As you can see from the video, it’s really hard not to have a good time around these guys, they emit nothing but positivity and all that energy is most definitely translated into their music.
Check out the quick interview we had with them about their projects, and Fiero’s past present and future… make sure you get on board with these guys and get ready to Ride the Universe!

DIGITALFOXGLOVE X FIERO
PANDA PEOPLE – SOPHISTICATED GIRL (RIDE THE UNIVERSE REMIX)

For more info on FIERO make sure you check out:
http://soundcloud.com/fieromagic
http://Twitter.com/JeremyFIERO
http://Twitter.com/NickyFIERO
http://Twitter.com/SamFIERO

(You MUST comment and share this post on your facebook or Twitter to be entered to win, trust us! we will be checking)

We can’t announce all the prizes as of yet but here are a few things you can win:

BOTTLE SERVICE FOR YOU AND 10 OF YOUR FRIENDS AT A SELECT CLUB (must be 21 and over)
SKULL CANDY HEADPHONES
FREE SHOES (can’t announce by who yet)
FREE CLOTHES (Can’t announce by who yet)
FREE MUSIC
$100 CASH! (must be claimed at one of the fakeRICH Holiday parties)
LIMITED EDITION fakeRICH shit.

Plus much much more!

Why are we giving all this stuff away?
WHO CARES!!!

**If you comment and share this post you will also be entered to win any of the daily drawings**

NO DOUBT – OI TO THE WORLD

Im sure all of you have heard the Baisur Sur La Disco remix he did a few months back by now.. (if you haven’t keep reading the MP3 will be at the bottom) not only is that track pure fire but as soon as I heard it, I knew I wanted to hear more from this guy and once I did I was completely blown away!!! So today we are bringing a very special International edition of MUSIC MONDAY… a quick interview with the one and only RUBIX….

Where do you live?
Amsterdam

How old are you?
23

Your music style is obviously heavily influenced by disco and house but as
a kid what music were you into?
My dad has a great collection of disco records, that inspired me a lot. So when I need a sample I just go through his collection.

Are those the same groups / bands you influence you today?
As a DJ/producer Laidback Luke was a great hero for me. Back in the days he played a lot of disco house tracks with some turntablism flavours.

How long have you been making music / Djing for?
Djing for about 5 years now and making music for about 4 years now

What’s the scene like out there in Amsterdam?
We have a great scene over here in Amsterdam. With a lot of talented producers and DJ’s Like Tom Trago, Le Le, Mightyfools, Dem Slackers, Boemklatsch, Henzel und Disco (Vagegasten), Guerilla Speakerz, Homework and Wannabeastar. So if you come to Amsterdam be sure to check one of these guys/girls!

Its so crazy how some pretty amazing artists from Amsterdam have just
broke into the limelight this year (LeLe / Parra) Do you think that one
day Amsterdam will add music to the list of reasons why so many people
visit each year? Or has it already?
It already is!

Have you ever played any shows out in the US?
If not, when do you plan on coming out here?
Nope not yet. But I’m getting a lot of requests from the states.

Which live show would you rather see?

Pantera or Prince?
Prince!

NOFX or N’sync?
haha N’sync

Daft Punk or David Hasselhof?
Daft Punk for sure

Have you ever bought any special friends from the red light district in
Amsterdam? and if so what was her name? Im traveling to Amsterdam this
year and I want to make sure I know what my options are.
Nope never been there haha!

If you could perform live with any artist in the world (alive or dead) who
would it be?
Stevie Wonder

Going off the success of B.s.l.d. do you have any other tracks or remixes
in the works that you are pumped about if so, Can we hear some?
There are some great remixes coming up for Bart B More, Juice and Casette Club and a new EP. When their ready I will send them over.

Where do you see RUBIX in the next year, and where do you see RUBIX in the
next 10 years?
On top of the world haha

This dude is coming up fast so grab these tracks while you can before some major label does.

RUBIX – BAISUR SUR LA DISCO

C- CODE – BURNING UP IN HERE (RUBIX REMIX)

PLUS WE ARE THROWING IN A VERY SPECIAL  UNRELEASED TRACK!!!!!

RUBIX – DISCO ELECTRONIQUE

for more info on RUBIX check out:

http://www.iamrubix.com

http://iamrubix.hyves.nl

http://www.twitter.com/iamrubix

Egor Swis aka Eric Gordon is one of those Artists who you can’t help but respect, he works hard, he puts in work and he is a super nice guy.. but DON’T think about asking him to make 1200 stickers in one day! (he used to make all our fakeRICH stickers)

Back when we first started fakeRICH we wanted to interview as many artists as possible to get their names and art out to the masses, and the first person at the top of the list we Egor Swis. Eventually some time passed and we lost the interview, then a few months ago I was cleaning out the horrendously overinflated hard drive and I stumbled upon a picture folder that EGOR dropped off for me back in march of 2008. As soon as I saw that, I thought “How can I figure out a way to get this guy on the site” and as fate would have it, EGOR has just started a new Magazine and yours truly was featured. So now it’s time we FINALLY returned the favor and let you all know about one of the most UNDERRATED artists in Orange County… EGOR SWIS ~!

