 |
"Once they found out I was an obscure American writer for an obscure New York magazine they were all over me."
|
O'Dublin Calling
|
| "A UK band that was described to me as simultaneously “rocky,” “psychedelic,” and “80’s throwback.” Are you confused? I was. Then again by that point Caroline’s brogue was becoming harder to understand than a Queens livery cab driver." | |
|
Mavuca Brian Klunk Mavuca is the moniker of Chris Wheeler, a DJ who resides in Hither Green, London SE1. This writer sat down with Chris a few days ago and over a few tall boys and a spliff discussed the finer points of dance music, sampling, and Iron Maiden. He put on the track “Feet of Flames”, a toe-tapping aural assault at 140 bpm. Sugar Magazine- First off, what the fuck is a “Mavuca”? Is that the name of the random French girl sleeping on your couch? Mavuca- (Laughing) Ok, check this out on the Internet if you don’t believe it. I thought that “mavuca” was the Brazilian/ Portuguese word for “madness.” That’s what I do, madness. Samples everywhere, mashing it up. What I couldn’t figure out was why it hadn’t already been taken. No websites, no other bands… then I figured out why. The proper spelling of “mavuca” is actually “muvuca” and off course there are tons of stuff named “muvuca.” Of course I picked Mavuca in the first place because it sounds good, plus I can use it any way I want, and so it stuck. SM- How did you come about composing this style of music? M- I’ve been a DJ since I was about 16, or at least I was on my way by collecting the records for it at that point. I remember the first experience I had putting the needle on a record: I was young enough that the turntable was at my height. I can’t remember what song it was, but I remember being eye-t-eye with the needle. It was on my level, so to say. I’ve been doing music this way for about two years, since I was 27. SM- Why did it take so long, between 16 and now? M- It was just the matter of taking the extra step. I wanted to make the music. I had a moment of clarity, or the clarity you get in an altered state of mind. I just knew I wanted to make it myself. I was in clubs, and knew what I wanted to hear. I knew firsthand what sounds good dancing and in the clubs, and what was good to chill to afterwards. I saved a thousand quid (about $1,800- ed.) on the software I needed to get started, and that’s the only reason I could have even started. (Mavuca puts on “Blackkhole,” a newer piece) SM- Who are your influences? M- (Silent for a moment) I can’t put my finger on that. (Fiddles with the computer for a moment) In terms of listening to music, like most kids in the UK I grew up with “Top of the Pops” (popular UK television music showcase.) I eventually got into Anthrax and Iron Maiden. The turning point was when I was studying for my A-levels (17 or 18 years old) when a friend gave me a tape of a dance music show that aired on BBC Radio 1. That’s when I got into this style. SM- Where do you want to go with all of this? M- That’s certainly a good question. Ideally I’d like to quit my day job and do this full time. If that means a record contract, well… I guess I’d like to do it on my DJ skills, get some mileage out of that first. Then see about the rest. SM- What is your music, in a word? M- (Thinking) Um… “interesting.” Because I keep it interesting for myself. And for anyone listening. I’ve done the club thing, the drug thing, the booze thing… now I know exactly what they want on the dance floor.
|
STD: Schaffer the Darklord Recently, when the band slated to play a local Astoria haunt’s last major party of the summer canceled, Schaffer the Darklord (aka Mark Schaffer) seized the opportunity--and the mic--to showcase his talent for fusing stand-up comedy with rap. STD blends hip-hop beats with bitingly humorous tongue in cheek anecdotes to draw the listener into his world. Through his intelligent and insightful music, STD creates a sense of community among the audience, while his high-energy deliverance keeps them coming back for more. Several weeks after seeing his initial performance, I caught up with STD. The following is a peak into the mind of a white-boy-rapper...tantalizing. Schaffer the Darklord is from San Francisco, but prior to San Fran, where did you call home? Rural Southwest Iowa--A town of about 2,000 mostly white, catholic people. And how did being raised in such a rural environment influence you? A lot of the kids I knew, who grew up in small rural towns, the odd-balls, the freaks, they would have gotten into punk rock earlier if they would have had records stores, but they didn’t have that, and they were a bit shunned--we ended up, the art minded kids--ended up creating things to keep themselves occupied and entertained... It is [that] sort of manic creativity that has [come] from that. Tell me about how Schaffer the Dark Lord started. I'd always played in rock bands, but on the side I made rap songs--in secret. I didn’t play them for people, I made them on my four track and hid them in my basement and record them when my roommates were gone. I was a bit embarrassed about it because I played with all these serious rock and roll music snobs. I played music with guys who weren’t so into rap, and that started in Iowa, when I moved to San Francisco, I put together a group with two other rappers and that was when I first started doing rap songs--performing live, and I finally got the confidence--its not just my little secret, guilty pleasure that I do downstairs, I can actually do it onstage and people will actually appreciate it. I’d seen so many other solo rap acts that were [boring] because one person would get up and play a CD and rap over it, and I’d always get bored watching that, so I started doing stand-up in the show to break it up. Of course, the costume, which I don’t wear anymore... Why? Will you ever bring back the costume? I might play a show on Halloween at Joey’s new place , and if that happens I might bring back the costume. What was the costume? *Kiddies, a picture is worth a THOUSAND words...
