art/official presents: Big History

For New Orleans, Big History is big. They take elements from some of today’s most prominent bands, but they do it in a way that is uniquely their own. Comparisons to The XX and Beach House are accurate, but not encompassing. Within Big History is manifested a fantastic medium between old New Orleans soul and contemporary indie power. They are great people who write great songs in a great city.

Those of us at art/official have seen Big History live more times than we can count, and it still hasn't gotten old. With each show the band's sound has gotten tighter and more polished. New tracks interlaced with "classics" keep the dance floor moving the entire time. The energy stays at a ten while the electronic dance beats mix with live music and the airiness of Meg Roussel's voice. The front of the crowd is the place to be at these shows, and you'll probably see us up there with you.

Below, check out the video premiere of their hit “All At Once" (is Meg a fox or what?!):

Big History- All At Once from Bret Bohnet on Vimeo.

One warm Louisiana winter night a few months ago the guys and girls from Big History invited us out to their practice space to enjoy some music and conversation. We had the privilege of asking the band a few questions:

How did y'all originally get together?

Matt: Well, Corey and I played together during high school, and most of us have been acquainted with each other for a while because of other bands we have been in. Bret and I played with Silent Cinema for a while, and Corey and Blandon played in Antenna Inn. Meg was doing solo folk stuff in the city and when I heard her sing, I knew we had to have her. Bret had always wanted to incorporate digital sounds and acoustic drums in a way that worked well together and put together this interesting drum kit for this band. So, we are able to recreate the synthetic sounds live while still hanging on to an organic feel as well.

Tell us a little about your sound and how you ended up settling where you are now.

Big History: We originally kind of wanted to do folk rock stuff, but eventually everything got to be more and more digital. Now we do a lot of recording as we go, picking synthetic sounds to add more depth and layers. Matt and Blandon do most of the writing, but everyone helps out. We even play a song that Meg wrote 100% by herself.

A lot of people in the city have dubbed you guys as a dream pop group. Is that a genre you guys would claim for yourself, and if not, what is?

Big History: I think we all agree that dream pop is a genre we are capable of living up to. We have gotten a lot of Beach House comparisons and several of our synthetic beats were heavily influenced by the XX, so dream pop makes sense.

How about your guys' favorite new bands?

Matt: I really like King Rey.

Amanda: Caddywhompus.
Bret: Curren$y!!

Matt: Animal Collective. Everything they do is so inventive. It’s way more ahead of their time than any other band, ever. Beyond that, we’re all really big fans of the Arcade Fire and Beach House. And I love 80’s music.

Besides all the local shows you guys have booked, what are your other plans? Is there a tour in store for Big History, and what are your other future plans?
Big History: We’re going to start small. We've finished recording our EP and we will have that ready to release by this summer. As far as a tour goes, we’ll probably start going out just for the weekend and coming back. We’ll start small with regional tours and work up to larger national tours.

For those of you who haven't already heard of Big History, be ashamed of yourself. This bio offers a bite-sized introduction for those of you who have yet to hear of them:

The New Orleans rock scene is downright incestuous and Big History is no exception. When Matt Glynn and Blandon Helgason set out to form a new project, the two came to the conclusion that the nature of the New Orleans scene works like a puzzle, each musician a puzzle piece shuffled about until they fit.

The two set out to find the perfect pieces for their puzzle. They enlisted Bret Bohnet, who aside from playing with Glynn in Silent Cinema, was known for blending digital and acoustic percussion seamlessly in One Man Machine, and the popular White Bitch. There was no question about who would be playing bass. The multi‐instrumentalist Cory Schultz, of the skyrocketing Mynameisjohnmichael who also worked with Glynn and Helgason in the massive psychedelic orchestra known as Antenna Inn. Helgason then enlisted his friend Amanda Wuerstlin, having heard her violin and piano work with The City Life and Kristen & the Mania. Her organic sound would provide the perfect contrast against the band’s digital hooks.

The puzzle was complete except for one key piece: a vocalist. The band sifted through its contacts, looking for the perfect component for their sound and found the perfect voice in a very unlikely place. Meg Roussel, a young folk musician playing small gigs around town accompanied by an acoustic guitar, would ironically be the perfect fit for the bands glitchy, hip‐shaking, amalgamation of electronica, dance, and pop. Her voice, a unique blend of 60’s soul, 70’s British folk, would prove itself on the bands first single Every Bone.

