Unless you've been living under a rock somewhere off the coast Patagonia, you've surely been exposed to the electro/rock/indie/dancerock movement that has been erupting across the globe. Artists and labels like Justice, MSTRKRFT, LA Riots & Ed Banger Records are pioneering this movement with explosive results. The scene, get dumb and dance. Its home bases? France, NYC & Los Angeles. The format? Blogs.
The great thing about the genre is that many of the players in the American scene keep duel residencies in both electro & drum and bass. Artists like Ewun(Kill the Noise), Evol Intent(Treasure Fingers),Orion & Daniel(LA Riots),Terravita(Hot Pink Delorean)and many more have been transitioning back and forth pulling ideas from both and creating a sound that is totally unique to the genre.
It's also incredible seeing some of these artists who are known for the darkest of the dark in drum and bass, come with the most soulful disco tripped out dancefloor get dumb vibes around.
We got a chance to sit down with JOB aka Orion aka Edison Gem aka LA RIOTS over the weekend to ask him whats its been like eating green eggs and ham.
WB: So when did you get your start in drum and bass, and what are your influences in that genre?
LA RIOTS: I got into dnb in the late 90s. Seeing ltj bukem in Greensboro in '99 inspired me to start writing it. I'm still really into the atmospheric dnb sound of that time, I almost always have one of the progression sessions mixes close by.
WB: When did you make the transition into electro/indie/rock and how did that all come about?
LA RIOTS: I got into electro earlier this year. My friend Daniel, the other half of LA Riots, was djing all over LA and I started coming out to some of the events. He suggested we try to get some tracks together and things really took off quickly from there.
LA RIOTS: I got into dnb in the late 90s. Seeing ltj bukem in Greensboro in '99 inspired me to start writing it. I'm still really into the atmospheric dnb sound of that time, I almost always have one of the progression sessions mixes close by.
WB: When did you make the transition into electro/indie/rock and how did that all come about?
LA RIOTS: I got into electro earlier this year. My friend Daniel, the other half of LA Riots, was djing all over LA and I started coming out to some of the events. He suggested we try to get some tracks together and things really took off quickly from there.
WB: What comparisons or differences do you see between the two genres? Do they feed off each other?
LA RIOTS: Its good seeing some of the dnb producers making the jump to electro. Its almost an opposite mindset to dnb, which makes it a lot of fun to write. The genre is wide open right now too, I don't think it even has a clearly defined genre title whereas dnb has named out every niche, which allows you as an artist a lot of new ways to be both creative and relevant. Plus anyone who can produce and DJ good dnb is at an advantage in nearly every other electronic music genre, this one especially since its so new. There's a brand new electronic music audience and a whole new generation of DJs/producers that are latching onto it. Those that have been through drum & bass boot camp can move up quickly. I don't know about dnb as a whole but i'm seeing the electro influence starting to show up in a few ways in LA dnb, not so much directly related to the music but more in how its being promoted,like this blog for instance. Its hard to ignore something so massively successful going on in your own city.
WB: Whats your opinion on the whole blog release phenomenon vs. actual vinyl or CD product as a standard medium?
LA RIOTS: As an artist you can work it to your advantage. We started off by giving away a lot of our music for free on the blogs and it helped get us out there quickly. Now blogs are ripping the clips of our tracks off of myspace the day we put them up. Its great promotion. The people in this scene are really paying attention to what's going on and the blogs are a huge influence. Also, the blogs giving music away will probably be the end of a lot of lower-quality labels and releases, as people will only want to pay for what's worth it. Having a release in this scene means something.
LA RIOTS MYSPACE
SCANNERS - LOW LIFE (LA RIOTS REMIX)
MADONNA - ANGEL (LA RIOTS & AC REMIX)
KILL THE NOISE MYSPACE
DRUGS IN MY BODY (KILL THE NOISE REMIX)
HOT PINK DELOREAN MYSPACE
MIA - BOYZ (HOT PINK DELOREAN REMIX)
HOT PINK DELOREAN - AEROPLANE
TREASURE FINGERS MYSPACE
TREASURE FINGERS - CROSS THE DANCEFLOOR