A Heavy Metal Super Hero!! I started to realize after awhile, it was a little too clownish. I would watch the videos of my sets, and during the songs it would be funny, but then I would be telling a joke and the make up would be running and smeared all over my face--and just watching someone tell a joke with all this smeared makeup--and flare--it didn’t work. During your performances, you rap over recorded music, would you ever consider doing your act backed by a live band? I have. I have an endless list of all the things I want to do, and one of them is--I would LOVE to do a show--or a series of shows with a live band. Have a bassist, drummer and keyboardist--just have them the songs I have already written. I would love it. I imagine as almost a throwback to the nightclub acts of Vegas. You mentioned touch upon the feelings of rage that are often stirred up by the rap/rock/metal genre fusion in your song Black Metal Queen, do you think the way people feel about the intermixing of genres has changed over the past few years? I think that fusion acts do one of two things, it either comes off as a complete gimmick--a one trick pony--or it can start some tremendous craze. Like in the 90’s when all the rap/rock bands took off. They either take off and create a genre of music I almost always don’t like, or they just go south. How do you produce your music? I do it all in ProTools. I have a drum machine, a sampler and a midi controller for the samples. I try to never use samples, for fear that someone is going to want put it out and there is going to be a huge tangle trying to track down all the samples. But I didn’t think the songs sounded as strong as the ones that I used a lot of samples. The new batches of songs I’ve recorded--there are about a half dozen samples per song, so I don’t know what will happen in the future. Tell me about the new material you’ve recorded. I’ve got a song about cat people, I’m a serious cat geek...I’ve got two cats at home that I fawn over. I’ve got a hip-hop cover of the Eric Clapton song, Cocaine. It starts under the premise that [cocaine] is celebrated, but by the end it just gets uglier and uglier. I’ve also got the Jesus song, [its a story about] Jesus coming back from the dead and killing everybody who’s ever done anything bad in His name. I’ve got the Jello Biafra song [a tribute to the hardcore punk legend]. Last night I debuted a brand new song that I made since I moved to New York, called Craig’s List. It starts off with an abbreviated history of Craig Newmark and how he ended up creating craigslist [originally created in San Francisco] Yeah, I had to move to New York to write a song about a guy in San Francisco. And the last verse is just a rapid-fire list of all the things you can do on craigslist. When can we expect to hear this new material? I’ll be booking and hosting a showcase, the first Wednesday of every month called the Dark Show, being held at the Apocalypse Lounge (189 E. 3rd Street). It will be a showcase if unusual talent. Every show I’ll have two acts and then I’ll perform at the end. For the first show I’ve got this guy, Vaughn, Vaughn, Vaughn, he’s this Belgium guy who does these sexy-disco numbers--on paper it sounds really bad, it sounds like a shtick, like this guy who sings these loves songs over pre-recorded tracks and dresses swanky. But in [actuality] he’s really smart, and it comes across in the lyrics, and it is a well-crafted act. Do you ever see the comedy element of your show being eliminated from the act? It started out as being mostly musical, and just doing a couple of jokes. And then it started taking a direction where it was more of the comedy bit. But it really varies from show to show, if its a big and attentive crowd, then the jokes usually work better, but it its a chatty crowd, like at a bar, sometimes you can’t keep their interest if you have a longwinded joke. Would you change your show mid-set based on the reactions of the crowd? Yes, I do. Often. I try to tailor it based on where I am going to be and how it is going when I start. What are your feelings on audience interaction? I love it. I’ve done some [bits] in the past, where I’ve had games, or I’ve required an audience volunteer. But I don’t want to be one of those mean spirited comics who will pick somebody out of the audience and put them in an uncomfortable situation to get a laugh at their expense. That bothers me so much. Where do your personal music tastes lie? You know, I really don’t even like all that much hip-hop. There are lots of hip-hop artists that I’ve listened to over the years that I got really into, and I still love their stuff, but even all of their subsequent releases have really turned me off. And most of the popular, mainstream hip-hop, just doesn’t speak to me. I can appreciate the construction of the songs, and the delivery of the lyrics, I just think that more often than not, the lyrical content is insulting and demeaning and ugly. I like a lot of heavy metal, I like classic rock. Do you worry that your fans will tire of your material? I definitely worry that it will get to be a joke that can’t support itself for very long, which is why I try to constantly write new material, [and try to] get sharper with my filler. I never have one set that I do all the time. I try to write songs that speak to an unsung niche, like people who use craigslist, who might not realize that they are among a community of people who use craigslist, or people who are Dead Kennedys fans. Describe your perfect show. A hot, talented young comic would open and Emcee the show--someone with hysterical, mighty humor. The first act would be a solo man or woman performer who would play acoustic guitar who would do gentle interpretations of super, super heavy metal songs, with the lyrics you could understand. Then I would play in the middle because that’s the best spot. And the headliner would be a tribute band that plays the soundtrack--all the songs--from Revenge of the Nerds, in order. And it would happen at a venue with tables up to the stage and I would drink for free all night. Each act would play for no more than 30 minutes, and the whole thing would be over by 11pm. That’s my dream show. This is one STD you want to catch. For more information about Schaffer the Darklord, check out his website at www.schafferthedarklord.com
On deck albumwise…
|
