Category: Features

The Wonder Years have been making waves in the underground music scene with their upbeat pop-punk for a while but, having signed with Hopeless Records this year (who launched the careers of Avenged Sevenfold and All Time Low) and just being announced as the opening band on the Kerrang! Relentless Energy Tour next year, the Philadelphians look set to take things to the next level as they look towards their third album. Second album ‘The Upsides’ got a proper UK release the other week with a bunch of bonus material, following the original release of the album earlier this year on No Sleep Records. We caught up with singer Soupy to talk about the band’s experiences of the UK, what music makes him happy and how things are looking for the band in general. We also spoke to guitarist Matt about skate stuff after Soupy had his turn…

For a relatively new band, you’ve already been to the UK several times. How did each experience differ and how difficult / easy did you find it to make your own way over here?

With every experience things got easier. We lost less money, we rode in better vans and we slept more comfortable places and I chalk a lot of that up to meeting friends in the UK and having them help make our tours there possible.

You probably know a lot more about UK pop-punk than many people who actually live here. Which specific acts would you recommend and why?

All or Nothing are currently writing the best songs of their career and have added Paul (ex-Chaos Days) to the mix which should add a whole new dynamic. Basement are killing it on all fronts and just signed with Run for Cover records in the US. Save Your Breath are working on a new album now and  play a really energetic live show and Maycomb round out the softer side of the scene.

Hostels and Brothels is about some of your UK experiences, right? Were there any specific stories behind it?

It mostly centers around a wild party in Leeds that left one house and a lot of egos destroyed.

What’s the best thing about the band signing with Hopeless Records this year?

We get to work with an entire team of dedicated, hard-working people who care as much about the band as we do.

Why did you decide to spruce up ‘The Upsides’ for a re-release?

We wanted to give fans more. We were planning on doing another 7″ in 2010 but with the rerelease, that wasn’t possible, so just added more content toy he record.

How about your next album? Have you started writing or thinking about its release yet?

We have. The serious writing starts next month but we’re excited about where it’s going.

Do you think you’ll be continuing the positive theme or perhaps concentrating on another specific idea? Any plans to do anything wildly different musically?

I think the theme and music will be a natural evolution from Upsides. I have some ideas but nothing I’m ready to share yet and we’ve written some music but who knows what will make the record at this point.

When will you be in the UK next?

We’ll be over in February opening the Kerrang! tour with Good Charlotte, Four Year Strong and Framing Hanley.

How do you stay positive when life starts getting a bit shitty?

You accept that not everything is going to go your way, you appreciate the things that do and you work towards changing the things that don’t.

What albums make you super happy when you listen to them? Why do you think that is?

The Get Up Kids- Something to Write Home About. It’s my all time favorite record and has so many memories attached to it. When it comes on, I have to smile and sing.

When you go on tour, do you take your skateboard?

Yes I do.

Do you have time to skate much?

Not a lot. Generally, I only skate when we play at a skatepark. There isn’t much time to go find spots otherwise.

Where’s the best place you’ve skated, away from home?

My favorite spot would have to be this outdoor park in Denver. It was absolutely the smoothest park I’ve ever ridden. The transitions are all perfect and it’s got a great layout for hitting lines.

Where would you love to go skating?

There’s a new skatepark in Venice Beach that I’d love to skate. Hopefully I get a chance to when we’re in LA doing our new record.

Who’s your favourite skater?

I haven’t kept up with it much recently but Andy Macdonald was always my favorite. Dude is so consistent. Rules.

You have probably gathered that we are not running a Crossfire Halloween Massacre this year, which we are truly gutted about. This is simply due to illness and simply not being fit enough to promote such a monster so massive apologies to you all but we will be back next year without a doubt.

We know that we cannot match it in any other way but thought you may appreciate clicking through to this Spotify Playlist made up of some classic Thrash and Death Metal bands that have graced our ears over the years. Thanks for all your messages over the last month and have a rocking Halloween where ever you may be going this year.

