RATATAT at Sound Academy (11 Polson), Wednesday (September 8), 8 pm. $20. 416-870-8000.
It takes a few seconds to recognize the low, gurgling rasp coming through the receiver as the voice of a human, more specifically that of Mike Stroud, half of the Brooklyn electronic duo Ratatat.
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“I’ve been sick for a few days,” he grumbles, all phlegm. “Lots of vomiting. Nightmare.”
At least he hasn’t fallen prey to New York’s well-publicized bedbug infestation, which, prior to this interview, he knew nothing about.
“Ew!” he reacts. “No, no, our bed is nice and clean. I have had bedbugs before, though. It’s disgusting. Is that real, though, like, all over the city?”
Despite his illness, Stroud and his beat-making partner, Evan Mast, will also be all over NYC this week, shooting visuals to augment their live show.
And they’ll spend some time shopping for a guitar with Kid Cudi. The group produced two songs on the rapper’s 2009 debut, Man On The Moon, including its MGMT-featured second single, Pursuit Of Happiness.
And while Stroud doesn’t think Ratatat will contribute any music to Cudi’s upcoming Man On The Moon II, they’ve got plenty on their own plate. Their show at Sound Academy Wednesday is their second on an extensive fall tour supporting their recently released LP4 (XL).
Like Stroud, the album is sick. More upbeat and electro-influenced than their last one, the instrumental record piles complex drum patterns and unfamiliar sounds over their signature analog grit. That’s partly a product of Ratatat’s studio environment.
“We were recording in a house full of old equipment,” Stroud says, “so we were scouring the place. We found an old Japanese stringed instrument that I think made us a little more experimental-sounding.”
Also known for remixing (the group has self-released two volumes of hip-hop change-ups), Stroud isn’t exactly supportive of Kanye West and Wu-Tang Clan member Raekwon’s recent update of the Justin Bieber song Runaway Love.
“It sounds like bullshit,” he coughs. “I like Raekwon and some of Kanye’s old stuff. I don’t know what to think of Bieber. Maybe Raekwon is just old now, and confused.”
Interview Clips
Stroud, on the vicious cycle of being simultaneously busy and ill
The show is much more rock ‘n’ roll than their records, he explains
Video Clips
Ratatat’s weirdball, ABBA-flipping video for Shempi, from LP3
The group’s low-concept video for Party With Children, from LP4, is for the birds
Their Carl Burgess-directed video for Drugs, also off LP4, has kind of a Tim and Eric vibe to it
Ratatat online
music@nowtoronto.com
