Virgin

Near the end of 2008 one of the best albums of the year dropped and although it didn’t make my top 10 list, it did consistently come up 11th or 10b, I loved it that much. That album, Does You Inspire You, is by the band Chairlift haling from Brooklyn-slash-Colorado. If you don’t recognize the name, then you would at least recognize their song “Bruises” as it was used in a North American iPod campaign for months on end. The band wrapped up a North America tour a few months back opening for Sebastien Tellier, but are scheduled to do a few more stops, including festivals. While on their busy schedule I was able to catch up with the beautiful Caroline Polachek, lead vocalist in the group.

DT: Hi Caroline, thanks for taking the time to do this interview. Let’s start with the band name, Chairlift, why and what’s the significance / meaning behind it?

Caroline Polachek: A chairlift is a long slow panoramic trip over changing terrain.

DT: Interesting. How did Aaron, Patrick and yourself all meet and eventually make the move to Brooklyn?

CP: I sang in Patrick’s band for a while in 2005 after seeing them open for Cat Power my first day of college in Boulder. (The) Band broke up, and Aaron and I met and swapped demos in the back row of our economics recitation. I started singing backup on the folk songs he was preparing for a recording session at Elliot Smith’s studio in LA, but by the time we got there, we ‘d become a collaboration more than a solo project- we dubbed it Chairlift. Moved to NY shortly after since I transferred to art school there, and ran into Patrick randomly in the street, who came to our show and eagerly asked to join. Adding drums really changed our sound. We’ve been an equal trio ever since.

DT: Wow, that’s a pretty cool story.

DT: With such a great scene continually growing and transforming in Brooklyn and in New York City in general, how has that move influence the bands sound and songs?

CP: There’s a lot of young energy, a lot of entrepreneurship, and a lot of opportunities, but no ’sound’. The scene is by nature eclectic and experimental, but our particular niche shares a love of pop. We were lucky to have a supportive crew of bands like Yeasayer, MGMT, Grizzly Bear, Boy Crisis, Elizabeth Harper, Violens, Lights, Telepathe etc that were also making their own version of pop music. I don’t think this influenced the songs, but more the vibe and the live setting.

DT: With the whole Chairlift album, Does You Inspire You, I definitely get the sense of being taken on a journey, the music, your voice, it all puts me into this hypnotic state. Was that something intentional on the bands’ part?

CP: One hundred percent.

DT: The band has a distinct ‘80s sound to it, but refreshed and updated. Was that era an influence on the band members?

CP: We weren’t listening to much 80s music- all those sounds came into play because we liked the way they reminded us of the radio, our childhoods, or bad tv.

DT: The bands first video, “Planet Health” was directed by you, is directing music videos something that you want to explore more of down to road?

CP: Yes! I art-directed and wrote the treatment for our “Evident Utensil” video, and have since directed, shot, and edited a video for the closing song on our record, “Ceiling Wax”. I’m doing videos for Violens and Elizabeth Harper at the moment, and am working on the treatments for “Planet Health” and “Bruises”. I love video, and am psyched that art school paid off somehow. Thanks mom!

DT: Hahaha

DT: On the note of music videos, the latest one “Evident Utensils” is seriously trippy. At first I thought my computer was bugging out then I thought I WAS bugging out. What’s the whole concept / story behind the video and why did the band decide to use the data moshing special effect?

CP: Using data moshing was the brilliant Idea of director/international man of mystery Ray Tintori and producer/terrorist Bob Weisz, who we worked with really closely. The grounding concept of the video is a play between the naive eagerness and violent masochism. I was living in the apartment filled with paintings of bondage and torture instruments, so I suppose the imagery got into my bloodstream a bit, and I wanted to go out to the woods with my friends and whip the shit out of each other. Aaron baptized / waterboarded everyone in the river at the end.

DT: Earlier this year you collaborated with Flosstradamus for the record “Big Bills”, which sounds AMAZING. How did that partnership come about? Are there more collaborations for yourself down the road? I find your voice quite entrancing. Hahaha.

CP: Haha, cool. I love collaborating. (Hi Brian Eno :))The Flosstradamus collaboration came together when they approached me out of the blue and invited me to sing on the one-off dance single they were to do for Greenlabel sound. With the exception of our friends HOLY GHOST!, I’d never worked with any dance-scene people, so I was into it. They sent me three 30-second clips to choose from as the starting point, and then two weeks later we met in the studio in LA to do the session with my friend Aaron Espinoza (Earlimart). I played the bass lines, synths, wrote all vocal parts, and added a verse and a bridge. It was two long days of work, but we’re all psyched about it.

DT: Wow, thats insane. The results definitely show as well. Have you always known that singing something that you always wanted to pursue?

CP: Yes, whether that meant in the shower or on stage.

DT: Going back to the band, are there any upcoming collaborations or remixes that fans can look forward to?

CP: Right now I’ve got collaborations in the works with an epic forthcoming pet project of Yeasayer’s, a full-length with Jorge Elbrecht (Violens), backup vox on Sebastian Blanck (former Black Dice), HOLY GHOST!, Acrylics, Boy Crisis, and a remix for Telepathe.

DT: Wow. Definitely a busy schedule ahead. In addition to this, the band has a hectic touring schedule essentially for the first half of the year. What else is on the plate for Chairlift and yourself? Thoughts of a second album being planned?

CP: Videos! New cool website, summer festivals, weird merch. We’ve already got 8 songs contending for the next record, can’t wait to get going on them and weaving them into our live show. As is, our record Does You Inspire You that came out last September is being re released in late April, remastered with two new songs that were intended for the original release but didn’t get arranged in time. I love them- they’re my favorites of the record, and I love watching people’s reactions to hearing these yet unheard chairlift songs.

DT: Very cool. Looking forward to hearing those at your concert. Thanks again for doing the interview. Is there anything you want to say to readers or something you want fans to take away from the album?

CP: It’s the official film soundtrack to a movie that doesn’t officially exist.

