Brooklyn, New York inhabitants Mike Stroud and Evan Mast are perhaps better known globally as
electro-experimentalist duo Ratatat. If you haven’t heard the name, you’ve probably
heard the tracks. Whether background music in an ad, keeping the toes tapping at a catwalk presentation, or... shopping, there's a fair chance that the music of duo has resonated with you at some point in time.
Although admiringly reluctant to drop one of the many names they’ve worked with, remixed for, and played alongside,
ex-metalheads Ratatat cement no boundaries when it comes to the recording process. This was evident with their third studio release, Classics. The duo moved into the upstate New York household of famed Icelandic songstress, Bjork, where they recorded a large part of the album. Unsurprisingl it was an environment that they thrived on, and certainly didn’t take for granted. “It was a beautiful house that had this river running along it, sort of in this forest area, and there was loads of wildlife around so we’d take a bunch of microphones outside and sample the different sounds,” says Mast.
Currently on tour in America with their fourth and most recent studio release LP3, Mast seems more than content with where they are as a band and the whole evolution of Ratatat, despite a brush with disaster while touring Europe. “The tour has been going really amazingly, we’ve only really had one hiccup in Germany where we nearly crashed our tour bus” explains Mast. “The drivers are crazy over there. We were sort of swirling around the road and kinda just saw these head-lights flying by...we were pretty lucky no one got hurt”. So to the punters clutching tickets for their upcoming Australian tour.
The recording process for LP3 was a slight shift back in direction for Mast and Stroud, taking only a few weeks to record – unlike their past two releases that were several months in the making. Coming fresh off a plethora of new destinations the pair found themselves in the colonial surrounds of Catskill studio Old Soul in New York. “The studio had a lot of cool instruments that we ended up using throughout the album”. Acoustic instruments such as harpsichords, clavinets, wurlitzers, and a Mason and Hamlin grand piano found their way onto the record with sublime results. Note too the contributions of live percussion including the Zarb drum, a Persian percussive staple. “I like to change things up from time to time," explains Mast. "Just to keep it interesting”.
Changing things up is something that has earned Ratatat a degree of recognition outside of their original work. Remix Volume one and two are the hip-hop recreations of Mast and Stroud, remixing for artists like Kanye, Raekwon, Ghostface, and Missy Elliott to name a few. Coming from a solid background in hip-hop production, Mast states that his attitude and process towards remixing, is different from his other music. “We started off doing it for fun really. Labels would come to us with their artists and ask if we would be interested in remixing them”. The release process is also something that is atypical from their own work, often using the medium of the internet to release the tracks. “There’s just way too many legalities involved in remixing and releasing, so we usually just release them on web pages”. Aside from hip-hop, they’ve also remixed a stack of other artists including Shout Out Louds, The Knife, Television Personalities and of course Bjork, which Mast considered “the top job in remixing”.
Having been hand picked to open for Daft Punk, Franz Ferdinand and Interpol, the live arena is a setting that has earned the band much respect - intertwining the dance heavy with the ruminative to create a dynamic and psychedelic environment for their audiences. It's this nouse they bring to Australia next month for their third time. “We really love touring Australia, a lot." says Mast. "The crowds seem to get stronger and stronger each time”.
Ratatat Australian tour:
May 3rd: Great Northern, Byron Bay NSW
May 4th: Hi-Fi, Brisbane QLD
May 6th: Coolangatta Hotel, Gold Coast QLD
May 7th: Waves, Woollongong NSW
May 8th: Manning Bar, Sydney NSW
May 9th: Groovin the Moo Festival, Maitland NSW
May 10th: ANU Bar, Canberra ACT
May 15th: The Corner (SOLD OUT), Melbourne, VIC
May 16th: Groovin the Moo, Bendigo VIC
May 17th: Amplifier, Perth WA
More at
myspace.com/ratatatmusic. From
thevine.com.au.