Last month we were introduced to the next chapter in music from Chromeo. “Don’t Turn The Lights On” is the second single on their LP set for release on September 14th entitled Business Casual. They are currently on a tour until the end of August in support of the upcoming release. We got a chance to chat with Dave on the phone before his set last night in Boston about the album, the state of music, and cultivating their brand of imagery.

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You guys have a new album coming out soon, “Business Casual”. What can we expect and do you have any personal favorites on the album?

In both our cases, our personal favorite is “J’ai Claque la Porte”, which is the french ballad on the album. It’s sort of a new “Momma’s Boy” if you will, being something different from our more traditional sound that we’re really proud of and happy with.

I could tell from the video it had more of an upper class feel to it.

Yea, exactly. We just put out another video yesterday, we’re just trying to go somewhere we haven’t gone before. There’s something a little more darker and sexier about it. The last record was really bubbly and fun.

Is dancing a big part of you or was it something you learned for the video?

My friend, I’m going to disappoint you greatly and if you hang up the phone I completely understand but there’s a dance double in that video. He’s also 1 foot and a half shorter than me and when we finished the video, Pete and I were convienced that everyone was going to be able to tell. Sure enough, nobody was.

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What’s the wierdest thing that’s happened to you guys while on tour?

Recently, we went to Serbia and played an amazing festival over there, it was one of our favorite gigs. But the whole experience of getting into that country, our crew waiting at the border in the middle of the night for hours and having to bribe people to get in. This wierd hotel which was really chic but in a very sorta soviet post communist era way with the hookers in the lobby.

That was slightly surreal. A little David Lynch meets Soviet block. Not to mention the fact that you couldn’t get ketchup at the restaurants.

What gear and do you guys use for recording and live setups?

A bunch of 80′s and late 70′s analog equipment. Anything from the Moog and even more modern emulators of those vintage synths. We definately try to keep everything vintage.

Chromeo has a very defined artistic style. What are the main inspirations behind the visuals of the band?

All the 80′s and 70′s iconography. We would sit and look at record covers for hours and obviously in the 70′s and 80′s they had different technologies. Something that would be more on an arcahic technologoy of creating album covers where you would have to actually do some collages, manually cut, superimpose stuff and get really striking results.

There’s a design company called Hypnosis and they did a bunch of really classic early 80′s album covers. That’s a huge influence on our aesthetic. Anything from that all the way to Classic ZZ top, Micheal Jackson, Robert Palmer movies, to 90′s Hip hop actually.

Anyone recently you would say you grab influence from?

No, I think we admire other comtemporary bands that are equally as stylized as we are even though there style is different. That could be anyone from Daft Punk, to Kayne, to Justice, to Vampire Weekend. They all have really defined styles and make strong stylistic choices even though it looks nothing like us. That’s what we really respect.

What kind of animal are you and why?

A girraffe cause I’m tall and skinny.

Today with electronic music, just about anyone is able to produce a track in his or her room and throw it up online. Do you think with music being so available, it has decreased the shelf life of singles, albums, and the artist’s overall time spent in the lime light?

No, I don’t think so. I think it’s great from up and coming musicians to make their stuff available and heard. I think we all benefit from it because we hear stuff that we never had access to before. I don’t think it really hurts established artists because first of all, they have a bigger promotional machine behind them for better or worse so they can afford to stay in the lime light longer. Obviously there is a huge amount of information out there but I think it’s up to us to learn how to filter through it and select the stuff we deem the most interesting.

Where did the name Chromeo come from?

I came up with it one morning quite a few years ago and it’s a mix between Chrome and Romeo.

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[audio:http://OhhSoFamous.com/Music/Chromeo - Night By Night (Midnight Conspiracy Remix).mp3]

Other than getting Lindsay Lohan out of jail, what is the most important thing we need to fix as a society?

Education system and Health Care.

Is there sense of a brotherly rivalry between you and A-trak? Has it been a driving factor for your career choice?

No, there’s no rivarly, we’re extremely close and we work together on everything.

What is the best advice you an offer to upcoming musicians?

Perseverance and integrity. I don’t want to get preachy but if there’s anything that anyone can learn from the career we’ve had is that if you keep doing what you do long enough people might not take you seriously at first but then there’s an enormous amount of respect that comes with that perserverance and continuity.

