Interview: The Death Set (Fact Magazine, 2008)

There’s something going on in Baltimore; something removed from the club scene for which the city is so musically famous. Bands like Ponytail, our interviewees The Death Set (who have recently signed to Counter, Ninja Tune’s rock offshoot) and Ecstatic Sunshine are playing and recording some of the most life-affirming rock music around; punk songs reduced to pure spasmodic, animal form. Bmore correspondent Raven Baker was at the Baltimore Bass Connection’s Christmas show featuring Spank Rock, XXXChange and The Death Set themselves, and reported back thus:

Interview: Vampire Weekend (Fact Magazine, 2007)

You might think that Vampire Weekend, named after a horror movie that vocalist Ezra Koenig and his friends never finished (‘it was a movie about vampires, and also featured King Kong’ – we’re sold already!) and recently signed to XL with a single out and an album ready to drop early next year, would be content to take the last quarter of the year off and roast their feet over an open fire. Instead, they’re killing time until Christmas with a European tour (sharing some bills with the Shins), followed by shows the entire way across the States, from California to Texas.

Daydream Nation Retrospective (Fact Magazine, 2007)

In thirteen months time, Sonic Youth’s Daydream Nation will be twenty years old, but the band have already celebrated its existence by putting out a remastered double CD/quadruple LP complete with covers and live performances, and touring the entire album courtesy of ATP’s Don’t Look Back series (they play Camden’s Roundhouse on the 30th and 31st of this month

Interview: Mystery Jets (Fact Magazine, 2007)

2007 has seen the Jets release Zootime (a Stateside primer made up of songs from 2006’s Making Dens and some new material), overcome Visa rejections to tour the US with and without the Klaxons, record an album with Erol Alkan and play DJ sets up and down the country. They probably don’t even have time to write haikus, but guitarist Will Rees was still gracious enough to spend some half an hour with FACT, reflecting on the year that’s been and looking forward to the next.

Interview: Caspa & Rusko (Fact Magazine, 2007)

I know it’s still weeks until Santa heads for the chimneys, but it’s snowing here and that’s all the reason I need to get out the brandy and mistletoe. So if all you want this Christmas is for that one rich relative to finally pop their clogs and sort you and your immediate out with a real Yuletide haul, then you could do much worse than getting Caspa and Rusko over for dinner on the 25th.