> First and foremost how did you get the name EGOR?
It’s a combination of my first and last names and I started painting these Egor looking characters, so it was kind of natural.

> Eric Gordon and Egor Swis are they two completely different people?
Nah, I’m pretty much the same. SWIS is just a reminder of where I am mentally. Still With I Strength.

> Where and when was the first time you picked up a can or a marker and did a piece?
My first piece was done under the bridge in Rancho, the Ghost Yard. I think was 15. I remember my older brother’s friend took me down there and I watched him paint a piece. The next weekend I skated down there by myself and threw one up. It was terrible looking. I wrote Klone and put in captions, “the first of its kind”. Oh shit, that’s embarrassing.

> When you first started writing did you do it because you wanted to be an artist or did you have alternative motives?
I’ve always been an artist. I was drawing T&C Surf stickers and other skate and surf stickers since I was 5. My mom used to take me to Becker just to buy me stickers. I graduated into painting.

>What are some of the pieces you are most proud of?
My first canvas I ever did is still probably my favorite. I made it for my brother for his birthday in 2002. I got some graffiti pieces I’m proud of, but there was one I did in Austria that was probably the coolest experience I’ve ever had painting.

> Who do you usually paint with?
I paint with my crew, Monster At Heart. MAH is Akute Cyfer Kords Des Blare Spider Germs Atone Reap. But when I’m doing a canvas I’m painting by myself.

> If you could put together your dream show at any gallery in the world,where would it be and what would it include?
You know, I’m not that familiar with too many galleries but if I had to describe my perfect show it would go a little something like this: a small but open industrial space with high ceilings and low lighting, featuring canvas paintings, wood works, and installations. Its local so all my friends and family are there, the booze is free, the DJ’s spinning vinyl, everything sells and everyone gets laid.

> Since you have a graffiti background what does the balance look like for you between posting up pieces on the street and doing “commercial” pieces in the studio?
Graffiti is a young mans sport. To stay active illegally takes a lot of time and effort. I was never really into getting up too much so for me, staying active in my sketch books, canvas and collage work is more important. I don’t consider anything I do commercial. Everything I create is done from my own desire. if somebody wants to commission a piece of art, its going to be something similar to a piece or a style that I’ve done in the past. Or hopefully an idea that I want to experiment with. I think that just because something is sold does not make it commercial.

> What brought on the idea to start your own magazine? (http://www.ofourown.com/)
The idea to create a magazine was conjured up while walking aimlessly around the streets of Stutgart, Germany in 2006. I always wanted to do something for artists, by artists, that would keep the community active and function as another expressive outlet. That’s why its called Of Our Own. It’s meant to be run by an artist collective, not a single person. Its hard for some artists to paint and draw or whatever, AND be a business person and try to sell and market yourself at the end of the day. If this magazine helps artists to succeed with whatever they do than I consider Of Our Own a success.

> Where do you see yourself personally and as an artist in 4 years?
Hopefully we continue to do the same type of publication, with more emphasis on themed issues. I’d like to continue to expand on Music, literature, and photography, as well as traditional drawing and painting. But really it depends on the artists. They’re the ones that are going to shape and mold the magazine in years to come.
I would like to continue to take on art projects and stay active in creating new ideas, working with other artists, as well as keeping a positive outlook and enjoying life. I am blessed with beautiful people in my life. It would be nice if my artistic endeavors allowed me financial stability, but other than that, I’m cool.

BABYLON SYSTEM – GET ON UP

KOSHEEN – GUILTY (PLASITICIAN REMIX)

In our own little world, Mike is always on the hunt for a legitimate job and myself, well I’ve been out of work for nearly two years. It gets difficult to run a lifestyle blog/magazine when you can’t even afford the gas in your car, or the car itself. And when you finally get to the club or venue you realize you might not have the gas to get home, or the lens on the camera is scratched and maybe worse, the camera itself isn’t working and you wonder, “What will I have to sell to get this thing fixed?”

Then you look at the site stats and you perk up. You see hits from around the world. In Austrailia, Japan, Europe, even Africa and South America, we have tons of repeat readers. In our local area we have a ridiculous amount of hits considering we don’t really promote outside of this site or Twitter. It’s always encouraging to know that people are seeing what you are doing.

Which has also lead to us meeting tons of interesting people.

In the few short years we’ve been around, we’ve had access to some of the biggest parties and artists in our niche. We’ve interviewed people we knew, people that just happened to be there, people we admired or in my case people with music so unbelievably catchy that no one will ride in the car with me.

We’ve also met tons of people behind the artists, the people behind the scenes doing a lot of the “grunt work”. And I know, putting parties together may not be the most important job, but what I think people fail to realize is the people who put parties together with the typical fakeRICH reader in mind as their main crowd don’t make much money and they do it for the love of music.

While other places, and other genres are very lucrative, we work in an genre that is usually a few steps ahead of the mainstream. I don’t want to use the word “tastemakers”, but I’ve seen first-hand how what I’ve heard in shitty (I say that with love) little clubs in Costa Mesa/LA/Santa Ana is now being played at bars and clubs for the more mainstream crowd in Huntington Beach, Newport Beach or any city ending with “Beach”, and also on the most mainstream radio stations in California.

