seems
this comeback Fearless (real name Richard Maguire) suitably unfazed, if also glad to be making in Scotland, where vociferously enthusiastic audiences have routinely greeted his live and DJ sets. ‘They’re always great crowds and that’s obviously what you’re feeding off,’ he drawls, over a crackly line from London. ‘You know, when the crowd are just standing there, mobile phones are being shoved in your face it’s kind of hard to switch into mode. ‘We’ve been fortunate that we’ve always had a strong support in Scotland,’ he adds, ‘we’re really excited.’ He doesn’t sound excited. He sounds pretty bored actually. But would you expect obliging perkiness from a guy whose back catalogue reads like a litany of sleaze (‘Dirge’, ‘G.B.H’, ‘Hands Around My Throat’ anyone?) and whose side-project is a nightmarish sludge-rock band called Black Acid (solitary single to date: ‘I Hate You’)? With too many Olly Murs’, Jessie Js’, Cher Lloyds’ and other such eager-to-please plastic pop featherweights littering festival line-ups this summer, Fearless’ old-fashioned couldn’t-give-a-monkeys nonchalance is probably what music needs more of right now.
‘EVERY NOW AND THEN I GET A PHONE CALL OFF IGGY POP’
Following the release last September of their excellent fi fth album Trans-Love Energies, Death in Vegas are ‘very much back’, albeit now effectively as a Fearless solo project since the departure of Tim Holmes, the art school-formed band’s only other hitherto constant member. The new record comes after a ‘refreshing’ hiatus, prompted by a phase of creative stagnation (2004’s kraut-rocky Satan’s Circus was critically panned) that convinced Fearless to ‘have a break from music’ for the fi rst time in a decade. He shelved Death in Vegas indefi nitely, moved to New York and went back to college to study photography. It was during those four years that Fearless formed Black Acid, another strand of an underground and altogether revitalising experience in the States.
Fast-forward to 2009, and back in London, with support from legendary acid house producer Andy Weatherall, Death in Vegas were revived for Trans-Love Energies – an uplifting meeting of repetitive beats and trippy psych-rock that’s set to spread some stellar heaviness across festival fi elds this summer. Guest vocalists have been a feature of much of Death in Vegas’ most defi ning work: Bobby Gillespie, Liam Gallagher and Iggy Pop (‘That was mental,’ Fearless reminisces of working with the latter, ‘still every now and then I get a phone call off of him.’) among others all appeared on either The Contino Sessions or Scorpio Rising. But Trans-Love Energies is the fi rst Death in Vegas album to exclusively feature Fearless’ own vocals, aside from two tracks sung by Katie Stelmanis from Canadian electro-
goth-pop band Austra.
That’s not to say he’s ruling out future work with other vocalists. Sonic Youth’s Thurston Moore and psych-rock godfather Roky Erickson top a wish list that bears another more surprising name. ‘I’d really like to work with a big power singer – someone like Beyoncé,’ Fearless reveals, deadpan serious, even if he does indulge his only laugh of the interview. ‘I actually wrote a song for Beyoncé and sent it to her.’ Quite why the current queen of even-my-gran-knows-about-her mainstream pop didn’t accept the invitation to sing something by the bloke from that scary sound band we’ll never understand, but it’s a mind- boggling proposition. ‘Some of the best work I’ve been involved with in the last few years has been when I’ve worked outwith my comfort zone,’ Fearless asserts. ‘I think it’s really important to put yourself in that position.’
Death in Vegas play RockNess on Sun 10 Jun. Visit list.co.uk for more RockNess coverage.
SUMMER FESTIVALS
CLUBBERS’ DECKTIONARY L ON TOUR HOBBES HELPS GUIDE YOU THROUGH THE DIVERSE BILL AT ROCKNESS
Techno Pure electronic dance music (ie no non-electronic samples or vox) with a 4/4 kick. The original, Detroit style incorporates more melody and strings alongside sounds from Roland’s classic 808 and 909 drum machines and, often, the 303 ‘acid’ groovebox. Examples: Jeff Mills, Dave Clarke, Ben Sims.
House The 80s dance sound of Chicago is back in vogue, with new hybrids still emerging in the classic 4/4 beat template. Lighter than techno and more fond of vocal samples. Examples: Mylo, Silicone Soul, Harri, Levon Vincent, Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs, Riton.
Electro 80s electro was the music street-dancers would ‘break’, ‘pop’ and ‘lock’ to, creating breakdance. Still in 4/4 time but with half the number of kicks and snares per bar of house/techno/disco. Contemporary club electro is more poppy and hook-laden with a prevailing focus on mid- range frequencies, making the music more biting and attention grabbing. Examples: Jacques Lu Cont, Justice, Claude VonStroke, Etienne De Crecy. Electro-Indie aka New Wave The mid-to-late 00s saw drum machines and synths once again being adopted by a lot of bands, like the original new wavers during the postpunk years. Examples: Metronomy, Errors, Japanese Popstars, Friendly Fires, The Rapture.
(Disco) Re-edits Classic (disco) tracks with a contemporary feel, their best qualities enhanced by modern production fl air. Examples: Tiger & Woods, Andrew Weatherall & Sean Johnston, Thunder Disco Club. UK Bass Britain’s complex, post-dubstep scene is a bit of a chimera, hence this catch-all term for any contemporary UK dance music employing lots of bass. Examples: Jakwob, Pearson Sound, DJ Fresh, Eats Everything, Hudson Mohwake.
Trance With massive, often fl orid, arpeggiated synth riffs as its principal motif and all the black roots stripped out, trance has huge crossover appeal. Examples: Deadmau5. Beige Wave Undemanding, unchallenging folky indie and acoustic strummery that shifts by the crate-load. Pop wonders never cease. Examples: Mumford & Sons, Noah & The Whale, Ed Sheeran.
■ hobbesmusic.co.uk
24 May–21 Jun 2012 THE LIST 37