With no more than a few burned copies in the hands of key New Orleans DJ’s, a buzz built around the newly formed band, which began to write and record feverishly for their upcoming EP, due for a May release. If the response to the band’s first single is any indication, Big History will be around for the long haul. It’s safe to say that these musicians have more than a few tricks up their sleeves, and the New Orleans music scene has granted its listeners yet another completed puzzle.

-from Foburg Festival

Big History plans to release their debut six song EP in early May. Check out these two songs from the forthcoming EP. Free! (right click + "save as"):

TRACKS REMOVED. We will upload new tracks as they come :)

For more info on Big History, upcoming releases, gigs, etc., head over to:

-Myspace
-Facebook
-Bandcamp

Spotlight composed by: Justen Cheney, Connor Crawford, and Aaron Saltzman

Photographs by: Patrick Quirck (http://www.rapparee.us/)
Video footage by: Jeremy Blum

Interview with Sun Airway!

"The craziest nights of our lives always happen in New Orleans."

Last Sunday night, after Art/Official’s Foburg showcase at Saturn Bar with Small Black, Cults, Cloud Nothings, and Sun Airway, I caught up with Jon Barthmus, frontman of Philadelphia bliss-pop outfit Sun Airway. They started the night off beautifully with a visually and aurally engaging set. This outstanding band has been turning heads in the indie world recently, and righteously so. They bring to mind a hybrid of Animal Collective and The Postal Service, with their own added authenticity. Their debut album Nocturne of Exploded Crystal Chandelier came out last year. In the front seats of their tour van, we discussed the following…

art/official: You guys have found a great medium between organic and electronic in your music. How did you accomplish that?

• Jon Barthmus: That was the main intention going into the record. We were coming from a guitar rock background, but I always wanted to make electronic music. For Sun Airway, the music is “synthetic,” but I wanted to make it real.

a/o: How do you usually approach writing a song?

• JB: It really runs the gamut. Usually lyrics come first because that’s the hardest part for me. I really write in every possible way. Sometimes I’ll work on a song for months and months, and sometimes I’ll finish a song within a day. There’s really no rhyme or reason to the process.

a/o: I saw a video of you guys playing an acoustic version of “Oh, Naoko,” and it had a real folk/Americana vibe. Do you tend to experiment with different ways to play songs?

• JB: I’ve been experimenting with electronic music for a really long time. I wanted to make a record that was mine. All of the songs can be played with real instruments, but that’s really expensive, and during recording I didn’t have a ton of money. A lot of the songs can be played in different ways. The final product on record is what I wanted to put out there, though.

a/o: Do you write all of the songs yourself?

• JB: Yeah, I write them all myself. After everyone quit my old band (the A-Sides), the drummer and I continued making music. I would record a bunch of stuff on my own in my basement, and bring some of it to the studio.

a/o: After touring, what’s your next move?

• JB: We’re working on a 7” to put out this summer. We’re going to try to do a European tour. We’re doing Pitchfork Festival this summer along with a few others.

a/o: Do you have any collaborations in the works?

• JB: I really wanna do something with Jana from Lower Dens. I love doing remix swaps, too.

a/o: Judging from the sound of the songs on the album, it sounds like somewhat of a break up album, but I see you’re wearing a wedding ring. What’s the story there?

• JB: It’s not really a break up record. A lot of it was inspired by the book Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami. Actually, the songs “Oh, Naoko” and “Waiting On You” come directly from the novel. The book just really spoke to me. It’s this great, heartbreaking, coming-of-age work. I won’t give too much away, but I definitely recommend it. Then take a song like “Put the Days Away,” where it might sound like a break up, but it’s more about time in general. But yeah, the album isn’t entirely autobiographical.

a/o: What do you think of New Orleans so far?

• JB: I love it here. The craziest nights of our lives always happen in New Orleans.

More Sun Airway:








For more from Sun Airway head over to: http://sunairway.com/

Article and interview by Connor Crawford

art/official drama!!