When you’re ahead of the curve, like so many people are in this niche, you realize that the people doing this are doing it because they love what they do. The DJs, the artists, the venue owners, the promoters, the people at an online magazine who still have not broken even. We all are a part of this because it’s something we love and would like to share with others. Which makes it all the more sad when you see some of those people leave; either not able to make it, or moving on to other things, or are just gone.

This year some of what I considered to be mainstays of the “electro” world in Southern California closed their doors.

Avenue out in Riverside shut down. I only went to there once or twice, but I remember hearing about it every week. They always wanted us to come out and throw a party and when we did, it was an unforgettable evening. I only met the people behind Avenue in passing, Mike might have more words on them. That place was around for years, and if you wanted electro out in the I.E. that was the place to go.

Mute Fridays in Downtown Santa Ana also shut down this year. That place when it first started was nearly empty every week. However, over time the crowds grew and grew. I was always amazed that there was a place in Downtown Santa Ana drawing a crowd so big that people were willing to wait in line for it. They always brought the fun. In OC, besides every Wednesday in Costa Mesa (Busywork, which also shut down and Avalon), Mute was the only place to get real two-step worthy Electro.

And then there was LAX. The story of LAX goes hand in hand with someone we lost.

(Here’s a quick little background on me. Before I started with fakeRICH I really didn’t think DJs were anything more than highly advanced iTunes cyborgs. I just didn’t know what goes into it, nor did I care.)

The first time I heard of DJ AM was on TV when they were going on and on about him and Nicole Richie. I immediately thought “Why am I watching this?” So you can only imagine my excitement when Mike told me we were going to LAX and DJ AM was going to spin (heavy on the sarcasm here).

We get in, the place is packed. Everyone already sweating. I just wanted a drink. And then it gets quiet for a second and you can hear a murmur in the crowd. It was like everyone had a heart palpitation at the same time. The music changed. The crowd at the bar lightened up. I got my drink and headed outside. I couldn’t find Mike or my friends. So I did a walk-around and the guy DJing was playing some pretty good songs, obviously just warming up.

I looked into the dance floor and there was Mike with our beloved fakeRICH Canon 30D just snapping away with a stupid “I’m so happy right now Joe” look on his face. So I make my way out there.

It was like AM was waiting for me to walk out there. I don’t remember the songs, but the way he mixed them and the way he played the crowd was amazing. I never knew a DJ could do that. I still don’t have the words or know the correct vocabulary to technically describe what he was doing on the decks….All I knew was “This is what a DJ is.”

I never cared who was DJing before when I went out, but after that, I was able to see DJs in a new light.

What AM was able to do with a crowd is something most people can only dream of.

LAX was a success because of AM and the excitement he brought to same music we all listen to all day. So when he left us, it was only fitting that LAX was gone too.

In less than a month three of the biggest electro clubs around here were gone.

There are many more things that happened in our little world, but there isn’t enough time to go back and relive them.

2009 will be remembered mainly for things we lost. Michael Jackson; will you ever forget where you were when you heard about that? Money; I can’t think of one person who wasn’t affected by the near-collapse of the financial system.

Another thing we lost was our unbridled optimism. It was only a year ago that the chants of “Yes we can” were echoing in towns across the country, on our way to electing our first Black President. Though, today you won’t go far without hearing a cynical voice, saying, “He’s not doing enough.” That hope isn’t enough.

It’s nearly impossible to go anywhere and not hear people being negative about something. We’ve lost our innocence and our confidence and a lot of people are scared, but I won’t let that bring me down.

2009 for me is a great year. It is the year that things were once again put into perspective. Yes we lost many things and people we’ve loved and cherished. We lost some of our hope and unending confidence, but HOPEfully we’ve gained a more realistic view of the world around us. Hopefully we will finally see what is truly important and work harder to achieve those goals. I don’t mean to be a cheeseball, but maybe in losing so much we’ve gained a sense of who we really could be, or should be. 2009 should not only be a reminder of just how fragile life is, but how fragile our way of life is.

I’ll look back on 2009 without the fondness I have for 2002 (My best year), but I’ll still have a smile. Because it is times like this that we find out what we still have.

We have our friends and family. We have our music, and the influence of those who made music before us. We have each other. And most importanly we have today.

As soon as I got the greenlight to interview Calvin, I made a phone call over to Quang Le to see if he had enough time in his busy schedule to film. To my surprise, Quang jumped at the idea and was really excited to interview the guy who “gets all the girls.”

Quang and I grabbed his 5D along with Pretty Boy Paul’s light and headed up to Hollywood as soon as we could. Once we got there we were greeted with some major disorganization, but lucky for us Calvin’s manager, Mark, made sure we were taken care of… I could go on an on about the night and the dichotomy between how nice and hospitable Calvin Harris and his people were and how disorganized and unfriendly the people at the Vanguard were, but I’ll digress and move into the interview.
(If you want more info on the night w/ photos check out our part coverage here)

I got a chance to sit down with Calvin for 15 minutes or so before he absolutely tore the roof off the Vanguard… It turns out Calvin was one of those dudes who you can pretty much chat with about anything, as long as you enjoy a good dry sense of humor.

It was seriously a pleasure meeting Calvin and Mark, and Mark (”said band member”) I can’t wait for them to come back to the states so we can chat with them again.

