Metro Times Presents - A Blank Generation

This week's issue of the Metro Times, features a fire-side chat with Blank Artists co-directors, Drew Pompa and Josh Dahlberg. These two ruffians got a chance to sit down with Metro Times writer, Walter Wasacz of No Spectacle, over pizza and barley wine to wax poetically about music, culture, and the city of Detroit. Read the entire article HERE.

*Photo Credit: Walter Wasacz

Innerphonic

Innerphonic is a trio based out of Detroit that specializes in live electro. Members Tim (synths, bass, live looping), Rob (drums), and Eric (percussion, synth, kaoss pad) work together as seamlessly as one dj, creating non-stop sets that funnel through minimal techno, arpeggiated acid anthems, and blippy, funky house jams. With the upcoming release of Live Flux I & II (two full length live mixes), Innerphonic’s blend of improvisation and programming pushes the forefront of live electronic music.

Members of Innerphonic are also part of Will Sessions, and have recorded and performed with such artists as Black Milk, Jeremy Ellis, Phat Kat, Guilty Simpson, Billy Love, and Rickey Calloway. Innerphonic's love and quest for the pulp in music continues to fuel their need to perform, produce, experiment, and jam. Keep your ears open for a string of both live and studio releases from this Detroit electro band.

Catch Innerphonic for their first ever Blank Artists performance on Friday, February 5th at the Blank Arists 5-Year Anniversary.

Agents of Woe - R U Ready For Love?

Agents of Woe first caught our attention when label co-chair Josh Dahlberg was invited to a gig in Memphis, the home to legendary soul and blues label Stax Records. Upon hearing a single rough recording from AOW after the gig, he petitioned them for more songs, which ultimately led to the studio sessions with Detroit's best kept audio engineering secret, Andy Toth. R U Ready For Love? is the first single from those infamous recording sessions to see its formal release.

The original mix - heard here - of R U Ready... resembles many genres but cannot simply be described by one. At the core its electronic pop, but its also as much house as it is funk and as much techno as it is soul. Agents of Woe are a great example of what happens when a band executes dance music well. Just in time for that corporate bloodsucker of a holiday Valentine's Day, Agents of Woe deliver to make you get up before you get down.

The Blonde Collective

From: Michelle Merriweather Photography

In an interview conducted with Blonde Collective owner, Brad Hicks:

History
The idea for The Blonde Collective was conceived in September of 2009, while I was working for the Ann Arbor record label Ghostly International. After working with them for about a year and a half, I had this creative bug to get out and create my own company (it’s easy to get inspired when working with other creatives non-stop). I had a few meetings with Sam Valenti IV (the owner of Ghostly) about it and he seemed to really believe in my new creative endeavor. I parted ways with Ghostly in October and set out to open up Blonde, but I wanted to make sure that I had my mind right about what I wanted to sell.I knew that I didn’t have a lot of start-up money and I knew that I wanted to stay true to my believes in what the brand should be. I grew up in the 90’s. Back then, kids wore Ocean Pacific, Cross-Colors and Junco; everyone was a skateboarder; you’d find Veruca Salt and De La Soul on the same mixtape (they were actually tapes back then too) and I had a MAD crush on Cree Summer (“Freddie” from A Different World). It was a time when everyone began to understand everyone else, and I found that exciting. It was with all of these things in mind that made me launch Blonde with a mission to not cater to one specific “type” of customer, but to make our fashions accessible to everyone. With the over-saturation of loud shirts with neon colors and busy graphics, I wanted to set the trend by making the art on our shirts simple, clean and palatable to all who would see it. I wanted to print on unisex tees so everyone would be comfy in them, and if the ladies like a tee and want to cut it up into a tank top, I support it. ”Fashion forward for everyone” became our motto.Once all that was out of the way, it was just deciding which five shirt designs would become our inaugural line, getting them out to the printers (shout to VG Kids, our printers– they are awesome) and opening the store. The Blonde Collective opened at (a little after) Noon on October 22, 2009. Now is the most exciting time for me because (not even being three months old) the brand itself is in the same place that the clothing is. It is in that molding, baby stage where we can do anything want and take big chances with the goal of finding out who we are to become.

What type of items do the store sell?
Right now the Blonde webstore only sells t-shirts, but we are looking to expand the line into 2010 and we’ll hopefully have hats along with some cut and sew items (button downs, etc), women’s tees and accessories by the end of this year.

