People always ask me "what's the best way to get on DoAndroidsDance.com?"
Now despite the fact that we've given published numerous explicit guides and tips on this, and have an email address listed and a Facebook page with a message inbox, I still get the question all the time. Truth be told, the best way to get on DAD is to be something different and stand for something. Stand for something different then perpetuating recycled samples, played-out vocal drops, and your "thirst." More then that, understand that it's rarely just about music and that's a great thing if you can harness that creativity and use that as an additional element of your overall product. Because don't forget if you're publishing anything with the intent of receiving recognition, you're pushing a product. With that said, as image and branding become a more integral part of what it takes to develop a lasting artistic identity with both commercial viability and integrity, there are those who are taking this to whole new levels.
Enter RARE NNUDES.
After coming across BOATS' music via the DAD Facebook page, I stumbled upon RARE NNUDES after hearing "Derby” – a collaboration featuring BastienGOAT. The talented producer led me to RARE NNUDES' ２０１５ＲＡＲＥＮＮＵＤＥＴＥＲＮＩＴＹ compilation. Mixing jungle, footwork, ambient, juke, and an overall flair for experimental electronica, this compilation is daring and a day-dreamer's delight. The kind of vibes that if you're just chilling, could transport you to a whole new world of 90's nostalgia and retro-futrisim as you go 190 MPH down Rainbow Road. The music is special and different. I'll take different every day over the same vengence pack samples everyday.
Further intrigued by the alien imagery, Bored Lord’s dope tumblr led me down a rabbit hole filled with bits of vaporwave and sea punk imagery or at least were similarly inspired by a mixture of social media-inspired graphics and "internet culture" phenomenon. Now as someone who has grown up, socialized, and learned as much with the internet, the merits of an ‘internet culture’ has always interested me. And with not much more then a Facebook page with scant info and, I had to find out more.
Jake: Hey man, how’s it going?
Bored Lored: aye mane what up
Jake: just listening to the compilation man. Really enjoying what i'm hearing thus far dude.
BL: Thx a lot mne.
J: Np man.
BL: Had fun putting it together.
J: Can I ask you a few questions about the comp and such? thinking we could knock out some questions for a potential piece on DoAndroidsDance.com.
BL: most definitely. my friends and I have heard of the blog for a while now.
J: Yeah? Nice man, we just hit a million plays on our soundcloud after we launched january 7th 2013
BL: Yea we used to try to do a blog last year and we eyeballed a bunch of blogs we thought were doin’ it right. And that’s amazing, y’all deserve it.
J: Thanks man, much appreciated.
BL: ☺
J: Well like I said, I had a few questions for you.
BL: yeah w/e ya need
J: word word….so what IS ЯΛRΞ ППUƉΞS ?
BL: ЯΛRΞ ППUƉΞS is an internet platform curated by four producers (Bored Lord, p l a i n t e x t, minivan markus, & Bastiengoat) with the intention of bringing transcendental, digital shamanism to the surface.
J: transcendental, digital shamanism?
BL: In realizing that culture flows/progresses in an organic manner contrasted with the fact that today you can just google whatever your interests are and learn every detail, we are still trying to explore/purvey the sense of mystery in the internet culture/culture in general transcendent digital shamanism is more or less just a tongue in cheek paradox that references that ^^
J: haha right on man, So you're aiming to be musical shamans of sorts in this realm of internet culture, more or less?
BL: yea. It’s a large goal but ya gotta make the effort :D
J: haha definitely man. Now you've definitely tapped into something with the fusion of experimental electronic music and mixed media as a whole. I know the platform's visual style definitely calls on a lot of 'internet inspiration' if you will
BL: Most definitely. Self reference is a constantly developing theme. We only exist on the Internet, so it seems natural to act self aware of how people perceive the art
J: Can you elaborate on that bit?
BL: we know that people will see it as "internet art" so we play off of that characterization but don’t rely on it. People will see and hear our music through social media and websites. So the art references that.
J: Trippy.
BL: haha yea I guess so… "meta"
J: Yeah, 'meta' indeed…The whole concept of 'meta' is pretty trendy these days. The whole 'internet art' aesthetic is as well. But you're suggesting that it's not just trend or a fad.
BL: Yeah but our goal isn’t to add merit to the hashtags and trends were just trying to curate our own culture in real life on an internet platform.
J: "real life…?” So the goal isn't to add merit to 'internet culture' as much as it is to curate your own culture via the internet?
BL: yea which makes it "internet culture"
J: And this self-referential, self-aware aspect/aesthetic is one of the defining aspects of ЯΛRΞ ИNUĐΞS?
