Premiering worldwide on February 1st, those ‘in-the-know’ snagged tickets to the exclusive screenings taking place across America. In New York, anxious fans piled into a handful of theatres across the New York City to begin their Chemical Brothers journey. Seeing the Chemical Brothers live is in an experience in itself, which many argued would not come across in a traditional styled concert film. However, Adam Smith, the director and creative force who has worked with the electronic duo for well over a decade, was up to the challenge.

The Chemical Brothers have always admired how engaging and emotional their Japanese fan base has been over the years. Wanting to capture such strong emotions, the team behind ‘Don’t Think’ decided to set up cameras amongst the crowd, going as far as to attach one to a young photogenic Japanese girl as she explores the festival grounds. Throughout the movie, we are treated to the many reactions that the audience experienced over the course of the performance. Screaming, crying, laughing, and every emotion in between was captured by cameras that seemed to go unnoticed in the crowd of fans. Mixed with shots focusing on the young Japanese girl as she explored the unique festival grounds, the live visuals, and even some aerial takes from above the band, ‘Don’t Think’ was able to successfully capture many of the elements of their show which had been reserved for those who make the trek to see them live. The performance itself was a testament to the Chemical Brothers’ extensive music catalogue as carefully selected tracks from their seven studio albums highlighted their long and successful career.

In a matter of minutes, the aisles of the theatre filled with restless movie goers, as seeing their favorite song performed live forced them from their seats and into a dancing frenzy. It was a truly unique experience that many of us had never experienced before, as ‘Don’t Think’ seemed to succeed where others before them, had failed. The unadulterated shots taken from inside the crowd included everything that you would see if you were actually there. Whether it was trying to see around the head of the person in front of you, or the person next to you screaming at the top of their lungs, the movie captured it all. As a result, we found ourselves transported into the heart of the performance, experiencing the same (for lack of a better word) performance that 50,000 people were granted last summer.

Words by Alexander Rose (@Alxrse)

New arrivals to the Zoo were treated to a variety of talent which spanned several genres over the course of three days. Co-founder of the New York based Fools Gold record label, Nick Catchdubs, broke the seal on the Red Bull Riverside stage, where a highly innovative stage design was ready to be shown off. The Red Bull Riverside stage, which was now a repeat visitor to the Zoo, played host to many artists whom have worked alongside the Red Bull Music Academy in the past, including Kid Sister, Egyptrixx and SBTRKT to name just a few. The French model of a current renaissance man, Busy P, was set to lead into one of the most anticipated sets of the weekend, the US debut of Ed Banger label-mate Sebastian’s LIVE set. Adding his own live instrumentation and visuals to the already impressive stage set, Sebastian’s LIVE set was greeted with a packed and anxious tent.

The cream of the dance music crop made appearances over the weekend. With the recent bleeding over of dance producers to the pop music arena, acts such as Benny Benassi, David Guetta, Afrojack, and even Diplo were able to play their recent popular productions, that when combined, include contributing vocals from Chris Brown, Beyonce, Akon and even fellow Electric Zoo performer, Snoop Dogg.

If a 12 hour party was not enough to satisfy your musical palate, official after parties were scheduled for each of the three days at the premier New York hotspot, Pacha. When Fatboy Slim, the UK electronic legend which Q Magazine listed as being one of their “50 Bands To See Before You Die”, is booked as an after-party headliner, all conflicting time and/or sleep constraints seem to disappear. A rarity in the US, Fatboy Slim played to a Pacha full of those who found themselves wide awake and ready to keep the party going until the sun forced them out for day two of Electric Zoo.

Skrillex, the poster-child of a growing demand for Americanized dubstep, joined fellow producer 12th Planet on stage during his packed Red Bull Riverside performance Saturday. Bringing an aspect to his live show that was inevitably made popular by rock music fans, 12th Planet surprised the first few rows with an intimate crowd surfing session. Add in fellow dubstep producers Excision & Datsik and your bass music fix for the weekend was met.

Stylish electro rockers Chromeo made their mark on the Sunday main stage. Sporting attire from a recent trip to Paris, P-Thugg and Dave 1 changed the gears of the main stage with their unique blend of funk and disco infused music. When asked about their upcoming tour and production agenda, Dave 1 revealed that they would be touring nonstop until entering the studio sometime in January to begin writing their follow-up to the 2010 album, Business Casual.