CALVIN HARRIS – THE RAIN (via audiomuffin)

CALVIN HARRIS – READY FOR THE WEEKEND (DAVE SPOON REMIX) (via thedockingstation)

DIZZEE RASCAL + CALVIN HARRIS – DANCE WIV ME (SHAZAM REMIX) (via boomboomchick)

“After nearly 20 years of making music, what keeps you guys going”
“What was is like working with Dave Grohl?”
“When you guys come to L.A. what do you guys like to do when you are out here?”
“If you could perform with any ONE act (”Dead or Alive”) right now, who would it be?”

Check out the vid here:

After we asked them our set of questions we must have chatted for another 30 or so minutes off camera just shooting the shit. Unfortunately we were a little pressed for time, so we had to cut our interview and conversations short.

After our interview they invited us backstage before they performed so we could keep chatting about music, fashion, girls, and headphones.

(It was one of those all too surreal moments chatting with Keith Flint,  Masuimi Max and Lupe Fiasco) Before we knew it, it was time for the PRODIGY to go on stage and we were all blown away by the unforgettable performance.
(coverage here)
It really was a GIANT pleasure meeting the guys and hanging with them while they were in town major thanks to Siouxz and EVERYONE from Magnum PR. None of this would have happened without you guys.

THE PRODIGY – TAKE ME TO THE HOSPITAL (RUSKO REMIX) (via Squigeesounds)

THE PRODIGY – OMEN (KLIPAR REMIX)

For more info on THE PRODIGY!
http://www.theprodigy.com/
Twitter.com/The_Prodigy

In case you STILL have no clue who 12th Planet is.. check out some of his tracks below and turn the bass all the way up!

GUNS AND BOMBS – RIDDLE OF STEEL (TEALONG AND 12TH PLANET REMIX)

GAND PUBA – GET IT (12TH PLANET REMIX)

For more info on 12thPlanet
http://www.myspace.com/infiltrata
Twitter.com/12thplanet

For more info on SKEET SKEET:
EATSKEET.COM
Twitter.com/skeetonmytwitts

With that said, putting together our interview with DJ FALCON was an absolute pleasure to do.
You might ask yourself what a “Californian French person” actually means. Combine a surf bro from Huntington Beach with a Moto head from Riverside, take away all their pointless tattoos, and add a French accent and you have DJ FALCON.

If he didn’t have such a french accent, you probably would think he was born and raised in Newport beach or some California beach town. Since Stephân (DJ FALCON) and I both share a love the ocean we immediately bonded when I first picked him up from the airport. From that day forward, the time we spent together was something really special. Our conversations ranged from French v.s. American politics (THE INFAMOUS ED BANGER BRAWL AT CINESPACE), where to find the best surf spots, and of course music. The thing that blew my mind was, we agreed with each other on just about everything. Who would have thought that a practically legendary french DJ with houses in Paris and on the beaches of France would share the same views with a 27 year old jobless kid who still lives with his dad?

Since we only spent a couple days worth of time together, I tried to take him around to as many places I could, I even included an after party at NICKY SAVAGES by way of the fakeRICH Starlet.

Of course since we only had a couple days together, it wasn’t enough time to really escape the party circle and we missed out on the opportunity to go surfing and ride Go-Karts but we both promised each other we would catch up on lost time when he comes back. So until then, you guys can use our little interview in the car on the way to LAX to keep your DJ FALCON needs met.

ERIC PRYDZ – CALL ON ME (DAFT MAFIA REWORK)

THOMAS BANGALTER / DJ FALCON – SO MUCH LOVE TO GIVE

DJ FALCON – HONEYMOON

Thank you Arlo for letting us come into the GOST BRAND offices and take up your time for our silly interview. We have always been big fans of your art and your skills on skates, but anytime you want to cruise into a haunted house we will go ahead and let you do that solo.

DAN SENA – JUST TOO HOTT

DEATHKLOK – HATREDY

NEW ORDER – TEMPTATION (7 INCH MIX)

I also wanted to thank PAUL NGUYEN from ANALOG HOLIDAY for putting the vid together for us. Make sure you stop by his site for more video goodies, he practically lives behind a computer screen all day so any human contact will be good for him.

mark arcenal

From helping fuel a sneaker revolution to building cars, Mark Arcenal has literally done it all. Some of you may have heard of his personal project www.fatlace.com or some of you may know him from his insane car builds, either way this guy is the real deal.
By that, I mean he not only managed to land any “sneakerheads” dream job at NIKE doing marketing in their US headquarters, but he has also built a reputation on being a no-compromise designer…. of EVERYTHING!

fatlace 240sx

We were lucky enough to grab a quick online interview from him while he was packing up his stuff in Beaverton Oregon. Mark has always been a huge influence of mine especially in the cycling world and it was a huge privilege of mine to pick his brain for a while.

fatlace Ruckus

NAS – GET DOWN (Quantic Soul Orchestra Mix)

HIEROGLYPHICS – YOU NEVER KNEW (DOMINO REMIX)

fR: Frst and foremost … where are you right now? and what are you doing?

MA: Are we starting?

