11:30pm. Ryan's Irish Pub. A breezy Thursday night. Everyone at the table simultaneously hushes all forms of conversation and looks in the same direction. The man of the hour (or the past 6 days) has arrived and greets everyone as he takes a seat by Mathematikal's 'Jay Zinga'. Conversation soon picks up again as people buy another round of drinks and DJ Luuk Cox is officially acquainted to everyone by Jay. Jon is somewhere in Barcelona.
It's been a historic week of sorts as Maltese fans got to meet the hard-hitting Belgian duo Shameboy's very own Luuk Cox and also see him perform a smashing set last Saturday at Poxx Bar. Yesterday, was Luuk's last night on the island and fans gathered to talk about his work and share opinions on the house music scene. I didn't really get the chance for a one-to-one with the man but I did have a brief chat with him last Saturday. Too many eager fans.
Luuk is a very down-to-earth guy with a good sense of humour. He also has acute memory skills. He remembered all his Maltese fans' names from Facebook. Bonus points!! I also found out from the man himself that this was his 10th time in Malta. He regularly visits the country to work on production of his Shameboy singles as well as other Belgian bands' singles. His resume includes work done for Confuse the Cat (http://www.confusethecat.be/), Tim Vanhamel, Arsenal and Buscemi (http://www.buscemi.be/). Luuk sure has the technical skills required for production and DJing but he is also a musician at heart. He has lent his drumming skills to the aforementioned Buscemi who have been releasing albums since 1998. The band is currently on tour in Ibiza. I am curious to know whether he still tours with them or is now fully engrossed in the Shameboy project.
Speaking about Shameboy. Can you still call it a project? The Belgian funk-masters namely being Luuk and Discobar Galaxie's 'Jimmy Dewitt' (better known as DJ Bobby Ewing) now have two albums under their belt and an insane fan following. The two came from different groups but still did their own thing. Shameboy feels like a worthy collaboration between two great men of the trade and it all started at a festival in 2004. Rock Werchter. The rest was history.
The Shameboy sound itself has been described as electro-funk-punk and takes influences from Daft Punk and Kraftwerk. *bows down in appreciation* This just goes to prove the continued influence of such groups on music today. Their MySpace page (www.myspace.com/shameboy) also likens them to Altar Ego, Digitalism, MSTRKRFT and Black Strobe. What is interesting is the diverse elements of electronic music the band takes. Primarily, their main focus is to make you lose control of every physical particle in your body and shake what your momma gave ya! This they do with grand gusto.
Another thing I found interesting is a little quote I translated from the Belgian language from an interview on http://www.veto.be/. Of course, I could have got this wrong but here goes. Although it is blatantly apparent that the alternative crowd has warmed up to Shameboy there are also other listeners who appreciate the duo's devilish beats. Music channels like the Belgium TFM (The Music Factory) channel nominated Shameboy for Best Dance act in 2007. On being asked about the kind of audience Shameboy are aiming for the answer was a long one. However, one quote by Luuk caught my eye:
This can be good and bad. It opens your market but can ultimately put you at the risk of generalisation. As I struggled to hear the DJ-to-fan conversation last night through a promotional river of beers and my double Martini Bianco, I could pick up waves of the same topic. The Maltese alternative scene knows its stuff but can fall into the popularity trap every so often due to the lack of alternative acts that hit our shores. People like Luigi Pellegrini from Alternative Malta and Stagedive Malta have really pushed the scene up front. However, most Maltese alternative youth must spend a large sum of their budgets on big festivals abroad in order to keep up with the new scene. It's difficult to get single acts let alone big festivals to set camp here.
Luuk believes that groups such as Soulwax are losing their fanbase because of this trap. There comes a time when a music act gets labelled or falls into some kind of brand. Some fans keep coming back to that familiar sound while others get bored and drift away. It is almost the same in every music genre but particularly so in the house scene. It gets worse when these groups start seeing only dollar signs in their eyes and put themselves on a pedestal. The best thing to do is to diversify your music according to your style and influences, and to always acknowledge that you never know what people want. If the audience understands and respects that then you're good to go. Never expect to stick to the same people but always show gratitude to these people. You never know who's watching. Just imagine, if Shameboy were to release their videos on other music channels like MTV you might even see them getting nominated on the EMAs. Alternative dance acts like Justice were nominated and won an EMA award for two years in a row. OK, so they won for Best Video which isn't something artists want to be remembered for but you must admit, the videos for Splend It and Heartcore are pretty cool.
Honestly, I had never heard of Shameboy before but I was familiar with DJ Bobby Ewing from the Discobar Galaxie fame. Luuk alone delivered a massive DJ set at Poxx Bar. The crowd especially went wild when he played their new track Heartcore. Who knows what mass destruction the two unleash when playing together?
Mathematikal were also the first reason I attended the event. I have been wanting to see these guys perform since the beginning because I had heard nothing but positive comments about them. I can't believe it took me so long to finally meet them. Their set was even crazier than I imagined. They threw everything in there from Michael Jackson to the A-Team theme song.
Their set is also animated by cool visuals putting not only their DJ but also their VJ skills to the test. Luuk did not use any visual media but was more interactive with the crowd. He's a teaser too. He makes the crowd work to get what they want and then hits it on them hard. Finally, back-to-back the two were pure magic. The crowd was happier than a band of babbling, butt-naked baboons. Looksie here ------>
I also got a picture with Luuk. Wuhuu. Thanks mate!