Name brands,labels etc. within the store?
Blonde is its own brand so the store carries only Blonde merchandise. This is something that we have been in discussions with others about, and you might start to see some offerings from other designers and brands as well as the year goes by.

Future collaborations of the store?
I worked really hard at the end of 2009 to try and make as many connections as possible so that when 2010 jumped off we would be fired up and have reason for our customers to be fired up. I think it is going to be a great year for collabs. On the streetwear/boutique tip, I’m in talks right now for a possible collab (that is really exciting) with the guys at Revive in Birmingham. In the world of art, we have been talking to a great visual artist (or Vj) in Chicago for a possible video/T-shirt collab. Currently, we have a free shirt give-a-way going on with the fashion site ATshirtBlog.com (that runs until the 27th, if you want to get in on that), and I am in collab mode with a great indie dance label in the Detroit area, Blank Artists.

"Crash" by Cyberoptix Tie Lab

Local artist, graphic designer and couture queen, Bethany Shorb, is the owner and creator of Cyberoptix Tie Lab, a line of clothing accessories that is represented by more than 100 stores in a dozen countries: from Fred Segal in Los Angeles to Libertine in Western Australia.

A native of Connecticut, Bethany's move to Detroit materialized nearly ten years ago upon her acceptance to Cranbrook Academy of Art, where she obtained a master in fine arts. Since then, she has provided tirelessly, for the artists' community surrounding Detroit and in addition, has emerged as one of the leading ladies in the global post-goth, punk fashion world.

Travis Wright from the Metro Times, sat down with Bethany on the brink of her 2010 winter preview entitled "Crash", which is an automotive themed art show. Inspired by the J.G. Ballard novel Crash and the Normal song "Warm Leatherette", Bethany designed a line of automotive ties for Cyberoptix. Expanding on her the automotive themed neckwear, Bethany has created original works of art, photography and the big reveal -Supplemental Restraint System: Reclaimed Deployed Airbag featuring silk screened impressions of dead celebrities. Preview Photos.

This Friday marks the preview of Bethany's 2010 Cyberoptix line at 323 East. The reception starts at 6pm. In addition, you access this week's Metro Times cover story, featuring Behtany Shorb. Read the article HERE.

Nite Jewel

From: Drowned in Sound

Los Angeles native Ramona Gonzalez is the composer, arranger and songwriter behind Nite Jewel. Her past lies in multimedia video and sound installations, collaborations with members of Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti, and a philosophy degree at Occidental College. Her present involves sketching vaporous outlines of pop songs that are smothered in a glassy patina that crackles and blisters under the tape hiss of Gonzalez’s trusty eight-track. It’s an odd, disconcerting contrast, where the shiny parts of pop are expertly slotted together, only to be obfuscated by vocals rendered cloudy and indecipherable via a combination of lo-fi production values and great swells of bass muscling up into the mix to muffle the sheen.

"What Did You Say" has quite a memorizing hook accompanied by an undeniably seductive vocal track that let's you melt into your headphones. Along with future boogie beatmaker, Dam-Funk, Nite Jewel is emerging as one of LA's brightest new stars.

Someone needs to bring this girl to Detroit!

Madis One

Madis One is the blossoming musical project of Jon Smith and Adam Serafino. Previously a four-piece band known as Madis, the group reduced its membership to two under the morphed epithet, Madis One. Musical peers of five years, Jon and Adam play many of the parts live through keyboards, samples, guitar and vocals, which all make for an engaging live performance. Influenced by the likes of Aphex Twin, Telefon Tel Aviv, and Bjork, the duo are focused on turning out some of the freshest psychedelic electronic pop, furthering Detroit’s reputation as an experimental hip-hop breeding ground.

Catch their first ever live performance for Blank Artists next month at the Blank Artists' 5-Year Anniversary

Ticketmaster/Live Nation Merger

From: Twin Cities Daily Planet

Nealy two weeks ago, the UK approved the merger of two behemoth entertainment companies, Live Nation and Ticketmaster. Since this decision, both fans and entertainment venues have spoken out amidst the news, contending the merger on the grounds of anti-trust laws, including famous Minneapolis club, First Avenue. Moreover, The American Antitrust Institute, Consumer Action, Consumer Federation of America, the National Association of Ticket Brokers, the National Consumers League and the U.S. Public Interest Research Group (USPIRG) have launched a new website called TicketDisaster as a clearinghouse for opposition to the merger.

