The show represented the Portland showcase of Lynn’s already nationally acclaimed fourth album, From Pillar to Post, and the debut of Cars & Trains’ sophomore album, The Roots, The Leaves, which comes out on January 24th. The Gentry, now sharing backup duty for Logan with Cars & Trains, showcased this new synthesis last week as well.
The performance, with Lynn backed by Cars & Trains, was honest and a little gritty but fresh, while at the same time evoking a throwback to Mates of State’s My Solo Project. Lynn’s soulful, slightly melancholy vocals were contrasted with happier, upbeat backup, creating a push-pull phenomenon, which gave the music depth and interest. The sound this duo produces is more than superficial–you have to think deeper to get it as a whole, which is refreshing, and likely why it’s frequently awarded the emotronic title–emotionally open, complexly happy-sad.
At the end of the show The Gentry joined the rest of the musicians on stage for a finale. While The Gentry opened the night with their own set of sucker punching beat-infused rock, they closed by backing Lynn and changing the overall story. The combo of Lynn and Cars & Trains says, “Here are some painful things, but what the fuck, let’s dance it off!” The combo of Lynn and The Gentry says, “Here are some painful things, let’s break a hoe… what?” Exhibit A: What one does. Exhibit B: What one’s Id would do.
The whole experience left the audience eerily aware of Lynn’s inner workings, which I think is why he’s so relatable.
Santa obviously didn’t check his list twice if you didn’t get these in your stockings, clogs, or near your radiator.
There’s already too much out there written about these 5 albums and rightfully so. Whether they be low-fi-electro-newcomer dreamboats, hardened indie popsters drenched in French flavors, or my favorite indie folker taking a symphonic approach in his artistic adoration of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, these 5 made my year. In no particular order, I bless the following 5 :
Sufjan Stevens — The BQE : This man is my love. He amazes and stuns every time–this time with a mixed-medium artistic exploration about a stretch of concrete that included an orchestral performance and film. And rumors still roam that Oregon tops the list of the next great state he’ll document in song (although those rumors are almost 5 years old… but we can still wish, can’t we?).
Metric — Fantasies : Lovely Miss Emily Haines and company released another devastatingly poppy effort. Nothing new, nothing groundbreaking from the Toronto crew, but damn it’s catchy and they showed PDX a few weeks ago at the Crystal.
And since I can’t resist adding a sixth… it goes to Rodrigo y Gabriela — 11:11. Although not as stunning as their debut, 11:11 holds its own and if you’d seen them live at the Schnitz this fall, then you’d understand why lightning strikes every time speed metal touches classical Spanish guitars.
More importantly, what happened in Oregon this last year?
Hockey — Mind Chaos : Oh-so-hip dance rock from these awesome new wavers. They’re finally getting some recognition and gaining steam worldwide nominated for a MTV Europe video award this year. And they just opened for Passion Pit here in PDX.
Starfucker — Jupiter : Even though it was just an EP, none of us could just wait while the boys meddled around changing names and touring Amsterdam.
YACHT — See Mystery Lights : Jona Bechtolt picked up Claire Evans and released their glitch-pop, electro heart attack on disc for DFA Records, remixed Wolfmother, and then took Japan by storm. Bam! Not bad for a couple of triangles.
Stephanie Schneiderman — Dangerous Fruit : She hooked up with Keith Schreiner (Auditory Sculpture) and made some sexy, sultry, soothing trip-hop tinging with poised ambiance to make aural moods in my mind and body. Relaxed and delectable, Stephanie is a long way from her female pop rock with Dirty Martini and she’s unclasping cocktail hours at Jimmy Mak’s starting in February.
Logan Lynn — From Pillar To Post : A Midwest to PDX transplant, this emotronic man got scooped up by the Dandys’ Beat The World Records and made some sweet electropop. Sad lyrics married with happy beats, Logan will be around the Doug Fir on January 7th and told OMN his story before his November album release party.
May Ling at the Old Town Block Party with Lee's Association Lion Dance Team. Photo by Mallory Freed.
But who cares? This is all old news. Here’s what’s happening in 2010.
