Black Tiger Sex Machine is leading the charge of powerful music coming out of Kannibalen Records. The trio of Canada based producer/DJ's have just finished up a European tour with total success. The guys have also just released a spectacular new track, ‘Ocarina'. The name comes from the mystical instrument from the ‘Legend of Zelda' video game series. With a title like ‘Ocarina' and other video game themes, like the ones in the video for ‘On the Run', I had to ask the guys if they were gamers themselves.
All three of us have been (or still are) gamers at some point in our lives; whether it is Nintendo classics to more modern game. We’ve always been open to gaming references in our music and in our social interactions. It first started with our track ‘Stairway’ with a classic League of Legends sample about a year ago. For the recent projects, video games definitely inspired.
For the ‘On The Run’, we wanted to do something different than the previous themes of the Rezorecta, Jack Dat Body and Moonlight Music Video. Julien, the director of the video and also a member of BTSM, had the idea of sharing the feeling of putting on the helmet. The classic atari like video game interface was a perfect fit in the music video considering the 8-bit vibe of the track and what the music video was shaping out to be. Around the same time ‘On the Run’ was in editing, Patrick came up with the main ideas for ‘Ocarina’ and we really liked the project. We sent it for master in early April right before leaving on tour. We were a little hesitant to make a direct Zelda reference; however, I think the final track without the title and some classic samples could have a life of its own. We’re also very happy to have been granted the right to use and adapt an Original painting by David Palumbo to create the cover art.
‘Ocarina' is a complex song with several different styles blended together perfectly. The subtle elements you pick up on by listening to the track a few times are just awesome. That's one of the most special things about Black Tiger Sex Machine; they are able produce harder show stopping tracks as well as brilliantly complex tunes that have a full range of emotion. When describing where ‘Ocarina' came from the guys had this to say.
Patrick initially laid out the melody for Ocarina and sent the project to Julien and I. He had already added the Navi sample and we thought it was pretty clever and also something we could use in our live shows quite well.. The ambient vibe was pretty clear at the point for the breakdowns with the ocarina-ish synths. For the drop, the idea of a weird kick driven section came along naturally although we wanted to keep things weird with a ravey drop Synth. In the end, it does have some big room and a even Melbourne bounce flair in the 2nd drop, but I feel the tracks would fit better in a rave warehouse than any other settings.
Black Tiger Sex Machine's european tour encompassed several countries over 6 weeks. Judging by the pictures and fan response to their innovative live shows, it sounds like the guys throw quite a party. BTSM does not play just an average DJ set. They also incorporate live elements like loops, drums, samples and synths. These in addition to their signature tiger helmets make their performance a full out sensory barrage. While the guys enjoyed the entire tour, it sounds like Paris stole their hearts. Lucky for us, in a short time we will have a chance to see what the tour was like from their perspective.
European tour was amazing. It was our second one in less than 8 months and we played in 14 cities total in France, Switzerland, Germany, Austria and Italy. It’s always great to travel and see the devotion of promoters and their love of electronic music. It’s very rewarding. The award for the best city has to go to Paris. The All Naked team throw down so heavy parties. We were also blessed to play at a new venue, blocks from the Eiffel tower… and our Kannibalen brother Apashe was also playing the show with us. Add in 1500 people in the crowd and it couldn’t have been more magical. We have to give a special shoutout to Libera†or for throwing the most surprising party at The Crazy House in Macerata, Italy.
We’ll be putting out 10-15 minutes mini-documentary about the tour. Our main man and official photo & videographer Karel Chladek joined us for two weekends. You’ll get to see many a good portion of the video and the life on the road.
While it's clear that BTSM is taking over at an quickening pace, the question that remains unanswered is, what's next for the group? Well it turns out while they have been releasing badass singles like hot cakes, (personally their collab with Haezer ‘MORE' has been blasting from my car for weeks now with no end in sight) they have no plans for a full artist album any time soon. But they have a pretty legitimate reason to delay what would inevitably be a monster release.
We’re not planning a full album just yet. We have a two track EP coming out in July and 3-4 other projects in the works for the rest of 2014. On top of putting out original and quality releases, our main focus is on our live show.. We really want to keep pushing it to a new level and get as creative as we can get with it at the moment. We travelled with a light version and the tour went extremely well. However, we want to keep pushing the boundaries and create more complex routines and keep polishing the vibe in the next months. A full artist album will surely not come anytime before mid-late 2015.
Every member of BTSM was absolutely welcoming and thoughtful with their responses to the interview questions. This mark of humility stands out in a scene full of ever inflating egos, and is just another reason why it is clear that BTSM's future is bright. I encourage everyone to check out the links I included in the article as they will provide a few hours of glorious internet exploration. Also, if you haven't familiarized yourself with the Kannibalen team I recommend you do so immediately. It seems like every tune that has come off the label recently is just jaw dropping. It is always an exciting day when a new release drops from Kannibalen's Soundcloud. Luckily that's pretty frequently with the staggering amount of talent they have onboard. While Black Tiger Sex Machine is going to be busy this year, lets keep our fingers crossed they make their way down to America for at least a few stops that will no doubt be nights to remember.