DT: Officially the coolest answer ever!

For more interviews check out www.killahbeez.com.

Back in November of 2008, I had a chance to hear Melanie Fiona’s album sampler. At the time she was selected by Kanye West, personally, to open for him during his European Tour, what made this shocking was that she had never had an album released and her single wasn’t in heavy rotation…yet. But hey when you have ?uestlove and Jay-Z vouching for you and showing up to your showcase, not having an album out, doesn’t seem all that important. Fast forward months later and her single Give It To Me Right is getting mad spins as well as having the likes of Talib Kweli, Raekwon and Busta Rhymes on the remixed versions. We were able to catch up with Melanie for a quick interview.

Killahbeez: Hi Melanie, thanks for taking the time in doing this interview. Why don’t you start by introducing yourself for folks out there that aren’t familiar with your style of music?

Melanie Fiona: Melanie Fiona…singer/songwriter/supergirl. My debut album is releasing this spring through SRC Universal Motown Records. My single Give it to Me Right is currently being added to radio and is available on iTunes. At the risk of putting myself in a box, I’ll call my music pop soul.

KB: I’m a fellow Canadian and I read that you are also from Canada, Toronto to be exact. Toronto is quite well known for the different communities it has in the city and essentially a true melting pot, has this influenced your music?

MF: Canadians Rock!!! Toronto is definitely one of the most culturally diverse cities I have ever seen. Growing up in a Caribbean household, and interacting with so many different types of cultures really influenced the music I do. I knew I wanted to make music for all kinds of people, and you hear that in the songs. Some songs reflect my culture… so they might have a reggae/calypso feel. Others might have licks of hip hop, r&b, pop, rock… I think there’s something on there for everyone.

KB: Yeah that definitely comes through on the sampler that I was given. You mentioned your debut album, which is called The Bridge, is slated to be released in the Spring. Could you talk about what people can expect to hear as well as the album name?

MF: The album is called The Bridge. I feel like it bridges the gap between genres of music, ethnicities, age groups, and genders. People can definitely expect to hear soulful music with live instrumentation, and memorable and relatable stories.

KB: Speaking of memorable. The lead single Give It To Me Right is hella sexy and empowering for women, was that the focus of writing this song?

MF: Thank you! It is very empowering…I feel so strong every time I sing or perform that song. It was written by a super talented songwriter and producer on the album, Andrea Martin. She knows me very well, professionally and personally, it’s a real reflection of the type of woman I am. I feel like there should be no shame in expressing what you want, and not settling for the things you don’t. I feel proud to know that it will empower people…not just women, but everyone who feels the same.

KB: Keeping with Give It To Me Right, the song is sampled from the Zombies Time Of the Season, how was that sample or record introduced to you to be used for Give It To Me Right?

MF: Well I was already a fan of that song from time! It’s a classic! When we started working on the music for the album, we knew we wanted to pay tribute to the ‘old’ by putting a ‘new’ spin on it. That sample is familiar and easy to vibe with… it was the perfect fit for the lyrics.

KB: You recently came off of the Glow in the Dark Tour with Kanye West over in Europe. What was that experience like and how did that opportunity to work with Kanye come about?

MF: It was amazing! Kanye and I had never met before the tour. My management presented my music to him when he was looking for his opening acts. He really liked the music and gave me the opportunity. It was unbelievable. Here I am this unknown artist, with no music out, and I’m opening for Kanye!!! I learned so much from the tour, and from watching him perform night after night. He’s one of the best I’ve seen. It was such an honour cause he’s one of my favourite artists as well.

KB: Did he give you any guidance or tips?

MF: The best advice he gave me was “Whatever you gotta do to make people remember you, do it. Don’t be afraid to do it.” Priceless words of wisdom!

KB: Definitely. And a man true to his words. So is Mr. West doing any work on The Bridge?

MF: Maybe on album 2 or a future remix…[Laughter]. I would love to work with him!

KB: In addition to that tour, you also recently did a showcase in New York and had dudes like ?uestlove and Jay-Z out to show support. Did you know they were there? How’d that make you feel that you had that kind of support from fellow peers?

MF: Man! It was really overwhelming when I found out they were in the building. I’m signed to Jay-Z’s management company so it was a really honour to have his support that night. And ?uest is not only a great friend but an artist and musician I have admired for years. It was one of the happiest nights of my life….There was so much love in the room that night.

KB: Wow. That’s pretty awesome. So taking this on a tangent. What 5 albums can’t you live without?

MF: The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill
Legend- Bob Marley
Portrait of a Legend- Sam Cooke
Full Moon- Brandy
The Best of Sade- Sade

KB: And your musical influences?

MF: Those are most of the influences with the exceptions of other greats like Whitney Houston and India Arie.

KB: Changing topics to fashion. What are some of your favorite pieces / pieces you couldn’t live without?

MF: As for staples in fashion, I’d have to have wicked pair of high heels, a fresh pair of kicks, a comfy hoodie, leggings and a dress that makes me feel like a woman! But my favourite article right now in my closet are my Tory Burtch leather knee boots.

KB: Any particular designer that you love to follow?

MF: Not one in particular, but any that can marry vintage and current…my style is something old and something new.

KB: Ahhh…similar to your music. Well this concludes the interview. Any closing comments for folks out there on why they should pick up The Bridge?

MF: I just really want to say thank you to everyone whose shown support. I really do this, not just for myself, but (also) for what I think you want to hear. When the album drops, GO GET IT!!! I promise you will not be disappointed…. It’s just good, classic, timeless music. Much Love!

KB: thanks again.

MF: Thanks for the interview!

Check out more of my interviews at www.killahbeez.com and follow me on Twitter, @Killahbeez.

