06:44

Kraftwerk peddled mannequin mystique. Daft Punk resplendent robotics.
Heirs apparent Justice a luminescent electronic sermon, conducted from within a Marshall amp pulpit. “Pop froth,” is what those Parisian Ed Bangers affectionately termed it: the gimmick, the in, the catalyst to worldwide hipster renown. Digitalism don’t have, or for that matter need one. Jens ‘Jence’ Moelle and Ismail ‘Isi’ Tuefekci, two modest pals from Hamburg who produced some of the finest electro to emerge from 2007, a scene-defining year that saw their debut LP Idealism compete with virgin offerings from Justice, Boys Noize and Simian Mobile Disco, let punk-infused distortion be their calling card.

“We were completely fed up with nice, neat, clean music,” Jens explains of Digitalism’s explosive, genre-straddling output, sounding impressively bright given he’s not long finished a solo spin in Brittany; a carte-blanche to “get a little nasty” apart from his partner Isi, who’s laid up with tour fever. Indeed, despite lacking the band background of acts like MSTRKRFT with its DFA 1979 connections, Digitalism now champion a sound that comes closer to bridging the indie-dance divide than any outfit since Soulwax, while being more irresistibly abrasive then even that of the Belgian brothers Dewaele. It’s a sonic progression that while not wildly surprising to the pair, was hardly a conscious choice. “Once we got involved in the business, toured the world and met so many people,” Jence begins, “our knowledge got expanded in such a huge way; we stumbled across lots of great indie and rock music, and it was so much fun playing live, singing and everything, that the evolution came naturally.

Meeting in Hamburg’s Underground Solution in 2000, a record store which from Jence’s nostalgic descriptions bears no small resemblance to High Fidelity’s Championship Vinyl, he and Isi were fortunate enough to encounter each other at that age which affords a certain measure of blind, unconditional trust. “Of course it was a bit of a grower, we didn’t meet and say, ‘Oh yeah, let’s DJ together, form a band or something. You’ve got the entire Smiths collection at home, too? Brilliant,’” Jence laughs. “But aside from Isi just being an amazingly nice guy, we also met at an age where you’re very open to meeting new people; you’re not really defined yet, and everything is really fresh.”

2009년 1월 25일 새벽 1시, 내 생애 최고의 생일이었다. 친구 말로는 초반부터 반응이 너무 뜨거워서 옌스가 눈시울을 붉혔다고. 디제이셋에 북적거리는 클럽 안이라는 점이 조금 아쉬웠지만 이게 어디야. 선곡 리스트부터 관객과의 소통력까지. 진정 추앙받아야 마땅한, 팀네임이 전혀 과장이아니었던 밤이었다. 게다가 내가 정신줄 놓고 양손을 뻗자 옌스는 그 길고 따뜻하고 커다란 손으로 두 번이나 꼭 잡아주고. (눈물 찔끔) 그렇게 세계적으로 이름을 날리는 아티스트인데, 겸손함과 풋풋함이 묻어나는 팬서비스라니, 이 사람들 뭘 좀 알잖아!. (알고보니 이시는 팀내에서 귀여움 담당이고 오히려 수줍어하는 건 옌스!) 나중엔 야외에서 더욱 강렬한 라이브셋으로 부탁해요! go baby go, digitalism!

 

06:44

Kraftwerk peddled mannequin mystique. Daft Punk resplendent robotics.
Heirs apparent Justice a luminescent electronic sermon, conducted from within a Marshall amp pulpit. “Pop froth,” is what those Parisian Ed Bangers affectionately termed it: the gimmick, the in, the catalyst to worldwide hipster renown. Digitalism don’t have, or for that matter need one. Jens ‘Jence’ Moelle and Ismail ‘Isi’ Tuefekci, two modest pals from Hamburg who produced some of the finest electro to emerge from 2007, a scene-defining year that saw their debut LP Idealism compete with virgin offerings from Justice, Boys Noize and Simian Mobile Disco, let punk-infused distortion be their calling card.

“We were completely fed up with nice, neat, clean music,” Jens explains of Digitalism’s explosive, genre-straddling output, sounding impressively bright given he’s not long finished a solo spin in Brittany; a carte-blanche to “get a little nasty” apart from his partner Isi, who’s laid up with tour fever. Indeed, despite lacking the band background of acts like MSTRKRFT with its DFA 1979 connections, Digitalism now champion a sound that comes closer to bridging the indie-dance divide than any outfit since Soulwax, while being more irresistibly abrasive then even that of the Belgian brothers Dewaele. It’s a sonic progression that while not wildly surprising to the pair, was hardly a conscious choice. “Once we got involved in the business, toured the world and met so many people,” Jence begins, “our knowledge got expanded in such a huge way; we stumbled across lots of great indie and rock music, and it was so much fun playing live, singing and everything, that the evolution came naturally.

Meeting in Hamburg’s Underground Solution in 2000, a record store which from Jence’s nostalgic descriptions bears no small resemblance to High Fidelity’s Championship Vinyl, he and Isi were fortunate enough to encounter each other at that age which affords a certain measure of blind, unconditional trust. “Of course it was a bit of a grower, we didn’t meet and say, ‘Oh yeah, let’s DJ together, form a band or something. You’ve got the entire Smiths collection at home, too? Brilliant,’” Jence laughs. “But aside from Isi just being an amazingly nice guy, we also met at an age where you’re very open to meeting new people; you’re not really defined yet, and everything is really fresh.”

2009년 1월 25일 새벽 1시, 내 생애 최고의 생일이었다. 친구 말로는 초반부터 반응이 너무 뜨거워서 옌스가 눈시울을 붉혔다고. 디제이셋에 북적거리는 클럽 안이라는 점이 조금 아쉬웠지만 이게 어디야. 선곡 리스트부터 관객과의 소통력까지. 진정 추앙받아야 마땅한, 팀네임이 전혀 과장이아니었던 밤이었다. 게다가 내가 정신줄 놓고 양손을 뻗자 옌스는 그 길고 따뜻하고 커다란 손으로 두 번이나 꼭 잡아주고. (눈물 찔끔) 그렇게 세계적으로 이름을 날리는 아티스트인데, 겸손함과 풋풋함이 묻어나는 팬서비스라니, 이 사람들 뭘 좀 알잖아!. (알고보니 이시는 팀내에서 귀여움 담당이고 오히려 수줍어하는 건 옌스!) 나중엔 야외에서 더욱 강렬한 라이브셋으로 부탁해요! go baby go, digitalism!