STOP DIE RESUSCITATE, EKLECTIK DYSLEXIK, THUNDER KIDS, DVSN, ERROL at Z (812 Dundas West), Saturday (March 15). $7. Rating: NNNNN
Stop Die Resuscitate have changed. They’re a very different band now than when they released their debut album, Hell.o, back in 2006.
That was a bewildering and highly original effort, but there were so many ideas going on that it sometimes degenerated into chaos, and the best tangents never got fully developed. You could hear elements of hiphop, punk, industrial, techno and funk, and when it worked it was great.
Not long after releasing it, though, one of SDR’s vocalists, Ndidi Onukwulu, left the band to pursue her blues career, which changed the whole dynamic.
“She’s doing really well, and we’re still friends, but it was just one of those things. It just wasn’t really working,” explains remaining vocalist Luke over brunch in a Parkdale diner.
Instead of giving up, the remaining trio got down to business writing new material that reflected their growing interest in dance music.
They also started taking on remixes of other indie bands, a sideline that’s exploded for them and has begun garnering them international attention on some high-profile music blogs. The process itself has helped them rethink their approach to their own material.
“It’s fun hearing the different ways all these talented people construct their songs – and to see that some people have no idea how to save files properly,” he laughs.
“Sometimes you hear a record that you really love, and then you get the files and take apart the mix and the individual tracks sound like shit,” adds SDR electronics wizard Lyle. “But when you put it all together again, everything fits together perfectly in this mysterious way.”
Their first remix was of Deerhoof, and since then they’ve tackled Spiral Beach, My Brightest Diamond, Apostle of Hustle, Buck 65, Dandi Wind, Vitaminsforyou and Laura Barrett. They’re even working on one for Tegan & Sara.
Although a lot of these are unreleased, in the Internet era that’s not actually much of a problem, and these projects have introduced them to audiences who might never have discovered them otherwise.
This attention is also translating into interest in their original material. Last year around this time, they put out a 12-inch single that better reflects their current sound. Bad Night didn’t immediately get a lot of attention, but it’s slowly been gathering buzz over the past year, and there’s renewed interest now due to the funny, slightly disturbing video they just completed that’s making the rounds on YouTube.
Maybe it’s not the most conventional marketing strategy for a band, but these are unconventional times.
benjaminb@nowtoronto.com