Yeah

I’m in Beaverton, Oregon. Just got home from work, dinner, and visiting my new place in downtown.
I’m just packing up all these toys, taking a break at the moment

Where are you moving to?

Moving to a loft on NW23rd. (Oregon)

So you commute every weekend from Oregon to SF?

Yeah, for almost 2 years now.. about 96 flights back and forth a year. That’s without counting the work flights to NY, Tokyo, or wherever they want me to go.
they as in Nike

Your position now (at Nike) do you think its largely because of the progress and success you have had with fatlace?

Yeah, i think where I am now in this world is definitely because of the progress and success i’ve had with fatlace. working in ad agency world for the last 11 years also helped a ton also but honestly, real world experiences and the people i’ve been fortunate enough to hang out with and learn from is for the most part, the key.

Yeah… speaking of… what was the idea behind fatlace in the beginning? Was it your revolving sneaker collection?

Fatlace was a spin off of one of my weekly posts on my first exploration into blogsphere, caffemocha.com. i wanted to talk about hip hop, graf, b-boying, and music. it’s definitely turned into something more organic and i’m very excited where it’s going to be going in 2009. i used to code and design everything but with the gig at nike, I’ve got an agency working on the site, a whole new look is coming.

Now it has gained a cult like following in SF… Do you think that is due largely because of your relationships internationally? (Hiroshi, Junya, Jun)

I think that the relationships I have helped push it to the next level but the people contributing to the site all have something to talk about. It’s not all about showing off the coolest products they’ve received for free, for them, its about what motivates them. I love meeting people and knowing about them. i’ve met a few and invited them to blog from Thailand to Tokyo to NY to London, we’re trying to cover ground.

Awesome.. that is a really good way of keeping things into perspective… So since this interview is geared towards your talents as a designer of practically everything… What project of yours in the past 3 years are you the most proud of?

I can say there are a few.. from the launch of nikesportswear.com to opening the fatlace store in SF…

fatlace store in SF

but honestly, i think the revival of fatlace.com is what i’m most proud of. I killed the site in 2004 cause kicks were over saturated and in 06, I felt it was time to come back. from being ranked 3million to top 100k sites, I think that’s the most impressive.

Yeah I think the only way we are going to get our site on that level is if i do a weekly nude photoshoot… otherwise we are screwed

Ahahah

Can you tell us a little about your SEMA build this year? I know that Scions arent really the most impressive “sports” cars out there but what you did to that car actually made it look better than a lowered egg it is almost like something you could buy direct from Scion.

(taken from: Autoblog.com)

Yeah, the scion project was pretty cool. I think it’s something where you don’t want to do too much to but you need to make it look different. The half satin/ half gloss made it stand apart from the other cars. I’m really into Porsche’s right now also so I thought up an interior similar to the GT3.  Suede roll cage, roof, and interior. The result was something I would take home, take to the track, or just cruise around. It was a real car you could actually drive hard.

Yeah so many “project” cars these days loose their drivability / real world aesthetic in order to put some retarded paint job or ridiculous rims and widebody kit on it in the case of the scion you took it to the extreme but where it would still work… If you had any direction where you would want to take FATLACE or even NIKE in the future …where would it be? and why? OR do you already have future plans for both that you are excited about (other than the website release)

For NIKE, I’m really excited on projects i’m working on. lots of music and sport related stuff. for fatlace, i’m just excited that the store in tokyo is going to happen.

Where in tokyo will it be?

Shibuya…. My friend distributes fatlace right now there and he will be opening FATLACE in the summer

One of our friends lives in Shibuya and we are trying to take fR there next year… we will make sure to stop by the shop if we do.… Considering you are primarily the one person who got me back into cycling when am I going to get my damn fat lace rim vinyls? Ahahaha no…do you have any plans on releasing your own BMX cruiser in the future?

As a matter of fact, we’ve got a BMX 20″ and BMX cruiser coming out. It’s something i’m real passionate about. Track/fix bikes are great…

fatlace Trackbike

but all the tricks all started on BMX where I and probably everyone one else first learned to ride…. It has a split top bar, like a torker back in the day…

vintage torker

Totally true I am getting back into BMX as well but I’ve noticed I fall much more often; and each fall usually puts me out for a week instead a couple of days like when I was a kid…. Alright so last question… Tell us the top 5 artists that have most influenced you? (Musicians or Art)

Nas, Twist / Barry McGee, Hieroglyphics, Jordan, Russell Simmons

Jordan as an artist?

There is something to be said regarding athletic skill as an art.. But yeah I would have never thought of it that way. Thanks for the chat Mark… Next time we are up in Oregon we will drop you a line.

FrankMusik – 3 Little Words

I sit myself at my desk put on “3 Little Words” and pull up some research material and interview questions, I can see the light grey sunrise trying to shine through my blinds. I pull up some information on FrankMusik and see that he self-describes his music as “Blade Runner Pop”, his take on the music of 80’s with an infusion of modern pop and electro. He also provides all his own vocals; in a time when most Electro/Digital acts just want to be in the shadows and hide behind their equipment, FrankMusik wants to be upfront, poppy, accessible and is not afraid to admit as much.

Its 6am now. Using Skype I call his phone. I forgot that some mobile phone companies let you choose a song instead of a typical phone ringer.

