Pepsi Maxcast

Alan McGee on – Damien C Wilde Sometimes you need to rip it up,...

Fri, 18 Sep 2009 07:38:22 -0400

Sometimes you need to rip it up, get uncomfortable, and start again to make it. Parisian singer-songwriter, Damien C Wilde left London and his band, and exiled himself to the sunny climes of California and Australia in order to perfect his songwriting craft. His return from pop exile to Paris resulted in the fascinating Avalon EP. You could read formalist references from the infamous and incestuous Versailles music scene of Daft Punk, Air, and Phoenix, but you would be wrong. Damien Wilde is far more than a retread of his own pop contemporaries. Produced by Jean Michel Gonnard (Phoenix, Cassius) it evokes a time frame and reference of music in the early 70s France, where musicians were pushing their own borders and the subsequent collision of David Bowie, glam, Scott Walker, psychedelia and their own illustrious musical past. Avalon can easily sit with the classics of that particular age such as: Michel Polnareff’s 1971 self titled epic, Jean Claude Vannier’s “L’Enfant Assassin des Mouches, and Alain Goraguer’s score to Fantastic Planet. The three track EP is excellent. ‘Ecstasy in a CastleField’ are one of many highlights on Avalon. ‘Seafarer’ echoes the remnants of a drugged up daydream morning, where rock stars were inspired by aliens, impressionistic paintings and Coleridge. Damien Wilde’s vocals are epic, re-enacting high drama within the grooves, until it becomes the epitome of cool. The vocals encapsulates the easy genius of the bygone era where the singer was king and the stamp of personality is sung and woven into the song.

Alan

Pepsi Maxcast - The Enemy’s Be Somebody Video To celebrate...

Wed, 16 Sep 2009 04:54:00 -0400

Pepsi Maxcast - The Enemy’s Be Somebody Video

To celebrate our latest Maxcast promotion - to win one of 5 copies of FIFA 10, signed by Tom Clarke (!), we’ve been given this video by Warner - to enter, go to pepsimaxcast.com (or simply click on the title above) and enter your details, along with the answer to the question: what football team’s shirt is bass player Andy Hopkins wearing in this video? Easy right? Get entering to win!

When Mr Hudson met Q Tip NY, NY! Having spent most of the week...

Mon, 14 Sep 2009 10:15:39 -0400

When Mr Hudson met Q Tip

NY, NY! Having spent most of the week in the studio I decided to do an epic bike ride across williamsburg bridge, lunchthen back. allowing myself to unwind for a minute. Just need to mak sure I’m in shape when the October Tour kicks off…maybe i’ll run to Jersey and back tomorrow Lol!It was good to catch up with Q Tip (of Tribe Called Quest) at our AOL session (Band were tight!). Tip taught himself to play piano, drums & other instruments…we ended up having a impromptu jam session & he did his thing on the drum kit. Breathe & Stop! Now I’m dealing w an egg situation, he’s appeared on a daytime TV program. Martha?

ps. having a fear of heights is not a good thing in NY. The pigeon on my window ledge is a legend..

Yours,

Ben

Del Marquis – All about the Pet Shop Boys My closest friends in...

Mon, 14 Sep 2009 10:08:00 -0400

Del Marquis – All about the Pet Shop Boys

My closest friends in life share one thing in common, besides myself, the Pet Shop Boys. One friend favours Kylie and Madonna, and the other, Suicide and Kraftwerk; Yet they both meet in the middle regarding PSB.

I was fortunate enough to catch their show in NYC last week and afterwards had a nice chat with both Chris and Neil. They are fans of the Sisters (and as it turns out, discuss my solo project with Peter Robinson of Popjustice…nice !)

As people they are gracious and open, as artists they remain relevant by caring deeply about production, songwriting, aesthetics and the fan connection. In fact fans talk about them as a subject on par with Russian lit and macro-biology; worthy of analysis and dissection.

I asked two friends to help elaborate on their long and fascinating career. My contribution beyond this is a grainy photo of myself, aged 19, with Neil autographing a few items of mine at a record signing.

Del

Domino Dancing by David Russell

(Manager of recording artist Sia)

A “latin” Pet Shop Boys track sounds a bit like an oxymoron, but in reality DOMINO DANCING is, for me, their finest pop moment. It’s been said by Neil and Chris that they were inspired by the late 80’s freestyle explosion that was popular in the US at the time, particularly in New York City and Miami. It was after hearing the various hit singles by the girl band Exposé that they decided to look up their producer, Lewis Matrineé, to produce the track. Pairing DOMINO DANCING next to Exposé’s own LET ME BE THE ONE is a perfect pop match.