In ORE : May Ling are already blazing through their second recording and you can expect a spectacularly colorful music video for “New Year” featuring Portland Lee’s Association Lion Dance Team (and they’re on tap January 2nd for Rotture’s Superfresh) while teammates Explode Into Colors are working on a full length after releasing a trio of 7 inches this year and gearing up for SXSW. Get the lowdown on both when OMN interviewd ‘em in November.
And there’s material to be expected from the recently christened PYRAMIDDD (ex-Starfucker) as well as something magnificently electro-dancey from Very International Love, also available in a live format on January 7th at Rotture.
In the rest-o-the-world : We have the debut from the electro-icy Parallels from Toronto, a new LCD Soundsystem, and after 7 years of hibernation, more Massive Attack!
Radiohead just announced they’re entering the studio and The Strokes already did that studio thing, so when’s the new album out?
Happy Holidays. It’s just a shame Arctic Blast didn’t make an appearance this year.
– Chris Young : Associate Editor // DJ/Electro Editor
Logan Lynn makes emotronic, electropop. A gay man from America’s heartland, raised in a family of cult-like, born-again Christians, he’s found a way out of some dark, lost days.
Influenced by folk music growing up and DJs in Chicago, Logan’s demo was titled This Is Folk Techno. Sentimental lyrics paired with capricious electro-beats, Logan’s sound ranges from dejected to dancey, creating moods that resemble The Postal Service.
Relishing in Portland’s creativity, Logan is signed to The Dandy Warhols’ label Beat The World and is becoming a people person.
He celebrates his new album From Pillar To Post with a listening party on Sunday, November 22nd at Jinx Bar with The Dandy’s Zia McCabe spinning records as DJ Rescue, but before the drinks, Logan chats about being emo, hiding under the sheets, and grandma’s adages.
Listen to “Feed Me To The Wolves” from the new album.
Are you emo? What’s wrong with that word? Or is it just right?
Well, that depends. If “emo” is short for “emotional” and you are asking if I think my music is that, I would answer “yes.” If you mean “emo” in the traditional sense of the word (aka 18-year-old high school kids wearing shit tons of eyeliner and whining about their girlfriends and parents), then the answer is “no.” I’m fine with the word having been slowly attached to me over the years… I think that, as the definition changes with the addition of “emotronic” and other sub-categories within the genre, it makes more sense. I have made peace with the fact that I am hard to categorize at times, both in music and in life.
Who is Logan Lynn personally? Musically?
Well, I’ve spent years trying to make those two match up. I think I am finally there these days, or at least on my way to being there. My main goal for myself both musically and personally is to exist in a place of transparency and truth. I believe that the only way we can ever really be free is to look at ourselves honestly and project that truth into the world, however ugly or beautiful it might be looking or sounding at any given moment.
Similarly, musically, I am an open book. I want people to either connect to me and my tunes with the full story or decide that it’s not their bag, having heard me as I really am. I’m pretty sure that the day I start candy-coating my lyrics will be the day I stop caring about music and having listeners. Bottom line: I’m an imperfect work in progress and am fine just being that during my time here… so long as I am always learning, always growing, and doing my best to not repeat the same mistakes over and over, I’m into it.
What kinda music do you make? How did you develop your sound?
I have always fallen into the electropop category, though I tend to move around within that genre quite a bit. By 1996 I had DJ’d other people’s music in the Midwest party scene for years and always listened to folk music and sensitive female vocalists growing up, so when I started writing songs of my own there were elements of both worlds of inspiration brought into the mix.
I hooked up with a Portland producer named Pfog in 1998 who had gotten his hands on a demo I had self-released called This Is Folk Techno. We spent a year or so working on GLEE, which was released in 2000, and I have since worked with a bunch of producers, each time changing the sound of the music a bit.
The instrumental side of my sound develops as I get the opportunity to work with other talented folks who know how to do and play things which don’t fall under my expertise. My lyrics and vocal work tend to grow sonically as I push myself out of my comfort zone, let go of my deep-seeded fears about being exposed or rejected, and grow personally.
There’s a bit of a dichotomy to your music. Uppy beats paired with sad lyrics.
