Usually I start with a formal introduction of the artist and their background, but Black Tiger Sex Machine tells all in this exclusive interview done by Tyler Trew, a good friend and co-worker. Check out this incredibly original mix and exclusive interview below:
Exclusive Interview:
How did you come together to form Black Tiger Sex Machine? What interested you guys in electronic music in the first place?
We’ve all been friends since we were kids as we grew up in the same neighborhood in Montreal and went to high school together. Around 2007 we all started becoming interested in electronic music through artists like Justice and Boys Noize. Marc was studying in Ontario at the time and was DJing college parties; Julien and Pat started doing small events in 2008 in Montreal. When Marc came back from university in 2009 we all linked up to form Black Tiger Sex Machine.
Electronic music attracted us because it has a lot of energy. There are also so many things you can do with it; you aren’t limited by one type of sound or a specific set of instruments. It’s all about imagination and pushing boundaries.
What about Kannibalen Records? What made BTSM want to start the label and what are your plans for the anniversary that’s coming up?
Before starting Kannibalen Records, we were looking at different labels for our music but we realized the smaller labels that might be interested in picking us up couldn’t really offer us anything we couldn’t do ourselves in terms of branding and promotion. We also wanted to keep control over our release schedule.
At the time we were running a popular monthly party in Montreal called Kannibalen so we thought that building a label out of the event was a natural progression. We had a lot of producer friends that were also looking for a home and since we had established a good track record as successful event promoters, they trusted us and were willing to work with us even though we had no experience running a label. That’s why we were able to establish a core group of artists that became the Kannibalen family.
We’re now approaching the third anniversary of the label and fourth of the event. We’re planning a big bash in September in Montreal at our local home, le Belmont. We’re also going to have a lot of releases by all the artists on the label as well as a few special surprises. We’ll reveal more details over the next few weeks.
You guys have been working hard on your live show and have recently finished up a European tour. Can you tell us a little about what the show consists of and what kind of experience you want people to have?
The main part of the show runs through an instance of Ableton Live. We’ve got all our tracks edited with certain sections stripped down and modified so that we can add live elements on top. Marc is the main orchestrator who is sequencing the different track sections. Julien adds in samples, loops and effects on the fly. He’s also got v-drums so he can make crazy snare roll build ups or bang out some big orchestral percussion lines, although we don’t always have the drums because of travel limitations. Patrick is playing synths on a second laptop through two midi keyboards and also throwing in some samples and effects. Everything goes through the DJ mixer so Marc can tweak EQ levels and use the mixer effects to make everything even more interesting.
Our goal for the show is to combine the fast-paced energy of a DJ set with the spontaneity of a live show. We want people to experience something different that’s not just a pre-planned succession of pre-recorded tracks, while still dancing their asses off. We are constantly refining it and switching things around every night to keep it fresh. We do different edits before every show or bring in new tracks based on our impressions of the crowd response from the previous performance.
What are some of your favorite tracks from this guest mix?
Designer Drugs - Back Up In This (Our Time & Wuki Remix) // We’ve been huge fans of Wuki’s productions. This unreleased remix with Our Time is awesome.
Moby & Darth & Vader - Death Star (Tom Piper & Rob Pix Remix) // This remix is just pure gold with Prodigy-like breakdowns.
I Am Legion - Choosing For You (Nightwatch Remix) – Absolute monster of a track. it’s been a staple track in our live show.
His Majesty Andre - Parade (Original Mix) // Main Course has been on fire with some of freshest club releases around. Parade is a great, fun summer track.
Can you tell us a little about your upcoming EP?
The first track, Afterworld, features a great MC from Montreal called Panther, who fans of Kannibalen will recognize from tracks like “Dirty Raxxx” by Snails and “No Twerk” by Apashe. We wanted to do a dark, gloomy electro beat and have someone rap for it because we’ve always been big fans of combining hip-hop and electronic music; we listened to groups like the Prodigy that were doing big beat tracks in the 90s with rappers, like “Diesel Power”. More recently Gesaffelstein has also been doing collabs with hip-hop artists and we love what has come out of that.