I hear “hit me on my beeper, hit me on my beeper, beeper, beeper, beeper, beeper…”
I can’t help but laugh just a bit. He’s now on a major label, working with a major producer on his first album and it seems he still doesn’t take himself too seriously.

He answers.

“Hello,” he says with a definite, though not heavy, London accent.

I give him my name and information, and he asks me to hold on. He’s in the middle of helping out his mom with something. I figure it’s just the typical stuff a son would help a mom with. I picture this guy with this fashionably forward haircut in slim jeans and some bright shirt just standing there helping his mom with some groceries. He starts talking, I realize I’m not recording the conversation, so I cut him off, and ask if I can call back. He says yes.

I call back, but this time he asks me to call back in 2 minutes. He’s still helping his mom. There must be a lot of groceries.

I call back in 6 minutes and after the initial introductions we get the interview started:

I was very surprised from when I first heard your music; to me it seems like something we out here (fakeRICH is based out of LA/OC) needed to hear.

I’ve been to LA a lot. LA is the only place I’ve been to in America and I’ve got my business partner who lives out there. He lives off Santa Monica and Fairfax, so I know LA really well, and the music scene over there is quite influential in what I do. There’s a lot of good parties and the people are not so stuck up like they are in New York… the Westcoast is a little bit more laidback, and the Hispanic crowd is just completely nuts when it comes to parties as well, so yeah, LA is a good place for me.

They just don’t care. They just don’t have any hang ups and it’s just the best thing. It’s absolutely so refreshing. Like in London, everyone is kind of just looking at everyone else. You can just go anywhere in LA to a party, apart from like near Hollywood and stuff—there’s still a few pretentious parts you can get anywhere, but on the whole, people just have it much better, looks like they are having much more fun out there. One of the best nights of my life I actually had in LA at this club called Heist, which is down in Lincoln Heights, not far from the Staples Center, and that was awesome, absolutely awesome.

It’s funny that you mention Heist; we just did a party there for Halloween. I was surprised. They packed this place called Florentine Gardens, its a huge venue and they packed it. There was a line just wrapped around the building and I thought it was amazing.

That’s what I’m talking about man. Its just one of the most exciting things. I couldn’t live there but I can just go there and party for two weeks, like I did last year. I could do it for the rest of my life and it will always feel as good I think, just like the first time.

What about you, you were born and raised out there correct?

Yep, that’s right. I’m still living in the house that I’ve lived all my life, and my studio is here and everything so… South London. Yeah it’s in the Suburbs, its good here though because it’s quite a good place to kind of escape from the bustle that is London and the general idiots that inhabit London as well.

How much of the music that you play is really influenced from where you’re from?

I’m kind of influenced by the sort of music that came to my life at an early age. A lot of my mom’s 80’s 7-inch records had a big influence now kind of thing, I didn’t really appreciate them at the time, but I’ve gone back to similar sounds to what was going on in the 80’s and stuff, but I wouldn’t say it’s the only influence—I’ve got a lot of influences… mostly from electronic based music. I’m not really into guitar based music. So it’s anything from drum and bass to electronic music really. Sort of Daft Punk and stuff like that, so varying tempos and varying sorts of technologies to use. I just love electronic music really. It’s in everything nowadays anyways; boundaries are limitless to what isn’t and is electronic music.

Yeah, every band or group these days needs to have at least some understanding of electronic music.

I mean you look at Nine-Inch Nails, they are like techno freaks, I mean their studio is one of the most tech studios in the world. It’s not about having a band anymore. The only reason you can make it in this industry—major label or indie—is about having everything locked down on every front. I mean if you have a computer, you’ve got no excuse not to be able to do that.

What about vocally though? Not a lot of people in the electronic music genre really do a lot of vocals, and your music is awesome in the vocals that you use.

That’s the thing. Without sounding like a prick, most electro acts are just happy to be in the background kind of thing, you know getting singers in or whatever because there’s really good programs or something, but tell me how many electronic acts you know and you can put a face to them. Daft punk goes complete opposite and they hide their identity.

Most electronic acts don’t want to be the front person, they just want to make music and that’s that. But I make pop music really and I want to be the front man, and I want to be the performer and entertainer. Because I do everything and the only way I can really prove to be people that I do this is because I’m at the front and singing my heart out kind of thing. I don’t want to be the face of this project. I want to shine through really.

You do have people like Daft Punk. Actually Daft Punk was at this club called Cinespace in LA a couple of weeks ago. Even if you got into the VIP room to see them, you still don’t know who they are because there’s no face to them and a lot of other electronic acts are the same way…

Yeah it’s just very odd, but whatever. That’s just what comes with the scenery generally, I like try my hardest in everything I do to oppose most things… the norm if it were.

Your vocal style is not the typical male vocal style you hear anymore.

The way I sing, yeah I sing quite high, I think that’s sort of shock factor for some people, that I can sing this high. I think I do it within reason. I think I don’t want to sing everything high but I’d like to show there’s a range to what I do. [Coughs] I’m losing my voice right because I’ve been singing so much today. [Clears throat] What’s crucial in anything that anyone tries to do in pop music is to be different, and I try to be different in a sort of selfless way. I don’t want to prove to be different. I just want to naturally do things in a different way instead of forcing it, and that vocal style is something that just came out naturally.