BL: That and that showcasing a dynamic range of talented artists anywhere from less known composers to juke artists or anything in between
J: Yeah man, i can definitely see that. You've curated a pretty wild collection of tunes for this new compilation and I've been checking out a bunch of the artists as well. Really interesting stuff and really enjoying it. How did you go about putting this
particular compilation together?
BL: Honestly, we had to fill a date someone else dropped out of. All of us had been making music in the style anyway, so we figured it would be a good outlet for it. Julian Edwards (BastienGOAT) had a lot of connects online that were perfect for it. Other people were random internet friends from the rest of us. It kinda came together organically.
J: Oh someone bailed on a released and that's why? Haha well you guys did a great job. Funny you mentioned BastienGOAT and it's how I found you guys. I saw his collab with BOATS and I loved that.
BL: Yeah BastienGOAT is the homie
J: Haha he's talented too.
BL: haha yea very
J: yeah, and this compilation as a whole though, features a heavy jungle and juke experimental fusion and footwork as well. What made
you gravitate towards these converging styles?
BL: were all 90s kids, so it’s just been a large influence on us all.
J: how old are you?
BL: 23. in the group as a whole id say the average is 22-25
J: So how long have you been listening to jungle and electronic music as a whole?
BL: Since i discovered Limewire haha! Realistically we’ve all been listening since we could get our hands on music. Growing up in
Memphis my whole life, I’ve been heavily exposed to rap music and the whole "producer" scene, and it was a good segue into electronic music as a whole.
J: LIMEWIRE man ha yeah, I was all on that. That and of course iTunes. The music store. It really revolutionized the way we, growing up, would discover music. Downloading singles from Limewire, KaZaa and the like - A generation like ours who didn’t have to adapt to computers and the internet, but rather grew up with it. It’s pretty profoundly different.
BL: Definitely! :)
J: Yeah our generation now experiences and discovers music in a whole new way now. It's no wonder single sales dominate and it seems rare someone our age can usually sit through a full album and digest it. How do you think having that sort of accessibility, that sort of pick-of-the-litter approach to music discovery has affected you?
BL: Honestly, it inspired us to create releases we thought people could listen to start to finish. That’s why it’s important that every release is different both sonically and visually (the mixed media aspect) - ro create a specific niche for each release. I feel like the accessibility of music has removed a lot of the sacred nature to art. We aim to utilize those same tools to reverse that effect - Hence, "digital shamanism."
J: Right on man So there is merit to what you're doing beyond a tongue in cheek reference to paradoxical internet culture ☺
BL: daaaaw! u caught us :3
J: I think there's a ton of merit in that philosophy man. Restore art to it's rightful place you know?
BL: Exactly! Thanks for understanding!
J: 100000%! I think you're on to something though, packaging this digital shamanism into something more accessible. I mean you guys aren't the only ones doing it for sure, but obviously you guys are a step-ahead in doing so in a lot of ways. The vaporwave and seapunk aesthetic/culture as a whole being on that same philosophy it seems. There's something profound about that. Taking 'high brow' concepts of internet culture phenomenon and what it means for us as a civilization and then essentially 'remixing' those truths into mixed media in a digestible way. Be it mind-bending jungle juke complete with MS 98 sounds or the overall aesthetic on your Bored Lord tumblr.
BL: Yea very much so. It’s a nice phenomenon to see progress and it possesses a lot of philosophical interests. We're very aware of our comparisons to vaporwave and seapunk. We've enjoyed watching those fairly young movements progress and grow.
J: Yeah man, I agree. I don't think a lot of it gets a lot of serious appreciation, but that could be for a lot of reasons. Perhaps it's that tongue in cheek quality that throws people off… as if something of artistic merit couldn't be funny, whacky, or anything but 'stone-cold seriousness'…Why do you think that is?
BL: It doesn’t always have to be funny, but you have to be able to laugh at yourself. If someone doesn’t understand that, then it’s prolly just not for them. Cultures in a weird turning point, and the internet is forcing us as a species to rethink what we think of art in general. So maybe serious artistry isn’t the whole picture though its definitely an important part of it and that’s why we try to have some releases that may be more playful or tongue-in-cheek and other that are more emotionally driven/serious.
J: Okay so you said you think the internet is forcing us as a species to re-think art. How do you think we're all doin?
BL: I’m not sure. It’s hard to gauge without an outside perspective. There are numerous attempts at it that i don't particularly enjoy personally, but any effort to restructure the culture is a necessary thing. Whether It’s the product or the repercussions of it that are positive is totally out of our hands. There are so many people that are talented, intelligent people that are doing inspiring work that restructures our approach at art. I run across more and more everyday. But there is a lot more white noise and bullshit to sift through than genuine art. So, there’s more of a challenge…it’s like modern crate digging. Its a tough question.
