I first wrote about how Acid Washed were looking like a good prospect for 2010 and beyond back in November of last year when their great debut track ‘General Motors, Detroit, America’ first came to my attention. Since then, the mysterious Parisian duo have made good on all those promises and the hype, turning out ace new tracks and remixes while continuing their relationship with graphic artist Anthony Burrill to produce truly exceptional videos.
We asked the duo, Andrew Claristidge and Richard d’Alpert, to contribute to our mix series and share with us some of the secrets of the Acid Washed world. They came back with this, Acid Washed’s Primal Landscape Mixtape. Sounds epic, right?
I also took the opportunity to asked them a few questions about why they shy away form publicity, what their plans for 2010 are, and what ‘primal landscape’ actually means.
Hey Acid Washed. Why have you guys kept your identities secret? As Parisians did you think it was important to go down the Daft Punk route?
Andrew Claristidge: We didn’t have Daft Punk in mind when we decided we weren’t going to show our faces. It was more about decency. We want our listeners to listen to our music first. I had The Residents in mind but our music is less experimental.
Richard d’Alpert: No, not really. Even though Daft Punk are personal heroes of ours, and a great example for everybody. There were 2 eras down here within the electronic music scene. First was anonymity; no faces, only sleeves - inspired by Detroit. Then came the deification, showing the faces of the men and women behind the machines - people responsible for just as many hits as the pop stars. But maybe things have gone a little too far these days.
We just want to focus on giving good tracks to our homies - the people in the clubs and everybody out there who loves music - because they deserve it. We owe them that as electronic musicians. Now we’re back to the Detroit credo - keeping it real.
Your mix is called ‘Primal Landscape’, but what does that actually mean? It reminds me of the opening scene form 2001: A Space Odyssey, is that what you going for?
A: ACE!!! 2001 A Space Odyssey is one of my top ten favorite movies of all time. It is a big influence for me. The mixture of modernity and traditional elements is still breathtaking after all these years. It’s a real trip. That is exactly how I build a DJ set. You must tell a story with peaks and troughs, highs and lows.
I find it hard to give a mix a theme because it has to be as improvised as possible. I am not the kind of DJ who knows which records he is going to playing next. Reading the crowd is really important for me. So there’s no real theme but some directions; cosmic, pictorial, epic, tribal. We have, I think, a primitive and instinctive way of putting a mix together - it is almost like a primitive ritual and we’re modern shamans. Almost!
R: Well, you got that right! Kubrick being one of the greatest artists of our time, I’ll take that compliment. Generally, I would say that electronic music has something primal, which is probably due to the (heart) beat in it. Then the landscape is totally yours. It’s up to your imagination and dreams, we’re just pleased to be your drivers.
You say that ‘collaboration is the key to Acid Washed’, who are you working with at the moment?
R: Right now, we’re working with the Paris-based posse from YoungGunz (Alan Gay, Lazy Flow, etc.) who we’ve known from way back. Then we’re doing a series of concerts and DJ gigs with Blackstrobe & Arnaud Rebotini, a remix for Wolfmother, and more stuff with DJ Znobia - one of the producers from the Sound of Kuduro.
A: Richard mentioned most of it, but we still have some secrets. Secrecy is the second key to Acid Washed.
Are you going to keep making videos with the fantastic Anthony Burrill? They are brilliant.
R: Thanks! Just made a new one.
A: Anthony’s visuals make our music more convincing!
Snake from Anthony Burrill on Vimeo.
What are your plans for 2010? Maybe launching your own line of acid washed Acid Washed merchandise? I could see them selling that in American Apparel?
A: Maybe! We are already linked to fashion and have played for Rick Owens and Michele Lamy. But who knows, the future is full of surprises.
R: If you say so… You seem pretty well informed! Maybe we’ll get a call this week. Other than that, we’re gonna keep raving til 2011. Then we’ll see how we are after that. See if we’re still alive. Shit, that’s the name of a Daft Punk album.
DOWNLOAD - Acid Washed’s Platform Mixtape - Primal Landscape
Tracklist:
1 - Sylvie Marks & Hal 9000 “Mad Zen” (B-Pitch Control)
2 - Arnaud Rebotini “1314″ Acid Washed´s Remix (Citizen)
3 - Makossa Megablast “Marrakesh Part 1 (Gigolo)
4 - Lucio & Pep “Rainforest” (Malatoid)
5 - Black Meteoric Star “Dreamcatcher” (DFA)
6 - The Off Key Hat “This is not…” (Dissident)
7 - Gesaffelstein “The Operator” (Zone)
8 - Acid Washed “Change” (Record Makers)
9 - Fuck Buttons “Surf Solar” (ATP-R)
10 - Patrick Vian “Grosse Nacht Music” (EGG)