At this time those of us at art/official would like to appologize for the delay in some amazing original content that is long overdue. We have been working tirelessly since Foburg to compile the best articles, photos, and coverage from the event. We also hope to release our most anticipated spotlight yet this week before The Ethical Fashion Show!

We planned to release most of this content over the weekend, but a bit of drama unfolded which we had to take care of. I would try to explain, but I think I'll just let the video speak for itself...



Lots of love,
art/official

P.S. Check back tomorrow morning for our interview with Sun Airway, one of our favorite acts from our Foburg Showcase!


XXX


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An Interview with Das Racist!

"Europeans do what they're told."

We previewed Das Racist a week ago, and recently I got the chance to ask them a bunch of random questions. If you know anything about them at all, then you shouldn't expect a normal interview. However, if you don't know, Das Racist is a duo (or a trio, kinda) of rappers out of Brooklyn composed of Victor Vasquez or Kool A.D, Himanshu Suri or Heems, and hype man Ashok Kondabolu or Dapwell. Other people describe their music as anti-consumerist, "Harold and Kumar existentialism" and whatever, but those labels don't really stick when you hear lines like "Catch me drinking lean in Italy like I was Pisa." At their core, Das Racist embody rap's essential poetic self-aggrandizement by replacing bitches and cars with being smart, making jokes, and just "getting it."

 Photo from DasRacist.net by Ariana Gilrie

They recently finished a tour in Europe and are playing tonight at the Maison as a big part of Foburg.

Art/Official: What does Dapwell do? I’ve only seen videos of y’all doing Beastie Boy covers and cooking Thanksgiving dinners, so I don’t know what an actual live performance is like. Is he like the black dude with the double blonde mohawk from Major Lazer + a blogger?

Dapwell: I'm also a baby! I'm not nearly as cool as Skeritt Bwoy, also.

Heems: He's a hypeman and spiritual advisor.

Kool A.D.: He's a witch doctor.

Art/Official: How did anyone in Europe come even close to understanding what the fuck you guys were saying? Follow up: You’re remarkably clear-speaking for rap music or whatever, and I know a lot of people speak English over there, but other than your most obvious fast food rhymes I don’t see how anyone would have any idea. I mean even your average American fan probably Wikipedias a lot of your lyrics.

Heems: Victor?

Kool A.D.: No idea.

Heems: I don't know. Rap is melodic?

Kool A.D.: Europeans do what they're told.

Dapwell: Europeans are a silly lot. Most of their countries are old news bears. Give it up!

Art/Official: Who’s Gordon Voidwell? His production is the most banging shit on both of your mixtapes. Is he a close friend or just some guy in the industry back in the New York? You’ve played a couple of shows with him.

Heems: He's an awesome singer, producer, performer you can download the music of for free.

Kool A.D.: Gordon Voidwell is one of the best out.

Dapwell: Gordon Voidwell is an incredible man. He makes music as well as love (to the ladies).

Art/Official: Was there a specific point where you first realized you were rappers, like "professional" rappers? How’d you react?

Dapwell: When I quit my job maintaining a website for a law school.

Heems: Probably the first time someone asked me what I do and I said, "I'm a professional rapper." Still feels weird.

Kool A.D.: I always feel a little weird.


Art/Official: I found this old article that said you met in a “students of color for social justice” dorm; that’s not true, right?

Heems: True story.

Kool A.D.: It is true. I was his RA until I lost my job and got suspended for a minor altercation.

Art/Official: When you watch TV or see anything getting a bunch of media attention, like that Charlie Sheen deal, do you feel like you gotta rap about it?

Heems: Sometimes, but I try to avoid that.

Kool A.D.: Don't watch TV, watch Ian Cohen.

Art/Official: What do your parents think?

Dap: They're happy I'm doing something that allows me to travel and make money although they barely understand many of the things we're talking about. How presumptuous to ask, what if they were dead!

Heems: They're proud of me?

Kool A.D.: My parents think what they want to think, more or less.

_______________________________________________________________

That's it, guys. Thanks to Das Racist, The Templum Group, and Winter Circle Productions.

~You can get both of DR's mixtapes for free on the internet (legally). To get them click here!

**Also be sure to check out this great video of this even greater track:

--Article and interview by Jeffrey Silberman

House Party!!