Zac

Regulations, from Umeå in North-East Sweden, are a huge favourite at Crossfire with their kick-ass Hardcore that’s greatly inspired by the classic North American sounds of the early Eighties. Their 3^rd album ‘To Be Me‘ is out now on Ny Våg Records in Europe, and Deranged Records in North American and is guaranteed to get your stereo shaking.

Pete Craven spoke to with guitarist Marcus and singer Otto on how they crank out hardcore that is up there alongside the finest ever made.

Ok, can you first please tell us some of background on Regulations history…

Marcus: Alright; Me, Otto and Jens used to play in E.T.A. (Epileptic Terror Attack) and we broke up we started jamming on some new stuff with Robert who recently moved to Umeå. That was back in late 2002. We played our first shows in early 2003. Since then we’ve released a couple of 7” EPs and LPs and toured a bunch of times.

Your home town Umeå has a long tradition of great Punk and Hardcore bands, how much of an influence on you was this scene in your younger days?

Marcus: For me it was a huge influence since it was the local hardcore and punk bands that got me into hardcore and stuff. I went to all (almost) shows back then, from like 1992, and it was just great fun. Listen to the old Umeå bands today, almost nothings sounds good, not any of the records. There’s some good demo stuff though.

What is the message behind the title track of the new album ‘To Be Me’…

Otto: ‘To Be Me’ has no real message but it’s more a contemplation.

When you sing you are living ‘In the Shadow of a Mall’, are you singing about American Malls, or Swedish Malls? Is Sweden losing a lot of its own identity now?

Otto: I sing about Swedish malls – how they pop up everywhere and take away every other type of store. I wrote the lyrics to ‘ITSOTM’ when I was living in a suburb to Stockholm and they built this huge mall that basically took over the whole suburb centre.

What is the political situation like in Sweden at the moment? I get the impression that it is leaning more to the Right?

Marcus: That’s correct, and it sucks. Moderaterna (the name of the party) just try to make life a living hell for everyone that’s not rich and from Stockholm. But there’s a new election this fall and the right wing has never managed to win two times in a row – and we need to make sure it doesn’t happen this time around either.

We have a new coalition Government in the UK. Did our election get much media coverage in Sweden?

Marcus: Yes it did, but I didn’t pay much attention to it though. Too busy playing music!

Swedish bands have a reputation for big touring and you have been all over Europe, North America, South America, even Australia which must be an amazing experience! Were these all DIY tours? Have all they been successful?

Marcus: Touring is indeed a great experience. It’s a great way to see other countries and to make friend with good bands all over. I guess all our tours are done in a DIY way – it’s all done by us together with friends. We hardly ever work with booking agencies and try to stay away from the business side of music. I think that all tours have been successful – they have all been fun! Lots of people showing up, good times.

Where have been some of your favourite places to play?

Marcus: It depends, but New York, Portland, Toronto, Copenhagen and Stockholm have treated us well most times! Umeå is also fun!

Where’s next and why haven’t you been to the UK yet? Make it happen, please!!

Marcus: We’re trying to find the time to do a European tour this year and UK would be great.

With so much of your time invested in the band, are you able to hold down full-time jobs, or studies?

Marcus: A few years ago no one of us had full time jobs – we had shitty jobs that we quit for touring. But nowadays we all have full time jobs or something similar to that. That’s a big reason that we don’t tour as much anymore.

Marcus, you also play in U.X. Vileheads (I just got the first EP which is great!) – are any other Regulations in different bands?

Marcus: Thanks! Yes there are a few Regulations-related bands: Masshysteri, AC4, The Vectors, Instängd to name a few…

I’ve been listening to Punk since the late Seventies, and I am still discovering great old music that I didn’t hear the first time around… like recently I saw The Authorities (from California) who were excellent! Have you heard any old bands for the first time recently that got you excited?

