09/23/08
Text: Nik Mercer
With the their first mini album, Down & Out in London & Paris, out now on Kitsuné Records, autoKratz is set to take the dance world by storm with the duo's infectiously dancey beats, heavy grooves, and energetic ambiance.
We chatted with the Londoners (David and Russell) about their tunes, DJ'ing, and working in this crazy era of dance music.
One thing that's immediately striking about you two is your ability to transcend dance music. That is, your stuff never sounds derivative specifically of any one variety of dance (or pop, for that matter), but an amalgamation of everything. A refreshing change from kids these days who're aping old styles with no clue as to what it all means. How do you approach making music, then, and how do you think your massive knowledge of what came before adds to your style?
David: I think our approach is more a healthy lack of respect than revering past styles. Whilst we are very much aware and in love with so much that makes up the world of electronique from Man Machine to Energy Flash to Aurora, we don't think it wrong to throw in some guitars or whatever. If it works it works, you should never put any boundaries on what you are doing.
How did you pair up with Kitsuné Records and, more importantly, how does the fact that they're French and you're British effect your music? Is it purely a business relationship, or does the point that you're based out of two different countries and working two different scenes add something new to your music you may have not known was there prior to the deal?
D: We sent them a CD and they got back to us. Simple as that really. We loved what they were doing... unafraid to delve into different genres [and all] with an "if it's good, it goes" attitude. [We] saw a lot of ourselves in that.
Tell me a little about Down & Out in London & Paris. The name of the mini-album alone intrigues me and makes me think it's almost a concept record of sorts. Also, why'd you drop a mini-album first?
D: The title comes from the George Orwell novel which is about him struggling to survive in both cities. [We] felt the theme fitted well as this was a bringing together of our first singles which were written in a time when we were scratching around east London trying to get by.
What sort of crowd do you normally attract? Your sound is pretty heavy and certainly digestible in a modern context. How do you fit into the European dance scene and do you ever find yourselves tiring of it? Do you want to do something totally different?
Russell: I don't really think about the "type of people" we attract; it really doesn't matter to me, because the music reaches who it reaches at the end of the day. I could never get bored of the European dance scene as long as we continue to move forward; trying new and original things which excite us. And we will move on and try new things cos that is the only way we can make music. But we both have a deep-rooted love of electronic music, and especially European dance culture; I'm certain that there is many ways that electronic music will continually move forward and keep me excited. And we could never get bored of playing live shows, and crowds are always so receptive to us.
You've done quite a few remixes. In general, how do you feel about remix culture and the assumed importance labels and audiences place on their creation these days? How do you work on remixes, too?
D: If done right they can make just as big an impact if not bigger than the original. It's great when you hear a new interpretation of a track you love and it has somehow managed to better the original song.
I understand that you've a full-length coming out next year. Do you like thinking of your music as a series of singles? Live shows? LPs? More and more electronic artists tend to aspire for albums instead of 7"s, 10"s, and 12"s today. Do you ever get this impression, too, and what do you think has casued this shift in approach to making dance music?
D: I think the shift towards albums is that finally electronic music is being given the respect it deserves. For too long the onus has been on rock/guitar music; that electronic music is throw away and nothing but a soundtrack to get wasted to.
R: The live thing is so important to us as a band; and we are really passionate about it. It's great to have the opportunity to play your music to people and convey some of the energy in the tracks at the same time through our performance. I'm so bored of faceless electronic musicians stood static behind banks of machines; for autoKratz, playing live is about 10000 mile/hour rock and roll.
