The Louie Fresco Academy of Bad Ass Beats

At this point, anybody into the electro scene who hasn't at least heard of The Disco Villains, made up of Louie Fresco and Tony Edit, really needs to get on the ball. I promised I would put up more Disco Villains, and that's what I'm here to do. We also have an interview which, in my opinion at least, is really cool. Really impressed with these guys, and they seem really cool. But who knows, maybe they're putting on an act for the interview...maybe. You can't make electro sounding this good, and not be an asshole, that's all I'm going to say (we're working on becoming bigger assholes, but it just takes time, though I'm pretty close according to most people).

It's been a while since this blog has seen anything but house recently, and more specifically electro (especially with the dissapearance of Jump Man, I've presumed he's dead. If anybody finds him will they please contact us ASAP, it really means a lot to us. This is his picture: here). It's saying something that Disco Villains is back up as our first electro post in a while. Here's the Interview (their answers are in red and green because the other half of Bastille cannot see those colors):
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We're proud to present:


Bastille: Help us out cause we're kind of stuck between this decision, if right in front you, you had to pick between a beautiful sexy woman, maybe the most beautiful you've ever seen, actually let's make it three of those women who are all DTF, and you're ideal dj setup along with the most massive crowd all shouting your name, what would you pick?

LOUIE: that is a nice first question.. I must say that personally I have (kinda) experienced both.. since (CORNY ALERT!) i'm dating that woman.. not 3.. just 1.. and a couple of weeks back i've experienced that ideal dj setup with the massive crowd.. some of them shouting our name.. some of them shouting CULEROS! (assholes in spanish!) cuz' we took like 1 minute to start our set.. it was 8k people and it felt outta this world.. plus I don't think I have the stamina to please 3 girls at the same time thou.. so I guess I would pick the 2nd one for sure.

TONY: I'd take both! and the same time too. Yeah there's video of that on youtube. people were like don’t do this to us, then we came in with the Intro and the energy just exploded.. that night was amazing. I have the stamina. Louie just needs to please one right now. The crowd response was so amazing, that nite most def one of the best nights ever. I jumped off stage and started giving champagne to the crowd it was so insane.

I'm Pretty sure this is the video and show they were talking about:



B: How did you guys get started? How did you each start making music, how did you meet, and what made you decide to make music together?

T: I had been djing for like a year before our friend Tad suggested me and Louie do this thing together. Louie didn’t want to but then I told him the name The Disco Villains and he jumped. I really didn’t start messing around with music until I started doing shit with Louie. Our styles just really clicked. we both liked hip hop, rock, and electro, and we had different views on music. I used to spin this old remix Louie did of Modjo’s Lady back in the day before we did the DV thing. it was hilarious.

L:

B: Did you guys go to school for music at all?

L: I went to CRAS (Conservatory of Recording Arts and Science) in Phoenix, AZ.. but they showed me only the technical aspect.. recording, mic setups and all that.

T: Yeah its called the Louie Fresco Academy of Bad Ass Beats

B: What was the best concert you attended before becoming the Disco Villains and how would you say it affected the creation and inspiration behind your music?

L: DESERTIKA (Mexicali, B.C.) with Lazaro Casanova and MSTRKRFT. that made me wanna be a dj.

Go Here for a remix they did of Lazaro Casanova. And here to see a poster of them playing with Lazaro Casanova.

T: The Justice Show in L.A. it was fckn intense, like a dream come true I met so many good people that night and found out that Xavier and Gaspard are chill people, then a couple of months later they play our Remix of Short Dick Man in there essential mix for Ibiza, I still can't believe that shit. To me our shows have so much energy and kick to them it tends to be more like a rock show than a dj set I want it to be a performance I mean we are there to make people party and have fun that’s our job. We jump around and really get into the music we also make sure that there is crowd interaction to the fullest.

B: What was your first piece of DJ equipment and when did you get it?

L: a couple of Pioneer CDJ-800s we bought on July 08.