I know FrankMusik is pretty recent, about a year to two years max.

Year and half pretty much.

What were you doing before that?

I was bumming around University. And then I quit University and I got job in my local town, selling jeans, which is lame. While I was doing that I was trying to really make sure that I was writing and producing for myself and going to any night club to meet people who would also wanted to work and I would work with them, and network. Then the myspace kind of started going crazy and people started taking interest.

I went to your myspace. You’re even connected, even with your website.

Yeah the thing is I haven’t gotten that many fans. I’ve got about 13,887 fans at the moment, but the proportion to how many plays I have to how many people I have actually in my friend network is really good you know. I don’t have thousands and thousands of fans compared to other bands. The thing is, the fans I do have, they get it. There’s plenty of people who check out my page and they don’t get it, but anyone that’s a fan on a page… I highly recommend adding anyone that’s friends with me because they have good taste in music. They can see past the normal shit you hear and they’re willing to embrace something that is pop that is still new.

I saw you recently posted the vocal track for “3 Little Words” and asked anyone to make a remix and send it to you. How is that going?

We have about ten in so far which has been great, so it’s just a matter about getting in a few more in, I know there’s a deadline soon, but hopefully we’ll just get some good ones. I know we got a few good ones already. Yeah it’s awesome!

You’re working with Stewart Price in the new LP correct?

Yep, I was. We’re finished now.

Oh you are? When do you plan on getting that out?

I think it’s going to come out in March. Depends on what the single’s going to be because we have a few ideas. Depending on what the single is, it either will be released a month after March or the month before… for reasons I cant go into… more marketing reasons than anything else. It’s just choosing the right time to release whatever single it is going to be. There’s reasons; [there’s] multiple reasons to why certain singles to be release at certain points. It’s all crappy label stuff… [Laughs] but it makes sense once you’re sitting in the middle of the situation.

How was it working with a producer rather than being the producer yourself?

Well he didn’t really get in the way and that what was crucial if anything in working with anyone else—that I’d still have free reign over everything in creating and it was nearly Stewarts job to come in and pick up the bits that he thought would fit with a pop record that we’re trying to create rather than saying “we’re going to do it my way,” he said “were going to do it your way and I’m going to say whether it works or not.” And that’s pretty much how the whole thing went.

Is the LP going to sound similar to what you have already or is it going to be a big change?

It’s going to sound a lot more pleasing to the ear. It’s shinier, but it needs to be able to hit broader audience… I mean I could have kept it really low-fi and sort of “cool.” I think “cool” is a really dangerous word. “Cool” is the kind of word that actually ruins people’s career. People strive so hard to be cool that they actually forget why they are doing it in the first place. The reason why I’m doing this is to get as many people in the world to hear it as possible, and if that means I have to embrace making the record not sound so ‘cool’ and more ‘pop’, I don’t mind doing that. Because if it means that people are going to listen to it, that’s good to me, and I’m not ashamed to admit that.

That’s awesome to hear. So many people are too worried about “not selling out” as they put it, but I don’t see anything wrong–

Hipsters… Whenever anyone says to me that “You’re selling out,” I just say, “No I’m getting ahead…”
You’re doing what you’re planning to do, that’s what it sounds like. Not a lot of people get that opportunity, or when they do, they just pretty much go squander it.
Yeah I’ve got plenty of mistakes to make, but for now while I have as much as control as I do, I’m going to try to make sure I’ll make as little mistakes as possible.

The way I heard about you, my friend sent me videos via YouTube.

Yeah, which particular videos?

“When You’re Around”, [See Video Here] that’s the first video I saw. I was wondering how much input you have on the videos.

Yeah I created it. I got the director. I got the film crew, I got the venue. I got the makeup artists. I got the hair. I got sponsorships from clothing designers. I got the people and I coordinated everything… And it was one of the most stressful points in my life. [Laughs] And I did it all for nothing.

The video seems to go perfectly with the music. Did you do the same thing for “3 Little Words” and “In Step”?

“In Step” had a different director as did “3 Little Words”. You can see with “3 Little Words” there was budget thrown at it, but I chose the video treatment as most artists do, but I like that idea the most because of its relevance to the movie Big—and of course that was of the time when a lot of my musical influence was coming out. The “In Step” video was another video treatment I chose but it was so minimal and so stripped back I thought it was perfect. I just like keeping the videos quite simple and saving as much money as possible too. “3 Little Words” was quite expensive but it looks great.

It’s great. “3 Little Words” is probably my favorite out of the ones you put out so far. When I saw “In Step”, it was so ridiculously simple, how can you not like it.

It was quite genius because it was done in one take. I mean we did six takes but it was all done in one go. There was no edits—that’s what the most awesome thing about it was for me.

Remixes—did you start off doing remixes?

No, remixes is something I started getting into while I started producing. I used to do mashups where I used to put up random tracks like Moby or Beastie Boys or something… and it was quite an easy way to learn how to edit and time stretch and things like that. But what remixes have become for me is a way in which to explore different production techniques without worrying about the record label thinking that I’m being too avant-garde with my production. I can remix something and go nuts and it won’t make a difference or harm what I do. From that, I can take certain ideas and sort of hone them down and tame them slightly. Yeah remixes is a great way for me to experiment and get away with murder.