• For more information on Melanie Fiona visit her MySpace page

On Monday April 13th, Vancouver music heads were treated to some sweet sweet disco, synth pop and industrial goodness courtesy of The Golden Filter and The Presets, which was presented by Sealed With A Kiss at the Commodore Ballroom. I, personally had been looking forward to this concert as soon as it was announced for a couple of reasons: 1. The Golden Filter, I’ve loved all the stuff I’ve heard and their remixes are on point and 2. The last time The Presets rolled into town opening for Cut Copy, I actually didn’t have a chance to catch them because of unforeseen circumstances. So there was a definite anticipation on my part.

The Golden Filter took the stage around 9:15pm and started the night off right with the track Favourite Things. Penelope, lead vocals, made the song unique by adding Vancouver into the song as one of her Favourite Things. From there the band went into the synth and bass heavy Hide Me, which personally is one of my favourite jams and can be heard on their MySpace page as well. The next two songs were on some next level spaceship / flying to the moon deal and is clearly indicated by their titles, Stardust and Moonlight Fantasy.

As they started to play their next song, there was a bit of familiarity, the sound and some of the lyrics. It wasn’t until the chorus that I finally recognized what I was hearing, The White Stripes‘ The Hardest Button to Button. They didn’t perform the song exactly the same, but gave it the usual Golden Filter touch by adding some heavy synths and making it more disco. The group ended their set with the official first single Solid Gold and had the crowd amped as everyone was pretty much familiar with the song.

The Golden Filter’s Penelope, was incredibly hard to shoot, well, it was difficult to get shots of her face. It’s become a thing on the internets that nobody has any clear face shots as she generally combs her bangs to cover at least 2/3 of her face, but I was able to get some decent shots. After the photographers left the front area, I did noticed that she let her hair down and opened up a bit. Either way, there’s a definite mysteriousness that surrounds the band.

After a quick set change, Julian and Kim took the stage and everyone in the venue bum rushed the dance floor to get ready to get their dance on and they weren’t disappointed as the boys kicked the set off with Talk Like That. You could literally feel the floor move like a wave from all the heads jumping in the building. The pace wouldn’t slow as they moved on to Yippiyo-Ay, which has its own unique melodic and hypnotic groove, in fact the set didn’t slow down, BPM wise, til they played A New Sky (which kinda reminds me a bit of a Gregorian chant or a more updated version of it) , Girl And The Sea and their latest single If I Know You.

The interaction between the boys and the crowd were incredible as they were feeding off of the energy like it was a drug. The fans would cheer louder and the boys would play harder, which would make the fans cheer louder and the boys would…well you get the idea. Numerous people that I talked to throughout the night and after the show all said that their performance was 100 times better than the last time they were in Vancouver.

Definitely a great concert and worth attending, unfortunately the two groups end their tour by next week, after that The Presets head back to the motherland and do a tour through Australia. As for The Golden Filter, I’ve had the distinct pleasure to hear their current demo album, 7 or so songs, and I can definitely say that this album is something to look out for down the road. For all your concert needs check out Sealed With A Kiss’s website, www.sealedwithakisspresents.com, as they have a ton of great acts coming through in the next little while.

Twitter: www.twitter.com/killahbeez
Web: www.killahbeez.com
Photos: www.flickr.com/photos/killahbeez

The Golden Filter Set List:

• Favourite Things
• Hide Me
• Stardust
• Moonlight Fantasy
• The Hardest Button to Button (White Stripes Cover)
• Imaginary Love
• Solid Gold

The Presets Set List

• Talk Like That
• Yippiyo-Ay
• Eucalyptus
• A New Sky
• Girl And The Sea
• Aeons
• If I Know You
• Are You The One
• Together
• This Boy’s In Love
• I Go Hard I Go Home
• Kicking & Screaming
• My People
• Anywhere

For more visit:

• The Golden Filter’s MySpace
• The Presets’ MySpace

Vancouver has just been treated to some great music and no I’m not referring to Britney Spears and the debacle that went down at that concert. I’m talking some good ass jams with UK artists White Lies and Friendly Fires, presented by Sealed with a Kiss.

White Lies took the stage at around 9:50 to a crowd that was amped to hear them rock out. They started their set with Farewell to the Fairground, which is their current single. I was actually a bit confused as to why they started off with this song as you would think this song would be perfect to end their set. That thought soon popped out of my head as they were giving it their all in the song and getting the crowd singing and jumping along. Next up was the third official single To Lose My Life, again the crowd went crazy singing along to the chorus. Throughout the whole set the band would constantly thank the audience for being so great, the venue was definitely intimate, and yes everyone was showing the band a lot of love and they were definitely feeding off of that vibe.

The whole set was nothing short of amazing. They in fact went on to perform their whole album for the audience in attendance and finished the night of with their second official single Death. Audience in attendance were also treated to the song Nothing to Give, which Harry McVeigh said was only the second time this song had been performed live and you can’t help but get chills with the haunting lyrics. On a side note something I noticed that was pretty damn cool was lead singer Harry McVeigh’s sneakers. He was rocking some custom Nikes in black with gold accents, with “White Lies” going across the back portion of the sneaker. You can get something similar on Nike iD’s website, but you can’t get the metallic gold, which was a pretty sick touch to the sneaker. See the pictures below to catch a glimpse of said sneaker. During the show there was a glitch that stalled the performance for a a brief moment as they adjusted the microphones for the drum set on stage, but like I mentioned the White Lies performance was nothing short of amazing. Definitely a must catch show when this hits your city. Full set list below.

Next up on the schedule was Friendly Fires. There was a flurry of activity on the stage as they changed over the stage setup from White Lies to Friendly Fires. Friendly Fires opting to not have their drummer perched up on the stage, but instead having the whole band perform tightly together to feed off of each others energy. The band took the stage shortly after 11pm, as lead singer Ed Macfarlane took the mic and recalled the great time he had in Vancouver back in October 28th when they opened for Lykke Li at the same venue. The band quickly started their set with the upbeat jam Lovesick, as the music was playing away singer Ed Macfarlane went into his signature dancing slash twitching slash gyrating. This is something worth seeing live as its hard to describe, a few notches above Elaine Benes (Seinfeld), it was pure comedy, but hey the man was passionate about the music and why the fuck not, the songs are great. From Lovesick the band went into fan favorite and second official single Jump In The Pool and had everybody wildin’ out, there was not a single body standing still in the venue as music infected everyone’s body to dance as well as singing along the chorus.