Closing out the Hilltop Arena on the final day of the Zoo, a back-to-back helping of Diplo and Boys Noize left a lasting impression on those who would set off back to reality once the day was over. Diplo, the DJ and producer who has produced acts ranging in sound from metal to k-pop, played a set heavy on familiar classics and introduced several exclusive tracks to which we can only hope they see the light of day. Boys Noize was up next and he proved once again as to why festivals all over the world have him close out their stages. His extensive catalogue of original productions and remixes allow for a new and exciting set every time he steps behind the CDJ’s. Towering above the crowd on a gigantic LED wall, Boys Noize seemed to be hypnotizing the dancing crowd into a nonstop mass of flesh and neon colors.

Words by Alexander Rose. Photos by Sam Allen

Of all the performances at Saturday’s HARD Summer Music Festival, Chromeo was responsible for rallying the masses into an energetic frenzy more than any other act. The project, composed of P-Thugg (Patrick Gemayel) on keyboards, synth, and talk box and Dave 1 (David Macklovitch) on guitar and lead vocals pride themselves on creating a dance-worthy eclectic sound which they affectingly refer to as lovers funk.

Prior to show time, P-Thugg set up equipment for the gig as Dave 1 invited ChinaShop into his trailer for a preshow chat. In the calm before the Chromeo-induced storm, Dave revealed the genesis of the duo’s “ridiculous” nicknames, his persistence for finishing up his Ph.D., and discussed the surreal experience of being personally invited to jam in the home of Darryl Hall.

You guys go by the monikers P-Thugg and Dave 1. Where did those nicknames stem from?

Those are our high school nicknames from when we were like 17 years old. Dave 1 comes from writing Graffiti and P-Thugg comes from a Mobb Deep song and yeah they just stuck. I don’t know why.

So you made them when you were 17 and you guys are stuck with them. Are you still happy with the names?

Stuck with them! I think it’s a little ridiculous but at this point it’s cool though in a way. It’s like personas, characters.

In your bio your music is labeled as “lovers funk.” Is that the way that you’d most accurately describe your sound?

Lovers funk, romantic electro funk – yeah something like that. I like that. Our music is a very different from a lot of this other stuff. It’s got the electronic thing but it’s sexy and catchy and that kind of stuff.

You started out with more of a hip-hop sound. How did you evolve to where you are today?

Chromeo has always been this kind of sound but when we were teenagers we were listening to hip-hop and producing hip-hop. Basically we kind of got tired of it and we wanted to make original music and we had amassed vast record collections from producing hip-hop because you know you sample and stuff. We had all of these funk records so we were like, “Actually these are just cool to listen to. Let’s try to do something like that.” Then the whole growing up in the 80’s thing and also just trying to do the kind of music that we felt that no one else was really doing at that time. Daft Punk’s 2nd album had just come out and it had a hint of where we thought it could go and we just took it there.

So you consider Daft Punk a big influence?

They’re a huge influence! I mean that 2nd album was a huge influence for us – for everybody really. It still sets the bar for electronic music but for us it was definitely a big thing.

Is it true that you are currently working on your Ph.D. in French literature and you also teach French at Barnard College?

That is true. I’m actually not going to be teaching this academic year because I’ll be on tour but other than that, yeah.

That’s kind of a 180 from the band. Is this something that you were working on before you began focusing on Chromeo?

Yeah. I always did the academic thing.

Are you going to continue to teach?

Right now I’m a little bit spontaneous in that I’m going with whatever is working at the moment – well not working but whatever sort of stimulates me the most. I’m definitely going to finish my Ph.D. and then teach. It’s just a matter of how many years from now that I’ll go back to it.

So the Ph.D. takes you to the next level of teaching?

Exactly.

How much longer do you have left?

Oh I have to finish it in May.

How many years in the works has that been?

10 years! I mean on and off and teaching a lot. The thesis itself probably takes 4 years to write. It’s on an off, was never a continuous thing.

Do your students listen to Chromeo?

Some of them yeah.

Most of your music is very peppy and fun. Do you strive to create tunes that you envision people dancing along to? Where do you find the inspiration for your sound?

Yeah, like what you said. Dance music is vast and you’ve got this type of dance music and you’ve got the type of dance music that you just want to dance to in front of your mirror at home. This is kind of the other thing – getting ready music, getting dressed music, going on a date music – you know stuff like that. We find inspiration in classic 80’s records and we give it a modern twist.