T: Those cdjs one of which was stolen ;-(
(reminds me of when I wanted to steal those pioneer 1000s and that djm 800 just sitting all by themselves in a lobby in Florida during Ultra)

B: What kind of equipment would you say you're most comfortable with?

L: Pioneer CDJ-1000 MK3 and the Pioneer DJM800 mixer.

T: Louie just said the magic words right there. Add some crown royal and a five hour power or some redbull and that equals the biggest party ever.

B: Do you use a computer when you dj?

L: We try to kick it SEMI-old school without computers.

T: Yeah we don’t use laptops when we spin, we keep it semi-old school with straight cds and the 800. man I love the 800. it's so awesome. And the MK3s are perfect.

B: When you have a gig, do you work on a set beforehand or do you prefer to read your crowd and mix on the spot?

L: it can go in so many ways I think. there's been just a couple of times we worked on a set beforehand, but most of the times we love to read the crowd or just make them dance to what we like, cause most of the kids can be dancing to 128 bpms non-stop, but we love to see them go crazy with faster bpms and harder basslines and whatnot.

T: We pretty much always read the crowd, we have plenty of go to songs so we just know when to set the party off. when we started spinning here in Mexico the scene was mostly 128 bpm, then I used to always spin at 132 now me and Louie switch it up like crazy. We love to have people react to our sound and we make sure to always keep them moving, to us crowd interaction is key. making sure people are having a good time and they are enjoying the show.

B: Do you use a lot of mashups or just good smooth transitions, or some kind of a balance?

L: maybe I didn't get this question right, but let me just say that personally I don't like mashups. I like them when they're done just for kicks (Souljah Boy + Digitalism = CRANK THAT POGO!), but I will always choose a remix over a mashup.

T: We tend to do smooth transitions and also do steep cuts as well. its about keeping people interested and engaged. you can't get boring or pay way to much attention to the equipment that’s why we always make sure to hype the crowd.

B: Are there any guys out there that you particularly enjoy playing live with?

L: yeah.. I always love to spin with Shark Attack from San Diego cause we kinda share the same stupid sense of humor. A1 Bassline is always fun plus he always travels with his dad and he's 1 crazy SOB!

T: Yeah, the Sharkies are cool, A1 Bassline and Tony are also such good people and they really like to party just like us. All the guys in Mexicali are also pretty fckn awesome and the Krzyfckrs also always get down.

Go Here for a remix by the Disco Villains of A1 Bassline.

B: We at our respective schools feel very confined, as we cannot play everything we would want to without people looking at us strangely, what would you recommend?

T: Well, I think you need to take people into your style slowly. Lets say if ppl in your area like hip hop, start with that then move into some hip hop electro remixes such as the ones we do (plugin!) then sooner or later if you drop the right tracks people will ask for them again.

L: it's all about good transitions.

B: People want to hear stuff they know and freak out if it's anything too out there for them. Do you ever feel confined like that or do you just stick with doing whatever you feel like doing?

T: no, not really. I feel like I have such a diverse taste in music that no matter what kind of genre I was forced into I could start a party and have a good time. But I always throw something in a set that will freak people out. it's part of the show, like dropping a track by Bob Marley or The Beatles in an Electro Set (Awesome), I usually always drop some sort of old school hip hop too. some Jay z, biggie or Tupac and you can't go wrong you know.

L: even i get freaked out from time to time.

B: What sort of equipment/software do you use to produce?

L: an M-Audio 49e Keystation and a crappy Toshiba Satellite laptop (my sources tell me it looks something like this) with FL Studio XXL and Adobe Audition for all the samples.
T: Louie’s beautiful green eyes.

B: The majority of your material consists of remixes. Do you plan on producing original material and making a release anytime in the future?
Why or why not?

L: definitely.. we are releasing our first EP under DIRTY DISCO TRACKS (Dirty Disco Youth's Label) and it consists of a track called "We Just Came To Get The Party Started" with remixes by LAZRtag, DJ Barletta, and Dirty Disco Youth himself. it's a definite party starter.

