Comprising that inner groove to release the ecstatic flow that lay dormant in that magnificent body of yours- Dirtwire is the collaboration of David Satori (Beats Antique) and Evan Fraser (Hamsa Lila, Stallamara).
Each with their other creative projects, they have gained worldwide recognition for the stellar musicianship that they reverberate. Impeccably incorporating the all-encompassing sounds of the world into their own unique palette of textural frequencies; the duo meshes raw instruments with electronic deliciousness to conceive a style that is all-in-all, Dirtwire.
We were fortunate enough to get a few words with them amidst their hectic West Coast tour.
To all of you beautiful Santa Barbarians: bring your booties out to the Lucidity Festival Pre-Party at SOHo this Saturday.
You can still get pre-sale tickets here.
When Dirtwire first formed what was the initial vision for this collaboration?
Dirtwire formed around the same time as Beats Antique – David and I met at CalArts and had been playing together already in a couple different funk bands. As those bands faded, we wanted to continue making music together utilizing all the new digital production tools that were showing up on the scene and the instruments we were getting into. Our vision was mostly just in making the music, being able to fuse all our skills and crazy instruments and creative juice into something unique, and to carry the traditional instruments we both love into the new millennium. It’s great. It feels like we’re doing all of that with Dirtwire.
How has Dirtwire allowed for a different form of creative space to unfold that differs from your other bands?
Being a duo is more flexible in every way – the way we work, the music is free to become whatever it wants to be. Because we’re still a fresh sound to the world, when we get together we’re able to go with whatever we’re into at the time. We can explore trans-global sounds and bring them back to our American roots and then flip over to a completely different creative flow.
It’s obvious the huge influence of stringed organic instruments drive your overall characteristic, in your perspective how do these wide range of unconventional instruments induce the listener unto a unique plane of sound?
Great question! We’ve gravitated towards these unique instruments because we love how they sound. In an age of polish and advanced technology, these organic raw instruments really appeal to us. Their simplicity, the materials they’re made of, and their ancient beauty tap us into the vibe of the tradition of music as a way of coming together and sharing our authenticity with each other.
If Dirtwire could collaborate with any musician in history, who would it be? Why?
That is a dangerous question. Amazingly enough, we’ve gotten to collaborate with the late legendary Tuvan throat singer Kongar-ol Ondar. An EP with those collaborations is happening soon… That said, there are so many amazing music-makers out there, we could create an infinite list – everything from Taj Mahal to the first human to make a drum!
What’s the technical make-up that goes into a Dirtwire live show?
Our mics and effected instruments go to the computer that goes to DIs that go to the mains. We run our own monitors in our earbuds. Lots of cords, cables, controllers, and instruments to juggle- that said, our setup is always evolving. We’re experimenting more with live looping… come see a show again next month, we promise something will have changed!
You currently have a new EP in the works, what can we expect as far as the theme, story, or emotion that you are trying to convey through it?
Our new EP features Kongar-ol Ondar from Tuva, who passed last year. In his singing you can imagine the steppes that inspired “Taiga”, one of the songs on the release, and contemplate the vast forests of the world, the Aurora Borealis, and the love of all of it that was in his heart. He was an amazing man very much connected to nature.
We have blended his multi octave overtone throat singing with our electro-organic instrumentation and digital production… It’s almost done and its sounding like something really special.
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