Is it hard for you to collaborate musically and keep the project moving forward with you both living in different cities?

Not at all. As you can see we’re together all the time. My family lives in Montreal and I am from there originally so it’s very easy for me to go back.

In terms of song production, music videos, even down to the accounting and tour managing, I’ve heard you guys split everything 50/50. What are you individual specialties in this?

I do a lot of the creative packaging stuff. I can sell P on everything but I do a lot of the video artwork, track order for the albums, sequencing of the songs, you know sort of like the creative direction. P is not here right now because he is setting up with the guys on stage. He does a lot of the technical directing. He does a lot of the accounting, tour managing – he assists with that a lot. He business manages the group along with our business manager. Obviously musically we do everything together but when it comes down to what comes around the music we are both really hands on and we sort of split the tasks like that.

That probably works better instead of you both trying to do everything.

Yeah. Or hiring outside people and not being involved. This is our project and we take it to heart.

Tell us a little bit about the “Live from Daryl’s House” that you guys did with Hall & Oates. Was that pretty surreal?

That was like a dream come true – Darryl Hall. We had bigged up Darryl in so many interviews that at one point he just hollered at us and was like, “Come to my house and let’s jam.” We did that and then we played live with him at Bonnaroo last year too.

What did you think of Bonnaroo?

It’s hippie but it’s cool. It’s definitely a music-loving crowd, which we love. Good crowd. Great reaction!

What is next for Chromeo? Are you working on new material?

Not yet. Just really touring a lot – touring a whole lot actually, all the way up until November. And then after that we’ll have some new stuff right away.

Words by Nicole Pajer. Photos by Catie Laffoon.

When it comes to a collaboration between Sade and Jay Z, it’s pretty much impossible to go wrong or disappoint (according to the ever reliable and trust worthy pandabook). “The Moon and the Sky” (Remix) actually surfaced last Friday (after my glorious post was published), so if you’ve already heard this track, well, here’s a chance to bask in it once (or multiple times) more!

The Moon And The Sky (Remix Featuring JAY Z)

Red Bull Studios got some lovin’ on Hypetrak this week when they posted the first video of Mansions on the Moon’s three-part series documenting the recording of their upcoming album at Red Bull Studios in LA. Check out the video below, directed by Jason Beattie. And if you haven’t yet, head on over here to stream and / or download a free copy of their (stellar) mixtape, Paradise Falls.

One of my absolute favorite music acts to come out this year, dupstep super group, Magnetic Man, released the visual for their latest single (featuring Katy B), “Perfect Stranger”. Apparently the plot for this video (directed by Andrew Whiston and shot in black and white) “… is inspired by a modern day Romeo and Juliet theme (Hypetrak).” Watch below and head on over here to stream the awesomeness that is their self-titled LP.

If you’ve got an hour to kill, or just want to listen to TV On The Radio’s Nine Types of Light with some videos thrown in, than this, my friend, is right up your street. The hour long film (okay… fifty-nine minutes and forty-nine seconds if you want to be all technical about it) is comprised of ten videos (one for each of the tracks on the aforementioned album) directed by ten different directors. I had this on the other morning whilst getting ready for work; it’s really rather interesting and certainly a unique concept, I can’t think of any other artist or band who’ve previously done this. Video below!

Super adorable (and immensely talented) actor, Emile Hirsch, is taking his turn behind the lens with his take on Daft Punk’s “Alive”. The video’s a bit, well… quirky, is the best way I can think to describe it. (Hardly surprising as Hirsch, talented though he may be, has always struck me as someone who’s a bit odd. I don’t mean that in a negative sense, I’m certainly fairly odd (and also awesome), some of my favorite people are incredibly odd (and also awesome), it’s more just an observation. A musing, if you will.) Anyway, the video follows director Ace Norton and actor Frankie Levangie around as they “train”, in between multiple stare-offs with one another which eventually lead into this curiously eccentric dance battle of sorts. Check it out below!

I’ve always had an affection for The Decemberists. (Truth be told, said affection probably started because I’ve always loved their name – purely because my birthday (and Jigga’s!) is December 4th and I quite enjoy that day. Arguably ludicrous reasoning to like a band, but they also make some pretty sweet tunes, so whatevs, yo! Don’t yuck my yum.) Below is the impressive visual for “This Is Why We Fight” that’s more reminiscent of a short film or an elaborate movie trailer with a creepy Lord Of The Flies vibe to it; and while I loathed that book, I’m loving this.