Marcus: I HATE COPS! I’m always looking for old good stuff. Some recent discoveries are Final Conflict (from Minneapolis, recently reissued by Havoc Records), Purrkurr Pillnikk (Iceland), Naked Hippy (USA), Opium (Finland), Problems? (Finland) and Geizz (Japan).

And what about modern bands, who have you got on your turntable at the moment to recommend, please?

Marcus: Right now – Thurneman (Sweden), Complications (Canada), Kakka-Hätä 77 (Finland), Love Potion (Denmark), Syndrome (USA), Devour (USA), Double Negative (USA), Night Fever (Denmark), Wasted Time (USA)… there’s too many to mention… and Pissed Jeans (USA)!

To borrow a line from Sweden’s very own Slam… are any of The Regulations wild riders of boards?

Marcus: Yes we all Skate! Not as much anymore but there’s a new skate park in Umeå that’s really great. Rise Above Skateboards did a bunch of Regulations-skate decks two years ago look out for them!

Find the finest Hardcore to ever be made in Europe by Regulations at Myspace.

Like many, our first proper introduction to The Count & Sinden came when the Count used his full ‘of Monte Cristal‘ title and the wobbly, engrossing bassline of ‘Beeper’ was flooding into clubs all over the UK back in 2007. Being big supporters of Sinden and Hervé already we were hooked, and to bring one of our then-upcoming favourites, Kid Sister for a vocal re-release of the track the following year sealed the deal. Combined, The Count & Sinden are a dance music force to be reckoned with.

We caught up with The Count (Hervé) for a Crossfader insight into their debut album Mega Mega Mega, how they started producing music together, their reaction to ‘Beeper‘ blowing up and who they’ve got their ears tuned to.

So, you two have been mates for a long time, how did you first hook up?

We first met at Dave Taylor’s (Switch) studio, got on really well and decided to do some tracks. The first thing we did was the 4 track EP that had ‘Beeper’ as one of the B-sides and it all took off from there!

I suppose the first time most people became aware of you as a production duo was on that very track, ‘Beeper’, with Kid Sister vocalling the track. Did you know at the time that you were making such an anthem? That track was played by everyone when it came out!

No not at all, it was a B-side. We didn’t think many people would play it, we just wanted to do a garage/hiphop tune with crazy warping bass, so it came as a big surprise. When we had to vocal it we really wanted to keep the US hip-hop vibe on the vocal and we had heard some of Kid Sister’s early tracks and A-Trak hooked us up with her. She did a fantastic job and was brilliant in the video.

How did the hook-up with Domino come about?

We knew we wanted a label that would allow us to do a proper album so as soon as we got interest from them they became front runners. We really liked the fact that the label that put out Pavement, Royal Trux, Arctic Monkeys and Franz Ferdinand wanted to sign us, it appealed to our sense of doing something different. They support their artists in such a fantastic way, too.

This album has been in the pipeline for a while, was it hard to get it done what with touring separately as DJs?

If you think about it there is a lot of time in between, but we didn’t just want to put out the first bunch of tunes we made. We really wanted to keep going until we had the songs to make the album as good as we wanted it to be. We never had any pressure from the label, and Laurence (the label owner) just encouraged us to keep going until it was right. It was and still is a massive learning curve doing this album, it’s been an excellent experience.

When you first sat down to make the record, did you specifically want certain sounds on there? That is, did you think you wanted a B-More beat, a rock track, a hip hop track? Or did it flow naturally and your tastes just come out as a result?

It was more natural I think. We sat around a lot before going in to the studio soaking up lots of music talking about how we could do things and thinking up interesting ideas. We wanted it to be varied and exciting but sound very ‘Count and Sinden’.

Similarly, there are a number of vocalists featured from Rye Rye and Katy B to Bashy and Mystery Jets. Did you go looking for any of these without having met them before? Or was it more a case of bringing your mates in to help out with the song?