The next song is one of my personal favorites with its funk/disco influenced vibe, Skeleton Boy. The band was great at keeping an energetic pace throughout that never slowed down and kept folks in the house partying. To show how much love they had for the crowd, Ed Macfarlane would jump into the crowd and sing from the dance floor with the crowd surrounding him, it was quite simply, EPIC. Not to be out done, guitarist Edd Gibson jumped into the crowd with his guitar and ran up to the balcony and ran back and forth greeting fans and strumming away on the guitar. Keeping the crowd involved. Check. The band played their hearts out as they were drenched in sweat from head to toe, shirts soaked through, beads of sweat dropping on the crowd in the front including yours truly. The set would end the first single that launched the band on the scene, Paris, as the song ended the band left the stage only to return after a brief moment to play Ex Lover as their encore. For the gear heads out there, I noticed Ed Macfarlane playing on the Moog Little Phatty as well as wailing away on the Akai MPC500, personally just thought that was very cool.

The complete bill was fantastic, the performances would make up for any of the glitches and set up delays that happened during the show and I can definitely say fans left amazed and in a euphoric high, this wasn’t just no hunch. Fans tweeted how great the show was, one concert goer, identitykrysis tweeted us “I’m not coming down from that high for at least two days kind of epic!” and friends of mine at the show said the same and were still talking about it the next night. Do yourself a favor, when either one of these acts rolls through, make sure you grab a ticket and get ready to get witness a live performance that you’ll never forget.

We want to thank Sealed with a Kiss for allowing us to attend the show and get photos. Visit their website, www.sealedwithakisspresents.com, often as they are constantly bringing in some great talent.

Check out our photos below from the event and visit our Flickr page to check out photos from past concerts / events. Also if you’re on Twitter, don’t forget to add us, @Killahbeez.

White Lies Set List:

• Farewell To The Fairground
• To Lose My Life
• E.S.T.
• From The Stars
• A Place To Hide
• Unfinished Business
• Fifty On Our Foreheads
• The Price Of Love
• Nothing To Give
• Death

Friendly Fires Set List:

• Lovesick
• Jump In The Pool
• Skeleton Boy
• In The Hospital
• White Diamonds
• Strobe
• Photobooth
• On Board
• Paris
• Encore —> Ex Lover

Check out more photos at www.killahbeez.com

Also check out our interview with White Lies here.

Few artists can break down language barriers and find success, yet Yelle, a French Pop Artiste, can certainly state that claim as she has done just that. Her music, despite being sung entirely in French, has gone global and specifically infecting English speaking countries with her sound, yes sound. Listen to her album Pop-Up and you’ll understand. The electro-pop sounds make you euphoric and you can’t help but dance. Her live show takes the energy of the album and multiplies it by a 1000, giving you a feeling that you’ve just enter an aerobics session. So it was a great pleasure to have a chance to interview her last month, touching on topics such as how the group started, musical and fashion influences and a host of other topics.

Killahbeez: Hi Yelle, thanks for taking the time and doing this interview with us.

Yelle: No prob!

KB: So for those who are new fans of Yelle, can you breakdown how the group formed with you, GrandMarnier and Tepr and why the group decided on the name Yelle?

Yelle: I met GrandMarnier first and we became good friends. We decided to do music together in 2005 and we chose the name Yelle at the beginning for “you enjoy life” and it was just YEL, but then we decided to feminize it with one more L and E! Tepr met GrandMarnier because he used to be a journalist and he was writing an article about GM’s previous band. We asked him to join us on stage and for the album in 2006.

KB: Your album, Pop-Up, has a fun and playful sound to it, how do you translate that to the stage and bring that energy out?

Yelle: The live show is like an extra power of the album. It’s like a DJ set with the energy of instruments (GM on the drums, Tepr on keyboards, me singing and hitting my floor tom). Performing live is what we prefer; we are a rock band when we are on stage!

KB: [laughter]. Yeah I couldn’t agree more.

KB: Writing for this album, how much of the lyrics are about your life and how much of it is just about a 25 year old girl (which you happen to be as well) living life and having fun?

Yelle: With GM (GrandMarnier) we find the theme in our life, in my real 25years old girl life! Of course it’s funny to imagine some stories but it’s always apart of reality!

KB: So do you feel that singing in French has been a barrier at all to breaking into the North American market, or do you feel like good music is good music and people don’t necessarily care about the language?

Yelle: It’s maybe exotic for English speaking people to listen French songs. But yes the music is very important and if the people are curious they’ll try to find the translation of the songs. It’s not a barrier, we have this particularity and it’s cool!

KB: Yeah I was definitely initially drawn to the energy of the music before diving into the lyrics a bit more.

KB: How would you describe your sound? I mean in some songs there are times when it definitely sounds like you are rapping, yet maintaining a pop/electro vibe.

Yelle: We did a real electro pop album with some fantasy sounds. I think I’m more a singer than a rapper; my rap is so old school! I discovered the rap music with Warren G and Snoop Dogg when I was a teenager and yes I like that!

KB: You mentioned Snoop Dogg and Warren G, who or what else influences your music and sound?

Yelle: I’m a big fan of pop music with Madonna, Blur, Prince, and more and I was listening lots of rock bands and French singer when I was young, with my parents. Then I had a crush on Daft Punk, with my bro.

KB: Speaking of Daft Punk, a lot of French artists, such as Daft Punk, Justice, DJ Mehdi, SebastiAn and including yourselves, are getting a lot of recognition in the US. Do you feel like each of you are influencing one another with your sounds?