Whenever I hear My Morning Jacket I can’t help but think of this one scene in the first season of Californication where Hank’s staring out the window smoking a cigarette, the realizations of his actions and their potential impact on his life, finally coming to fruition as their cover of Elton John’s “Rocket Man” starts to play. It’s one of my favorite scenes throughout the entire series, and one of those astonishing moments where film (or in this case, television) and music meld perfectly together creating this beautiful, heartbreaking moment…. And then the immature side of me kicks in and I think of that episode of American Dad where Stan becomes obsessed with My Morning Jacket and proceeds to follow them on tour and becomes a groupie. (Great episode.) Anyway, getting back on topic: My Morning Jacket’s sixth (studio) album, Circuital, is due out May 31 but they’ve released the title track as a teaser, preview, what have you. Stream below!

My Morning Jacket – Circuital

That’s it for this week! Hope you all have an awesome sauce weekend.

Peace, love and Red Bull.

Mandy

High on the hype is Blood Pressures, the new release from The Kills…Daft Punk remixed and Reconfigured the T:L soundtrack, the best thing about the movie…Raveonettes return with yet another in Raven in the Grave…and refuse Jefferson Airplan-ers Hot Tuna release their first album in 12 years. See ya in a week…

Daft Punk - Tron: Legacy Reconfigured

Robbie Robertson - How To Become Clairvoyant

Cold Cave - Cherish The Light Years

Jim Jones - Capo

Sharks - The Joys Of Living 2008-2010

Raveonettes - Raven In The Grave

The Kills - Blood Pressures

Mandisa - What If We Were Real

Maritime - Human Hearts

Brian Robertson - Diamonds And Dirt

Ray Davies - See My Friends

The Smithereens - 2011

Hot Tuna - Steady As She Goes

Kingdom Come - Rendered Waters

The Florida Room is located underneath the Delano lobby. It’s got low, mostly mirrored ceilings, and on a night like tonight, it’s standing room only. Ladies are dressed to the nines and guys have ditched the t-shirts for button-downs, vests and jackets. Shortly after 1am (I think), DJ Zen Freeman took to the decks with some deep, deep house and tech. The crowd was into it, but not many people were actually dancing. Just a lot of milling about. But after about an hour, he started ramping up the hits. Duck Sauce’s “Barbara Streisand,” Daft Punk’s “One More Time,” a remix of Justice’s “D.A.N.C.E.,” and of course the requisite “Sex On Fire” remix.

By the time the Killers’ “Mr. Brightside” made it into the play list, I was convinced he was priming the crowd for Oakenfold’s arrival. What started as a slow and steady build turned into a full-on dance locomotive. As high-energy sets go, it might have been the most varied and anthemic (yet tasteful) collection of choons I’d hear up to that point. It was just a matter of time until Oakey took the decks. Zen Freeman was setting them up nice. Oakenfold could have blown on the crowd and knocked them over. Except he didn’t blow on the crowd. He didn’t even plug in, at least not to my knowledge. Chatter around the room was that he was “in the building” but had been delayed. I ended up cashing out at 3:30am, after posting up in a prime spot since midnight to get a glimpse of the man himself. But if I’m being honest, my moment of Zen was just fine.

As I’m writing this, there’s still no official word on what exactly happened to Oakey last night. Some say he finally went on at 4am. Others say he was a no-show, possibly getting held up at the Soho Beach House where he had an earlier event. And still others said, “Paul who? I don’t really remember anything after that second bottle of Veuve Clicquot. Have you seen my shoes?”

Word by Rich Thomas. Photos by Graham John Bell.

Excuse me while I date myself here, but the last time I was at a big party on Nikki Beach, it was the Astralwerks Records party in 1999, and Fatboy Slim, Cassius and Daft Punk (sans helmets) all graced the decks. Today’s lineup was nowhere near as explosive, but the crowd was just as packed, albeit with a polarizing Miami crowd. We’re talking more six-packs than a 7/11 and more thongs than a Havianas outlet. Factor in a booming sound system and speakers setup all throughout the property and you’ve got 360 degrees of pure electronic mayhem, not to mention enough eye candy to fill your quota for the week.

