Your new album, The Many Faces of Machinedrum, is split right down the middle in terms of production styles and influences. What was your intention when you set out to make the record?

To be honest I wasn't really making a "record" when i wrote those tracks, I was more or less just writing tunes for the sake of writing them. After accumulating loads of them Lucky Me decided that instead of puttin together a genre specific record we'd focus on a more diverse record instead.  Writing in multiple styles has never been something new for me, it's how I've always approached music. I get bored writing the same style over and over.

It seems like your style is constantly evolving between releases. Where would you say your primary musical influences lie at the moment?

Like I said, I get bored doin the same style.  Right now I feel like I'm being heavily influenced by Juke and Footwork tracks from Chicago.  Other than that I've been listening to Carlo Gesualdo and lots of other choral music.  Been singing on a lot of new stuff too.

The recent Sepalcure mix on XLR8R was fantastic. What can you tell us about how Sepalcure started and what you guys have planned for the future?

Thank you.   Sepalcure started out of boredom and necessity to finally collaborate with my friend Praveen Sharma here in Brooklyn about a year ago.  We have an EP slated for release in December on Hotflush.

LuckyMe is one of our favorite young labels. How did you get linked up with them for this record?

I've been talking on and off with the LuckyMe crew for a while, and earlier this year I sent them a load of tunes and they picked their favorites for Many Faces

How was it working with Theophilus London on your various projects together? Are there any other artists you’d like to work with going forward?

Working with Theophilus was definitely a great experience.  We wrote a lot of songs together and he pushed for me to write hooks and brought me out of my instrumental electronic production shell.  I've also been working a lot with Jesse Boykins III, Azealia Banks and Melo-X and have some really great music we've made together, but at the moment I'm taking a break from producing vocalists apart from remix work.  I'd love to work with Autechre or James Blake on a tune or two.

LOOKOUT: There were some fantastic HG! remixes over the last while. How does your approach to remixing other artists differ to your approach to your solo creations?

NICK (HOLY GHOST!): Sometimes it's similar, but in general as we've been working on our record there's overall concern with making something that is aesthetically cohesive. With remixes we're not thinking about a larger body of work. Each remix only has to function as a single, one time piece of work because they are for a different artist every time, are usually for stand alone singles, etc. So with remixes I think we often to go to certain sonic and/or aesthetic extremes that we don't necessarily go to with our own solo stuff.

How do you feel the new EP compares sonically to the music you were making when you first signed to DFA?

HG!: When we first "signed" to DFA the only completed song we had was "Hold On." There were a bunch of very rough demoes but nothing finished really, so there isn't a lot to compare it to. We've spent our time since then trying to figure out what we wanted Holy Ghost! to be. However, a song like "Static On The Wire" has been more or less done for almost two years now and doesn't differ drastically from the demo version that we did way back when. Sonically all the same elements are there - big, live, drums, poppy vocals, synths galore, heavily delayed guitars, etc.

Have you had any experience with Montreal before? How do you think it fits in with your overall idea of this select cities tour?

HG!: We haven't as Holy Ghost! actually, though our old band Automato played our last and perhaps best show there in the 2005. I've been through there a couple times with The Juan and we always had a good time.

Is it true you guys were among the pandas in LCD's "Drunk Girls" vid? If so, what was your favorite part of terrorizing your labelmates?

HG!: True. Alex and I are the first two pandas you see on screen. The whole day was really fun but the worst/best part for me was spraying Pat in the face with fire extinguisher. Worst because when I first did it I really thought I'd hurt him and almost ruined the video by taking my mask off to check on him (which you can see if you look closely). Best because he was fine and, well, I got to spray him in the face with a fire extinguisher. Payback for years of being made fun of for how softly I play drums.

Interviewed by Rowan Spencer (Paper Route)

LIVE - Monday, May 24 @ Metropolis TICKETS

Buy the new EP - 'Static on the Wire' from DFA Records.

LOOKOUT: About your debut album Toeachizown, the five different volumes each have a life of their own, but still form a comprehensive whole and has an underlying story . Can you tell me something about the different volumes and why you decided to put it together this way?