All in all, it was a great night and a great week for alternative fans. It was also a great pleasure meeting Jon and Jay. They're really cool guys and barrels of laughs! *teehee* If I heard correctly last night, the two have been contacted regarding some festival performances. That sounds amazing and I wish them the best of luck. They've really given the music scene in Malta a breath of fresh air. Next performance, November 28th! Until then, keep on plonking! ;) (www.myspace.com/mathematikal)
Pictures courtesy of Yasmin K. ^^
Luuk is a very down-to-earth guy with a good sense of humour. He also has acute memory skills. He remembered all his Maltese fans' names from Facebook. Bonus points!! I also found out from the man himself that this was his 10th time in Malta. He regularly visits the country to work on production of his Shameboy singles as well as other Belgian bands' singles. His resume includes work done for Confuse the Cat (http://www.confusethecat.be/), Tim Vanhamel, Arsenal and Buscemi (http://www.buscemi.be/). Luuk sure has the technical skills required for production and DJing but he is also a musician at heart. He has lent his drumming skills to the aforementioned Buscemi who have been releasing albums since 1998. The band is currently on tour in Ibiza. I am curious to know whether he still tours with them or is now fully engrossed in the Shameboy project.
Speaking about Shameboy. Can you still call it a project? The Belgian funk-masters namely being Luuk and Discobar Galaxie's 'Jimmy Dewitt' (better known as DJ Bobby Ewing) now have two albums under their belt and an insane fan following. The two came from different groups but still did their own thing. Shameboy feels like a worthy collaboration between two great men of the trade and it all started at a festival in 2004. Rock Werchter. The rest was history.
The Shameboy sound itself has been described as electro-funk-punk and takes influences from Daft Punk and Kraftwerk. *bows down in appreciation* This just goes to prove the continued influence of such groups on music today. Their MySpace page (www.myspace.com/shameboy) also likens them to Altar Ego, Digitalism, MSTRKRFT and Black Strobe. What is interesting is the diverse elements of electronic music the band takes. Primarily, their main focus is to make you lose control of every physical particle in your body and shake what your momma gave ya! This they do with grand gusto.
Another thing I found interesting is a little quote I translated from the Belgian language from an interview on http://www.veto.be/. Of course, I could have got this wrong but here goes. Although it is blatantly apparent that the alternative crowd has warmed up to Shameboy there are also other listeners who appreciate the duo's devilish beats. Music channels like the Belgium TFM (The Music Factory) channel nominated Shameboy for Best Dance act in 2007. On being asked about the kind of audience Shameboy are aiming for the answer was a long one. However, one quote by Luuk caught my eye:
"You can no longer simply choose your audience. Your audience chooses you!"
This can be good and bad. It opens your market but can ultimately put you at the risk of generalisation. As I struggled to hear the DJ-to-fan conversation last night through a promotional river of beers and my double Martini Bianco, I could pick up waves of the same topic. The Maltese alternative scene knows its stuff but can fall into the popularity trap every so often due to the lack of alternative acts that hit our shores. People like Luigi Pellegrini from Alternative Malta and Stagedive Malta have really pushed the scene up front. However, most Maltese alternative youth must spend a large sum of their budgets on big festivals abroad in order to keep up with the new scene. It's difficult to get single acts let alone big festivals to set camp here.
Luuk believes that groups such as Soulwax are losing their fanbase because of this trap. There comes a time when a music act gets labelled or falls into some kind of brand. Some fans keep coming back to that familiar sound while others get bored and drift away. It is almost the same in every music genre but particularly so in the house scene. It gets worse when these groups start seeing only dollar signs in their eyes and put themselves on a pedestal. The best thing to do is to diversify your music according to your style and influences, and to always acknowledge that you never know what people want. If the audience understands and respects that then you're good to go. Never expect to stick to the same people but always show gratitude to these people. You never know who's watching. Just imagine, if Shameboy were to release their videos on other music channels like MTV you might even see them getting nominated on the EMAs. Alternative dance acts like Justice were nominated and won an EMA award for two years in a row. OK, so they won for Best Video which isn't something artists want to be remembered for but you must admit, the videos for Splend It and Heartcore are pretty cool.
Honestly, I had never heard of Shameboy before but I was familiar with DJ Bobby Ewing from the Discobar Galaxie fame. Luuk alone delivered a massive DJ set at Poxx Bar. The crowd especially went wild when he played their new track Heartcore. Who knows what mass destruction the two unleash when playing together?
Mathematikal were also the first reason I attended the event. I have been wanting to see these guys perform since the beginning because I had heard nothing but positive comments about them. I can't believe it took me so long to finally meet them. Their set was even crazier than I imagined. They threw everything in there from Michael Jackson to the A-Team theme song.
Their set is also animated by cool visuals putting not only their DJ but also their VJ skills to the test. Luuk did not use any visual media but was more interactive with the crowd. He's a teaser too. He makes the crowd work to get what they want and then hits it on them hard. Finally, back-to-back the two were pure magic. The crowd was happier than a band of babbling, butt-naked baboons. Looksie here ------>I also got a picture with Luuk. Wuhuu. Thanks mate!
All in all, it was a great night and a great week for alternative fans. It was also a great pleasure meeting Jon and Jay. They're really cool guys and barrels of laughs! *teehee* If I heard correctly last night, the two have been contacted regarding some festival performances. That sounds amazing and I wish them the best of luck. They've really given the music scene in Malta a breath of fresh air. Next performance, November 28th! Until then, keep on plonking! ;) (www.myspace.com/mathematikal)
Pictures courtesy of Yasmin K. ^^ 
No comments:
Post a Comment