The second track is a collaboration with Jeffer, a really talented producer from Italy. He sent us a track that we loved from the start, so we decided to jump on it. It’s just a crazy sounding electro rave banger. We tested it out a lot during the European tour and crowds were always freaking out for it.
The EP also features three remixes of Afterworld by Kai Wachi, Owl Vision and Mandragora. Kai Wachi was an obvious choice to remix the track. He did this really hard-hitting trapstep remix with some outrageous bass lines and a surprise electro trash ending. We’ve been big fans of Owl Vision for a while now and we were totally stoked when he said he would remix the track. His remix is a really gritty electro track that we think our fans will love. Mandragora is a Mexican psy-trance producer with a very unique sound that we discovered during our European tour. His remix is an amazing indescribable experience; you just have to listen to it.
What does the future hold for Black Tiger Sex Machine? Any chance on a US tour?
We have many more tracks in the works including a collaboration with Apashe. We are working on US dates right now and hopefully we can make some announcements in the next few months. We are going to South Africa in October for five shows.
Follow BTSM:
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Tracklist:
1. Riff Raff - Jody 3 Moons (skit) [Mad Decent]
2. Destructo - Party Up feat. YG (Original Mix) [Insomniac]
3. Black Tiger Sex Machine feat. Panther - Afterworld (Original Mix) [Forthcoming Kannibalen
Records]
4. Chocolate Puma feat. Mailkal X - Rubberband Lazer (Original Mix) [Dim Mak]
5. PeaceTreaty - Titus (Original Mix) [Dim Mak]
6. Wax Motif & Neoteric - Das Machines (Botnek Remix) [Main Course]
7. Black Tiger Sex Machine - Ocarina (Original Mix) [Kannibalen Records]
8. I Am Legion - Choosing For You (Nightwatch Remix) [Divisions Recordings]
9. Black Tiger Sex Machine x Jeffer - Lost in Chaos (Original Mix) [Forthcoming Kannibalen
Records]
10. Karluv Klub - Sixxx (IVARR Remix) [Kannibalen Records]
11. 6Blocc - Basstruck (feat. Lord Kimo) [SMOG]
12. Kai Wachi - Cadaverous (Original Mix) [Kannibalen Records]
13. Doctor P - Going Gorillas (Original Mix) [Circus]
14. Apashe - No Twerk feat. Panther x Odalisk (GAWTBASS remix) [Kannibalen Records]
15. Apashe – No Twerk feat. Panther x Odalisk (DJahsta remix) [Kannibalen Records]
16. Prodigy - Voodoo People (emzy bootleg) [Free DL]
17. Cazzette feat. The High - Sleepless (Dem Slackers Bootleg) [Free DL]
18. Black Tiger Sex Machine - Destroy It (Original Mix) [Kannibalen Records]
19. Moby & Darth & Vader - Death Star (Tom Piper & Rob Pix Remix) [Dim Mak]
20. His Majesty Andre - Parade (Original Mix) [Main Course]
21. Black Tiger Sex Machine - Rezorecta (Original Mix) [Kannibalen Records]
22. Nom De Strip - Grandma (Original Mix) [Free DL]
23. Designer Drugs - Back Up In This (Our Time & Wuki Remix) [unreleased]
24. Moonbootica - Work Your Body (Original Mix) [Four Music]
25. HAEZER x Black Tiger Sex Machine (Original Mix) [Kannibalen Records]
26. Black Tiger Sex Machine feat. Panther - Afterworld (Mandragora Remix) [Forthcoming
Kannibalen Records]
27. Black Tiger Sex Machine feat. Panther - Afterworld (Kai Wachi Remix) [Forthcoming
Kannibalen Records]
28. SNAILS - Dirty Raxxx ft. Panther (Original Mix) [Kannibalen Records]
29. Dabin feat. Jill Harris (Original Mix) [Forthcoming Kannibalen Records]