Some of them were friends but it was more about bringing people in on merit, how much we rated them, than just being friends. We didn’t want to put tracks out simply because we made them, they had to be right.

The electronic music scene in the UK is huge right now with artists from Mount Kimbie and James Blake to breakout commercial stuff like Magnetic Man – is it as exciting to be a part of it all as it is for fans to hear?

Yeah totally, it’s great. Some excellent music is coming out across the board and it feels like a great time to be making music.

Being able to DJ your music all around the world, have you had good reactions when you drop tracks from the album. And conversely, were there tracks that you had originally planned for the record that didn’t get a great response from the crowds? Seems like that might be a good litmus test.

Yeah some tracks got changed or dropped because of reactions when in the club. For example Mega just worked from the very first time and wasn’t changed but others got altered because they were too long or the mix needed tweaking.

Horrible questions I’m sure but is there a track on the album you like most of all? Why that particular track?

It changes everyday, but today I think it’s ‘Addicted To You‘ because that’s our next single. Big church organs!

What else do you both have coming up outside of Count & Sinden? Anything forthcoming on Cheap Thrills and/or Grizzly?

We both have loadsa great stuff coming out on our labels! I’m working on my solo Hervé album which I’m hoping it will be out early next year. I have lined up some great singers to guest on a few tracks.

Are there any artists coming through that you think people reading this should know about? What I’ve heard of Mele sounds really big!

Yeah Mele’s doing some great stuff. I’ve signed a kid called Baxta (he also records as Rufio) to Cheap Thrills who has remixed the next Count and Sinden single and also the new Speaker Junk single. He really is great for someone his age, you can grab his Mr Sinister EP at beatport now.

Listen to and grab the mix below and while you’re at it, watch the zombie disco fun of the video for the forthcoming single I’m Addicted To You‘ available on November 8th.

The Count & Sinden Mix by Crossfire Music

Hailing from Brighton, Rooks are one of those new bands out there that were recommended to us off the strength of their debut video. The band were formed three members of other acts you may have heard of if you’re used to slipping on snot, sweat, blood and black vomit in underground punk venues across the UK. Rooks are the phoenix that flew from the collective ashes of balls-to-the-wall punks Phinius Gage, the slightly poppier Not Katies and the progressive hardcore outfit, Second Monday. They’ve already had a video banned and they’ve only released one single… the shouty, gnarly and instantly attention-grabbing ‘Bet It All On Black‘.

We caught up with Luke Hefson (bass & vocals) not so long after they mopped up all the black sick to find out what it’s like making the cheapest video ever, why Rolf Harris didn’t make it into the band and what they’d do to Scouting For Girls if they were armed with an deckchair. Boys and girls, we introduce you the fantastic Rooks…

So you are all ex-members of other bands, spill the history?

We all knew each other from being touring buddies in our old bands. Ade was in Phinius Gage, I was in Not Katies and Fred was in Second Monday. We all live in Brighton and had wanted to play some punk music again, so getting together and forming Rooks seemed quite natural.

Tell us an imaginary story of how you got together as Rooks…

We met at an AA meeting for severe crack-cocaine addicts. Only four people turned up that day – us three and Rolf Harris. We would have got Rolf in the band too but he had other wobble-board commitments.

Your overall sound seems to have hardcore influences in there somewhere, what bands have you all grown up listening to that you would openly call an influence?

We actually have quite different opinions on the music, although there is certainly some common ground. I guess this common ground would be punk music so that’s why we’re a punk band. We all like Refused, The Descendents, Nirvana, The Hives… to name a few.

There’s some good shit in that list. What part of the country are you all hanging out in?

We practice in Brighton, the best town in the UK.

What’s going on down there right now in the scene in terms of other bands you are into?

This sounds harsh, but I think we’re all a bit out of touch with the ‘punk’ scene in Brighton at the moment. Don’t get me wrong, it’s an awesome scene and from what I can tell there’s lots of great bands, but we only played our first gig with other punk bands the other day. For some reason we tend to play most gigs with indie bands at the moment, which is fun because we tend to scare a lot more people. Indie kids don’t like spitting apparently.