Progressive house seems to be the go-to style at WMC this year, and Second Sun was providing exactly what the crowd wanted, dropping big tune after big tune while the scantily clad masses gyrated, grinded, bumped and stumbled around, their $15 cocktails hoisted in the air. While a few South Beach hotels have sandy sections by their pool, Nikki Beach sits on city property, which means surf and sand abound. The plethora of outdoor mattresses and loungers invite partygoers to rest their dancing feet, but make sure you don’t plop down in a section reserved for bottle service or you’ll get the boot faster than you can say “trance is dead.”

German DJ Tom Novy was next up, and provided a bit more of the anthemic Euro feel you tend to hear a lot of at WMC. Provider of such chart hits as “Without Your Love” and “Your Body,” Novy threw together an antiseptically clean and well programmed set. For clubbers of this ilk, anything pumping and bass-heavy is all you need to keep the bodies on the floor, but Novy’s tunes worked in all manner of sonics. There were ten DJs to follow after him, which meant a 5am closing. Needless to say we did not stick around, and neither did the rain. The fist-pumpers had their sunset moment, and all was right in the land of the thick-necked and well-tanned.

Word by Rich Thomas. Photos by Graham John Bell.

So I’m back in my favorite city in the world, lovely London (sorry New York, I do love you and you are incredible, but I’m afraid London wins in my book) and what better way to start this week’s post than with two tracks from UK based Jamie Woon, a singer/songwriter whom I’m definitely digging. First up is “Night Air”, off last year’s EP (co-produced with Burial) and “Lady Luck” is the first single off his upcoming debut album Mirrorwriting; listen to both here. Also check out this video of Woon singing in a canoe in Cambodia; no bells, whistles or fancy camera work, just a simple video of Woon sitting in a canoe. In Cambodia. Singing. Awesome.

I have a confession to make… I totally love Mike Posner’s “Bow Chicka”. I mean, come on, how can you not love a song that’s so wonderfully cheesy and actually repeatedly uses the phrase “bow chicka wow wow”?! Plus, he totes gives a shout out to Red Bull. Paw fives. So after the remix with Lil Wayne a few weeks back, Posner has just released the official video! It’s basically everything you’d imagine from a song called “Bow Chicka”.

Be sure to check out “Will Do” off TV On The Radio’s forthcoming Nine Kinds of Light (out April 12). Excited these boys are back in action; really loving this track. 

LCD Soundsystem + the Muppets + Cookie Monster + Brighton?! This is too awesome on so many levels, I can barely handle it and am actually at a loss for words so I’m just going to let this video speak for itself.

Daft Punk is partnering up with Coca-Cola for limited edition gold and silver coke bottles to be released in March through clubs as well as a collector’s box set which will be sold exclusively at Colette. When I first read about this I was bit “eh…” but the bottles are actually pretty sweet looking… Might have to get my paws on these.

James Franco’s (almost identical… aka totally dreamy) younger brother, Dave Franco, and Emma Roberts star in the Patrick Hoelck directed “Supervideo” for The Cults “Go Outside”. “Supervideos” is a new series from MTV where actors and film directors team up to – you guessed it – make music videos! I actually really like this idea and was pleasantly surprised to find myself enjoying this video – err – supervideo; curious to see what other teams will pair up. Check it out.

I cannot get enough of Lykke Li these days (same thing happened when her debut album came out) and I don’t seem to be the only one this is happening to – seemingly every time I turn around there’s some new Lykke Li news. This week it’s a beautiful acoustic version of her latest single “I Follow Rivers” and a track “The Only” which is only available to those who ordered the Limited Edition Collectors Set. However – woo! for the internet because we can stream both here. Magic.

Haven’t heard anything from Natasha Khan (Bat For Lashes) since her duet with Beck for the Twilight: Eclipse soundtrack last year so was an excited little musical pandanerd to check out her cover of Depeche Mode’s “Stranglove” (to be used in Gucci’s Guilty Pour Homme campaign). Once again, she just completely blows me away. Stream / download here.

Alright all you party people, that’s it for this week!

Have a great weekend.

Peace, love and Red Bull.