Even in its demo form, before Martinez added the synth-tinged orchestra stabs and calypso drum beats, DOMINO DANCING had a bit of an island sway to it. It was the first time Pet Shop Boys had ever released a track so mournful, longing for love instead of commenting on it.

The latin moments continued in the homoerotic video for the track, which Neil

himself has said is singlehandedly responsible for ending their chart success in the states. No matter; the song reached number 7 in the UK and remains and enduring pop classic.

…But Pet Shop Boys have always been less about chart success (as considerable as theirs has been: 38 top 20 singles in the UK) and more about the marriage of pop and art. The idea that a song featuring a modern day Noel Coward rapping over beats inspired by Kurtis Blow could reach number 1 worldwide seems as preposterous now as it did then, and yet that is exactly what WEST END GIRLS managed. It’s not easy to incorporate the ethos of punk, the beat of disco, the swell of orchestra, the sweat of after-hours, the horns of the island and chart success…but somehow PSB manage to do it over and over again.

VIDEOGRAPHY by Edward Quist

(Founder of Embryoroom and director of best selling DVD Kuvaputki)

The Pet Shop Boys were first seen by my own eyes in mid April of 1985 for the video West End Girls. Clad in a black trench coat stood Neil Tennant and the other (who was transparent !), looking rather bemused, would be Chris Lowe. From that moment, I was captivated by something that I was too young to put my finger on. Over the years, the myriad of videos and subsequent images materialized, headed by various famed directors and intelligent art design.

These videos are a genre unto themselves, an alternate reality. Whether it be love, life, sex, religion, human rights or a sinister relationship with technology; the Videography of the PSB stands in the corridors where pop culture and high art meet. It’s a Sin, Before, Rent, Can You Forgive Her, Being Boring, and West End Girls are all landmarks in modern music videos and emerging music films. My own work through Embryoroom (The Third Rail & Litter to Society) were in part inspired by “the boys” work with Howard Greenhalgh.

I wonder where they will take image and videos next ? As of late, they have been cartoons and immersed in motion graphics in an excellent Douglas Hart / fan-made hybrid and spectacular multimedia tour. I suspect, in the not too distant future, there might be a Pet Shop Boys video compilation titled Holography. Where I imagine the PSB in 3D and 360 degrees.

Pepsi Maxcast - The Hoosiers week 4, a prank on Martin and Irwin...

Mon, 14 Sep 2009 09:52:00 -0400

Pepsi Maxcast - The Hoosiers week 4, a prank on Martin and Irwin reviews District 9…?

It’s week 4 in the studio, and progress is limited… Irwin gives us a (not so) Jonathan Ross-style review of District 9, and Martin has a shower… he’s not really going to plug it in, is he?

Alan McGee on – Magic Kids You gotta love Memphis. It’s where...

Tue, 08 Sep 2009 07:43:00 -0400

Alan McGee on – Magic Kids

You gotta love Memphis. It’s where guitar music and soul was born. The pop culture legacy of this city is heavy, but there is currently some magical stuff coming out from the shadows. It took the punk rock courage of local band The Oblivions to lift the veil with Goner Records. In operation since ‘94, Goner have been exposing awesome Memphis talent such as Jay Reatard. His media propulsion has shined a light on some amazing bands who could be the proponents of a new pop dawn in the city.

The five piece, Magic Kids have got me completely addicted to their sound. Although their released catalogue is currently limited to one single ‘Hey Boy’ and ‘Good to Be’, they resurrect the ghost of a teenage Brian Wilson, reinventing his sound for a new pop era of Memphis. “Hey Boy” is an orchestration of pure innocence with a charming guile. The Magic Kids create a carbon copy of a Phil Spector recording-in-his-parent’s-basement vibe. They make the kind of cool scratchy big pop records you don’t hear much these days, evoking the sunshine harmonies of early surf girl/boy bands with the charm of a Beach Boys glee club. “Good to Be” is finds the Magic Kids stepping straight out of early ‘71 with copies of Badfingers under their arms for inspiration. Magic Kids are infused with enough quirk to make it cool and not just an exercise in retrograde. 2009 should be a fun year if the Magic Kids unite and take over.

Alan

The Enemy – Making of “No Time for Tears” Video! A nice little...

Mon, 07 Sep 2009 11:20:00 -0400

The Enemy – Making of “No Time for Tears” Video!

A nice little Maxcast exclusive for you guys – the Making of video for “No Time for Tears”
Enjoy!
Maxcast Team

This week’s Top 10 tracks from The Hoosiers! Hi guys The time...

Mon, 07 Sep 2009 11:07:00 -0400

This week’s Top 10 tracks from The Hoosiers!