Name 3 bands you would die to play on the same stage with?

Rocket From The Crypt, Mastodon and Blur.

Now that would be a bill to hit the musical hisory books. Name 3 bands you would like to fight on Brighton beach and why? Bear in mind the only weapon you have are deckchairs…

Hmmm… that band Go Audio, or ‘Go Fuck Yourself’ as I prefer to call them, Oasis and Scouting For Girls. Go Audio because they typify that emo-radio-rock crap that has over-saturated the place recently. But I’d only lightly hurt them as at least they are having a good go at it. Oasis.. well, just because they have split up, it doesn’t mean they’re not cunts and Scouting For Girls. Well, they’re just the worst thing in music aren’t they? I’ll break the deckchair legs off and stab them through their hearts!

You have a pretty fun video for ‘Bet It All On Black’, looks like the cheapest ever made, explain this puke fest please?

We’re very lucky that one of my best friends is a great promo director and he’s happy to do videos for us for next to nothing – we just have to come up with gnarly ideas. So we settled on the idea of drinking 6 pints each of black milk and trying to bring as much of it back up as possible in one take!

Ade really struggled as he’s not very comfortable with puke and he could barely sing along. I had no problems – I like puking. I tried to vom on Ade’s head but I couldn’t quite get it out at that point. I’m still disappointed with myself to this day.

Did this video seriously get banned?

A few music video channels said that they couldn’t play it because it breached Ofcom’s taste and decency rules. So yeah, I guess it did get banned… fuck it.

Mike Prior who directed it also did the recent ‘Heartsink’ video for Blood Red Shoes, what possession would you have taken to that video shoot that meant something to you and smashed to pieces?

I don’t know if I could have taken anything and trashed it. I don’t really have much stuff, as I’m pretty good at just throwing old stuff away and what little sentimental stuff I have I’d want to hold on to.

Maybe I’d just take something really horrible down to the video shoot to freak people out a bit, like a gimp-mask. I could tell the other people on set: “I’m just not into that shit anymore… I prefer harder stuff”.

So there must be more coming up, are recording your own album or have someone on hand to make it with you?

Again, we’re very lucky, as we have a good friend that owns a studio and he is happy to do some pretty spectacular mates-rates for us. We’re just finishing off the last few songs for our debut album. Considering we’ve only been a band for less than a year I think that’s a pretty good work rate!

What are we to expect and when is it looking likely to be released?

The record will hopefully be out in the New Year. Expect some pretty upfront lyrics and lots of gnarly riffs. That’s generally the Rooks vibe.

Lastly tell us 3 things that are most fucked up and random about all of you?

Fred:  I got beaten up when I was in my old band by a promoter that wrongly accused us of stealing and then we had to jump in the van and get away even through the driver was drunk. That was a really bad evening.

Ade: Doing the Rooks video was fucking awful. I’m basically unable to vomit on demand, even though I drank 6 pints of milk and had the crew shouting at me to get on with it the whole 2 minutes of shooting.

Luke: ‘Chemistry’ by Girls Aloud is one of my favorite albums of all times. I’m not even joking.

…and on that note check out Rooks in their debut video and look out for them on your travels.

DEVO‘s Mark Mothersbaugh discusses his experiences with skateboarding including Lords of Dogtown, Neil Young, the Globe/Devo clothing and shoe collab and more in our last of 3 webisodes from our Something For Everybody video interview series below.

Mark has discussed the history of DEVO with us in webisode one, watch it right here and in the 2nd installment talked openly about how the new record Something For Everybody was put together, the first the band have released in 20 years. watch it here.

Thanks to Alan Christensen who edited these and Moose and Martyn who filmed this session with near to no advance warning. Enjoy!

