Andy from Chicken Lips talks about The Emperor Machine
by We checked in with Andy Meecham, one half of Staffordshire duo Chicken Lips, about his latest side project, The Emperor Machine and why he prefers using vintage equipment wherever he can: ‘I like the feel and touch of vintage equipment — if that doesn’t sound weird. I like the hands-on approach and get a lot of inspiration from buying new, old vintage equipment. I have nothing against computer software — it is getting to the stage now where you can’t tell the difference — but for me, it’s just not the way I prefer to work’.
After Bizarre Inc and Chicken Lips, was The Emperor Machine your attempt at a more underground sound?
‘Chicken Lips have produced more of an underground sound with Big 200 and Zeefungk but Emperor Machine started as my outlet, a side hobby, ‘a dirty love child’ that I really didn’t expect anyone to be nuts enough to release. Fortunately, squirrel loving James Dyer of DC saw the light’.
There are hordes of bands and producers channelling the dub disco sound at the moment. How do you feel about the popularity of that sound now?
‘I think it’s great! It’s not really what I’m doing now, but when a sound gets too popular, usually time is ripe for another wave. As long as I’m riding the new wave, I don’t mind’.
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Lindstrom, the man who single-handedly coined the term ‘minimal space-disco’ (well, perhaps nudged in the right direction by Orbital et al), recently released a new, rather ambitious, album, Where You Go I Go Too. Weaving between ambient trance and breakbeat-flecked disco, the producer responsible for the mesmerizing reworking of that tune we all secretly love, Roxy Music’s Avalon, has produced a worthy follow-up to his 2006 album, ‘It’s A Feedility Affair’. This time, however, there’s only three tracks, ranging between 10 and 29 minutes in length, and the Eno/Ferry influence is thankfully clear to all.
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Oh boy, Donna Summer writes a Secret Playlist
What’s not to love? Moby told us this recently about the Donna Summer disco classic, I Feel Love: ‘This is the best electronic club song ever recorded. It breaks my heart to know that I’ll never write anything as good as I Feel Love. I always play it when I DJ, though not the remixes; the original version. I never play remixes. I saw Donna Summer perform once and I went backstage afterwards to say hello, terribly drunk and stumbling about. She was polite and friendly, but she must have been horrified at the sight of this scruffy drunk accosting her after her show. I found out later that she was a tea drinking Christian’. With that in mind, we asked the Queen of Disco to write us a Secret Playlist of her eight favourite songs right now. Which she did. Suprises? Well, how many people would have picked Barbara Streisland and Sting in the same set list. Check out what she had to say.
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Electro Taxidermy: new music video for Voltaire Twins
This is the official video for the new single from Voltaire Twins, Animalia, a dark, twisted tale about a taxidermist’s latest acquisition: a pair of feathered twins. Directed by Ben Young.
Also by MICHAELLA SOLAR-MARCH
Johanna Billing’s You Don’t Love Me Yet
As a component of Tiny Movements by Swedish conceptual artist Johanna Billing, the performance piece, You Don’t Love Me Yet, has been presented in over twenty countries since its conception in 2002. Scheduled for August 16, Billing has invited a diverse and exciting collection of Melbourne bands to reinterpret the ever-hopeful tearjerker which was originally recorded by Roky Erikson in 1984. Among those taking part in the event are Beaches, Henry Wagons, Super Wild Horses, Fabulous Diamonds, Tic Toc Tokyo, Francis Plagne, and Teeth and Tongue, each challenged with the task of making something familiar, unique. Read more
More often than not, internet-only hip hop mix tapes are released by wannabe rappers whose lyrics and delivery are derivative and uninspired, and who’ll never get enough weight behind them for a full length release. 24 year-old Washington MC Wale Folarin is different. Mixed by one of New York’s best hip hop DJs, Nick Catchdubs, and produced by 9th Wonder and Mark Ronson (who signed Wale in 2007 to his Allido label), his latest offering Back To The Feature solidifies Wale as a confident, engaging lyricist with a true talent for cross-genre appropriations. Read more
Samuel Hodge and Rainoff Books
For the next fortnight, independent Sydney publishing collective Rainoff Books has set up a temporary curated bookstore in Surry Hills. The store launched last week with a party celebrating the release of Pretty Telling I Suppose, the new photographic collection by Sydney artist Samuel Hodge. Hodge’s photography allows us short glimpses into his subject’s most intimate experiences, enabling us to experience life as someone else. But only for a moment. Hodge renders permanent those everyday fleeting moments often forgotten: a lover’s admiring glance, a sibling’s warm touch, grandfather’s knowing look. Read more
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Trip out with Sparrow Vs Sparrow’s retro illustrations, I love their aesthetic, color use and sense of humor. Read more
Sometimes it’s good to be hit with a reality check on just how good most of us have it today. These dramatic colour photos by photographers of the Farm Security Administration were taken in Depression-era America and serve as a stark reminder of a yesteryear where resilience and adaptability were far more vital than having access to the latest Apple product. Read more
The Deal sisters have dropped off the indie-rock radar of late, but this clip of them covering Hank Williams’ I Can’t Help It reminds us why we all loved them so much back in the day. Incidentally, the Breeders are set to release their new album, Mountain Battles, in April.