Yeah, I’m guessing that is partially about my dance music influences creeping in and partially a protective mechanism for myself. I write about my feelings as they are (as opposed to how I wish they would be) and it’s scary to put that out there with people you know, much less the world at large. With my songs, I tend to dive headfirst into my darker parts at times and let people just crawl into my head with me to check things out for themselves. The idea that people can go there in an enjoyable way makes it easier for me to put my words onto paper or into the air in the first place.
I like that I can have more than one type of listener and that the songs themselves can be absorbed in different ways by the same listener, depending on the day. If you feel like dancing or if you feel like going fetal in your bed under the blanket with headphones, it can work for both.
I make music to clear my head, to shrink my world to a manageable size, to not feel so fucking all alone all the time. It’s nice to know that other people are finding a home with my songs and feeling these same sorts of feelings. The connection that is made there goes both ways and has been really life-changing on this end.
How does your music help you release and express yourself?
It used to be that the only time I was able to be truthful about how I felt was through my songs and writing. That’s not the case anymore, but I started making records for that reason alone, never really thinking anyone would ever hear them aside from my friends, family, and people who I could not otherwise communicate with. It started as a safe way for me to get the shit that was literally killing me out of my skull so I could move past it, and has continued to be that sort of outlet for me. Once I have turned my broken feelings into a story or a physical product of some sort, they tend to start to fix themselves. It’s like therapy, only super public.
Tell me about Portland. We all love it here. Why do you?
Yeah! I love it here too. I moved here in ‘96 back when what is now The Pearl looked like an abandoned railway system and the air smelled like rotten Spaghetti-O’s from all the breweries. I got here just as the current music scene was really starting to form and got to watch it grow into what it is today and be a part of it as it formed. I’ve moved away a couple of times since for brief stints in bigger cities, but I always come back. It’s clean, beautiful, quiet, inexpensive, you don’t have to pump your own gas, and there’s tons of stuff going on. How could I ever move?
How did you end up in Portland?
I moved here from Kansas City to go to school. My parents lived out here and I had come out to visit. It took one magical night at The City nightclub during that trip and I had decided that PNCA was the only school in the entire world. I ended up moving here shortly after.
How did your upbringing influence your music?
I was raised the son of a preacher in the Church of Christ, which was a very cult-like section of the born-again world… at least where I was in rural Nebraska. Most of the fears and difficulties I have faced as I have tried to move into adulthood were adopted back then. I grew up feeling alone, hidden in plain sight. I could not be myself in that environment so I had to lie about who I was, which led me down a really dark path for many years. That darkness and those feelings of isolation and regret all play into my writing now and always have. I think, in general, it’s unsettling to turn your back on everything you’ve ever known and break out on your own. It certainly was for me.
What’s the connection to the Dandys? How’d that happen?
In 2007 I was working with a company in Portland that was designing and building stores for American Apparel. I was in Los Angeles on business for a photo shoot with photographer Ray Gordon and gave him my CD. He liked it and it just happened to turn out that he was good friends with Courtney (Taylor-Taylor) from The Dandy Warhols. Ray ended up passing the CD along to him and, from there, they came to my show for MusicfestNW and we set up a meeting. I came by The Odditorium later that week and Courtney told me about the record label they were starting and asked if I’d be interested in making my record there and releasing it on Beat The World. I think I said “Hell Yes” or something and the rest is totally awesome history.
I’m confused. Why have I read things about From Pillar To Post being slated for release in 2007? In any case, tell us about the new record and how it came to be.
Yeah, it’s confusing. I was about to release the record on my own in 2007 right when I got signed with Beat The World. Courtney’s advice was that I “shut it down” and re-make the thing properly in their studio with their engineers, which I did. It had the same title and a few of the same songs, but it ultimately turned out completely different than it was before. Listening to Mr. Taylor-Taylor in 2007 was one of the best decisions I have ever made. Anyway, it got pushed back and we ended up taking our time with it. From there, the release has changed, bigger players have come on board for distribution and such, dates have changed, etc… but the end result is light years beyond what it would have been and I’m really glad it has worked out the way it did… confusing pushbacks and all.