"It has almost become prohibitively expensive to attend most music venues. In fact, arena shows, not that they put on a show worth attending, have already become far more pricey than the return gained. Ticketmaster and Live Nation are criminals in the vein of the robber barons of the early 20th century. They have been allowed to operate, and steal, with impunity for far too long already. To allow this merger to proceed would be tantamount, in my opinion, to complicit criminal negligence.

Please, review the facts, and do the right thing. Do not allow these criminal enterprises to consolidate their powers and efforts to rob us of our hard earned money. We only wish to see our music live as we attempt to engage in one of the last free demonstrations of creative choice." ~ Pipe Scuttleworth

If you're an active concert attendee and purchaser of both Ticketmaster and Live Nation events, then please visit www.ticketdisaster.org for more information.

* Photo Credit - Wikipedia

Mathias Matthew - SEED 001 - Migrashun

Mathias Matthew is a man on the move.... and not like your granny's old Packard or Buick Rendezvous, but rather like our uncontrollable and ever accelerating pattern of time. Maybe that's why he decided on the name Migrashun for his label and event promotion company.

Yet another Detroit ex-pat, Mathias bid a farewell to Motown in 2008 in order to relocate his ambitious endeavors to the city of Chicago... and an prosperous new home base it has been. In little over a year, Migrashun has advanced to become one of Chicago's premiere event promotion companies, boasting the likes of Reference and Fairmont, among others. In addition, Mathias has also developed a following with his Ableton live/dj performance and he's certainly no slouch on the tracklisting, which we tend to like.... ALOT! Check this latest mix compiled by Mathias using the Akai APC 40. Lots of heady, slow, psychedelic burners.

Mixed By: Mathias Matthew
Length: 1:18:51
Format: MP3
Bit Rate: 192 KBPS
Link: Download

Tracklisting:
1. Kate Simko – Sociber – Ghostly
2. Trentemoller, Buda – Gamma – Kickin Records
3. DJ Koze – Lords Of Panama Rendered – Mule Electronic
4. Luke Abbott – (Prelude) We’ve Lost The War – Output
5. Ras G – Penny’s Confession – Brainfeeder
6. Raymond Scott – Bass-Line Generator – BBE Music
7. SND – 08:21:61 – Raster-Noton
8. Minilogue – In The Smoke We All Became Birds - Mule Electronic
9. Jan Jelinek – Stripped To Realmode - Mule Electronic
10. Build Buildings – Letter Codes - Neo Ouija
11. John Carpenter – The President Is Gone - BBE Music
12. Taylor Deupree, Kenneth Kirschner – 03.24.02 – 12K
13. Avus – They Will Come – Phobic
14. So Inagawa – You Trip Me Up – Relaxine
15. Norman Nodge – Maniac – MDR
16. Margot – Fuori Dal Peter – Margot Records
17. Exercise One – Sleeper – Mobilee
18. James Kumo – The Deep – Metamorphic
19. Klute – TSA – Commercial Suicide
20. Yapacc – Conga De Terre – WIR
21. K-rAd – 126flarp
22. K-rAd – 128defen
23. Evan Scott – Onosphere (Teef Remix) – Race Car Productions
24. Masaya – Malita – Mina
25. Heiko Voss – I Think About You (DJ Koze Remix) – Kompakt Pop
26. Frozen Border – 2.1 – Frozen Border
27. DJ Koze – Mrs. Bojangels – Circus Company
28. Nathan Fake- Narrier – Border Community

Blank Artists 5-Year Anniversary Event - Finalized

The Blank Artists Five Year Anniversary
February 5th, 2009

with Bands:
Agents of Woe - Memphis/NYC
Innerphonic
Madis One

and DJs:
Josh Dahlberg
Drew Pompa
Matt Abbott - between sets

With an extended set from Detroit radio icon Judy Adams
Catch the Judy Adams' Show 9:00a-10:30a Every Tuesday on 99.1fm CJAM

9:00pm
Park Bar
2040 Park Ave. Detroit, MI
$8 before midnight / 21+

www.blankartists.com