LuciferHam
04-18-2013, 04:11 PM
from Pitchfork: http://pitchfork.com/features/articles/9113-phoenix/
"The path to Bankrupt! began in 2011 at Beastie Boy Adam Yauch's Oscilloscope Laboratories (http://www.oscilloscope.net/?page_id=4) studio, just across town from where we're having lunch. So while Mars never acted upon that mysterious Grand Royal call 15 years ago, he eventually got to know one of his teenage heroes nonetheless. They wrote at Oscilloscope for about three months before moving the operation to Paris, but all of Phoenix describe their interactions with Yauch, who passed away from cancer in May of last year, in quiet, awestruck terms.
"We were really impressed by his integrity and also the fact that his film company and studio are all about the love of creativity and experimentation," says Mars. "It could be an overwhelming place with trophies and gold records and everything, but it's the opposite." Brancowitz remembers Yauch guiding him through a marathon of films by the great Japanese director Akira Kurosawa (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akira_Kurosawa). "We had fantastic discussions," adds Mazzalai. "I've never seen a guy like that, at this level, without any compromises."
Also on Beastie Boys influence and a call from Mike D:
"They all realized early on that listening to Madonna (http://pitchfork.com/artists/2637-madonna/) could be more adventurous than the Jesus and Mary Chain (http://pitchfork.com/artists/2186-the-jesus-and-mary-chain/). And they were attracted to other acts who weren't hindered by genre, like Beck (http://pitchfork.com/artists/319-beck/) and the Beastie Boys (http://pitchfork.com/artists/19278-beastie-boys/). In fact, Mars remembers receiving a hazy late-night phone call in the late 90s from someone purporting to be involved with the Beasties' Grand Royal (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Royal) imprint. "He said, 'Mike D is here and he wants to sign you, do you want to come?'" recalls Mars. The singer was dozing off, though, and never followed up. "When I sleep, I sleep," he deadpans. "I've missed a few things like that."
"The path to Bankrupt! began in 2011 at Beastie Boy Adam Yauch's Oscilloscope Laboratories (http://www.oscilloscope.net/?page_id=4) studio, just across town from where we're having lunch. So while Mars never acted upon that mysterious Grand Royal call 15 years ago, he eventually got to know one of his teenage heroes nonetheless. They wrote at Oscilloscope for about three months before moving the operation to Paris, but all of Phoenix describe their interactions with Yauch, who passed away from cancer in May of last year, in quiet, awestruck terms.
"We were really impressed by his integrity and also the fact that his film company and studio are all about the love of creativity and experimentation," says Mars. "It could be an overwhelming place with trophies and gold records and everything, but it's the opposite." Brancowitz remembers Yauch guiding him through a marathon of films by the great Japanese director Akira Kurosawa (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akira_Kurosawa). "We had fantastic discussions," adds Mazzalai. "I've never seen a guy like that, at this level, without any compromises."
Also on Beastie Boys influence and a call from Mike D:
"They all realized early on that listening to Madonna (http://pitchfork.com/artists/2637-madonna/) could be more adventurous than the Jesus and Mary Chain (http://pitchfork.com/artists/2186-the-jesus-and-mary-chain/). And they were attracted to other acts who weren't hindered by genre, like Beck (http://pitchfork.com/artists/319-beck/) and the Beastie Boys (http://pitchfork.com/artists/19278-beastie-boys/). In fact, Mars remembers receiving a hazy late-night phone call in the late 90s from someone purporting to be involved with the Beasties' Grand Royal (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Royal) imprint. "He said, 'Mike D is here and he wants to sign you, do you want to come?'" recalls Mars. The singer was dozing off, though, and never followed up. "When I sleep, I sleep," he deadpans. "I've missed a few things like that."