Hi guys

The time has come again..! Here’s the Top 10 tracks that The Hoosiers are listening to this week!

Enjoy

1. Love you better – The Maccabees
2. Dreams – Fleetwood mac
3. Tonights the night – Jack penate
4. Superman – The flaming lips
5. Knotty pine – Dirty projectors and David byrne
6. Agrophobia – Deerhunter
7. Men’s needs – The cribs
8. I’m on fire – Bruce Springsteen
9. Useful daily expressions – Japanese for busy people, disk A.
10. I told her on alderaan – Neon neon.

Maxcast Team

Del – Character Assassination Some fantastic records were torn...

Mon, 07 Sep 2009 11:01:00 -0400

Del – Character Assassination

Some fantastic records were torn to shreds upon initial release (U2 – The Unforgettable Fire, Kraftwerk – Electric Cafe , The Cult – Love).

It’s a good rule that the best and worst reviews should cancel each other out. What about when a review borders on slander ? Given the viral nature of the internet, and the incestuous world of grudges, this could be as simple as a blogger writing an untruth that becomes a matter of national gossip.

Character Assassination EP (Itunes 3/09) was inspired by an attack on a good friend. The concept for the song evolved into a discussion about how close to ruin we are, no matter how grand we think life is; most of what keeps us happy is often just an illusion. It is also a comment on the abuse media and its manipulation.

On a personal level, we all do things that aren’t ok morally within society but OK in our private lives. Thanks to the Internet and twitter, that necessary world of privacy is close to destruction… Its tough to be a deviant these days.

Click here to watch the video that my collaborators Embryoroom did for Character Assassination;

My favorite song on this EP, Harmony Park, can be streamed here.

http://delmarquis.com/pepsimax1

It was an anemic demo until the live drums were recorded…once inspired by that I added most of the electric guitar in the mix-room on a flawless Gretsch (I exclaimed, “this tone IS Soundgarden !”) The experience taught me to never discount a song, which can come together in the last moment.

Del
X

P.S. – I’ve designing some guitar strap with an as-yet unnamed company, the prototypes should be back in October…so excited. Photo of my templates to the right along with an older strap I fashioned from a vintage belt.

THE HOOSIERS WEEK 3 – IRWIN AND AL DISCOVER NEW SOUNDS… It’s...

Sat, 05 Sep 2009 08:09:00 -0400

THE HOOSIERS WEEK 3 – IRWIN AND AL DISCOVER NEW SOUNDS…

It’s week 3 of The Hoosiers time! Al and Martin discuss Al’s new sound, but is Martin convinced? He doesn’t sound it… Meanwhile, Irwin introduces his new “Irwin’s Vocal Booth”, and his own sound… on the small guitar

Enjoy

Maxcast Team

Tom Clarke on his smashed car & Oasis… Hey there...

Wed, 02 Sep 2009 09:18:11 -0400

Tom Clarke on his smashed car & Oasis…

Hey there Pepsi Maxcasters!

So an eventful week I have had indeed… I managed to skid off the A90 in my brand new TVR! I was driving in the outside lane and before I knew it I’d wrapped the car around lamppost! Just look at the state of it! It’s all ok though, it’s in the garage now and should be back on the road in no time and I walked away without a scratch. Lucky. So the lesson here kids is : be safe and drive carefully in your TVR’s ;)

Gutted about Oasis btw. Can’t actually believe they’ve split up. It always seemed to be something that was on the cards and that ever present threat kept their fans on their toes but I still never imagined it to actually happen- It’s so final. So with this in mind I have been blasting “Live Forever” (Ironic as that was what was playing when I crashed my car!)

Tom

Alan McGee on - Mazes With the music industry collapsing, it’s...

Tue, 01 Sep 2009 04:53:12 -0400

Alan McGee on - Mazes

With the music industry collapsing, it’s good to see the kids aren’t giving up on rock’n'roll. Mazes are one of number of bands who are leaving their garage and taking to the internet with their two minute bursts of noise, distorto pop, cheap drug psychedelia and doo wop.

Mazes have been bashing out their White Album-meets-Pavement redlined sound since 2008. The righteous buzz on their unique brand of acid singed rock has been inestimable, seeing the band opening up for Deerhunter, Wavves and Times New Viking. Instead of waiting for an elusive ‘big’ record deal (Mazes have recorded with Split Tapes and Sex is Disgusting) they are out having fun with music, playing shows, releasing home recorded songs on blogs and goofing off. The budget constraints are incorporated into the narrative of their songs and translate a sense of a pure blast of good times. Underneath the hiss is the sound of a band who are transcendent and untouchable. It is the bored-suburban-skater-kid-hanging-in-front-of-the-mall-starting-a-band energy.