Yelle: It’s not the same sound, and not the same crew. We appreciate them but we can’t say they are an influence, except Daft Punk, for sure, cause they do have songs, you know what I mean, it’s not only about sound, it’s about songs. But we are from the same generation yes, and we all watched the Fresh Prince!

KB: [laughter]

KB: So changing topics here, in all your pictures and in all your videos you’re so well dressed. Who or what influences your fashion sense? Any favorite designers or pieces of clothing that you can’t live without?

Yelle: I like to play with my outfits for a long time! I like to wear colors but black and white stuffs too! I just like to have fun with my style like in my life so I’m a big fan of designers like Jeremy Scott, Andrea Crews, JP Lespagnard or JC de Castelbajac who are really into pop art, they have lots of fun in the way to dress people! I’m a big fan of bags and shoes!

KB: Would you ever think of starting your own clothing line?

Yelle: We have some merch on tour and on a web site call www.recreation-center.com! Creating a clothing line is one of our project, yes.

KB: Going back to the topic of music, Tell us a bit about your experience at Coachella, what was it like performing at such a huge festival? Do you prefer big venues or smaller more intimate venues?

Yelle: Playing in Coachella was totally crazy and amazing!! We were a little bit nervous cause we were playing at the same slot of Portishead but the crowd was there, they were dancing and screaming, it was a very good night for us! We like to play sometimes in little venue to be closed from people but it’s really intense and fun to be on a huge stage too!

KB: What’s next for Yelle, any other projects or collaborations that you can talk about?

Yelle: Katy Perry just asked us for a remix, we did it, but now we really want to focus on the next album. Can’t wait to go back in studio and work.

KB: Anything else you want to say to your fans that read this?

Yelle: We love you!

www.myspace.com/iloveyelle
www.killahbeez.com

On Saturday February 21st, Canada’s very own Kardinal Offishall rolled into town with opening MC Shaun Boothe, also a fellow Canadian. We were fortunate enough to be invited by Live Nation to attend the event. The night started off a slightly delayed, but the venue was definitely getting packed in and there was a semi-Caribbean vibe to it all.

Shaun Boothe kicked things off by welcoming everybody with his rendition of the Canadian National Anthem, which starts off in the manner that we’re all familiar with but quickly changes to a hip-hop version with bangin’ beats. For those not familiar with Shaun Boothe, he’s best known as a dope freestyler, as well he’s known for his Unauthorized Biography series, which not only Killahbeez, but thousands of hip-hop blogs out there have given love to as it is one of the most creative things out there, if you’ve never seen it, then check it here. On this night we were treated to him doing the Unauthorized Biography of Bob Marley, which is the second one in the series. He also dropped his joint The Reporter on all the heads out there, check out the music video for the song. His set would end on that note.

Moments went by, when the lights dimmed and the heads in the house knew that Kardinal was about to hit the stage. For all of you that don’t know or have never seen Kardinal Offishall live, well then, let me just tell you this ain’t your average hip-hop concert, as Kardi is known to get live and keep the energy up throughout the whole show. Tonight was no different. He came out hitting folks from all sorts of angles with his energy and quickly going through his rhymes only to switch it up briefly to M.I.A.’s Paper Planes, and members of the Black Jays, Ro Dolla and Solitaire, joining him on stage as his hypemen. From there they went into CLASSIC Kardi joints such as Money Jane, which the original track featured Sean Paul, and doing his chorus on the hood anthem by the Clipse - Grindin’.

From there he would hit the crowd with tracks from his current album Not 4 Sale. Pretty much getting the crowd wildin’ as he dropped Burnt and Numba 1. He would honestly keep the crowd live all night, as he once again changed it up and had his DJ change up the pace and play a medley of hip-hop joints such as DMX’s Party Up, Bell Biv Devo’s Poison, Lil Wayne’s Lollipop and a few other tracks.

There was no doubt fans of Kardi were leaving the concert satisfied this evening, because like always he brought an energy that is generally lacking at live hip-hop shows. As usual Live Nation does a great job in producing the concert so be sure to hit up www.livenation.com for a list of upcoming shows in your city.

Pictures can all be found on Killahbeez’ flickr page.

A few weeks ago one of my writers had a chance to interview Lifelike and it went off wonderfully so I thought that I would share it with all the Virgin readers. Check out a snippet of the interview below and click through to read the rest of the interview:

There’s something to be said about a musician who can almost effortlessly captivate you within just moments of their sounds gracing your ears. Whether you’re drawn in by the hypnotizing arpeggios, sweeping emotive strings or invigorating bass lines – the music of Laurent Heinrich aka Lifelike can simultaneously serve as the quintessential soundtrack to both a daydream and a night to remember.

With a discography of sonically impeccable original works and remixes drenched in unforgettable melody, its no mystery Lifelike’s approach to music has produced one of the most acclaimed sounds in recent memory - definitive yet timeless.

A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to interview him and inquire about his musical beginnings, process of production, inspirations and what the future holds for the France based producer.

Killahbeez: Let’s start with your name; Lifelike. What’s the significance behind it and/or how did you come up with it?

Lifelike: I wanted to do a little remix for myself of a track from Depeche Mode “Master And Servant”. I had sampled a short part in a break of the song where Dave Gahan was singing “Like life” I chopped it and swapped the words round to make “lifelike”, and thought that would be a cool name for my music project.

KB: From doing a bit of research I discovered that you have some classical training in piano and also played bass in high school – how and when did your relationship with samplers, drum machines, sequencers and of course synthesizers begin?

Lifelike: Yes I learned piano for 3 years and had a short career as a bass player in a band at school. It’s when I was playing in that band that I bought an Amiga computer and a sampling cartridge called “perfect sound”. I used music tracker and started to do my own music. It was quite simple at that time with only four tracks and a limited memory. Once you had sampled something in that computer it was never sounding like the source because you had to economise the memory to be able to have enough room to make enough samples to use. But I have good memories of this time. From there I went quite normally to buy a synthesizer to connect to the computer, and that is how I started to compose little tracks a bit more seriously.