[Laughing]

I’ve read in other places that you describe your music as “blade-runner pop.”

Yeah that’s right.

Do you still plan to keep describing it that way once the new LP comes out?

Yeah, definitely, I mean Blade Runner was filmed in LA… and it’s supposed to be Downtown LA in the future and LA is a huge influence. You know “Blade Runner Pop”, the idea with that is that it’s supposed to be the future. It was a futuristic film but it was made in the eighties. And all I’m doing is trying to make futuristic sounding pop music but massively looking back at the decade that I was born in. But not selling out on nostalgia but rather embracing the best parts of it and exploiting them in its full potential.

When do you plan to tour again?

Not sure yet. I’ve been trying to get a supporting tour for next year, I think, but there’s nothing concrete as it were.

So there’s no chance you’ll be out in LA anytime soon?

I’m not sure at the moment. It’s such a fucking trip, but I’d love to come out there. I’d really like to spend more time in San Fran as well when I do come out. So hopefully soon. I think I’ll do a round trip. What I’ll do is start in New York and then I’ll jet to LA and then I’ll fly back.

I don’t think I’ve been able to find any live videos of you yet.

No, we’re holding back. But the live show is amazing.

[At this point we talk over each other, but I went on about his music could be hard to replicate live and how he planned to showcase it live]

I think what you’re going to ask me is “How are you doing that,” and the answer is that we got these things called receptors where you can actually sample things from tracks and assign them to keys on keyboards or drum pads. It’s like a really advance sampler. Instead of having to recreate them, we can actually use the original parts from the record. All you’re hearing is the record that played live… and we got a live bassist and we got some decent crew guys. A lot of keyboards stuff is live. All the drums are live. And you can give the vibe that it’s live. So yeah it’s all great, and it’s really good. We did a couple of shows and it’s been really well received.

How do you like working with the session guys?

Whenever I work with anyone in the live realm, I always avoid the word “session” because I like to think that they are my band as well, rather than I paid them to be there type of thing. I always make sure they get people in who I thoroughly get along with and like the music because I think it’s quite bad for us to get people who get paid to show type of thing because you’ll never get the right spirit or the right delivery from them if they are in it for the wrong reasons.

If you had the opportunity to perform with any 5 artists, who would you perform with and where would you perform it?

The venue would have to be different with each artist…

Okay, if you don’t mind explaining…

Right okay… I’d love to do a gig with Busta Rhymes. That would be amazing. I’d love to do a gig with Busta Rhymes in the most gritty, New York hip hop night club there is and just completely blow people away with something completely different and get Busta Rhymes to do a cameo appearance during my set. [Laughs] That would be awesome… Actually, I couldn’t think of anything I’d rather do other than that. I don’t think there’s anyone else I’d rather work with other than him. I think he’s amazing. He’s like the best rapper in the world.

Really?

Oh yeah. [Laughs] Never mind those Little Wayne bullocks.

That’s funny. [Laughing] I’ve never heard of anybody say that about Busta Rhymes.

Yeah, “Extinction Level Event” was like the album of my teens when it came to urban music. I was never into Eminem and stuff… I always thought he was a bit of fraud the fact that he was white. But Busta Rhymes, he’s just gritty.

There’s one thing that I like about him the most is the fact that he never seems to really take himself that seriously. He’s like a nutter. He’s a complete crazy bun. In all his videos, he’s weird, you know. He’s never just upfront nasty. He’s nasty, but it’s like he’ll just pull out an inflatable hammer and hit you in the head with this inflatable hammer. [Laughs]

Exactly! Like if you saw him in the street, you’d be afraid of him for a second. He’d come up and he’d pull out a gun and pull the trigger, like the Joker or somebody, and it’ll just say “bang,” and a little flag comes out and that’s it. And he’ll just laugh at you, slap you on the back and keep on walking.

[Laughs] Exactly! It’s like you just don’t get that kind of amazing sort of thing anymore in urban music. I think urban music is dying. It’s died over here quite badly. So yeah, I think it’s good to keep things quite playful.

Do you have a favorite artist? Like someone you’d absolutely…

Yeah this is always a weird because people never know who this is. There’s only one singer I want to work with in the near future and it’s this woman called Julia Fordham. No one knows of her but she is one of the best singers I’ve ever heard. She’s kind of old school, like early nineties… But yes, Julia Fordham.

With that we ended the interview. We said our goodbyes and then I remembered one more question. Where did the name FrankMusik come from?

My grandfather, who’s passed away, his name was Frank. FrankMusik is kind of an homage to him. It keeps me in check if things ever get too wild.
==================================
His new EP “3 Little Words” comes out today.

Here is the tracklist:
1. 3 Little Words
2. 3 Little Words (Paper Faces Mix)
3. 3 Little Words (Blackstrobe Mix)
4. Run Away From Trouble
5. 3 Little Words (Black Gardenia Version)

You can pick it up on iTunes or Amazon

Here are a few more tracks to listen to:
FrankMusik – Fall From It All
FrankMusik – Flatliner

And you can catch up with more FrankMusik info on his MySpace or his Website.

And check out his videos HERE