When you think of French music, who comes to mind? Johnny Halliday? Edith Piaf? Probably Serge Gainsbourg? But it’s the hip hop scene which has been the most important cultural revolution in the country of the Bastille, giving as it does a voice to the disenfranchised youth and allowing second and third generation immigrants the chance to share their story.

Throughout the 90s in particular and moving through into the 21^st century, French MCs, DJs and producers flourished, becoming part of the country’s fabric and providing the backdrop for other mediums, such as Matieu Kassovitz’s masterpiece ‘La Haine’. The Exception Culturelle Francaise law, which stated that at least 40% of the music played on the radio must be homegrown certainly helped, but it was the hard hitting and often overtly political and anti-establishment lyrics which cemented these artists in the foreground of people’s attentions.

It’s not easy to dissect every group or artist that made an impact in their homeland, but the five acts below are a selection of those that made their mark, whether in the old school or in the recent past. Look, listen and love. Vive La France!

Words: Abjekt

SAIAN SUPA CREW

Saian Supa Crew are simply one of the most innovative hip hop groups on the planet and certainly the foremost in France at pushing the musical envelope. Each track from their albums ‘KLR’, ‘X Raisons’ and ‘Hold Up’ features fast-paced delivery from each of the MCs across sometimes skittering, sometimes booming beats across their releases showcasing the talents of both the rappers and producers.

Even when a couple of the MCs fell away from the group, the Saian juggernaut showed no signs of abating and even caught the ears of RZA and Will.I.Am, proving how far their reach had travelled. With double-time rapping, reggae influences, singing and beatboxing, there’s no let-up on any of their albums, or the groups they were in pre-Saian – Explicit Samourai, Simple Spirit and OFX – which is why they are such an important group to get into.

IAM

Mid-90s hip hop in France was very much influenced  by the gangster rap sounds of the American rap scene and it needed a group to stamp their own Gallic footprint into the scene, which is exactly what IAM did. Still lauded now as an extremely important group in the evolution of the country’s rap scene, IAM’s seminal album ‘L’Ecole De Micro D’Argent’ is as fresh today as it was when it was released in 1997.

Having caught the ear of Wu Tang and featured affiliated rappers on their track ‘Petit Frere’, they saw their album go gold in just two days and gained momentum outside of their homeland with a set at Reading Festival. Solo projects became commonplace amongst their members, but it’s as a group that IAM really showcase how hard-hitting and head-nodding French hip hop can be.

MC SOLAAR

Solaar is the daddy of French hip hop, still releasing records to much acclaim in both his homeland and abroad. Whilst purists prefer his older work, it’s his later material which brought him the mainstream plaudits with tracks such as ‘La Belle Et Le Badboy’ and ‘Solaar Pleure’.

Having guested on Missy Elliott’s ‘All In My Grill’ and seen his tracks used in such high-profile TV shows as Sex And The City, Solaar’s star continues to shine as brightly as ever. His reminiscence of his childhood and African heritage couple beautifully with his poetic lyrics throughout his entire catalogue and it’s clear to see why Solaar is viewed by many as the benchmark for hip hop in the country.

ORELSAN

Orelsan courted much controversy when he first hit the French scene, with members of the French Parliament unfairly accusing him of sexism and masochism. Lyrically, he can border the edges but does so in such a skilled way, that you can’t help but appreciate his talent.

His album, ‘Perdu D’Avance’, dropped in 2009 and showcased his wit, wordplay and flow amongst a backdrop of fun beats which lead to him being dubbed the “French Eminem”. Regardless of whether that’s the case or not, it’s going to be interesting to see where the new face of French rap is going when he releases his follow-up.

DISIZ LA PESTE

Getting noticed by the legendary Joey Starr of the infamous Supreme NTM crew at an early age, Disiz La Peste thrust himself into the limelight with ‘La Poisson Rouge’ in 2000 with lead single ‘J’Pete Les Plombs’, inspired by the film ‘Falling Down’. Not one to rest on his laurels, Disiz continued his climb to the top of the French rap charts and appeared on the soundtrack of ‘Taxi 2’.