Mandy

It seems like everyone and their mother are coming out with headphones these days. First came Beats By Dre (paws crossed good ol’ Saint Nick brings me a pair for Christmas) then Beats by Beiber (they’re purple! Because that’s his favorite color! How adorable…) and now: TRON: Legacy Headphones by Daft Punk (who did the (awesome) soundtrack for TRON: Legacy) Medicom Toy.  What makes these headphones oh so special, you ask? They have light-up LEDs! Totally reminds me of those kicks that were all the rage when I was 8, LA Lights. Anyone else remember those?! God, they were cool… Anyway, so these – totally ridiculous looking headphones – run for a cool $350 (USD) but! you also get a copy of the TRON: Legacy - soundtrack. Win.

CREEP is the latest “witch house” (I guess that’s what you’d call their music…?) duo from Brooklyn. Lauren Dillard and Lauren Flax look like your quintessential hipsters (they are from Brooklyn, after all) who create some genuinely awesome, chilly, dream-like tunes perfect to zone out to. For their first single Days, they brought on the wonderful Romy Madely Croft of The xx – just like Jamie (xx), I love pretty much everything this girl puts her vocals on. Check out the aforementioned single below and head on over here to check out more from CREEP.

So who knew New Zealand had some pretty sweeeeeeeeet music aside from Flight of the Conchords? Check out Revolution and Full Circle from The Wild, an alternative/indie hip-hop group hailing from the awesome country that has more sheep than people.

Does an album title get any better than Kokayi’s Robots & Dinosaurs? Frankly, no. The cover is even better. Took me a few listens but I’m starting to dig their first single Chanticleer (the end bit is the best, totes adorbs).

Here’s the video for Rolling In The Deep from the ridiculously talented Adele. I can’t get enough of her voice, bit confused by the video, but that’s nothing new, let’s be honest.

Oh Jimmy Fallon, I heart you, particularly when you impersonate Justin Bieber with your “Reflections With Justin Bieber”. In this one he discusses xBox, getting a date with Kim Kardashian and China’s economy (naturally). Oh and there’s a cameo from Pharrell and a really cute puppy. (I want!)

So this whole posthumous Michael Jackson album thing… uncertain about how I feel towards it. The man never got any privacy when he was alive, I just wish everyone would let him rest in peace already. That being said… I love me some Akon. Here’s the official video for the first single off the album (Michael – which releases December 14), Hold My Hand. Not gonna lie, it’s pretty damn cheesy (says the girl who loves Taylor Swift).

Oh my GOD do I want to go see Roxy Music. Even more so after watching this teaser for their upcoming tour that Bryan Ferry released this week.

As those you who know me can attest to, I’m a total nerd when it comes to reading and generally have multiple books going at a time. One of my favorite things to read are memoirs, getting an in-depth look into someone’s life is completely fascinating to me, perhaps due to the fact that I find people so inherently interesting. I love analyzing why a person does the things they do, figuring out all the puzzle pieces that make them who they are.

I was perusing my bookshelf earlier this week and stumbled across “Fall to Pieces” and remembered how much I loved it (it’s since been re-added to the ever increasing pile of books by my bedside), it was recommended to me when it first came out last winter and I read it in a single sitting. I just couldn’t put it down. “Fall to Pieces” is one of those wonderfully frank, honest and unapologetic tales that discusses this woman’s life – which to the outside world appeared to be perfect: model; married to a rockstar she fell in love with when she was 16; two beautiful kids; famous friends; big houses; the works.

Sadly the reality is far from picturesque and what lies behind the illusion of perfection is a bi-polar girl struggling with alcohol and heroin addictions. One of the greatest things about “Fall to Pieces” is that Weiland doesn’t place blame upon anyone for her struggles, nor is it some gossipy Hollywood story, it’s beautiful, tragic, boldly honest and at times, humorous. I realize this isn’t music news per-se, but as I was writing this week’s post I saw it lying there and thought I ought to give it some mention because it truly is a wonderful read. Highly suggest heading on over to Amazon (wow, is that site addicting) and picking up a copy – it’s now available in paperback! Woo!

Right, that’s it for this week! I’m off to go put on about 10000000 layers and brave the ridiculously cold weather.

Have a great weekend!

Mandy

Related Posts:

Can Kanye ‘Survive in America?’

Magic Music 12/3/10

Florence & The Machine Take Over The Wiltern

The pressure that accompanies directing a movie as big as Tron: Legacy doesn’t sound altogether different from that of living on the game grid: much like Kevin Flynn himself, helmsman Joe Kozinski was literally living in another world for quite a long time, complete with technical malfunctions, multiple personalities (and/or programs), and even last-minute swerves in a race to avoid disaster.

