I’m excited to see Kelis again (Kelis Debuts New Material at Santos Party House!) now that I’m familiar with Flesh Tone AND to finally see Robyn in concert. Hearts collide this summer, don’t miss out!

All Hearts Tour Dates

July 23rd – Los Angeles, CA -  The Music Box
July 24th – San Francisco, CA – Mezzanine
July 27th – Boston, MA – House of Blues
August 2nd – Washington, DC – 9:30 Club
August 3rd – Philadelphia, PA – Trocadero
August 5th – New York, NY – Webster Hall

mp3: Dan Black – Symphonies feat. Kid Cudi (Dada Life Remix)
mp3: Kelis vs. Robyn – Milkbot (BrightlightX2 Mashup)
mp3: Far East Movement Featuring The Cataracs – Like a G6

mp3: Gorillaz – Stylo (Radio Edit) or zShare

mp3: Dan Black Featuring Kid Cudi or zShare

mp3: Fatboy Slim David Byrne and Santigold – Please Don’t or zShare

Dan Black 10.23.09 photographed by anthoNYC

Dan Black made his debut New York performances as a solo artist this past CMJ for two jet-lagged shows before leaving almost as quick as he arrived. I had the pleasure of chatting with the very animated Dan Black before his very first New York show at Norwood to discuss everything from sampling, his obsessive music-making process and his dream team of collaborators.

Since the interview Dan Black has continued touring Europe, put the finishing touches on his Mixtape Weird Science and even returnned to New York for The Tck Tck Tck Holiday party at The Wired Store last Friday! Check out my interview with Dan Black below and be sure to pick up his debut album Un! More pictures from the set at Tck Tck Tck can be seen HERE.

MP3: Dan Black – I Love Life or zShare
MP3: Dan Black – Symphonies (Passion Pit Remix) or zShare

> You’re here for CMJ, were you familiar with the “festival” before jumping on the plane?
DB: Of course, its a known thing. It’s fun to be here having been familiar with it.

> Did you play in any other bands before stepping out as a solo artist and with The Servant?
DB: Many bands, many appalling excuses for bands – and some good ones. When I started out doing music I was extremely motivated and happy to play with anyone. I didn’t really have a quality requirement, just as long as i got to play onstage and make noise with other people.

> Were you always the singer in the band?
DB: No that was quite later. Generally I was playing guitar, sometimes bass, occasionally and very badly drums.

> Given your previous experience playing with other bands, were you nervous when taking this in your hands as a solo artist?
DB: No, it got to the point of being frustrated about being subservient and compromising to other people’s ideas. It was a relief to finally be able to do it on my own and be the control freak that I am without feeling guilty.

> Do you like collaborating with other artists?
DB: I’ve been working on my album for the last year, so I’ve been amazingly uncollaborative through choice. I just wanted to see my record through and gain some experience with technology and production – for good or bad one man’s crazy vision fully realized. Having said that, recently I’ve had a real urge to do things with other humans and not just have a computer for a friend. I’ve got a few things in the works, started a few collaborations.

> Since you can’t dish about who you’re working with, who would you like to work with?
DB: Because what I do is very eclectic – there are strong elements of alternative, hip hop, R & B, experimental, moderny edge – I’d like to break into each side of it. I’d love to work with Missy Elliott, Beyoncé or Björk but bring them to something that is much more alternative. It’s all women isn’t it? Let me think of a man, Antony [Hegarty]…all people with great voices.

‘I just wanted to see my record through…for good or bad one man’s crazy vision fully realized.’

> How was the process of putting  together your first record Un?
DB: I can only seem to work in a very intensive and obsessive [way] if I’m going to work. I can be super lazy but if I’m gonna work, I have to do it in a very long kind of Kerouac-esque way. In one mental, a straight sprint which by consequence I tend to be totally destroyed by the end of it.
I did the album over the winter of 2008-2009, and at one point I did 30 days straight. The studio is in the windowless basement of my [17th century] apartment in Paris. After the 30 days I was an unhinged mess, but finally I was really happy with what I did. I wish it could be less draining but there doesn’t seem to be any other way of doing it.

> I was looking at the album artwork and the overall image you’ve created for yourself, where did that vision come from?
DB: I did all the artwork and videos with this company [who are really good friends of mine] called Chic & Artistic. It was similar to the way I make music, which is kind of just mess around with ideas and try to keep it as playful as possible. The relationship between music – artists and their artwork is really fascinating and interesting. I always find it strange that a lot of artists are not involved in their artwork. When someone listens to my record and looks at my artwork, it’s going to influence how they feel about my music so why would I not want to be at least involved in that. It’s fun, I just have a general urge to make and create things. It’s nice to do things that are outside of just sounds.

> As far as the samples you use, what is the process of clearing the samples? Not so much the legal side…
DB: When I first started out, a lot of the things I liked seemed far apart from each other. I liked The Smiths and I liked Missy Elliott and I had to reconcile, “Do I make must just like The Smiths or do I have to make R & B songs?” I didn’t adjust to either so I made a load of songs as experiments where I made mashups of songs I loved. One of the songs I chopped up was The Smiths‘ Big Mouth Strikes Again sung over Are You That Somebody by Aaliyah and it worked amazingly well but I knew I could never release it. A lot of the albums I liked growing up were before sample clearing was ever an issue like Three Feet and Rising or Paul’s Boutique. Those are albums that are total smorgasbord of samples which would be completely impossible today. I think it’s a really fascinating thing of taking things and recontextualizing them. That’s basically what the heart of making songs are for me, that’s a logical conclusion.

‘I can only seem to work in a very intensive and obsessive [way]…a straight sprint which by consequence I tend to be totally destroyed by the end of it.’

I did a bunch of those things and put them up on MySpace just because they explained a lot at the beginning. One of them HYPNTZ which was Biggie Smalls lyric over music from Starman which is an 80′s sci-fi movie and the beat from Rihanna’s Umbrella. There’s a whole story behind that of why I had to write my own lyrics over it but whatever.  It was an experiment on how to write songs and make music. The other part of sampling sounds for me is that I use a lot of sampling in my music but they’re used in a much more abstract way. Like a piece of clay that you then change quite radically, there are a few samples on the record that if I undid everything I’ve done to them you’d be like “Oh it’s that!” It’s probably not wise that I say that now but they’re just something I use to build sounds. I’m doing a new Mix Tape which is sort of the same method of the HYPNTZ. Question answered! [All laugh]

> Have any of the artists you’ve sampled reached out to you?
DB: No. Bastards! [All laugh] I’ve sampled some crazy big artists so it’d be a bit strange like “Hi, Bob Dylan here.”

> So what can we expect from your New York shows?
DB: Well always a show is made by the audience, I’ve never played in New York or in the states so I have no idea what to expect. If the audience is up for it, then it should be a beautiful messy joy.

> I guess that’s all I’ve got. We’ve got to get you in the studio with Missy Elliott!
DB: Hook that up for me Anthony!

> I’ll send her a letter!
DB: Yeah “Dear Missy Elliott..” [all laugh]