KB: How influential would you say your early musical experiences were before you started producing electronic music?

Lifelike: It had and still has a huge impact in my way of seeing music. I still think in terms of doing a pop synth track more than doing something like “techno” if I can still use that word today. But at that time I wanted to do like my idols, the same music, I was sampling Cabaret Voltaire or Simple Minds, or whatever sounded great to use those loops and sound in my little tracks at home.

Read the rest over at Killahbeez.

Treasure Fingers, the name has been synonymous with great dance music in 07/08. From dropping his own gems, Its Your Turn and possibly electro track of the year, well for me anyways, Cross the Dancefloor and not to mention the numerous banging remixes that he continually drops. My personal favorites being Chromeo’s 100%, Empire of The Sun’s Walking On A Dream and even making Fergie’s Glamorous palatable. The man consistently keeps people shaking their asses whether its on the dancefloor or in the privacy of their own home. With that kind of resume we can definitely expect more hotness coming out in 2009 and it’s already started with Treasure Fingers remix of Miike Snows‘ Animal, heard here. In anticipation of him coming to Vancouver on January 23rd to Celebrities (tickets at www.blueprintevents.ca), we caught up with the man known as Treasure Fingers to talk about his remixes, plans for an album and for the gear heads, we touch on what equipment he uses in the lab.

KB: First off, thanks for taking the time to do this interview with us. So tell us a bit about yourself and how you got started in producing and DJing electronic dance music?

Treasure Fingers: I started with hip hop and experimental stuff when I was really young, 14 or so, on my dad’s drum machine and 4track. Around 16, I lost interest and started playing in punk/hardcore bands. I didn’t really get serious with dance music production & DJing until I was 17 or 18 and my band had broken up. I liked that I could fill the creative musical void by writing, producing & DJing solo.

KB: You have an interesting name, Treasure Fingers, and before that you were know as The Enemy, tell us about those names, what was the inspiration behind them?

TF: Some friends of mine and I just kicked around some names and Treasure Fingers seemed to be the most popular. I still wasn’t completely sold on it at first but I really like it now. It’s taken over me. The Enemy actually started out as NME-5, my first DJ name. I quickly grew out of that and changed it. I still use the The Enemy moniker for some hip-hop/extra production.

KB: Which musical genres as well as artists do you find gives you inspiration? And what kind of influence has coming from the south, Atlanta, had on your style of music if any?

TF: I listen to almost everything and it all influences me at least a little bit. For Treasure Fingers, 80’s funk and disco is the biggest point of influence. I think a lot of the R ‘n B and rap I listen to comes through a little also. I love southern rap, and the vibe of the Atlanta club music scene and (I) hope a little of that comes across through my music.

KB: How did you meet up with the folks at Fools’ Gold and A-Trak and eventually getting signed to the label?

TF: I had quite a few mutual friends but what actually brought it all together was A-Trak sending me a MySpace message saying something like ‘hey! I like your music and run a label, are you interested (in) releasing some records with us?’ Since then, I’ve become good friend with A-Trak, Nick Catchdubs and the rest of the Fool’s Gold family; they’re all really good people.

KB: Ok so straight up I have to say I love your track Cross the Dancefloor, when I first heard it I was quite blown away. The melodies and production work are ridiculous. What was the process of making that track?

TF: Thanks! It started out as just an instrumental filter disco house type track. Then one day I decided to try to put vocals on it. The next day I thought it might be cool to have some girl vocals responding back to my male vocals. The overall production is pretty simple, just a clean kind of poppy track. There’s a sample in there (the filtered disco part during the first breakdown), but I played the rest of the synths, bass, drums and built the track up around the sample just in case we couldn’t get it cleared. Luckily, it got cleared and I’m blown away at how well the song as done thus far.

KB: Recently you remixed Chromeo’s track 100% and they remixed your track Cross the Dancefloor, how did that partnership come about? Were you always into Chromeos’ stuff prior to Fool’s Gold?

TF: Yeah, for sure. I first heard of Chromeo from some DJ mix they had released years ago. Lots of old classic 80s funk, I didn’t know they were writing or producing their own stuff until I heard Needy Girl. I love their work, great guys too. I didn’t meet or get in touch with them until Fool’s Gold signed Cross the Dancefloor. A-Trak hit me up one day and said his brother and P-Thugg loved it and he wanted to get them to remix it. My remix for them came through some Bacardi promotion they were coordinating with Vice Records, I got asked if I wanted to remix 100% and of course agreed to it. 100% is one of my favorites off that album.

KB: As is mine, and that remix of yours is also bananas.

KB: For all the gear heads out there, what do you use to create tracks / remixes?

TF: I use a PC running Cubase SX 3, I know I need to upgrade to 4, as my main sequencer. As far as instruments, I use a lot of VSTs, some hardware synths (Roland JX3P, Roland Alpha Juno-1, Yamaha DX100, Korg MS10), a couple guitars (Gibson SG, Fender Strat), Heil Talk Box, MPC 2000xl, Fender Rhodes mark V, and a lot of other smaller fun things.

KB: In an interview that I checked out between you and Kill The Noise you mentioned that you wanted to move towards more of a live show by the end of the year, is that something that’s still in the works?

TF: Definitely! The live show won’t be ready for a while though. I’m concentrating on finishing the album now, but once it’s done I’m going to focus on putting the band together and hitting the road.

KB: So staying on topic with the album, when can fans expect it? Or has touring been taking up a lot of your time?

TF: Touring and remixing has been taking up all my time lately. Next year will be the time for a full-length album. I have a lot of tracks half finished & demo tracks already, I just need to pick out the best and finish them.

KB: What are some of your upcoming projects and collaborations that you can talk about?

TF: Not too much I can talk about right now really. I just finished a bunch of new remixes that should be coming out over the next several months. You can check my MySpace or website and see the full list of remixes I’ve done to date. I’m currently finishing one for Miami Horror Don’t Be On With Her for Virgin/EMI in Australia.