It is a template akin to the 80s indie scene. Pop is truly eating it self, but with a band like Mazes I’m totally down with the retro revolution as cottage industry, especially when the songs are this good. Underneath all the fuzz and junk,20Mazes write anthems for the bored, anxious loser in all of us and make it fun to be an outsider. Their second single ‘Bowie Knives’ reveals a rushing urgency of pure pop lurking in the corners of their intentional lo-fi aesthetic.

Alan

Hey guys! We have a very cool video for you this Friday - the...

Fri, 28 Aug 2009 11:58:00 -0400

Hey guys!

We have a very cool video for you this Friday - the second instalment from The Hoosiers. This week, Irwin decides to drink Pepsi Max from a mug (as you do, right??), before performing a nice version of “Worried About Ray” on his small guitar.

Does he always Pepsi Max before he sings? Have they given up on a life of Tractoring after all? Is Martin still alive? I couldn’t tell you the answers to any of these questions…

Enjoy!

Maxcast Team

Evening class, & how are we today..? Busy, busy week it has...

Thu, 27 Aug 2009 12:57:00 -0400

Evening class, & how are we today..? Busy, busy week it has been for us. We did a live show with our Lego Johnson band on Friday; just a small club show at a place called Juju on the King’s Road here in London. Now obviously, we do quite a few shows so they don’t usually tend to intrude too heavily on our working week but on this occasion our regular drummer Sam couldn’t make it so we had to train up a dep to do the gig. Believe me, that kept us busy. As any of you out there in band’s will doubtless attest, a drummer is the backbone of any musical outfit & almost impossible to replace so we went about the task of finding his stand-in with a fairly sizable anvil of trepidation. Step forward the almost God-like Aicha, whom we borrowed from our friend Kissy Sellout’s live band. She’s an absolute banshee on the drums & she utterly nailed the 6 song set with only one rehearsal. No mean feat I can assure you. Even so, the gig was still 2 days away &, well, you just never know what’s gonna happen on stage til you’re actually up there, no matter how hard you practice. I think (& certainly hope) she won’t be offended if I say that, even though she had been great in rehearsal & soundcheck, the band nevertheless approached the show itself with a heightened sense of nervousness. Swapping drummers is like… let’s see… – like going onto the football field with not just a new goalie, but a whole new defensive line, – or turning up to your driving test only to discover the examiner has a left-hand drive car*. You know it could & should be fine but equally it could just as easily be an utter, unmitigated disaster. In the end though, we needn’t have worried; she totally owned it & all that extra pre-match tension just helped fuel our collective adrenalin rush. It was a genuinely unique show in the truest sense of the word & whilst the Gallagher Brothers were off in a field somewhere preparing to let a few thousand people down with their last minute no-show, I’d like to think we gave a couple of hundred sweaty, Chelsea ravers a night that exceeded their expectations. Cheers to everyone that was down there & extra special love to Aicha – watch out Kissy, we’ve got our eye on that one! Gotta send a little love out also to our lovely friend DJ Goldierocks, who threw another one of her fast-becoming-legendary bbq’s up in Dalston on Saturday. I went to one a couple of months back & bumped into fellow MaxCaster Mr Hudson there. He was tearing the roof off V this weekend so he was not in attendance at Miss Rocks’, but a good time was had by all even so. Catch you at the next one, Mr H. Saucy

Ok guys, the second Maxcast promotion is here! We’re...

Mon, 24 Aug 2009 13:42:00 -0400

Ok guys, the second Maxcast promotion is here!

We’re offering you and 2 mates the chance to come to the Hoosiers studio, meet the band, and listen exclusively to the Final Mix-down of their new album! You’ll be the first to hear it… apart from Irwin, Alphonso and Martin (and maybe a few producers…).

All we’re asking is that you share your best moments - Max It Moments - by giving us the story behind an amazing experience shared with your friends, and uploading a picture, or sending a video URL. The band will choose the best, and you’ll win this amazing opportunity. Travel, Hotel, we’ll sort it all out for you…

Enter your best moments by clicking here!

Get entering! This promotion will close on 11.59pm, Friday 4th September. Good luck!

Maxcast Team
P.S. The prize will be around Christmas, but as the album isn’t finished yet - this will be confirmed later
P.P.S Terms and conditions are here

copycats: Time to Pretend by Paul Dempseyoriginally by...

Sat, 22 Aug 2009 06:01:32 -0400

copycats:

Time to Pretend by Paul Dempsey
originally by MGMT
(via mootpointer)

News from The Hoosiers - The guys have given up music and now...

