2012 could well be Picturebook's year. The musical duo of Dario Darnell and Lorne Ashley, from New York City cum Manchester, look to take their unique brand of live, electronic dance music to the masses in 2012.
Having collaborated with Grammy nominated vocalist Greta Svabo Bech on their first EP 'At Last', the gifted duo plan to record further and make 2012 theirs. Let's just hope the world is ready for it!
1) – Thanks for chatting with us guys and a happy new year to both of you! Did you have a good Christmas break?
Dario had a great time, but I don't celebrate it at all. Especially so this year as we had so much to prepare for within the Picture Book world and the release etc.
2) - 2011 must have been a fairly crazy year for both of you. Has it all seemed a bit surreal or have you been taking it all in your stride?
I think you need to know the truth… 2011 was the most painfully slow year of our lives, to date. We had an EP ready to go in Oct 2010… it's taken us this long to get our team right. But we couldn't be happier! Good things, as they say, come to those who (get fucked around and) wait.
3) - What was it like growing up in Manchester? It has a rich history for dance music, from the Madchester scene and the Hacienda through to Sankey's Soap to, more recently, the hugely successful Warehouse Project. Did you fully immerse yourself in this scene when you were growing up?
Honestly, we hardly grew up in Manchester. It was just the suburbs of it that we went to school in. Because of our wonderful parents we got to see so many different places. Looking back, its a small regret we never looked inwards at these amazing movements that were happening on our doorstep, but, instead we were nurtured on an intense diet of Funk, Soca, Soul and AfroBeat. We never listened to Dance music… until about a year in to Picture Book (2009) when Calvin Harris' 'I'm not alone' turned our heads in that direction - that was when the weekends to Berlin started… The rest is history.
On a quick note - the best thing about Manchester for me has been Elbow. I've been a fan since 1999.
4) - Your father is August Darnell, lead singer of legendary band Kid Creole and the Coconuts. What was it like having a musical icon for a father?
It was bad ass… We've been on world tours, on stage in front of hundreds and thousands of people at the age of 6 with a tambourine, we've gigged with him, written an album with him, seen the inside workings of studio and engineering life that only a 60 year would have seen. And we've had so many different styles of music, people, and players surrounding us… BUT, every Monday morning at 8am in Urmston (Manchester), Mum would kick our asses out of bed for school. It was like living two lives - each one just as strange as the other.
5) – Your latest EP 'At Last' features vocalist Greta Svabo Bech, who'd previously worked with Deadmau5 on the Grammy award nominated track, Raise Your Weapon. How did this come about?
We've been working on and off with Greta in Liverpool since 2008, because we used to use her for Violin parts on our demos before we found out what a bad ass singer she was. Deadmau5 heard Greta singing on one of our original demos (one of the first cuts of Sunshine) and asked her to feature on one of his tracks. We already had 'At Last' EP finished when Raise Your Weapon dropped. The timing was perfect. And we couldn't be happier for her and the success she's gained.
6) – Well the EP is amazing, no doubt about that. What's next for Picture Book release wise?
Firstly, thank you very much! The future is not going to take as long as the past took to happen. Me and Dario are in the studio all day every day anyway, writing new songs and perfecting old ones. We're heavily in to 2-step & Deep House at the moment, that'll be next - grooves and funk are the next big thing. We loved what Radiohead did on their last two records, everything about the groove, and, Maya Jane Coles… why have you not returned my calls? :)
7) - Do you have a favourite track on the EP, and if so, why?
Dario's is Terminally In Love because its dreamy… and mine is Surrender because it has dreamy in the title. Why? Because all good music should have come from a dream… or make you feel like you are dreaming… or make you feel like you CAN dream. It should always give you a minute to think and not be anything other than in the music.
8) – How does it feel to be lauded as one of the 'next big things' in dance music?
We've not heard this one before… but from hearing you say it... it feels pretty damn good and something we could get used to! :)
9) - Who is your favourite artist/band, either outside or inside dance music?
Dario's is Incubus & mine is Deftones believe it or not.
10) – Do you think your sound comes across better on record or when you perform live?
What you hear on record, is the song in a most timeless of fashions; exactly what we want you to hear whenever you want to hear it, however, for our live shows we take the core concepts of each song; taking into account chords, melodies, lyrics and flavour - and fuck with it. We tend to write fresh new live shows every few months as our tastes and energies change around our career and music. It's a lot of effort, but what would be the point if it wasn't?!
11) - Speaking of your live sets, your shows are famous for you seamlessly bringing together multiple instruments at once. What is the best gig you think you've ever played?
The best gig we've ever played? Whatever the next one is. We're perfectionists by nature. Our live shows are always 100% energy, and any crowd that shows us even 1% back, is a favourite - but the next show we might get 2%. I get excited just thinking about playing live. Bring on THE NOISE!!!!
In terms of instruments - whatever the melody of the song needs, is what will get played, in any form possible. It's an annoying habit because we can never fit our live show into one car!
12) - You're embarking on a UK tour very soon. Do you have a favourite venue you love to play in? Heebie Jeebies and Chibuku in Liverpool must have a special place in your heart?
Yeah, Liverpool is a cool place man. We used to run a weekly club night in Heebies and way back in 2009 & 2010 it felt like the played at The Magnet every night. The Magnet, circa 2008-2010 is a very special place for Picture Book - that was a really hot time - The Magnet was owned by a producer called Fade from Hip Hop band ASM. It was the most creative place in the world for a while. It's now run by Chibuku, and, after 3 years of waiting, we play our first official Chibuku gig on the 4th of Feb supporting TEED - VERY excited!
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