Tomorrow, March 13th (Sunday), Open House Music will host a plethora of Foburg bands in their backyard. Come out early, see some music, have some drinks, and shake your rump!! The best part? ART/OFFICIAL will be doing an hour DJ set along with all the other great acts. It's only $5 and is bound to be a blast on such a beautiful weekend. I hope to see all your beautiful faces.

Love,
Aaron

XXX

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Where to get Foburg Tickets

So Foburg starts tonight, we hope to see all of you out there. Check out our tab up top for previews and a schedule.

Here's where to get tickets:

2116 Chartres Street
New Orleans, LA 70116

or you can get them on line by clicking here!

Sorry No Ferrari! (But that don't mean they won't take you there)

They’re no Xbox; they’re more Atari. Southern indie instrumental progressive rock, despite all the adjectives, has a lot of history. From Explosions in the Sky to STS9, anyone who likes riffs and hates words and yankees has a lot of music to chase after. Readers of this blog can add Sorry No Ferrari to their docket. Though they combat file-sharing in bizarre ways like password protecting their own Mediafire files, what you’ll get with this band is slightly experimental but mostly Spartan, textbook prog rock.

If Explosions in the Sky is the best soundtrack to the “Great Planes” episode of Planet Earth and STS9 is the best soundtrack to “Shallow Seas,” Sorry No Ferrari is the “Seasonal Forests” of progressive rock—quality and fantastic technique, but not what you watch when you invite your friends over to try out your new bong.

That being said, you should see them live. They’re playing this weekend’s Foburg Fest as part of the festival’s instrumental and progressive showcase alongside ImagineIAM and locals Smiley with a Knife at the Dragon’s Den (Downstairs), but be advised the schedule indicates the venue may change.

Here are some tracks and remixes:

GTRSp by Sorry no Ferrari

Ashar - Music For People remix by music_for_people

-Article by Jeffrey Silberman

Deft Jams + art/official Foburg Showcase ft. Small Black, Toro y Moi, Cults, Cloud Nothings, & Sun Airway

Mardi Gras is finally over; all of the staff members at art/official have survived (that we know of so far), and Foburg is fast approaching. The music festival, which takes place this coming weekend, has done a fantastic job of securing great local, national, and even international acts to perform this year around.
It stands to reason that a smaller, but similar festival would suffer from being scheduled on the same weekend as Austin’s SXSW, but the opposite stands true. Many bands participating in SXSW this year, anxious to make the best of their time in the dirty south, will be playing at both festivals this weekend and all of the heavy hitters on the bill for Sunday night's showcase at the Saturn Bar are a testament to this. Thanks to our friends at Deft Jams, many of the biggest names on this years Foburg lineup will be sharing the same stage - or spot on the floor at the front of the main room in the Saturn Bar.
First on the list is a band always eager to work with Deft Jams, Small Black, hailing from Brooklyn, New York. These guys were in New Orleans last on October 28, two days after the release of their first full length LP, the hazy, nostalgia drenched New Chain. This very talented outfit has been described as anything from synth-pop, to chillwave, to acoustamatic.

Next on the lineup is Toro y Moi, stage name for chillwave poster boy Chazwick Bundick. Toro y Moi is currently on tour following the February release of his second studio album, Underneath the Pine. The album has been described by many as step in a direction away from the chillwave genre, characterized at times by a feel that is borderline funk, but this hasn't seemed to hurt his success in the least bit. Pine received a "best new music" from Pitchfork, which could be argued as one of the pinnacle achievements in the independent music world. Furthermore, in between the close release of his first two albums, Bundick has stayed busy releasing a plethora of other material, such as remixes and the like. I hope he has a live drummer with him...

Tyler The Creator - French - Toro y Moi Remix

Yet another big name on the lineup for this Sundays showcase is Cults. Still without an entire full-length to their name, this indie pop band created huge amounts of buzz in 2010 with the release of their painfully catchy single "Go Outside." The track is a lazy retro feeling gem with a jangling glockenspiel riff and lyrics that will stick in your head untill your sick of them.

Cloud Nothings are an energetic and noisy lo-fi punk/power pop group from Cleveland that really likes braided hair - maybe even a bit too much. Their music is full of catchy hooks that are a product of the mastermind behind Cloud Nothings, Dylan Baldi. The bands latest self titled full-length was released at the beginning of this year via Wichita/Carpark records.




