveland based one-man Indie-ElectroPop project from Cleveland is about to release a new EP, so let’s check out what we can expect.
‘Whispers In My Ear’ is a laid back, soulful slice of Funky Indie-Electro/Nu-Disco hybrid. With a deep Disco groove and introspective, intimate vocals this is a perfect tune to chill in the sunshine too. So if you’re lucky enough to be in a part of the world that isn’t frosty and miserable (as I am) then whack this in your stereo, grab a beer and get yourself out in the sun.
‘Whispers In My Ear’ is taken from Gossip Culture’s forthcoming ‘People Talk’ EP on Girlfriend Records, also featured will be reMixes from Deniz, You Need It! and Girlfriend head honcho Sferro. Keep an eye on his Facebook page for news.
MNDR, New Yorks ElectroPop heroes, have just dropped a brand new single from free.
The duo, made up of Amanda Warner & Peter Wade, are just staring out on a US tour supporting Chromeo (what a show that will be!) and have released ‘Cut Me Out’ to celebrate, Starting off with some moody synth burbling, the track quickly kick into it’s spikey, yet fun, main. Not many acts could take icy, ColdWave-esq, synths and make them sound , well, pretty bouncy, but I think that’s what gives MNDR their charm. The ability to sound both edgy and accessible.
Chad Valley is defiantly shaping up to be an artist to keep and ear on this year.
The latest reMix from the Indie-ElectroPopper is of Brighton sextet The Go! Team latest track ‘Buy Nothing Day’ which features vocals from Bethany Cosentino of Best Coast. Chad turns the track into a sweeping synth epic, his Bedroom pop sounding slightly more grandiose than usual. Densely layered and perfectly mixed this reMix is guaranteed to uplift anyone’s day. Alongside the likes of I Am Noxious, Chad Valley is showing that the UK can easily compete with the current crop of Us BedroomPop artists. Penguin Prison watch out!
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