Favorite Saturday morning cartoon as a kid?

I didn’t watch alot of them. I guess Roadrunner.

~Ohh! So Famous!

So until about 15 minutes ago, I wasn’t really down with the whole Cody Simpson thing. I mean the whole “let’s be like Biebus and do what he’s doing” was already given a try with that Greyson Chance kid. But today, I got an email that changed the entire game. I’d like to introduce you to 10 year old rapper, YUNG POPPA.

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[audio:http://OhhSoFamous.com/Music/YUNG POPPA - I GO HARD.mp3]

What’s this have to do with the Simpson kid?
Please, what doesn’t it have to do with him?

Look at that picture of Poppa, this kid’s Already counting his dough. I don’t see pictures with Simpson and money… and Bieber has already admitted he hasn’t made a million yet…

+1 Poppa

Then we have the “OMFG YOUR HAIR” factor. Bieber has got this one. I would go further in depth about this but with a video of him blow drying his hair that has 146k views there isn’t really a contest.

+1 Bieber

I’m watching tour footage of Poppa, look to the skyline, and can’t help but notice all of Egypt showed up with their pyramids and shit.

You think these other kids can say that?

+1 Poppa

Next thing to consider, the foreign factor… Simpson you win this one hands down.

+1 Simpson

But, Bieber is from Canada so how do you figure Simpson wins?

Let’s be honest here and admit we did the same American thing with Bieber that we do with all Canadian stars. Adopt them as our own. In our book, he’s American.

At this point, I get it, Poppa in the lead. Just when I think it’s all over, I press play on the second track and find out he has his own dance. Now, this one a tie because the Biebs has his own signature dance as well.

+1 Poppa
+1 Bieber

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[audio:http://OhhSoFamous.com/Music/YUNG POPPA - TWO STEP.mp3]

Justin, you still have all the tweens drooling over you but be very careful. We all know how the saying goes…

Once you go black, you never go back.

+1 Bieber (for now)

Final Score:

YUNG POPPA: 3
Bieber: 3
Simpson: 1

I like to cheer for the underdog and Simpson is clearly the underdog. So congratulations, YUNG POPPA changed my opinion of you Cody. Thank him when you get a chance.

~Ohh! So Famous!

I’ve been addicted to “The Fire” from The Roots ninth studio album “How I Got Over” since I first heard it. The beautifully shot music video debuted a couple days and just furthers my appreciation for the song. I’ve been pretty obsessed with post apocalyptic scenarios for quite awhile now so this is right up my alley.

Ever thought about how you would survive at the end of the world?
Would you cook S’mores?
With no more Walmart, would you be SOL?

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Ohh! So Famous!

Last month, “Astrowave EP” was released as a follow up to the album Dreamatic. The album was a feature release on beat-port and received quite a bit of press. As of July 12th, FM ATTACK signed a deal with Chrysalis Music. We recently caught up with 80′s-esque producer Shawn Ward to ask him a few questions.

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[audio:http://OhhSoFamous.com/Music/FM ATTACK - Old Skool Daze.mp3]

With a name like FM ATTACK, should AM be afraid of what comes next?

It would be cool if my music got played on am radio someday!

Favorite show you’ve ever played?

Hmm thats a tough one, but probablly at Lost in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

What gear do you use for your music?

I use logic pro on a mac for sequencing. I dont use any software synths,I know alot of people have made cool music with them and its a personal preference but I’m pretty old school with my recording and a big fan of outboard gear.

I love the esthetics, the feel/sound and experience of programing analog synths. They are a big part of my sound.

My favorites that I use are the Roland Jv-1080, the Minimoog and the Roland Jupiter 8 which is everywhere on the Dreamatic album.

Hello FM ATTACK, Let’s play a game. You are shrunk to the height of a nickel. You are then thrown into an empty glass blender. The blades will start moving in 60 seconds. What do you do?

Add tequila, triple sec, bananas, strawberries and swim….margaritas?

Your EP “Astrowave” was recently released, which song was your favorite when you were writting the album and has that changed with live performances?