On the roof of Bangkok’s Banyan Tree Hotel is a dining experience like no other. The Vertigo Bar sits sixty one floors up, and serves delicious gourmet meals and cocktails. These are expensive by Thai standards, but cheap enough for shoestring travellers to indulge in now and then (a cocktail costs around AUD$12). I’ve spent hour after hour in the bar, drinking and smoking and taking in the amazing view. Most nights at Vertigo end the same, with fast-moving storm clouds rolling in without fail at about eleven pm. While wait staff scurry to move tables, and drunken diners navigate the steep stairs down to the safety of the hotel, the more hardy can sit and watch the clouds race closer and closer towards the building, soaking in both the atmosphere and the rainwater until the lightning gets too close for comfort.
Law-abiding citizens by day, voracious visual junkies by night, the3some is a trio of superheroes who go all out to slug it out with the monotony manifesting their lives. The3some seeks collaborations with like-minded people and together, they strive to bust boredom. As you are reading this, the relentless battle continues.
The first album released by the Malian duo Amadou & Mariam, Dimanche a Bamako, bordered on exceptional, if not for its songwriting then for its sheer diversity. You’d be forgiven for approaching cautiously an album that draws its influences from Syria, Cuba, Egypt, India, and Colombia, as well as its own country – much like a restaurant that offers every cuisine on the planet: choose one and do it well, you’d argue. But the album is fantastic: so full of life, so catchy and so accessible. Read more
Ok, so I’m wearing this sweater right now. How could I not. The damn thing shares the same name as me. Well, kinda. My parents threw in an ‘o’ into my name just to confuse the life out of people. But that’s a whole another story. The Zoltan is comfortable, soft, and colorful. It has ‘no fortune-telling capabilities’, but the ‘lightweight progressive color stripe scheme has an undeniably funky 70s vibe’. And it does. Yeeha. Now, where the hell is my bell bottoms and Grateful Dead vinyl?
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How ’bout this Jose Manuel Hortelano-Pi guy, huh? Quite the illustrator, yessiree Bob. From Spain, too. Spain is great! Read more
The return of the Brionvega rr226
Italian brand Brionvega has resurrected the classy Radiofonografio piece first created in 1965. The updated version is just like the original turntable/radio unit, but also has a CD/DVD player.
Matthew Dear’s Black City album totem
Our friends at Ghostly International are releasing Matthew Dear’s Black City album as a limited edition ‘totem’. A what? A totem – a limited edition metal bar used to access a private music chamber. Cool! Read more
Pitched as ‘Ulterior Motives in Contemporary Art’, Disorder Disorder is running until November 14 at Penrith Regional Gallery. It’ll be well worth the trip out west of Sydney: the Australian, Japanese, American and European cast reads like a warriors of street art roundup and includes Mike Giant, Ed Templeton, Anthony Lister [artwork above], Ozzie Wright, and Jonathan Zawada. Read more
Benjamin Edminston’s psychedelic heads seem to have some fearful wisdom behind their blissed-out eyes. Read more
Sovereign Beck create modern silk ties for the classic man — both understated and provocative, classic and cutting edge. We have them for sale in the Lost At E Minor store. Read more
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