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ANTIMC
Stˆºssy has had probably the biggest influence on the culture we all love today, bigger than anyone, not only is it an amazing brand that started a lot of what we see today, and with its amazing longevity and recent revival, it's a brand that will continue to be this influential for some time. Throughout the years, there have been numerous DJs and Stˆºssy Tribe members who have gone on to become hugely successful and high-profile tastemakers and movers in this world, in fear of leaving people out, from Fraser Cooke and Jules Gayton, to, more recently Paul Mittleman, DJ Muro, and Adam Weissman, these people have made a very big impact. Antimc is the latest member of this family to be making a name for himself with our culture, featured in recent Stüssy catalogues, and of course his music speaks for itself, he was even mentioned in Honeyee recently in a Point Blank "Best of 2006" post. I've taken the bio off Antimc's site to give those who aren't familiar with him a brief outline...
- Los Angeles native Antimc has worked with such legendary LA hip-hop groups as Log Cabin (which included Radioinactive of the Shapeshifters, and MURS, Eligh, and Scarub now of Living Legends), Project Blowed, and the Westcoast Workforce (Subtitle, Xololanxinxo of Of Mexican Descent/TOCA).
- Antimc has helped create shows for and performed with Busdriver, Boom Bip, Alias, and Radioinactive, and has toured with Islands, Mice Parade, cLOUDDEAD, Fog, Cadence Weapon, and many more.
- A talented multi-instrumentalist (one of those instruments being a drum machine), Antimc played almost every note of music on It's Free, But It's Not Cheap.
- Blending influences from punk to hip-hop and jazz to post-rock, Antimc has created a singular aesthetic focused on creating timeless records.
He's a very busy man at the moment promoting his record (It's Free, But It's Not Cheap), but I managed to catch up with him and ask him a few questions...
Explain your type of music?
Basically, I just draw on all of the music I hear. It's like' all the indigenous music of LA I loved as a kid, from rap and electro to even thrash and a little bit of country. I listened to rap exclusively for 12 years from the end of junior high until I finished college, so now I try to take everything I've truly loved and set it to beats. I think of it as sounding like heading down a busy street on a Friday night in LA.
How did you end up in the music game? What inspired you down this path? What artists did you grow up listening to?
My family has always been involved in arts and entertainment. Some have been in the corporate end of things, others have just been artists that always had day jobs. I grew up around a lot of my father's musician friends and when I was nine, I picked up the guitar and there's been no turning back. I've just always been into music and art, and I think if I wasn't producing records, I'd be involved in it in some other capacity. Growing up, I was introduced early to rock and blues, so like... Lou Reed and Velvet Underground, Ian Dury And The Blockheads, Muddy Waters, Hendrix, Howlin' Wolf, The Beatles, stuff like that, then I got into harder stuff like Suicidal Tendencies, DRI, stuff like that. I think that energy is what really first attracted me to hip-hop, when it was young. Like... NWA, Ice-T, CMW, I liked the more aggressive West Coast stuff. Later, I got into a bit of East Coast Native Tongues stuff like Black Sheep and Tribe, but I always liked the harder stuff a bit more. Now that I've finally started listening to rock again, I've been most impacted by The Fall and a lot of artier English punk and post-punk stuff, as well as dub a la King Tubby, Lee Perry, Scientist.
In creating music, what inspires you from day to day?
I think it's combinations of stuff. I think listening to music definitely puts ideas into my head. But it's also just as important to me to just get out and live a little. A lot of stuff has come from being competitive and having people around me succeed, I get a little jealous and work a little extra hard. Also, like anyone, I have phases in my life. Lately I've been DJing a lot and doing the club thing, and it's gotten me more into that side of things, for example. A lot of times I'll just put together a drum track, and from there I get ideas in my head about what should come next. I think from years of listening to bass heavy music, I mostly work from the drums up. But, with anything, inspiration comes from anywhere, consciously or unconsciously.
You were born, raised and live in LA. Tell us what's so great about the City Of Angeles?
Everything. It's a city that's culturally so much larger than life. I know New York and London and Paris and Tokyo all effect the way people think about art and culture, but nothing has the cultural signifigance of stuff coming out of Los Angeles, in my eyes. I think LA, more than a lot of the other cultural capitols of the world, takes and gives back in an equilibrium. We gave to the world, for better or for worse, the modern street gang culture, surf culture, skate culture, all these huge subcultures, and we've maintained this sort of identity for as long as the city has existed; this sort of rural metropolis. I love that I can eat food from around the world, and walk around crowded city streets, and within minutes be hanging out on a ranch or by a lake, or at the beach. I think in LA, natives - and a few of the mellower people who have moved here - it creates a sort of headspace that lets you be into a little bit of everything. Like... you can be a hard gangster who loves art, or you can be a surfer who's totally into hip-hop, or whatever.
I know that in 2006, you were featured in the Stˆºssy Japan Catalogue, and on other occasions, you've worked with Stˆºssy' You have a special interest in the streetwear culture. How did this come about?
I had been shopping at the Triple5Soul store on Martel and Beverly since like... 93, and at Union when it first opened up in like... 93, 94, 95. I use to rock all the T5S shit, the Union Ts, I had one of the first Supreme t-shirts with John Coltrane that said "A Love Supreme" on it (which I still have somewhere). I just liked that it was stuff that not everyone at my high school had, and it was representative of shit I was into: hip-hop music, street stuff. I never really skated, I was more on the hip-hop shit. So, I've always been into the gear, known some of the dudes involved in that whole scene.
What are some of your favorite brands?
I like a lot of the more understated stuff, basics. I really like Stˆºssy's button downs and jackets, WeSC makes great jeans, jackets, and shirts, and Supreme is always on point. In terms of kicks, I pretty much only buy Vans and Nikes, and the odd pair of Clarks or New Balances when I visit the UK. Of course, like some older heads, I've always had a soft spot for a nice Ralph Lauren piece.
Is there anything in particular you're looking forward to being released in 2007, or any particular collections you're waiting on?
It'll never happen, but I'm waiting on Nike to ID the nylon Cortezes. The Syndicate W)Taps for Fall 2007. I'm always looking out for dope New Eras. I'm mostly a jeans and t-shirt or collared shirt kinda dude, so I really only splash it up with kicks and hats.
Are you a sneaker fan too? What are your favorite pairs?
Right now, I'm all about the Vans collab stuff. I had dinner with Gabriel (Vans) and Berto (Supreme) the other night, and they showed me some of the new Syndicate projects they are working on, and I must say that some of the collabs they have for Fall/Holiday '07 with W)taps are gonna blow people away. My girl got me the red Pendleton jernts for Channukah/Christmas, and I've been in love with those. Besides Vans, I've been getting heavy into Air Max 1s, Court Forces, and Blazers by Nike. I like sneakers, but more low-key stuff. I have big feet, so if I have too much happening on my shoes, it looks a little ridiculous.
What are you working on at the moment, what are your net movements?
I've been DJing a lot and doing some remixes for club DJs, promoting this record (It's Free, But It's Not Cheap), and getting a live show ready to take on the road thisspring. I'm also shooting a video for the track "Ten Days Out" with Adam Weissman, who did the Stˆºssy World Tour Documentary.
- ADAM BRYCE |