I enjoyed writing “A Million Miles Away” , I’ve really been into a lot of faster tempo new wave lately and finally got to write a song with that kind of feel.. I’m still working on my live set.

What’s the last book you read?

The Shack.

If you were an instrument, what would you be?

Fender Stratocaster.

What inpires your sound?

Everything from blues to 70s rock, brit pop, new wave, 80s synth pop, disco, deep house, disco. jazz and funk.

Favorite artist and-or album your currently listening to?

I’ve been listening to a lot of Ultravox lately, Midge Ure is awsome. for newer stuff I really like what Tesla Boy are doing and their new album is great. They have their own unique style but sound straight from the 80s.

How would you describe the FM ATTACK sound in three words?

Nostalgic, uplifting, futuristic.

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[audio:http://OhhSoFamous.com/Music/Pnau - With You Forever (FM Attack remix).mp3]

Ohh! So Famous!

With That Knife is a post punk band out of Manchester, UK. Their sound is a combination of all the favorite bands you had before they changed and released a sub-par follow up album. If your near Manchester or London, make sure to catch these guys at one of their upcoming shows.

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[audio:http://OhhSoFamous.com/Music/With That Knife - Excuse! Me!.mp3]

There is a place in my heart for music that doesn’t follow traditional formula and isn’t afraid to take a journey into the raw emotion of the singer’s words.

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[audio:http://OhhSoFamous.com/Music/PlayPlease.mp3]

~Ohh! So Famous!

I woke up this morning, took a shower, and jumped online. Started browsing around and then it happened…

I came across something that just disturbed my spirit. Had a great night last night but when I saw this… everything was just fucking wrecked. Just take a look..

God the horror… I just stared at the screen for about 45 minutes, I couldn’t believe my eyes. I just couldn’t take it anymore… I was in the darkest place of my life and I needed help FAST.

I called my therapist and she talked me for about two hours until finally calming me down. I then proceeded to take a soul searching walk through the city, during which I came to a ground breaking realization…

This doesn’t even matter, I’d rather talk about the issues that really do matter. Something that’s been bugging me so much lately that I’ve even talked to other bloggers about this and they agree, this situation is dire. This is so huge of a deal, I’m even thinking of changing the my blog logo to the image below.

Let’s keep it real, don’t you just hate it when your watching CNN coverage about Lindsay and it gets RUDELY interrupted by oil spills, hurricanes, and people losing their jobs. I mean come on… how r00d.

Before I forget Parker, I just want to personally thank you for deciding to link to my site.

Also, how does it feel to have the same last name as Spiderman?

~Ohh! So Famous!

I think I’m about due to post some progressive house. Two stand up remixes to share with you guys today. First, comes a Lykke Li remix of “Until We Bleed” out of RaMiN. The constant progression and changing texture of the gated synth in this track is sublime.

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[audio:http://OhhSoFamous.com/Music/Lykke Li - Until We Bleed (RaMiN Remix).mp3]

Next we have a remix of a Late Night Alumni track out of Ankit Chugh, a young producer out of Delhi, India. Some very powerful builds and ambient support in this remix. Very well complimented by the vocals.

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[audio:http://OhhSoFamous.com/Music/Late Night Alumni - Finally Found(Fools Guild Mix).mp3]

~Ohh! So Famous!

With an album release approaching on August 24th and a tour booked until the end of October, Chiddy Bang has been enjoying their well deserved success. We recently got a chance to sit down with the guys for an exclusive interview.

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How did you two meet and was it love at first sight?

Noah: From day one we were like there is business to do here. We met at Drexel University.

Chiddy: We were both freshman and he was a music industry major and I was a business major and we had a mutual friend that connected us. He was like you are good at rapping and my boy is good at beats and then we started experimenting. We’d sneak into the studios at Drexel…

Noah: We stopped going to class, parties, we just gave our lives away.

How would you explain your music in three sentences to your 8 year old nephew?

Noah: One guy runs around and raps. I play the drums. It’s crazy.

We know who Chiddy is, where did bang come from?

Chiddy: There was really no “Bang” when we came up with the name.

Noah: It was Chiddy and my ensemble of white boys.

