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Have you
ever thought what Busta Rhymes would sound over the Ghostbusters
theme song? Or what would happen if Ludacris and Toto did a song
together? Have you been wondering what a crunk version of Hotel
California would be like? No? Neither have most people, but these
fellas did.
Thanks
for agreeing to help spread the good word to our readers! How
are you two fine gentlemen doing today?
Just splendid, thank you.
Excellent. For a bit of introductory business, could you tell our readers a bit about who exactly is behind the mask of Ludachrist?
Sure, Ludachrist is 2 people; myself (Knick) and Dr. Ray Boardman (AKA Ewun & Kill The Noise) and we've been working together for years now. We met through the drum and bass circuit and have remained close friends ever since.
How did you guys come up with the idea to form Ludachrist? Give us the lowdown on the early stages, if you will.
It started out by accident. One day I sat down and laid out the first few minutes, on a whim. After that, I sent it to Jake and he loved it. He then started working on a few mashups of his own and then we formulated a plan to stitch the mixes together and release a mega mix, if you will.
I, like
most people, have heard one too many monotonous mashups, but
“Bangfest” is in a league of its own; one of those things you wish
would never end! Could you explain a bit about your concept and what
makes the mashups unique?
Well, I think that everyone loves to hear a "good" mashup. The problem is that a lot of people out there just get their software, learn the basics and then pop out some out-of-key, clangy mix. We have been producing and creating music for a long time, way before Ludachrist was even a twinkle in our eyes. We like to take what we've learned about producing, DJing and entertaining in general and use that skill set to make a mix that stands out from the rest. We spent a long time fine tuning everything and making sure that everything made sense, musically. You won't hear any mixes that clash or are out of key with one another. That is our pet peeve.
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All the fine tuning and experience definitely shows through
in Bangfest. Speaking of… tell us how this gloriously infectious mix
was made? It seems like so much effort went into it; how long did it
take you?
Yeah, it took us a few months, from start to finish. We wrote the
entire mix in Ableton Live. Here's a bit of information that most
people don't know: We wrote the mix without using any plug-ins or
external effects devices. All of the "glitches" or "edits" were
chopped up and done by hand and then we used EQ's and volume fades
for everything else. So yes, A LOT of effort went into making
"Bangfest."
It’s
certainly paid off! Now, when it comes to the live shows, do you go
about the performance using the same methods or do the live
performances consist of more gear and holy beverages?
Well, due to the nature of the mix, it would be almost impossible to
build something like that on the fly. So, what we did was get
together in the studio to break down and re-construct (or remix) the
best parts of the Bangfest, as well as add tons of new material.
We've also added some live instrumentation in the form of electric
bass and guitar, as well as scratching on turntables. The result is
a truly unique set list that changes tempo and is incredibly fast
paced, just like Bangfest. The plan is already in motion to develop
the live set over time to make it even more entertaining to watch.
We also dress up in full-on costume and encourage the audience to do
the same at our shows, because we don't just want to be known as two
guys on laptops; the Ludachrist live experience is much more than
that.
There was a Ludachrist gig in LA recently; please fill us in on how this went down! We hear there were some sexy stage dancers…
The LA show was a great experience. First off, we got to play at the legendary Roxy Theatre, which was an honor… I don't even need to explain that one. As for the show itself, we played a great set and the crowd was really impressed. Before the show, we went down to Hollywood Boulevard and approached some of the street performers and we ended up hiring 3 characters to come out to the show and dance on stage. In the end, we had Spongebob Square Pants, Barney the Dinosaur and Gene Simmons from KISS on our stage and it was hilarious. We uploaded some videos to youtube (thanks to Ultra Violet Sound), for those of you who want to see how it went.
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Sounds absolutely epic. Tell us about your viral vids,
how did those masterpieces come about? And are there plans for future ones?Absolutely! We love the internet; there is no other way to say it. We both spend a lot of time on youtube, laughing our asses off. We never really had an idea to "start doing viral videos," but we also couldn't resist… Ludachrist mashes up more than just music. We're incredibly influenced by everyday life, and it just so happens that we find great joy in observing what's happening in the world through youtube. We want to really bring more of the visual aspect to the "Ludachrist experience" obviously using youtube is a great way to introduce that to our audience and expose our music and ideas to new people.
The Souljah Girl remix video kills it. Do you guys have another mix for us in the works any time soon? The answer better be yes or we’re not publishing this interview.
Yes.
Fancy that! So, what are the long term plans for the mighty Ludachrist; gigs, future releases, etc?
We both have a really good feeling about the future of this project. It appeals to so many different people. Almost anyone who grew up near the same time period as us has expressed how much they enjoyed the mix; mainly because it's a trip down memory lane for a lot of us. So with that said, there has been a huge interest from promoters, wanting to book Ludachrist. You can expect to see a full tour in the near future as well as one off events.
The world won’t know what hit them. Where can people cop audio, visuals or merchandise of their own?
The best way to stay up to date with what we're doing is
to frequently check out our blog and
website
and of course, you can find us on
myspace.
Thanks so much for having a chat with us today! Any closing thoughts or shouts?
Thank YOU! I'd like to shout out all of our friends, family and partners in crime. Also, thanks to the promoters who have brought us to their cities already. To any promoters out there that would like to get a little LUDA in their towns, don't hesitate to contact us. Oh, and don't forget to FEEL THE WORDS DEEP INSIDE YOUR MOST HOLIEST OF PLACES!
watch:
Ludachrist live in Atlanta
listen:
download the mix
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