The last band on the lineup is "bliss-pop" duo from Philadelphia, Sun Airway. The groups depute full-length, Nocturne of Exploded Crystal Chandelier (what a name), came out late last year. I don't know too much about these guys, but their music is hazy and dreamy. It makes me anxious for the summer and has been compared by many to Animal Collective, which is a good thing. Besides, who doesn't love adorable hipster girls frolicking in the ocean, riding a bicycle care-free through a city, or even better, laying in bed in her underwear, dreaming?







Foburg festival and this show are definitely two things you shouldn't miss out on if you're in New Orleans this weekend. It isn't everyday we get the opportunity here to experience so much great music all in the time frame of a single weekend - take advantage of it.
- Article written and compiled by Justen Cheney

Interview with Foburg Band, The Luyas

The Luyas are a band from Montreal, Canada. They just released their sophomore album, To Beautiful To Work on Dead Oceans. They will be playing with Givers and Ra Ra Riot on Friday, March 11 at One Eyed Jack’s as part of the Foburg Music Festival. Art/Official spoke with the band’s frontwoman, Jessie Stein, earlier this week:

Art/Official: For people who have never heard your music before, give a first hand description of it.

Jessie Stein: It is strangely-dressed pop music with weird colors. I guess we’re trying to make music that sounds special, but still speaks a human language.

a/o: What kind of impression do you hope to make on people when they see you live for the first time?

JS: I just hope that they like it, and feel like it’s something that they don’t see everyday. I don’t really set out with any particular, specific mission. I just hope that people get a little break from things that they normally think about. You know, after all, music is a form of entertainment, so I hope people can get a little bit excited or a little bit transformed by it. That’s my noble, quiet hope.

a/o: How do your live shows differ from your recorded music?

JS: Well, it’s been a while since we recorded the record, so it’s more energetic, and kind of heavier. I think that just the fact that the instrumentation is a little bit more paired-down has forced us to use our instruments to their fullest potential. It’s actually pretty exciting live, and I’m almost digging the live representation better than the recorded representation at the moment because it’s especially exciting to me. I think that we’re a pretty fun band. It’s pretty cool to be up there with my best friends trying as hard as we can.

a/o: You guys use an interesting instrument called the Moodswinger, could you tell me about that?

JS: Yeah, totally. It’s a twelve-string, third bridge, overtoned zither. It was invented by this man, Yuri Landman from the Netherlands. He was really obsessed with Sonic Youth and the overtone series, and the way that certain – especially 80’s and 90’s – loud guitar music made really neat noise. So he was trying to create an instrument that could make those sounds naturally without the use of pedals or props. He designed this weird monster. It’s really cool. I don’t really play it in the style that he intended at all, though. I like to play it more like a strange harp or something. Every time you bring it out, people look at you weird, and it’s kinda neat... My phone tells me that youre in Tennessee, but I thought that you were in Louisiana.

a/o: Well, I’m from Memphis, but I go to school in New Orleans.

JS: I love New Orleans! It’s my favorite place in America. Last year I went to South by Southwest, and I hated it so much that me and a friend rented a car and just drove to New Orleans, and had a right good time. It’s really exciting and so beautiful. It kind of reminds me of Montreal, where we’re from. There’s sort of a French influence, and sort of a vitality in the face of poverty. It’s really alive with arts culture and art history. It has a great multi-ethnic, multi-lingual culture. I think it’s really great. Then there’s also lots of wrought-iron work in Montreal, too, except in a different style that’s not quite as beautiful as it is in New Orleans. I love it. The French is really trippy. If you speak Quebec French, and you hear the Creole dialect down in Louisiana, there’s really an amazing accent difference. And I love the old music down there, especially all the zydeco. New Orleans is place I’m most excited to go to on the tour.

a/o: What was it like working with Owen Pallett for your new record?