T: Yeah, that track gets shit going, i'm also really excited about the remix we have for FutureFlashs called Get Down the Funk, its got a real huge drop and I love the crowd response. Party Started is gonna be insane as well, I'd like to thank LAZRtag, Barletta and DDY for working with us, it’s a real honor to have such talented people reworking our stuff. I always joke with Louie that it feels like a dream team of the electro.We are super excited about it's release.

American Boy (LAZRtag remix) by Estelle An oldie but it's still fantastic, and in my personal opinion better then the danger remix.

B: How do you approach a new song, i.e., does it start with a line or a loop and eventually turn into a song or do you just start from the beginning and see where you end up?

L: I really don't know the answer to this cause it varies from song to song. most of the times I start by picking each drum parts first, then edit the vocals (stretch, chop, etc.), and then I start by playing some sounds in my head and try to come up with catchy basslines and whatnot. when I feel there's some potential, I start building the song (intro, verse, bridge, chorus, breakdown, etc.), then work the automations, filters, fx, etc. if the semi-final product makes me wanna dance I try and finish it.. if not it just sits there like the fifty something tracks sitting there on my hdd. I just call tony to help me with a few ideas (like in the case of the "All That She Wants" rmx, which had been sitting there for months and Tony helped me finish it).

B: As we said in an earlier post featuring your material, it's often a fail when producers attempt to remix incredibly popular songs like We Are Your Friends. What spurred you to take on the challenge?

L: the fact that I couldn't find any decent acapellas to work with. I was lurking for indie acapellas that day and couldn't find anything I was looking for. so I gave up, and I saw the most searched acapellas list and there it was in big bold blue letters the name of JUSTICE. so I kinda guess it was destiny.

T: It was meant to be! that track kills everytime especially our transition out of it. Ask anyone who has seen us spin it.






B: If you could collaborate with anyone right now, who would it be?

L: the list could go on forever, but I guess my list could be narrowed down to a few talented cats like Stereoheroes, A1 Bassline, Villains, LAZRtag, Crookers, Chromeo, and of course The Bloody Beetroots.

T: Damn, there really is too many to name maybe. Mstrkrft, Justice, Mr. Oizo, Bird Peterson, and Shark Attack. Maybe Designer Drugs, I would add that list.

B: How would you categorize your music, if you had to define it in a genre?(we consider you electro, maybe electro house but the categories are so vague today)

L: silly electro

T: Ghetto Silly Tech Rockish Electro

B: Do you read music blogs and are we assholes for posting free music?

L: we do read a lot of music blogs and there's a couple of assholes out there but not for music posting reasons.. XD
I love the fact that good music can be free to anyone these days.

T: no way are you assholes, and yes we do read a lot of blogs. i'm constantly searching for new tracks anywhere and everywhere. I especially love getting tracks from our many friends in the blog world as well as our artist friends.

B: For that matter, do you buy your music?

L: Tony does.. I just download a few every now and then.

T: some times I buy music. it depends, I use itunes, amazon and beatport most definitely.

B: The electro world is in a very interesting spot at the moment. Music can be shared with incredible ease. Acts that were on top, like Justice and most of Ed Banger, have been relatively quiet release-wise while many fans have been completely turned off by the newer releases of Mstrkrft and The Bloody Beetroots. Also, many fans and blogs have been indulging in dubstep and other crossover genres with artists like Rusko, Foamo, and even Flying Lotus.
What do you suppose the future of electro is?

L: I would love to know what will the future of electro will bring us. it's so exciting to hear the stuff that's been coming out these days. it has evolved so fast.. I remember back in 06 I wanted to create electro-rap but I had so much on my plate at that time.. then a few months later I heard MSTRKRFT, Crookers, Herve, etc.. now even big "reggaeton" acts are crossing over to electro beats.. so I wouldn't be surprised to see a "MSTRKRFT ft. Kanye and Tim McGraw" track on hypemachine in a few months..

