Strangeways is pleased to introduce LabXIV, an exciting new Dark Synth band from Los Angeles. We spoke with Simon, the creative ringleader
At the end of 2011, Simon had been experiencing a malaise lasting several months. He found himself disappointed and frustrated with Music (the scene and the industry) as well as life in general.
After shouting, “What the Fuck?” to himself, Simon was felt compelled to channel this largely negative energy, to strip down the process from where he labored for months on things that should have been over in days. For 14 days, he locked himself in a studio and rehearsal space housed in an old factory machine shop in downtown Industrial Los Angeles, This space, called ‘The Lab’, was full of beautiful noise…of metal being struck, of rains roaring by, and of cement plant machinery grinding in the background.
Inside the lab, Simon wrote a track a day for 14 days, with only the company of one large condenser microphone of uncertain vintage, four bottles of whiskey, his Synths, drum machines and Abelton. Although sick and exhausted, Simon found that the energy wasn’t in fact all negative. He sensed the progression from the dark aggressive tracks on side one of the 12″ to a more hopeful mood on side two with Supergods.
The 6 tracks of the 12″ were all written and recorded at the end of 2011; but it wasn’t until spring and summer of 2012 that LabXIV got to mixing them. They also shot a video for Without A Friend with some LA people. One of these was Scott Milton of The Present Moment. Milton provided backing vocals on the alternate Coredark mix of the track which led to an alternate cut of the video. The Without A Friend videos were produced by Coredark Films in LA.
This partnership with not only Coredark but The Present Moment has paid dividends as LabXIV is joining The Present Moment on their European tour, coinciding with the LabXIV 12″ release. The entire 12″ is available digitally as a free download from now until the start of the tour where the physical release will be available.
Grab the tracks below as well as a look hteir tour dates and the video for The Present Moment cut of Without A Friend.
Links:
TPM and labXIV on tour:
- 06.09.2012: London (UK), tba
- 07.09.2012: Berlin (DE), King Kong Klub
- 08.09.2012: Köln (DE), Blue Shell
- 10.09.2012: Prague (CZ), Final Club
- 11.09.2012: Vienna (AT), Queen Club
- 12.09.2012: Brussels (B), Café Central
- 13.09.2012: Paris (FR), Flèche d’Or
- 15.09.2012: Lugano (CH), Living Room Club
- 19.09.2012: Milano (IT), TNT Club
- 20.09.2012: Rome (IT), Rashomon