2009 saw Disiz retire from rap with a bulletin on MySpace but he said he was looking to continue on with music in general. With this statement came ‘Disiz The End’, an album that showed he’d lost nothing in the nine years since his debut album with the standout ‘C’est La Verite’ becoming France’s own version of Lil Wayne’s ‘A Milli’. Whether dropping double time as in his verse on Rouge A Levre’s ‘Gash’ or more centred rhyme patters on ‘Il Est Deja Trop Tard’, Disiz is definitely one for the annals.

With a string of sold out shows under their belt taking them to all four corners of the globe and a Grammy Award winning album for Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix, we catch Laurent Brancowitz and Christian Mazzalai of Phoenix at Fracophone festival Francofolies and ask if they’ve picked up on any influences on the way and shaping where there heading to next…

Interview and portrait: Nazlee Jannoo

You’ve been on the road for a long while now, without much of a break! Do you find time to pick up any new literature on the way?

Christian: Right know I’m reading Deleures –  a French philosopher who writes about cinema. It’s very complicated, quite complex but we have a profound respect for cinematographers…

In terms of developing you music video it must help reading these philosophers and critiques – would you ever try you hand in making a music video? You must be very involved in the process…

Christian: As we have a lot of respect for cinematography as an art form it would be something very hard for us to create ourselves. It’s a very rich art form that we couldn’t attempt to create  – we wouldn’t know where to start! It would take ten year worth of work on our part – as we have ten-year worth in music – to be good at it. We very much respect that craft and tradition.

On the other hand and we really love the fact that now with Youtube other people are creating their music videos, showing their visions and interpretations. We think it’s really cool – there are quite a few amazing ones for Lisztomania. They’re some of our favourites.”

As you are so impressed with some of the ‘alternative’ videos out on Youtube would you consider allowing a fan to direct an official music video…?

Laurent: The beauty with Youtube is that we don’t have any involvement – fans have made the video for themselves. The videos have a life of their own and gaining hits so we feel we don’t want to meddle with the process.

You are playing Field Day which is considered as one of the most important festival for alternative music – is it still important for you as a band to still acknowledge your alternative rock origins? Some bands throughout the careers have consciously changed direction throughout their music careers however Phoenix has remained constant. Was this a conscious decision?

Christian: We’ve never questioned this as this is something that has never crossed our minds but for us it’s very important to be, and still remain part of a counter culture – and to play this kind of festival.

Why have you decided to perform at Francofolies now? It’s one of the most highly respected music festivals for artist of French origin….

Christian: It’s a Francophone festival yes but it’s the first year its been open to other language but with French origin.

Any new acts which have caught your attention on your travels?

Christian: I’m really into this guy John Mouse, he’s great.

On Hype machine there are dozens of new remixes that filter through the chart regularly. Do you approve many of these remixes that spread across the web?

Christian: Some of them we put on our blog – we love the idea that our music is being engaged with.

We’ve actually released a collection of our favourite remixes out there – it’s semi official, but it’s out there……

You’ve been together as a band for a long while, and being based with you music community, you’ve seen your peers go on to great things (Previous incarnations include short-lived band Darlin’ who Laurent, Christian’s older brother had formed with Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo who together became Daft Punk) and success feels like its long time due  – have there been any fundamental changes with being awarded with a Grammy for instance?

Laurent: It’s meaningless but it makes things easier. We wrote this album with a few friends in mind and our idea was to touch very people with it – that was our goal.

Christian: It’s impossible to try to please everyone so this time we tried to please as few people as possible – but within intention to please these friends a lot – and it turned out to be the most successful album. One thing that did come out of the success of the album is put in a very good position, but it almost happened organically. This is album that sounds the most like what we were trying to do since the beginning of us recording.