KB: So with your busy schedule are you still involved with or plan to work with Evol Intent?

TF: Yes, we have a live show we’ve been doing at bigger events and festivals. We’re working on new material now, and also doing a couple new remixes. One is for Shiny Toy Guns Ghost Town and the other is a dubstep remix of Tech Itch & Kemal The Calling.

KB: Dope. So changing course, what are Treasure Fingers current top 5 tracks that you can’t stop listening to?

TF: Drop Out Orchestra Gibbon, D’Stephanie Rock the Disco, Van She Kelly (Breakbot remix), JR Disco What Cha Going To Do, Matt Hughes Can’t Talk Now

KB: Thanks again for taking the time to do this interview.

TF: No Problem, Thank you!

• Treasure Fingers website
• Treasure Fingers MySpace

Here’s the first single, of many I’m sure, from Keys N Krates. Now it’s no shock that I have a special love for these dudes as they are some next level shit. The first single being released is called The Longest Night, which samples Lionel Ritchie, Escapade, Michael Jackson and Depeche Mode. Check them out by downloading the track below which was recorded live at the Livestock Block Party this past summer. And if you want to know more about Keys N Krates, check out this interview with Keys N Krates that I did with DJ Jr-Flo.

Download Keys N Krates “The Longest Night”

The season of giving ain’t over peoples. We have two copies of Lady GaGa’s debut album The Fame to giveaway, what makes these special is that they’re autographed. Yep, signed by Lady GaGa. This will be a week long contest so be sure to enter, details below. Also if you haven’t already checked out Killahbeez’s interview wtih Lady GaGa then have a read here.

Prize Details:

• Autographed copy of Lady GaGa’s album, The Fame
• 2 copies, 1 copy per winner

How To Enter:

• All you have to do to enter is comment over here. That’s it!
• Each comment counts as an entry, enter as many times as you want.
• Contest Closing Date: Monday January 12

Bringing you another CD giveaway contest. This giveaway is a special Chi-town giveaway as it consists of Chicago natives Kanye West and Common. This is a double CD giveaway as we’re giving away 808s & Heartbreaks as well as Universal Mind Control.

In order to be eligible for the contest, all you have to do is comment on the Killahbeez site. That’s it. Just leave a comment and you’re automatically entered. Can you enter more then once, you betcha. At the drawing date a few Killahbeez members will select a number, if that number corresponds to your comment below then you will be contacted.

We are giving away three copies of each CD. So again to enter, just comment on the thread located on the Killahbeez site. Contesting ends on December 14th.

Here to bring you another CD giveaway contest. This giveaway involves the looooooong awaited Guns N’ Roses album Chinese Democracy, which was officially released Sunday, November 23rd.

In order to be eligible for the contest, all you have to do is comment over on the Killahbeez site. That’s it. Just leave a comment and you’re automatically entered. Can you enter more then once, you betcha. At the drawing date a I will select a number, if that number corresponds to your comment below then you will be contacted.

So again to enter, just comment below. Contesting ends on Sunday December 7th.

The prize package will include: Chinese Democracy CD, Stickers and T-shirt.

Enter Now!!!

As we mentioned yesterday, Keys N Krates are going to be doing their thing this Friday at Wrong Bar out in Toronto. Well, get ready folks, cus they’re about to drop a new jam, I haven’t even heard yet and I’ve seen them a million times, something brand new for them ears so it should be a huge show. This is their remix of A Tribe Called Quests “Award Tour”, but renamed “City of Awards” for the remix. Pretty freeeeesh!

This is for all the music heads out in Toronto: on December 5th Keys N Krates have a huge show in their hometown of Toronto at Wrong Bar. Be sure to catch this live remix show because if you haven’t yet, then you are seriously behind. Nick Catchdubs from Brooklyn, New York will also be in the house mixing it up on the 1’s and 2’s as well.

Keys N Krates Feat. Nick Catchdubs (Fool’s Gold) & Le Pants Optional Friday Dec. 5th, 2008 Wrong Bar - 1279 Queen St. W (Toronto) Doors 10pm Cover $15 before 12am. Should be a huge show. Come out and show some love and support.

Check out this video interview that we did with DJ JR.Flo from Keys N Krates.

The day started off gloomy as a few of us were unsure if we wanted to hit the M83 show as it was the last day at the office for…ohhhh about 124 of us had our last day that day. But to be quite honest I’ve never seen a happier group of peeps leave a place before, myself included.

So with a day like that a few of us were in a chill mood, but I was convinced to check out M83. The first act, School of Seven Bells, came on the stage at roughly 9:30pm and WOW! The group, from Williamsburg Brooklyn (figures), came on and played a seriously solid set. I hadn’t heard of them before but I was definitely down with what I was hearing and the next day bought their record, Alpinisms. The band features twin sisters, Alejandra and Claudia Deheza and Benjamin Curtis formerly from Secret Machines. They very much had the crowd warmed up and going crazy. A solid act to look out for down the road most definitely.

After School of Seven Bells 5 – 6 song set, the stage crew came on quickly to re-configure the equipment and shortly after M83 came out to a host of screams and cheers. The group played songs off of the Saturdays=Youth album, but at one point a fan requested something older, to which Anthony Gonzalez replied with a “eeeeh, I don’t know about that one”. The crowd went crazy when “Kim & Jessie” came and M83 could feel the love as they played with a loving smile on their faces. Actually they pretty much had this look on their face the whole night and the chemistry between Anthony and Morgan Kibby (from The Romanovs) was incredible. They had a certain connection and would send playful signals via quick glances.

Morgan Kibby’s voice is incredible I have to say. She had 90% of the guys swooning over her and I received a barrage of Blackberry messages from my friend Martinez, who was stuck in the back, to get as many pictures as I could of Morgan. Stunning and talented and held her own on stage with Anthony. One of the songs that would really capture me this evening was “Skin Of The Night”, the song is just so ominous with mad ‘80s flavor and Morgan’s voice just melts your face, pretty fuckin’ epic. When the fairly upbeat “Graveyard Girl” came the crowd immediately went into another dancing frenzy. Another song I quite enjoyed was “Up!” its definitely reminiscent of something quite familiar, but with an M83 twist all over it.