Chiddy: Really, my name is Chidera but I’ve been called Chiddy since I was a little kid. Chiddy Band was a name I used for all my musical projects prior to meeting Noah. When I started working with Noah we starting thinking about what to call ourselves, we used Chiddy Chiddy Bang Bang but that was way too much, so we were like “Let’s just shorten this thing down, Chiddy Bang, it is what it is”

Are you interested in collaborating with anybody?

Noah: Yea, Waka Flocka.

Chiddy: On the new album coming out at the end of the summer, we got the boy Pharrell, Q-tip, Killer Mike.

Noah: It’s be cool to work with Kanye, Lauryn Hill, Outkast…

Chiddy: We just wanna work with cool, creative people.

What, who, when, and where inspires your sound?

Chiddy:
What: Life.

Who: All the artists I’ve grown up listening to: Lauryn hill, Jay-Z, cats like Red Man, Naughty by Nature.

Where: Places I’ve been, you know Jersey, Philly, I’ve got those elements in my life and they come out in music. Really though, Nigeria inspires me. I was just there, Nigeria and Paris. I go to Nigeria every year and every time I go I just come back inspired to create new shit. They live on so little but are still content with what they have.

When: Back in the day, nostalgia. Being young, being a kid.

Noah:
Who: DJ premier and Joe Strummer

When: 1991

Where: On the block

What: Opening up a fire hydrant for all the little kids

If I came home and looked in your refrigerator what would I find?

Noah: Three cartons of Mexican food, two cases of beer, box of frozen chicken breasts, a whole bunch of onions, hot sauce, and hummus.

What equipment do you use in your live set-ups and what do you use for recording?

Noah: During live setups we use native instruments audio 2 DJ, native instruments drum machine and drumset and to record we use native instruments logic 9.0 with reason and native instruments machine and a microphone.

When you were making opposite of adults did you know it was gold in the studio or was it more of a ‘this is really happening’ kind of vibe after it was released?

Noah: This is a catchier song from the rest of the songs.

Chiddy: When we made it, I had no idea who MGMT was, he had this DJ mash-up of them and Biggie ‘Mo Money Mo Problems’ and it was hot. We were gonna do that ‘Show me what you got’ mash-up…

Noah: That was the original Opposite of Adults

Chiddy: And the next song we were gonna record was this chop-up he [Noah] made with this band called Lafayette Afro Rock Band, the song’s called Darkest Light and I had this crazy beat but then I lost my hard drive.

What would each of your super powers be?

Chiddy: Teleportation, I’d go around the world. I’d get more sleep, teleport places right before a show.

Noah: I’d want the ability to move stuff with my mind and get it down to a molecular level. I’d make a band and play all the instruments by myself with my mind on stage.

~Ohh! So Famous!

These guys look like they would show up somewhere in your dreams…
Would you run?
Have a conversation?
Play a game of monopoly?
Invite them to a party?
What kind of music do you think they listen to?
What are their names?
Have you seen Inception yet?

I’m pretty damn excited for today’ss post. Why?

Well click the play button…

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[audio:http://OhhSoFamous.com/Music/Mikky.mp3]



I know, great stuff right? Mikky Ekko is a post-pop solo artist out of Nashville, TN who released their debut album in 2009. It’s refreshing to get some music in with such an organic sound. Keep your eyes peeled for his second studio album which will debut in the near future.

Moving right along, we’ve got a Jose Gonzalez remix out of Don E to kick back to. I’ve always been a huge fan of UK garage and was sold the moment the drums were introduced in this track. With similar ambient elements in his music, it’s easy to see why Don notes Circa Survive as his biggest music influence.

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[audio:http://OhhSoFamous.com/Music/JOSE GONZALEZ - CROSSES (DON E REMIX).mp3]

~Ohh! So Famous!

Continuing in the electro pop theme of things, Grum is a act out of Leeds who continues to gain massive support with his release of “Heartbeats”. I love the original of this song because the music video is nothing short of the American dream. Young girl chasing her dreams ends up making daddy so extremely proud. Ah.. good times.

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[audio:http://ohhsofamous.com/Music/Grum%20-%20Can't%20Shake%20This%20Feeling%20(Beaumont%20Remix).mp3]

Email me if your are or will be around Dallas, TX on July 22nd for your chance to grab 2 free tickets to see Grum live.

~Ohh! So Famous!