JS: It was cool. It’s pretty normal to me. I’ve known him since I was eighteen. We were roommates. We’re really good buds. So, it was just like calling someone you know really well and asking him to do something he does really well. He just did it perfectly and efficiently. We all just drank coffee and stared at him in awe. It was great. Everybody who played on the record who is a bit of a name, they’re all people who are just close friends. The music scene in Montreal is pretty tight, and everybody knows each other, so it’s kind of just like your friends playing on your record. Almost everything was played by the band proper, and then there are just little patches here and there where collaborators played.

a/o: What’s The Luyas’ next move after you guys finish this tour?

JS: Probably going to have to tour some more. We’re going to be gone for three months. I’m leaving Montreal in a couple days. I would imagine by the time we’re done that we’ll probably know about more stuff that we’re going to have to do. We’re already writing new songs, so hopefully we’ll record again because now that this record’s out, it feels like it’s time to write another one. One of my goals for this year is to learn how to do a handstand, so hopefully that will come of my year.

Listen to the great title track off their new album, then watch their "Take Away Show" from La Blogotheque:

--Article and Interview by Connor Crawford

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FOBURG HEADLINERS: The Hood Internet and Das Racist

The Hood Internet is the new Girl Talk

               

I used to love Girl Talk in the 10^th grade. Swear to god my AIM Profile read something like ASK ME ABOUT NIGHTRIPPER (his 2^nd and best studio album).  Then I discovered electronic music in general.  Girl Talk lost a lot of my awe then, but I have to say I hate him less than most guys my age—maybe I just really like mash-ups. This is why you should believe me when I say The Hood Internet is the best in the game right now.  They follow a basic formula that they only occasionally stray from:

Step. 1 Find good indie song

Step. 2 Find good hip hop song

Step. 3 Acapella one of them a place it over the instrumentals of the other.

                

It’s simple and it rarely ever adds any depth to the original tunes, but it’s a god damn mash-up so it isn't supposed to. If you've been to any of our last parties, you’ll recognize some of these tracks.

Black Rob v. Panda Bear

 Ludacris v. Joker & Ginz  (WARNING: DUBSTEP)

Das Racist is the new Kool G Rap

/shorty said I look like a chubby Jake Gyllenhaal/

/I said this ain't Brokeback, and i'm a broke mack/

/type so hard and i typed it on a broke mac/ (book air)

                

So when smart white dudes talk about rap music—especially mainstream, non-social conscious artists like Weezy, Yeezy, Ludacris, Nicki Minaj—there’s a flattering refrain being sung. To the uneducated, we say (and I am perhaps guilty of this more than anyone), rap sounds like a grotesque mockery of poetry glorifying misogyny, handguns, threesomes, making scartch, et cetera. We continue on to say that certain people (Bill O’Reilly is the superlative example, but so are a lot of your average hipsters or entry-level alts; also yo shout out to that awesome HRO article this week on gutterpunks) completely miss the complex rhyming schemes, internal word play, rhythm and general flow that someone like Lil Wayne has. As for the beats that some people think sound like bass-heavy, redundant funk samples—well you just don’t get hip hop, man.

                

              

Or so we say; then comes along a group like Das Racist. I tried to compile a list of my favorite lines, but almost everything that comes out of their brains is pure gold. I imagine their genius is easier for the target of audience of Foburg to get. Not only that, but it really does make you question the purported genius of people like Lil’ Wayne—though he has a legendary flow, what he actually raps about is kind of limited. Das Racist does it all. There’s so much pure creativity here that I have to constantly stop myself from calling them the greatest rappers alive, more or less.

Shorty Said

  Rainbow in the Dark

-Article by Jeffrey Silberman

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Foburg Schedule is LIVEEE

Proud sponsor of

The alternative New Orleans music festival, Foburg, has announced its lineup for its 2011 edition. The event goes down March 11-13 in venues on Frenchmen St. and the surrounding area. Foburg plays hosts to local and national touring acts, many of whom are on their way to SXSW in Austin. Art/Official has been working closely with the kind folks at Foburg, and we'll keep you posted on the fruits of that collaboration as the fest grows closer. Until then, behold the killer lineup below:

 

ART/OFFICIAL is now a proud media sponsor of this event. We added a link at the top of our page entitled "FOBURG." Keep checking it for artist profiles, special offers, interviews, photos from the festival, and much much more!! 

Tickets are now on sale! Get them early. This year will be massive: http://foburgneworleans.com/tickets/