Los Angeles based three-piece Funeral Party emerged partly out of their own perpetual boredom of their tiresome and uninspired musical surroundings and partly because of their inherant post-punk-meets-dance-culture influence. Whilst gigging in backyard parties and groggy clubs across East LA suburbs they have manged to recall the true messiness of what makes dance punk actually is. Somewhere between not giving a fuck and the perfect soundtrack for basement club floors laced with beer-stained jeans and your mates’ blood-covered t-shirt.

We caught up with them around the release of their new single ‘Just Because‘ for a brief talk about how they got together, what skate videos they’re hyped on, the name of their potential porn flick and what to do if someone gets stabbed while you’re playing a gig.

Your name comes from a Cure track, right?

Yes.

What drew you to this particular song when identifying yourselves as a band?

A girlfriend of mine was listening to ‘Funeral Party’ by the Cure and I asked what the song was called because it was the most depressing song I’d ever heard. She answered and it hit me: this is the perfect name for our band because it’s so bleak; it perfectly encapsulates the landscape that bore us.

So besides being in the same high school, what spurred you to start making music?

We all came to music in different ways. For me, it was like a drug, something I hid from my family because music wasn’t allowed in my house; my parents felt it was too worldly, and that made it sinful. I think the common the band find in music is that it was and is a way to escape the shitty town we’re from. We all see music as a form of escapism.

What would you all be doing if you weren’t in a band?

Selling drugs, shoplifting, and making art.

You’re all from LA and playing this music that isn’t typical of the west coast music scene. Did the whole dance punk vibe take a while to sink in with some of the crowds there?

Not really. Hard-core and Emo were the dominant milieus where we are from, and Post-Punk and ’77-’80 Punk were the natural backlash against the popular scenes in our area. It was natural to look to Joy Division or Television and Suicide, or contemporary underground bands we listened to as an alternative to Blood Brothers or Modest Mouse, but we really see music as a cohesive continuum, so we weren’t really consciously trying to be anything.

For us, it all started at a backyard party. I screamed “Liar!” at the audience because I didn’t know what else to do, and we started playing and people started moving. From that moment on we were just doing our thing, figuring ourselves out musically. We’re still doing that.

What’s the gnarliest encounter you’ve had at a gig so far?

The gnarliest encounter was probably when we were playing a party in East LA and a fight broke out and some guy got stabbed. It was total chaos, but we just kept playing. Finally, some woman started yelling at us in Spanish an we stopped playing. There was a lot of violence in our early days. It’s just what happens when people are drinking and going off. I’m sure we we have provided the soundtrack to many fights and have not been aware of it.

You all skate too, yeah? Would you be hyped if any of your tracks made it into a video?

Some of us skate, but we are all in touch with skateboarding. We would be excited to be in videos, but it depends on who used it, I guess. I’ve heard they play us on the PA at The Berrics.

What kind of video would you be stoked on most if someone asked if they could use your music?

Like Toy Machine vibes, Static vibes, Baker vibes or Fully Flared vibes… Any of those would be rad. A lot of skaters come out to our shows and our music seems to have the right energy for skateboarding.

Who are your favourite skaters?

Well, Mark Gonzales, Mariano, Dollin, Lance, The Nuge, but we favor locals like Randy Chu and Tony Cervantes. Ben Schroeder is still the gnarliest and hardest working skateboarder we know. He’s skateboarding’s Iggy.

How does the how culture of skating influence your music?

Hard to say, but we all wear plaid.

If you were to make a porn film, what would you call it?

‘Sometimes, You Gotta Make It Alone’ or ‘Give Yourself A Hand’

And if you were to compose the score, what would it sound like?

It would be comprised of Talking Heads cover songs.

What’s next for you guys now that people worldwide are really starting to get into your music?

Our album comes out in January, 2011 and we will continue touring the world.

Funeral Party’s new single ‘Just Because‘ is out now, check out the music video, directed by Mike Relm below alongside the stream for ‘Giants Song‘.

Giant Song by Funeral Party