Dãm: I wanted to make a concept record like progressive rock records I used to listen to back in the day. They would have a theme around it, as opposed to a bunch of hit singles on the record. “I Wanna Thank You (For Steppin’ Into My Life)” is one song that I think could be on the radio right now and be a hit. But, I didn’t want to make a record of hit singles, I don’t even want to aspire to do that. I wanted to create the record I've always wanted to make… and why not make it? In Toeachizown, the first volume is more electric based, the second more serious, Sky more positive, Hood more dark.

Is there something about L.A. that makes it a unique place for funk? How did growing up on the West Coast influence your style of music?

The music we grew up with on the West Coast is a little more laid back. Even though we have sunshine, there’s the darkness and the light… We’ve cultivated something a bit different from East Coast approach.  The warm weather, the palm trees, and the driving culture of L.A. definitely influences my music.

Prince was a big inspiration for you. What Prince era do you draw influence from most?

1978-1987

I feel like you’ve coined the term modern funk. I don’t want to suggest a clear break in “old-fashioned funk” and modern funk, because there’s a definite continuation, but what is modern about your modern funk?

It’s a mix of subject matter, log extended tracks, instrumentals, reverb vocals... It’s a different approach. It’s the funk you’ve always wanted to have. The modern funk approach pertains to some of the science aspects of things, like of exploration of different worlds. Funk is more like funk 45 vibe. Modern funk is more electric based and appeals to post-disco funk. You know what I’m sayin'?

For more Q&A with Dam-Funk check the March 4^th issue of The McGill Daily.

Dam-Funk @ Club Lambi - Mar 5, 2010

Listen:

Speak The Truth - Dam-Funk

Toeachizown - Dam-Funk

Passion - Dam-Funk

Listen to a few of her tracks:

Grimes - Rosa

Grimes - Venus in Fleurs

Grimes - Zoal, Face Dancer

When I think of Grimes, I think of words like grimy, raw, gangster and thug. Where did that name come from? Why do you perform under that name?

Haha, I don’t know really where it came from.  I have this problem of deciding on project names. When I was 17 or 18, I was making really crappy music on a tape recorder, like wannabe classical music, and I would just record it and write Grimes because it seemed like a weird contrast that doesn’t seem to fit. Later on, I decided I didn’t want to use my own name, and I already started with Grimes and it wasn’t that embarrassing so I just went with it.

You’re also a visual artist and you designed the cover art for Geidi Primes.  Is it watercolours that you use?

I use ink and food colouring. Food colouring is actually really great as long as you don’t get water on anything.

Your artwork has very unearthly, scary, dark and uncanny elements. How does your art influence your music?

My art is a visual manifestation of my music. If my music would look like anything, it would be my art.

You’ve been compared to a lot of people on the blogosphere including Kate Bush, Bjork, and The Cure... Personally, I got reminded of a little Tracy Chapman while listening to Rosa. As much as bloggers can compare, I've really have never heard anything comparable to your sound. Are comparisons progressive and positive? Or is it more of a burden?

It’s not really either. It’s weird because I never really listened to Kate Bush. Now I’ve been listening to it nonstop for the past couple of days. The Dreaming is my new favourite album, but I’d never even heard it before. I feel like people compare musicians to other musicians because it’s easier to say that people have a similar sound so that readers might be more inclined to listen. It’s the best reference point in order to compare different artists.

A couple of the album reviews say things like, "I can’t describe her music, so I won’t. Just listen." When making your music, do you intentionally make it beyond words and distinct from what's currently out there? Or is that just part of your spirit of making music?

I’m pretty technically limited, so I kind of make the music that I can make, if that makes sense? It’s really simple because that’s the only way I can make music. Like, every song is 4/4, most are 120 bpm and most are in the key of C. I’m trying to move on from that right now. I make music that I want to hear. Or I try to.

What are you working on now? What’s the future looking like?

I want to make a new album that’s more epic. I also want to make a better live show because I’m very inexperienced.

Why do you think you need to improve your live performance? What is it, for you, that makes a live show?

Well, I have a debilitating stage fright. I used to vomit before a show. It's getting a lot better lately. Usually I would only play for 12 minutes because it was really hard for me to make anything longer. I get super-critical of myself when I’m trying to make something live because it’s just so different from how I compose. The songs I’ve recorded aren’t what I think would do well in a live environment. I just want it to be louder, you know?

Grimes has a show coming up on February, 25, 2010 at 8:00 PM at Casa Del Popolo with Blue Hawaii and Pop Winds. Check out her MySpace for more info.