T: haha.. that would suck, but I wouldn’t doubt it …… I agree with Louie with the fact that electro is crossing over big time, I mean you got L.A. Riots remixes in Payless commercials, Justice tracks in Cadillac and Coke commercials. Daddy Yankee and Pitbull using electro tracks.. it's insane. The future is unlimited. I mean as long as electro keeps people dancing and paryting it will be all good.

B: What's your opinion of Steve Aoki and the hipster electro scene?

T: I think as long as people want to party then they should, no matter what scene they are into. I also feel that Steve has a keen ear for music. I mean he brought over the Bloody Beetroots and Bloc Party.

L: definitely. he's got a special gift (plus the money!).

B: Do you like the new Bloody Beetroots song, Warp?

L: why did u have to ask me that??? ok.. where do i begin.. i like the fact that is a really simple and catchy song. but we all now that a big part of why it became so big it's because it says "The Bloody Beetroots ft. Steve Aoki" on it. I mean, they're so big right now that they could literally record anything and all the kids will bounce to it.. but don't get me wrong.. Bob Rifo is THAT big cause he oozes talent out of his pores, and he is on that position cause he really deserves it.. but a few days ago Tony showed me a remix (song called "Dominator") he used to play back in the day, and it sounded a lot like Warp.. funny thing it's that I have a vst plugin (Genesis) which I use on a lot of my tracks, and has a preset named "Dominator". if u have it do this: play G#4 for 2 secs and then A4 for another 2 secs.. and voala! you have Warp! But you know what.. I can't stop playing that track since Aoki sent it to my email.. people go crazy! so I guess sometimes simpler is better..

T: Fuck, the first time I heard it in a video I totally thought it was Dominator by Frequency. I really like the reaction it gets so that’s cool, it definitely gets the crowd going.

B: It's amazing how many people criticize Daft Punk, saying, "they completely rip off songs, I saw this youtube video about it." How would you respond to this person?

L: I think when you are as big as Daft Punk (or Bloody Beetroots like the last question) you can sometimes get away with it cause you know, they have done masterpieces before they tried new stuff or "ripped off" from older stuff. taking a good idea from the past and tweak it with your personal taste it's a big part of evolution.. you can see it in music, fashion, cars, etc.. so I would tell that person to create as much great songs as them and then he can criticize anyone he wants.

T: Dude, its Daft Punk.. they are the godfathers, come on. Louie nailed that shit on the head, you can see that happen in pretty much every aspect of life.

B: What other producers/DJs/artists are you particularly enjoying at the moment?

L: Fake Blood is a definite.. Proxy, Barletta, Foamo, Bird Peterson, Villains, DJ Manaia, Dirty Disco Youth, Designer Drugs, Soulwax, etc.

T: Louie pretty much killed that question. That’s why he’s my other half (no homo)

B: Would you say you're in a competition with the electro act with the name, Villains?

L: I really don't think so.. I think we have really different styles and they are one of best at theirs.. they usually work with recently popular songs and create great electro remixes.. we tend to work with more of what we used to listen to back in the day and try to make harder versions of them.. I would really love to collaborate on a track with them (if they're down, of course).. I can't stop listening to their "Watchadoin" remix.. hands down one of the most complete remixes i've heard this year.
Watchadoin (villains remix) by N.A.S.A. Featuring M.I.A, Santogold And Spank Rock

T: No, I wouldn’t say that we are in competition with them, I mean like Louie said, they are in a different style of electro and they work with different music. We actually played a party in Phoenix one time and the promoter booked Villains a couple of months after us and he told us that they were a little pissed at our name but that their manager said it was cool because our tracks were pretty legit.

B: For my own personal curiosity, do you have a favorite DJ mix, like a mix on Radio 1's Essential Mix, etc.?

