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Image via 100% Electronica
Daily Discovery is a feature that highlights a new or recently discovered artist who we’re excited about. See the rest of our Daily Discoveries here.
Recently launched Brooklyn label 100% Electronica may only have a small roster as of right now, but it’s nonetheless a strong one. Comprising of founders George Clanton and Lindsey French, who makes music as Negative Gemini, the pair already have big aspirations for their fledgling label. There’s but one solitary release on the label so far, and that’s George Clanton’s debut under his own namesake: 100% Electronica.
As the jumping off point for the label, it acts a brilliant sort of mission statement—it’s nostalgic without relying too much on the past, blending what’s come before with a flash of the future. It’s not exactly retro-futurism, but it’s not too far off, either. Up next on the label is Lindsey’s upcoming album, Body Work, which promises to be just as great as George’s debut on the label, if not even better. Building towards the album with her latest single, the brilliant “You Never Knew,” Lindsey has put herself and her label in an amazing position.
Moving past the mechanical magic of this year’s promising Real Virtual Unison, “You Never Knew” finds Lindsey going full-blown pop, albeit in her own unique way. As if Kylie Minogue was commissioned to soundtrack a movie that falls somewhere between ’90s teen romance and a grindhouse movie, the track is capable of establishing Lindsey as the internet’s next big pop star. With its murky tone but addictive chorus, “You Never Knew” is the hacker-goth-pop anthem 2015 truly deserves.
How long have you been making music as Negative Gemini, and what made you settle on that name?
I’ve been making music under that name for about three years now. I honestly just wrote a ton of words that I like down on a piece of paper and picked two of them that were the least stupid. I’m a Sagittarius!
What aspirations do you have with your music, and specifically, your upcoming album?
I have the biggest aspirations for my music, it’s all I’ve ever wanted to do and one of the few things I think I’m actually good at. I’ve been working on some of the songs for this album for years! So my hope for this album is that I push myself to take my songwriting and production further and go out of my comfort zone, to take criticism along the way and use it to my advantage, because that is often when the best stuff happens. I really hope to reach a lot of people with it.
Do you have any major inspirations that led to the creation of your music?
I don’t come from an extremely musical family, but my brother and I have always been heavy into creating music and writing songs. We were lucky to have a cooler older sister that made us listen to Smashing Pumpkins and Nirvana etc. I have always been fascinated by songwriting and the concept of a song being able to define a whole period of time in someone’s life because they listened to it so much or related to it so heavily.
That’s one phenomenon that inspires me, and such a cool thing that I could only hope to pull off. I’ve also been very inspired by dance/techno/house music, especially since living in New York. I thank god there are songs that exist that I can turn on and it’s like the lights have been flipped. You can just get so stoked on a song that it makes your whole day. That’s what I want to do!
Would you say that “You Never Knew” is the sum of everything you’ve been working towards? There are elements from your previous music evidently still there, but it feels like a bold step forward artistically.
I would say that it’s definitely not a song I could have made even a year ago, so yes, it is the kind of song I’ve always wanted to be able to write. It’s always a learning and growing process and a lot of my current work is not so composed, but I think it’s super challenging to try and write a “pop” song that is unique and contemporary and can accurately embody a feeling or experience, and that’s what I’ve tried to do here.
Could you tell me about your older music, Real Virtual Unison in particular? How did you get from the sounds you were working with there to where you’re at now?
It’s funny to think about the songs that came even before that EP, because it has really evolved. Real Virtual Unison was kind of a turning point in my music because I started to get more comfortable with production and paying more attention to the utter importance of rhythm and bass! I started to play around with old songs and literally found gold in a pile of turds just by paying more attention to that, and less to trying to do something different or ambiguous. And since then, I’ve learned a little more about production and started to use samples or sample myself more. Most of the material on my upcoming album is very drum and bass driven, energetic.
Could you perhaps explain 100% Electronica to me a bit more? Is it a label, a collective, or something else equally as magical?
It’s a label that my boyfriend, George Clanton (fka Mirror Kisses and ESPRIT 空想), and I decided to start so that we could grow a whole group of like minded acts. We make such similar music that it just seemed natural to team up and create something our own, to kind of lift each other up. It’s brand new, his album (also titled 100% Electronica) was the first to be on it in September, and mine will be the second. So we don’t know for sure the scope or direction of it yet, but I’m excited to see what artists we add and what will happen.
Listen to Real Virtual Unison below, and check out her CMJ dates below that.
Wednesday 10.14 @ Bowery Electric (11:30pm) – 100% Electronica Showcase
Saturday 10.17 @ Studio 301 (9:30pm) – Bushwick
Saturday 10.17 @ Pine Box Rock Shop (11:45pm) – Indie Bushwick Showcase