Listen to “Write It On My Left Arm” from the new album.
What’s the significance of the album title?
My grandma used to say the term From Pillar To Post when describing her busy day, or someone whose life had run amuck at church or in the family or whatever. It stuck with me through the years and it took on some personal meaning as I started to run amuck in my own life, burning bridges as I crossed them, hurting everyone in my path. The record is about my journey through the ending of my relationship, my struggles with addiction, and my determination to find truth and light amidst lies and darkness, both internal and external. The record is all one story broken up into segments with song beginnings and endings, but is a snapshot of my life from that time.
What instruments do you play? How did other artists help you on your new album?
I fancy myself a singer/songwriter and I can play very basic keys and guitar, mostly from having lessons when I was a kid… just enough to build the framework. I played most all the instruments on my records before 2007 rolled around and I started working with Carlos Cortes from Portland-to-Brooklyn DJ Collective Assemble The Empire. Our connection was fast and he was on-point with what I was wanting to see happen with my music.
We worked well together and, through our network and The Dandys’ network, we were able to work with TONS of people on the record and even more people after the fact with the remix project. I got loads of help this time around. That’s why it sounds so much better than the old stuff. I stopped being a control freak and let other people do what they are good at. It worked out.
What about online collaboration? What role has MySpace and the internet played in your career?
MySpace basically lit the fire for what is happening in my world now. I was super behind the times until 2006 when my friend forced me to get a MySpace page going. Within a few weeks I had started building up an online group of listeners and started booking shows… the first of which was at the Folsom Street Fair in San Francisco. There were over 400,000 people in attendance and it was wild but turned some key people onto my music. Things snowballed from there. I have, since then, been building relationships with fans and listeners and the sea of people has grown quite large at this point. I owe a lot to that direct connection with the people and tend to put most of my non-musical energy into that side of things these days.
Who are your influences? Where does your sound come from?
I’m influenced by all sorts of stuff. I’m obviously influenced directly by the bands around me these days. Aside from the other bands on my label (The Dandy Warhols, The Upsidedown, Spindrift, and 1776) I’m surrounded by other artists in town who are doing their thing authentically, getting noticed, and making it happen. I’m lucky that I am in such close proximity to them. I get to learn their music industry lessons vicariously.
At the root, much of my writing influence stems from years and years of listening to bands like The Innocence Mission, The Sundays, and whatever folksy stuff my parents had playing in the car while I was a kid. Blend in the early years of singing a capella in the church and the wild partying techno days which followed and you get my sound. I spent a lot of time listening to solo artists like Tori Amos, Elliott Smith, and Liz Phair as I was growing up, and I’m sure that being drawn into their heads during my formative years influenced what it means to me to be a songwriter in many ways. I was like a sponge back then, and I still feel a deep connection with many of their songs.
What are you listening to right now?
Emily Haines…always.
Describe Logan Lynn in three words.
Grateful, Hopeful, Irrepressibly Optimistic…. wait, that was 4. Sorry.
Now Logan Lynn’s music in three.
Atmospheric, Moody, Electro-pop. Whoopsies… that was kinda 4 too.
What’s your live performance like?
It’s similar to what you would see if you went to see a singer-songwriter, only instead of guitars and pianos accompanying my voice, I have someone running computers, drumpads, loopers, and gadgets.
Where can we see you?
I have PDX show with Cars & Trains and The Gentry at the Doug Fir on January 7th.
Any awkward moments on stage?
I exist in a place of supreme awkwardness in my life lately as I’ve been doing things on the sober tip and sorta re-learning how to be, but my shows have actually gotten less awkward as a result. I think the strangest show we had was in New York City in 2007. We played a Dlist.com party called Cornhole County and there was a drag queen running a petting zoo as the opening act. It was bizarre, to say the least. This baby goat kept chewing on our cords and we spent most of the night trying not to sneeze and picking tiny pieces of straw off our clothes.
—
Sunday, November 22, 2009 Logan Lynn : Listening Party From Pillar To Post
Featuring DJ Rescue (Zia McCabe from The Dandy Warhols) Jinx Bar
8 PM
Free
21+
Very International Love is touted as: “Cool pink mist as if a flamingo had just burst into pink lemonade wafts through the air.”