For the groups encore they played “Couleurs”, this tracks is so friggin’ next level. The layering on it alone is bananas, seriously! This was definitely a perfect way to end a night of solid performances from both School of Seven Bells and M83.

I want to thank Timbre Productions for allowing us to come in the house and take photos and write this review for you all. They put on a great production and bring in stellar acts. Check out their site www.timbreproductionsconcerts.com for upcoming shows in your city.

DT
www.killahbeez.com

Here are the rest of the tour date stops.

Earlier this summer I had an opportunity to catch Thunderheist at the Virgin Music Festival out in Toronto, except for one thing, I was busy reviewing and taking photos of another act, a small group by the name of MGMT. So suffice to say I was a bit bummed, but then was totally stoked again when I ran into Thunderheist in the backstage tent area, where the good peoples of Bacardi were serving us lots of free booze. I immediately jumped at the chance for an introduction. During this meeting of the minds, Isis performed a freestyle with my online magazine name, Killahbeez, that went on for a good minute at least and drawing a crowd. Then we were on stage dancing during MSTRKRFT’s set. Definitely one of the dopest highlights of that weekend. So when I heard they were finally hitting the West Coast I was giddy like a 12-year-old schoolgirl.

The evening started off with the ½ Alive DJ crew which consists of: Tyler Fedchuk, My! Gay! Husband! and Tony X. These guys held it down and warmed the crowd up nicely as everyone was shaking it to their sets. They dropped some old school and I mean like Planet Rock type old school, hip-hop, New Order, MGMT and Breakbot’s remix of Pnau to name a few tracks.

Just shortly after 12:30, Isis made her way to the stage first and shortly after Grahm aka Grahmzilla joined her. Immediately the crowd was wildin’ pretty hard, those at the front, this includes yours truly, were getting squished against the stage. It was all worth it once the first track, “Bubblegum”, dropped. The energy that Isis had was pretty incredible and throughout the night she would maintain this frenetic pace. Showing some love to the crowd she at one point pulled a girl up on stage to dance with her, this said girl from the audience went buckwild and as she left the stage basically tripped over a chord and almost did a face plant onto the floor, luckily she was caught by a whole lot of people. Throughout the night both Grahm and Isis dove into the crowd to do a little surfing, very cool that they were keeping it mad real like that with the fans in the house.

Also in the house for the night was director That Go and model Ana B, whom were both involved in the video / visual delight for the song “Jerk It”. During the song “Jerk It”, which was the last jam of the evening, Isis pulled Ana up on stage and the crowd went wild, then home girl basically threw Ana to the wolves for some crowd surfing, all of it was pretty hilarious to watch.

Thunderheist went on to perform jams that any fan would recognize, hitting “Horny”, “Little Booty Girl”, “Peer Pressure” and “Sueos Dulces”. At one point during the evening Grahm threw on MSTRKRFT’s song “Bounce” and asked if everyone recognized the voice. Of course! It was Isis. She went on to let everyone know that they had her do the track and never gave her any credit or form of payment, pretty wack considering both crews are from Toronto and that song blew up.

The performance was high energy and had yours truly and everyone else from the looks of it, sweating like a mofo. Grahm providing the ill beats while Isis slayed the mic all night long and provided some comedic relief, commenting on how unsexy she felt with the amount of sweat coming off of her and randomly making comments like “OBAMA BITCH!”. The show was great and the audience was dope as you could tell everyone was there to shake their asses to some good music, I would definitely have to recommend that all music heads experience a Thunderheist show as they bring the muthafuckin’ heat. Much love to Tyler Fedchuk and the ½ Alive crew for hooking Killahbeez up with some tickets for a wicked show. Check out their website for upcoming shows and info: www.halfalive.ca. Stay tuned to the first quarter of the new year, as Thunderheist will have some goodies dropping.

If you like this review vote for me here.

For pictures of the event hit up my flickr page here.

One.

DT
www.killahbeez.com

Here’s something strictly for the hip-hop heads. Young Jeezy’s latest video for the single Crazy World, which is directed by Marc Klasfeld, who’s done videos for Jay-Z, Sum 41,’N Sync and Gnarls Barkley to name a few artists. This is officially the third single from the album The Recession. The first time I heard this I was thinking hood anthem, but it’s not epic enough. Shawty Lo’s Dey Know, now thats a hood anthem.

As everyone knows Kanye West’s upcoming album 808’s & Heartbreaks is dropping on November 24th and admittedly I can’t really see this album doing too well unless he pulls the biggest prank over everyone and drops completely different material than we’ve all already heard. Will this be Kanye’s Electric Circus - the 2002 album from Common that made everyone go “Whaaaaaaat the ffjdkfjkdjfdfkdfjd!!!”? With that said here’s the official commercial, I guess you can call it.

By now you’ve probably all heard the Viva La Hova mixtape by Mick Boogie, if not - Google it and give that a download. To summarize it’s a mix that features songs from Coldplay’s Viva La Vida album with Jay-Z verses dispersed throughout the jams. There’s also an official remix for the song Lost, that’s offcially titled Lost+ and with that said here’s the official video for the said remix. This song will be appearing on the upcoming Coldplay EP entitled Prospekt’s March, the EP will feature 8 tracks, of those 8 tracks 6 of them will be new recordings.

New video and single from Mya, now it’s definitely been awhile since I’ve heard something actually decent from her, which is a shame because I really thought she had a lot of potential after hearing her first two albums. In this video she teams up with music director Marc Baptist, while the song is actually penned by Ne-Yo. This is the first single of the upcoming album Paradise, which will be the first album she’s releasing through Japanese label Manhattan Records. The album will be released in Japan early December, no word on whether or not it will hit North America.