Lazerbeat VS Ten Thousand Free Men and Their Families.

TCTD has interviewed some pretty amazing people in the past and today we continue that tradition with one of the true titans of Chip Music. Prodigy of Malcom Mclaren, licking the ankles of Crystal Castles and stepping on the groin of Timbaland, Ladies and Gentlemen, hot off his tour of the Asian Sub Continent and his release of his sprawling masterpiece “MKE or BRK”

We give you, Ten Thousand Free Men and Their Families.

LB: Who are your influences?

10k: Well David, my number one influence was, is and ever more shall be, Malcolm McLaren. He is the master of exploiting underground sounds. After reading the article that he wrote for Wired, I started making chipmusic. The way he presented the chipmusic ideal in that masterful piece set my sights on Game Boy music and I simply could not turn back. He was the reason that I got in on the ground floor of the sound – he was there right at the beginning, really on the money, like he always has been and I was mere seconds behind him. I was really keen to be a hacker, a bender, a softpunker and a buffalo pirate and to use illegal software, because that is the way to be truly punk. I mean, what is more punk than using ripped software on a janked up consumer toy to create music? I have an answer for you: doing exactly that, then screaming your lungs out over the top of it. I think Malcolm would be proud of me, I stepped up his game to the next level. In the scene, I am really liking some of the tracks TV Death Squad had up on his myspace a while back – I hear he is killer live, too.

LB: Were you really kicking yourself when you realised you had spelled “friends” wrong on the song title?

10k: Mate! Are you suggesting I spelt it wrong? We do things different here Down Under and I guess this is one of those things we do differently. If I spelt it the ‘correct’ way, it would have really have increased the length of the EP drastically and that is something that obviously could not happen. Anything more than eight minutes is not punk enough. Next question.

LB: You mentioned you’re from Australia, what is the scene like down there?

10k: I find it really hard here sometimes, not having anyone else in the scene. I’d like to think that me putting myself out like I have will encourage others to get into it all. Maybe people down here should start some blogs, put on some regular chip parties, maybe even develop some ways of creatively interfacing with consoles? Who knows? Out of my hands.

LB: Tell us about the cover photo shoot?

10k: The ‘jam’ was a noxious hybrid of glucose syrup, warm water, red and blue food colouring. As you can judge by the disgust on the model’s face – what she thought was good for toast; tasted like sweaty balls. But, it was worth it for the photo, she looks really pissed off and that is punk as anything. I don’t know if I would work with her again though, bitch made my bathroom all fucking dirty, not to mention my best towels. I sometimes get her to go play shows for me, so I guess I should keep on her good side. In fact, she played with cTrix a few weeks ago in Sydney – it was nice to be part of the crowd at one of my shows, I really am good live.

LB: Who did you get the inspiration for the (for lack of a better word) backing tracks on the EP?

10k: I used heaps of old games to create the backing tracks for my songs. I tried to use games nobody has heard of, because that really saves me from the hate that appropriating can generate. I find going for titles in different languages helps heaps, but I don’t really want to give away too much. Some of the sounds came from this cracked version of blag chipsunds, which is a really good plug-in. It works really well when you take the chip out of it and put it in a keyboard, I like to use it live sometimes. Umm, I also put some of the other Game Boy musician’s music in there too. Bit Shifter’s music is in there, but backwards and heaps faster, so nobody could tell. Chris was good in the studio, he really helped mask the sources I used. Despite having 12,000 downloads of the EP and more than three hundred CDs sold up to and including April 1st, I have not been caught out like Timbaland was.

LB: Where do you plan on taking your music next?

10k: I was thinking of putting a pokey chip in my keyboard, I hear you can get a mean sound out of that and the media seem to lap that shit up. I guess, I just want to be mainstage at all the festies that come up around the world. I would also like to press some of my shit to 7″ vinyl. I hear there are people with milkcrates of them still and that is the place where I would like people to store my music in the future. I would like to do a headline tour of the world too and get a heaps sexy personal assistant to carry all my gear for me. I have to carry heaps of heavy gear, you see.

LB: Forgive me for asking, but have you left home yet?

10k: Still in the process of leaving. I’d rather not talk about it. I kinda have to go, Mum is calling for dinner. Speak soon David.