“I just finished the movie Wednesday,” laughs Kosinski, plunking himself down in one of the plush red chairs at Apogee, inside famed LA indie radio giant KCRW on Saturday. “3 years of my life, and I’m less than 72 hours back in reality.”

In his conversation with KCRW Music Director and Legacy Music Supervisor Jason Bentley, Kozinski admitted that one of those very last changes in fact was to switch out one part of the score with another, and put it at the film’s closing credits. Afterwards, they dove right into a lengthy behind-the-scenes look at the soundtrack, and previewed some of its best cuts.

Having been a long-time fan of the French electronic duo, Kozinski admitted that “they’re great at maintaining that classic Daft Punk mystique.” He added that the first year was primarily him and Bentley trying to convince them to do it. “They’re very meticulous,” says Joe. “They don’t want to do anything unless they can (commit to) it, and think about it.”

Having never scored a movie before, Daft Punk spent weeks holed up in the studio — listening to various classic movie scores, slowly immersing themselves in an unfamiliar world. Insistent on certain things, like recording at Air Lindhurst studios in London — just to get the particular brass sound that they wanted — their perfectionism melded effortlessly with Kozinski’s own workhorse mentality.

So, were the two receptive to creative feedback, or distant and maybe difficult?

“There were times when we disagreed on some things, of course,” smiles Joe. “But agreed on other things too. We would push each other creatively. It made the collaborative process all the easier.” He thinks for a second. “It was just an awesome experience.”

And based on the samples, what we’re getting on the Tron: Legacy score is both old and new Daft Punk, obviously, as the French duo tries to take it up a notch and add that traditional score feel to their own sound. Here’s a recap of what we heard:

“Solar Sailer” : On this one, Daft Punk has created one of their catchiest and most effective melodies ever, one that will burn itself into your brain and keep you humming it for the rest of the day –  over breakfast, at the water cooler, in the car, slowly growing more and more agitated as you realize the soundtrack isn’t out until December 9th, and then another 8 days before the actual movie. The hybrid of symphony and synth is a hint of what’s to come; sweeping cello melts with brass and builds into something truly epic, almost in the tradition of Hans Zimmer, before leaving the game grid in tiny, dying sparks.

“De-Rezzed” is the first single to be released from the soundtrack, and a throwback to classic, Discovery-era Daft Punk. When one of the T:L cameras malfunctioned, “something that happened a couple times,” chuckles Joe, “Daft Punk happened to be there on set when it did, we ended up just having a Tron: Legacy dance party.”

“Recognizer Capture”: ” This is where the 3D really kicks in,” says Joe. It’s a lumbering, foreboding symphony, and the first thing that came to mind is “Night on Bald Mountain” from Fantasia, which somehow seems appropriate given the glaring Disney logo that hangs over Tron movie posters everywhere.

“Adagio” is the background piece for Kevin Flynn’s tale of how he’s gotten to where he was on the grid. This is mostly a strings piece, melancholy and somber, before it moves to something more sinister; one might conclude Flynn’s time in Tron-land hasn’t been all roses. Again, there’s a bit of German composer Hans Zimmer’s influence evident here, particularly his early and more techno/dance-influenced synth work on older Tony Scott/John Woo movies. Still, out of all the tracks, it’s the most traditional, and therefore about as un-Daft Punk as you’re gonna get.

“Disk Wars”: Heavy on the percussion, with a smattering of 80′s-sounding analog synth. This track in particular earned the score the unofficial title of “loudest ever” by the engineers mixing it at Skywalker Ranch.

Bentley and Kozinski closed it out with “End Credits”: Like “De-Rezzed” and “Solar Sailor”, this is a classic-sounding Daft Punk, relatively untarnished by the traditional symphony score, and one of the best cuts. A reprise of earlier melodies, the closing track highlights Punk’s knack for rhythm, and will remind fans why the Legacy soundtrack is not just musical accompaniment; it’s one of the main reasons you’ll have your butt in a front-row seat on December 17th…it’s that good. (To give you an idea of the level of anticipation, fans have even been composing fake tracks and releasing them on YouTube disguised as real ones.)

Daft Punk – Tron Legacy (End Titles)

Words by Jeff Nau.