We caught up with Beats Antique last week in preparation for their upcoming headlining performance at Club Nokia. Read the full interview and get a free download from their new album below. Pre-sale tickets for the event are available here.
It’s been a big year for Beats Antique as 2011 has seen the trio of David Satori, Tommy Cappel and Zoe Jakes touring more than ever and releasing their exceptional new album, “Elektrafone.” The band’s been on the road since October supporting the new release and are now excited to return to Los Angeles as part of The Do LaB’s special Pre-New Year’s Eve show at Club Nokia with Emancipator, Random Rab and Lynx also performing alongside live painting from Michael Pukac (who did the cover art for “Elektrafone”), Hans Haveron, John Park, Cryptik and Locust.
“We love The Do LaB and they’ve been a huge influence on our growth in L.A.,” explained David Satori. “We play shows all over, all the time and it’s rare that every artist involved and the promoters you have history with. This feels like we’re part of a family so I think it’s a really special event in that way. We’ve just grown to love the community that The Do LaB have created and there’s not a bad seed in the bunch. In my mind, they are a very crucial component to the Los Angeles underground art scene, as well as the Burning Man and electronic music scenes as well. It’s super exciting to be a part of it.”
“It adds an extra element of excitement to the show that might not be present at other events we play,” added Satori. “I can look out in the audience and recognize a bunch of people and feel proud that I’m able to do this and that these people are my friends. So it’s a sweet kind of show, there’s not many like it. It’s actually a pretty huge highlight of our year to be doing this.”
Over the course of 2011, Beats Antique has not only brought their energetic stage show across the country via their eco-friendly tour bus, but they’ve also been in such high demand that they’ve had the opportunity to share their original sounds all across the globe.
“It’s been a wild year and we’re very grateful for the growth that we’ve had,” said Satori. “We started off with a Australian tour which was amazing and then went through festivals like Bonnaroo and Lightning in a Bottle, which we always love playing. We just did a big show in Denver at the Fillmore that was sold out, which was a really huge moment for us. We also played Red Rocks too, so there was all these pivotal moments this year that we’re really grateful for.”
“The fact that we get paid to do what we love and this past year was really another step in that we were actually able to go even further,” explained Jakes. “All we did was make music and dances. That’s pretty rewarding as an artist and is the most incredible thing one could ask for. So 2011 was a fulfillment of everything I really wanted to do as an artist.”
For the band’s latest “Elektrafone,” Beats Antique took breaks in between all the adventures of the touring they were doing and recorded new material on the fly. The end result is an album that is the closest yet to capturing the kinetic on-stage energy of the group.
“I think it’s a step in a different direction,” said Cappel. “The process of making this album was totally different to what we’ve done in the past. I think because we played some of these songs live first, it really did help the way we ultimately recorded them. It’s been really great to play live as “Elektrafone” was the easiest album we’ve made to transition into performing on stage. Basically the whole album is based around our live performances.”
“This one was a really fun one,” added Satori. “It was made under a lot of stress and pressure just to get it out because we’ve been having so many shows. We pretty much made this album in the midst of doing 27 festivals this past summer. We had the opportunity to write in hotel rooms and just be in different creative spaces. We’re always moving forward as that’s what keeps us interested in the project. We saw what songs we had left after the last album, “Blind Threshold” and then really worked them live before putting them on “Elektrafone.” We played them at shows and saw what was working, which is sort of a new way of doing what we’re doing. So these songs have been road-tested.”
Fans can expect to hear plenty of fresh material off “Elektrafone” at Club Nokia and with the group’s friends and past collaborators like Lynx and Random Rab also on the bill, impromptu collaborations could be in store as well as some very special pre-New Year’s Eve surprises.
“Since the tour started in October we’ve gotten to test out a lot of the new stuff, so we’re excited to play some of that at Club Nokia,” shared Satori. “We might even unveil our secret New Year’s extravaganza that we’re going to do up in San Francisco. I think this show falls close enough to New Year’s Eve, so we have a special performance that we’re gonna try out. It’s really going to be a great night and we’re just so excited about having all these amazing artists that we love come together to close out the year right.”
“2011 has been absolutely amazing,” added Cappel. “I don’t think we could have imagined the kind of growth we’ve had. It’s been exciting and a lot of hard work but we’re always up for the challenge. We’re excited to keep writing more new songs and for the next stuff that’s coming up as we’re always pushing forward.”
Thanks to Beats Antique for the interview. Be sure to get this free download of “Cat Skillz” from their new album below. If you don’t have “Elektrafone” or Beats Antique other superb albums, you can stream and download them all directly from their website.
Come see what Beats Antique have in store at our last show of the year this Friday, December 30th at Club Nokia with additional unforgettable live music performances from Emancipator, Random Rab and Lynx! There’s also live painting all night long from Michael Pukac, Hans Haveron, John Park, Cryptik and Locust, making this the perfect way to close out 2011. There’s a very limited number of tickets still available, so purchase yours here before they’re gone!
Please plan to arrive early and we’ll see you on the dance floor!