If you can navigate through that one then you’ll have no problem with their Q/A below, especially while bobbing to “Fire.”
What is the essence of VIL? Where did the band come from?
Very International Love is Connor Dudley and Joe Turner. We combine electronic music with live instrumentation. We started about a year and a half ago as a side project off of a band that we were in called New Agency. We were looking for a new outlet. We liked the idea of a two piece band utilizing electronic backing tracks. It seemed more manageable and fun. We were impressed by the sound that was being generated by two-piece bands like Ghostland Observatory and The Presets. We started writing and eventually it became our main focus.
Why do you make music?
We make music because we are addicted to it. We consume it in large doses and thrive off performing what we have created. We hope to make it our life.
Who are your influences?
We are influenced by a number of acts, and whatever we are in to at the time seems to seep into the music that we’re creating. Currently we have been listening to Cut Copy, Strength, The Presets, Sebastian Tellier, Empire of the Sun, Junior Boys, Hot Chip… We like the idea of creating a performance that couples the large, rich, sonic elements of electronica, with the peaks, valleys and textures of a rock show.
How would you describe your live show?
Our live show is intended to get people moving. We bring a lot of energy.
What is your set up?
Our set up is pretty expansive for two people. We use an 88 key Korg Triton, MIDI controller, laptop and interface, two guitar amps, bass amp, and vocal effects.
Do you use any visuals or multimedia with your set?
We are interested in bringing a visual element to our set. With only two people on stage, we feel like a visual element that people can focus on while dancing would help create the environment we envision. We have thought about lighting or working with a visual artist to create a video that syncs with our set.
VIL is our debut EP+. We started working on it last year and released it mid-October. It’s 5 songs with 3 remixes of “Fire,” the first track. We released it on Palatial Crest a label run by Aaron Dishner and Sean Christensen. We played a show with Aaron as Gejius last winter and subsequently asked him to do a remix for us, which is on the album. After working with us and hearing our music, he asked us to be on his newly formed label.
Are the Dutch and the Parisians getting into VIL?
We have been blogged about by the Dutch and have been getting some attention from the French and Australia. No invites from Justice to open for them quite yet though… : ) Also Aaron lives in Japan now, so we have some representation across the pond. We have always thought that our music would be received well by the Europeans and Aussies. We’re hoping to start getting our name out there at home and abroad.
Are you involved in other projects?
We recently did a remix for Logan Lynn that was released in a compilation. Currently we’re working on a remix for Gejius and talking with some local electronic acts about trading some tracks for remix fun. It’s always fun to work on these projects. It’s great to hear what other artists do with our tracks and equally as fun to put our spin on theirs.
Do you have any other musical gigs? A day job?
Currently VIL is the only project. We both have jobs working in the restaurant/bar world of Portland.
Do take yourself seriously? Or is this just for fun?
We put a lot of time and energy in to our music and performance, but we also feel like artists can’t take themselves too seriously. We would love to make music for a living, but we also know it’s going to take hard work and dedication with a good balance of humility and rock star…
Where have you been, and where are you going?
Currently we have only played in the Portland area. We still have a few venues that we’d like to check off our list in town, but we intend on touring in the next few months. We are looking to start a West Coast tour hopefully in conjunction with SXSW, if we’re selected.
Where can we see you?
We will be playing at the Roseland with Toronto’s Parallels on November 18th which should be fun.
Check out the mean-disco-danciness on “88.” Try to stay in your seat while you catch up with Nathan Detroit below.
Break down your science of DJing. What’s going on in your head as your spinning?
DJing feels like much more of an art form to me, something much more organic. I’m sharing music I have enthusiasm and passion for with other people.
What does it take for you to get into a set? Do you feed off the crowd?
Undoubtedly so! To really start moving the crowd, and jackin’ my body behind the decks, I need to get some feedback from the people I’m playing for. It helps to know when I’m doing something right–smiles, handclaps, whoopin’ and hollerin’, general freak outs, and random fits of hysteria. I hunger for it.