L: I love MSTRKRFT's essential.. i've heard Fake Blood's it's off the hook.. I will definitely download it tomorrow.
Mstrkrft's

Fake Blood's

T: I'd say the Justice essential because we are in it. I actually just heard Fake Blood’s and it is awesome. I actually like Steve Aoki’s pillow face chronicles although it didn’t break any new ground. it has fun tracks even if it is really old. The Short Dick Man Remix was actually the first remix we worked on together.

Justice's Not the right one, but I couldn't find the right one.

A video of Justice playing Disco Villains.

B: Have you ever thought of trying to create music of a different genre, like hip-hop, Trance?

L: I used to sell hip hop beats back in the day.. and I used to make a lotta different genres before that.. from punk and indie, to pop and trance.. I even did some Psy-trance a few years ago.. they will never see the light of day!

T: DV hip hop beats coming soon

B: Trance, Love it or hate it?

L: Love it!
T:

B: Where is your favorite place to play?

L: Orange County, Mexicali B.C., Guadalajara, and Austin TX.. we really have high hopes for our european tour this may (ps: we're still looking for bookings!)..

T: Orange County cause the BAD kids are so awesome, Mexicali for sure, Austin is just a down right cool ass place to be (We wanna come back Fernando) , Guadalajara is just so chill it's amazing, I cant wait to get out to Europe either that should be sick. Australia I also hear is amazing.

B: What venue would be your ideal, meaning, if you played there you could consider your musical career a complete success?

L: Culture Club (Belgium), Ibiza, I Love Techno, HARD LA, and WMC.

T: Cochella, Culture Club, Ibiza, Paris, HARD LA, most def. I love Techno.

B: Who should we interview next?

L: us!

T: Fake Blood, our homies Bird Peterson, A1 Bassline and Shark Attack. maybe our boys Dirty Disco Youth and LAZRtag.

Anything else we should expect from The Disco Villains in the near future?

L: more than 1 remix per week..

T: A whole bunch of partying and some bad ass tunes.. really quick i'd like to thank you for having us on and thank everyone who enjoys our music



I really hope they get to play Hard LA, and as I expect to go to WMC next year again I hope they get to play there too. Hopefully my other half can get them to come to Wesleyan (and I would definitely fly up), or if I get on concert board at my school maybe I could get them to come to Oberlin. Really curious to see them dj from hearing their production. Here's what every person who's reading music blogs wants, TRACKS:

Disco Jalisco (I love Tekila Intro) by The Disco Villains

Game Over (The Disco Villains Remix) (Intro No. 2) by lil' flip

House Of Jealous Lovers (The Disco Villains Remix) by The Rapture So Cool, especially the intro

Pump Up The Jam (The Disco Villains Remix) by Technotronic We all know the the song, here's the remix to play at parties Very poor quality

With Love (Disco Villains Remix) by Hillary Duff (Warning it doesn't fully work, the end is fucked up)

In Da Club (Disco Villains Remix) by 50 Cent One of my new favorites by them. There's some sounds in there that remind me of some other guys, but I can't put my finger on it. Except one part sounds kinda like Hooligans never surrenderby Don Diablo.

Short Dick Man (Disco Villains Remix) by 20 Fingers Again some aspects of other people I hear. But it's cool, they're like taking some of the best aspects of other people and making it their own.

Palm Beach Bar (The Disco Villains Remix) by Timid Tiger They sent us this one

Move Bitch (Disco Villains Remix) by Ludacris You hear some of the aspects from their We Are Your Friends Remix, GET OUT OF THE WAY BITCH

Rockstar (The Disco VIllains Remix) by N.E.R.D. Fuck Them posers, it's almost over now. Really well done.

Nookie (The Disco Villains Remix) by Limp Bizkit

When their EP comes out, we'll make sure to buy it to support them. We won't be posting it, go support em, we just gave you a bunch of tracks, too many in fact, support them when their new EP comes out. I mean it has them, a LAZRtag remix, a Barletta remix, and DDY remix. Why wouldn't you buy that?
-Bastille