Fri, 21 Aug 2009 17:27:00 -0400

News from The Hoosiers - The guys have given up music and now turned to the soil, talking Tractoring exclusive to Maxcast… but Martin’s gone missing, and the guys make an emotional plea - call 1-800-WHERESMARTIN if you do see him.

On better news, here’s the bands Top 10 tracks of the moment!

The World May Never Know - Dr Dog
Pull up the routes - Talking Heads
Service Bell - Grizzly Bear and Feist
Det Tar Tid - Dungen
Born to Run - Bruce Springsteen
Armchairs - Andrew Bird
Glass - Bat for Lashes
Waiting for you - Chromeo
Stay Positive - The Hold Steady
Erotic City – Prince

GMTV, Radio 1, and some old cars… Pleased that the band and I...

Fri, 21 Aug 2009 09:13:00 -0400

GMTV, Radio 1, and some old cars…

Pleased that the band and I managed to pretend to be awake on GMTV. 5:30 start you know!!
Live session for zane lowe was great. Good to show people who’ve maybe only heard the single, what the band can do live.

And how often do you get to request two songs on radio 1? I really enjoyed rehearsing w a string quartet for dermot’s show. I love all the gadgets in the studio but these guys don’t need any help. Pure class. Everyone’s telling me to treat myself to something so I rented a couple of cars from the classic car club in old street, just to pootle about, no particular place to go.

First a 70’s soft top merc and now a 1967 volvo 1800. Now I know modern volvo’s aren’t exactly the most attractive but back in the day…Right I’m off to the big chill. Let’s hope the motor makes it. The wipers aren’t working and it’s only got 4 gears so I might stop at high wycombe and get the bus! Thanks to all who’ve bought the single! What a crazy couple of weeks it’s been.

Yours humbly,

mr h.

Kurt Vile Kurt Vile has demanded the impossible with his debut...

Fri, 21 Aug 2009 09:06:00 -0400

Kurt Vile

Kurt Vile has demanded the impossible with his debut album ‘Childish Prodigy’. His sound encapsulates a diverse musical spectrum including the FM heartland rock territory of Bob Dylan; the spacey kraut rock of Can; the psychedelic rock of The Stones and the American primitive tradition of John Fahey. Remarkably, the end result still resoundingly sounds like Kurt Vile.

And although ‘Childish Prodigy’ is Vile’s debut album it has a maturity about it, due mainly because it has been years in the making with CDRs. The immediacy of do-it-yourself CDR music culture has paid off for Vile, allowing him to emerge from the underground to produce the most propulsive, stone-cold classic album of the year. First track ‘Hunchback’ is a stone groove, as Vile summons up as much sneer as possible, and exorcises it with a heaviest-of-the-heavy solid rock action guitar attack. I am still stuck on the gentle ‘Blackberry Song’. A great title which immediately makes you think about technology, but as Vile sings a dusty blues ballad to a girl, you get it – he is current and timeless. ‘He’s Alright’ is a blunt look at childhood nostalgia and the subsequent struggle to find meaning in life. Juxtaposing refrains of ‘I Don’t Care’ and ‘He’s Alright’, Vile paints a unique picture of confusion (not heard since Kurt Cobain). ‘Childish Prodigy’ demonstrates that Vile is able to transpose entire archetypes of music. So much so that you believe his songs have been the soundtrack to your life for a long time.

Alan

Mr Hudson joins Maxcast! We’re pleased to announce the full line...

Thu, 20 Aug 2009 07:10:00 -0400

Mr Hudson joins Maxcast!

We’re pleased to announce the full line up is complete! Mr Hudson has now joined the artists on Maxcast…

He doesn’t take much introduction, but here’s one anyway!

Mr. Hudson is an alternative pop artist based in London (UK) who first caught the eye and ear of the public when he performed the track “Too Late, Too Late” on the BBC music television show ‘Later…with Jools Holland’. Mr Hudson’s debut LP (titled – ‘a tale of two cities’) was released in 2007 to strong reviews and received national airplay on Jo Whiley and Zane Lowe’s Radio 1 shows. Following the release of the album, Mr. Hudson toured with Paolo Nutini, Amy Winehouse, & supported The Police in Cardiff before headlining on his own tour.
Mr Hudson is presently working on his sophomore album, which will be produced by the 10-time Grammy award-winning producer & singer, Kanye West.
Mr Hudson supported Kanye West on the 2008 ‘Glow in the Dark’ UK & Ireland Tour.

More to come from Mr Hudson over the next few weeks, and possibly something today…

thanks!

Maxcast Team