How do you control the crowd?
Controlling the crowd is the penultimate challenge when playing, and I’m constantly observing the dance floor for signs of what I’m doing right and what I’m doing wrong. Yes, I’ll have a slight internal freak-out when I see people leaving the dance floor, taking a seat or taking a break to get a drink, but people need to take breaks if they’re going to roll all night with you. You can’t please everyone who walks into the club, but to keep the majority of them for the remainder of the night–dancing, enjoying themselves–is a win in my book.
Do you take requests?
If it’s logical and appropriate to fit into the set I’m playing, then yes. But if not, get out of my face. I still find it rude and annoying to have people barking at me when I’m in the middle of playing. I’m not your personal jukebox, so if you’d like to program everything YOU want to hear all night I suggest you go elsewhere.
Tell me about the SubSensory label and what’s happening there.
SubSensory was hatched in 2007 by my good friend Jack Coleman with the purpose of exposing NW producers, DJs and electronic artists on a broader, more inclusive scale. At first the label was an outlet for Jack’s own production work and remixes as well as DJ mixes from the label roster available for download. These days, the label is hosted on beatport.com, junodownload.com, and trackitdown.com and is up to its 21st release! Most of the label roster is putting in production work, and several tracks are being remixed by some of the bigger names in the techno/house game such as Alland Byallo, Style of Eye and Gabriel Ben.
How has the internet changed you how you think about creating and releasing music?
Personally, I feel that the internet is to be blamed for the current musical zeitgeist that I, as a DJ, am currently experiencing. The internet has become a vehicle connecting DJs and producers from all over the world who would otherwise struggle to share their ideas or music and allowed them to collaborate on projects with ease. Also, coupled with the latest technological developments in production and DJ software available today–at an increasingly cost-effective price–the price of entry into DJ culture is fairly affordable by anyone, thus, anyone can be a producer or DJ. Essentially the internet has become a free market for musicians and DJs alike, driving the speed at which they can provide music–free or for charge–to the increasingly hungry market that has been bred for instant gratification.
However, the downside I’ve experienced in the world of blogs and digital DJing is that with an ever-expansive and increasingly saturated music market, there is a positive correlation to the amount of derivative, uninspired music and bastardized sub-genres that the internet helped spawn. End rant.
What’s your day job?
At the moment, I hold down a day job with the State of Oregon, as well as working door for Holocene during the evenings. I grind pretty hard during the work week, so gigs are always something I look forward to as both fun and therapeutic–both for myself and the crowd. I consider my DJing a side project rather than a full-fledged career.
What are you listening to?
The band of the moment for me is Very International Love, who I just happen to be sharing the stage with at Berbati’s this Saturday. Their sound is danceable, fun and youthful but also very cleanly produced. Those boys have a lot going for them and I hope to see them get more exposure in and outside of Portland.
My music consistently reflects my mood/emotions, my life experiences and my day-to-day grind. Thus, my DJ sets are perpetually in motion and constantly in flux.
Where can we find you?
You can find me first Tuesdays each month at Tube for TUBESDAY alongside DJ Freaky Outty as HOLLA ‘N OATES. We do 80’s and 90’s party jams, club bangers, house music, mash-ups, bounce and anything else fit to rock a party. It’s a really, really fun time.
On fourth Fridays, I co-host FUBAR with my good friend Eric Leisy (aka Pipedream) at Branx. We really go all out to provide people with a really fun techno/house/electro dance party–both visually and musically.
Let’s hear about Solid Gold.
It’s a monthly show every first Saturday with me as resident DJ and a rotating guest band. Coming up we’ve got :
Nothing über-flashy… this is a dance party, not movie night kids. Oh, and lasers… lots and lots of lasers. With a little touch of smoke from the fog machine. Does the trick every time!
The combination of Logan Lynn and Cars & Trains playing together at the Doug Fir last Thursday was as fresh as I’d hoped, and The Gentry added an element of power.
Sufjan Stevens
What’s the connection to the Dandys? How’d that happen?
Tell us about your latest release 
How has the internet changed you how you think about creating and releasing music? 
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