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August 17, 2009
ApSci's Best Crisis Ever
I had a chance to sit down with Philippines-born and Australia-raised Dana Diaz-Tutaan and New York native Raphael LaMotta, the married duo known as dynamic hip-hop electro group ApSci. After chatting about Australian slang and the joys and perils of home cooking, we got into the nitty gritty behind their unique sound and infectious and intricately-crafted sophomore release, Best Crisis Ever (album review is in the latest issue, the Action Issue).
How is Best Crisis Ever different from your first album Thanks for Asking?
Raphael: We really wanted the album to be something you'd want to play from beginning to end -- something that would become a companion to the listener. When I was younger I really got into listening to certain records and memorized them by heart. Whether it was The Pixies' Surfer Rosa, Public Enemy's Nation of Millions, or John Coltrane's Giant Steps, you know every beat and sound on the record because something drew you in. To me that's the only way to make a record, and I hope we hit some of those notes.
With the last record I feel like some people in the blogosphere were looking for music that was easier to define. But I feel like right now genre-bending is really reaching a larger audience, with artists like MIA and Santigold.The fact that our record is coming out this year is probably better, because these artists paved the way for being eclectic and audiences are a lot more receptive to that nowadays. I don't think the purists are the ones driving things anymore. It's really about if it's lively and fun and it feels good, then who cares what the category is.
Making the album, traversing continents:
Dana: The change of scenery -- being in Australia and dropping away from the crazy city -- really allowed me to open up. So vocally I was much freer to do whatever I wanted, and I was listening to a whole bunch of other styles of music that helped me snap out of my usual routine and approach. I feel that our music is better because we do it while we travel. On the spur of the moment, that's when you get these ideas. I love how organic and fluid it is. We always travel with gear that allows us to record on the fly.
Raphael: When you pull yourself out of your environment and inject yourself into a brand new place, and everything you think of yourself -- my routines, my habits, my clothes, people I know -- goes away, you ask, what's left, what am I? You engage your environment with a much fresher perspective, and you get a more global identity. I don't think our music would sound anything like it does if we didn't travel.
On their songwriting process:
Raphael: When we create stuff now, we have to do it in intervals. Nowadays artists can be much more hands-on, and we definitely are. We set aside time to be video producers, write new tracks, focus on touring -- you have to turn things on and off. So when we were writing the record I didn't want to have anything else on the plate, so being by the beach in Australia was perfect, because I just wanted to focus on letting the songs come out, and now I'm just trying to get the videos done.
Dana: Ra will often produce a lot of beats and we'll listen through them and I'll come up with a vocal melody based upon that. Or I might have a vocal idea then I'll ask Ra to come up with something. The benefit of being married is that we can be brutally honest with each other, and the disadvantage is that we can be brutally honest with each other.
Raphael: And we can get flashes of inspiration at any time of day or any time of night. It's not that we get out of bed necessarily and say "I gotta make this song -- "
Dana: Yes, you do.
Raphael: Well I do. Not that we do. I wouldn't dare drag her out of bed to go track a song. But sometimes I get melodies in my head I don't want to let go, so I'll get out of bed, program it, and go back to bed.
You've got a few shows coming up. For those who've never been to one, what can they expect?
Dana: Lately we've been working with a new kickass drummer who thrashed out the beats live on the kit, and we're also working with a guitarist for the live show, too. Ra is back to playing the bass and vocals, bringing it back to his punk rock days. I run my vocals through loop pedals and Ra does some fun live programming which is interactive and visual. We try to have fun with it and mix the electronic with the live.
Raphael: It's a nice blend of a band thrashing it out and some electronic sounds, some hip-hop beats. Dana plays with her voice on stage, lots of live sampling and things like that. The song "Under Control" live sounds like the Stooges or something, like a full-on punk track.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Best Crisis Ever is available now through iTunes, with the package album dropping in late September. Upcoming shows are August 26th at The Mercury Lounge, New York (with Cubic Zirconia) and September 1st at Monkey Town in Brooklyn.
Raphael: We really wanted the album to be something you'd want to play from beginning to end -- something that would become a companion to the listener. When I was younger I really got into listening to certain records and memorized them by heart. Whether it was The Pixies' Surfer Rosa, Public Enemy's Nation of Millions, or John Coltrane's Giant Steps, you know every beat and sound on the record because something drew you in. To me that's the only way to make a record, and I hope we hit some of those notes.
With the last record I feel like some people in the blogosphere were looking for music that was easier to define. But I feel like right now genre-bending is really reaching a larger audience, with artists like MIA and Santigold.The fact that our record is coming out this year is probably better, because these artists paved the way for being eclectic and audiences are a lot more receptive to that nowadays. I don't think the purists are the ones driving things anymore. It's really about if it's lively and fun and it feels good, then who cares what the category is.
Making the album, traversing continents:
Dana: The change of scenery -- being in Australia and dropping away from the crazy city -- really allowed me to open up. So vocally I was much freer to do whatever I wanted, and I was listening to a whole bunch of other styles of music that helped me snap out of my usual routine and approach. I feel that our music is better because we do it while we travel. On the spur of the moment, that's when you get these ideas. I love how organic and fluid it is. We always travel with gear that allows us to record on the fly.
Raphael: When you pull yourself out of your environment and inject yourself into a brand new place, and everything you think of yourself -- my routines, my habits, my clothes, people I know -- goes away, you ask, what's left, what am I? You engage your environment with a much fresher perspective, and you get a more global identity. I don't think our music would sound anything like it does if we didn't travel.
On their songwriting process: Raphael: When we create stuff now, we have to do it in intervals. Nowadays artists can be much more hands-on, and we definitely are. We set aside time to be video producers, write new tracks, focus on touring -- you have to turn things on and off. So when we were writing the record I didn't want to have anything else on the plate, so being by the beach in Australia was perfect, because I just wanted to focus on letting the songs come out, and now I'm just trying to get the videos done.
Dana: Ra will often produce a lot of beats and we'll listen through them and I'll come up with a vocal melody based upon that. Or I might have a vocal idea then I'll ask Ra to come up with something. The benefit of being married is that we can be brutally honest with each other, and the disadvantage is that we can be brutally honest with each other.
Raphael: And we can get flashes of inspiration at any time of day or any time of night. It's not that we get out of bed necessarily and say "I gotta make this song -- "
Dana: Yes, you do.
Raphael: Well I do. Not that we do. I wouldn't dare drag her out of bed to go track a song. But sometimes I get melodies in my head I don't want to let go, so I'll get out of bed, program it, and go back to bed.
You've got a few shows coming up. For those who've never been to one, what can they expect?
Dana: Lately we've been working with a new kickass drummer who thrashed out the beats live on the kit, and we're also working with a guitarist for the live show, too. Ra is back to playing the bass and vocals, bringing it back to his punk rock days. I run my vocals through loop pedals and Ra does some fun live programming which is interactive and visual. We try to have fun with it and mix the electronic with the live.
Raphael: It's a nice blend of a band thrashing it out and some electronic sounds, some hip-hop beats. Dana plays with her voice on stage, lots of live sampling and things like that. The song "Under Control" live sounds like the Stooges or something, like a full-on punk track.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Best Crisis Ever is available now through iTunes, with the package album dropping in late September. Upcoming shows are August 26th at The Mercury Lounge, New York (with Cubic Zirconia) and September 1st at Monkey Town in Brooklyn.
Posted by Cynthia at August 17, 2009 3:28 PM
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