TALIBAM!

Kevin Shea, the freewheeling drummer for Brooklyn's ridiculously intrepid avant-everything duo Talibam!, is waxing about adding "rapping wordsmith" to his already extensive résumé. He has crowned himself MC K-Wizzle; his Talibam! partner in genius, keyboard guru Matt Mottel, has taken on the name MC Moaty Mogulz.


Courtesy Talibam!
Talibam!: No school necessary for Mottel and Shea
Location Info
Map data ©2013 - Terms of Use

Secret Project Robot
389 Melrose St.
New York, NY 11237 Category: Music Venues Region: Williamsburg
0 user reviews
Write A Review


Le Poisson Rouge
158 Bleecker St.
New York, NY 10012 Category: Bars/Clubs Region: Greenwich Village Photos
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More About
Kevin SheaBrooklyn (New York City)Matt MottelHip-Hop and RapArts, Entertainment, and Media
"We don't have much experience being rappers," Shea says. "We don't listen to rap or anything. We're 'no-school' because we actually have no school. We don't have any old-school skills or knowledge. We literally have no school."

Like true hip-hop moguls (if on a budget), K-Wizzle and Mogulz concocted a master plan to flood the Internet: They've released hilariously low-budget "rap reports," the Launch Pad series (where they integrate their sounds into recent releases by the likes of Dirty Projectors), and music videos.

And this month brings the release of the duo's rap debut, Puff Up the Volume (Critical Heights). Says Moaty Mogulz: "If you went to rap school, you wasted your money." Turns out a bizarre accident K-Wizzle suffered in Paris manifested itself into what would become Puff Up the Volume. "Kevin had broken his toe in a gong accident. A gong accident is good. He played bass drums with his left foot," recalls Mogulz on how the duo goofily ventured into the rap universe.

But a fortunate gong accident wasn't the only spearheading event Talibam! needed to suddenly transform into rappers, nor was it a spur-of-the-moment revelation to cash in on the rap genre like hipster novelty jokesters such as Das Racist. Instead, their foray into rap has been brewing for some time. Beginning with 2009's rollicking skit-driven-cum-wack funk-jazz-noise sprawl Boogie in the Breeze Blocks (ESP-Disk) to their epic Zappa-ian art-rock, Sun Ra-esque improv theatrical spectacular AtlantASS (Belly Kids), Puff Up the Volume, is, in fact, the band's natural progression. "Puff Up the Volume is part of this larger context of other things we've done," Mogulz explains. "If you've been following us from Boogie to Cosmoplitude [Electric Cowbell], Puff Up the Volume, to me, is the next logical step. AtlantASS is closer to Boogie but Cosmoplitude to this [Puff] is pretty clear. . . . Cosmoplitude was more of a pastiche kind of compositional approach, where every 45 seconds the tune is rapidly changing. We were just like 'We'll make four minutes and build structures around that.'"

Mogulz and K-Wizzle morphed those structures and emerged with, arguably, the essential, bombastic party-your-ass-off record of 2012. Puff Up the Volume bustles with gloriously vulgar and infectious dance-rapology anthems ("Tappin That Ass"; "Zombie From Albuquerque"), nutty, environmentally conscious statements ("Step Into the Marina"), and sweat-dripping, ass-shaking techno as on the title track. "We tried to have hooks, you know, like Jay-Z always has hooks," says K-Wizzle of their rap-composing process. "We went out of our way to make choruses and repeat the choruses."

With Talibam!'s ever-daring trajectory and improvisational ethos rooted over its decade-long existence, one would suspect riotous rap wordplay like "Squeeze your nipples hard, lactate spicy pork buns" or "I wanna blow, blow, blow on all the nipples on the block/'Wah, wah, wah!' say the kids that can talk" might have been spewed off the cuff. Not the case. "We had to learn how to write rap songs," says K-Wizzle. "It's not easy—or maybe it is for some people—to come up with lyrics. It took a while. It's a whole process."

That process and Talibam!'s rap identity are not just phases. The duo is already planning a second rap record and seeking to connect with the rap community. "We're looking to interact," Mogulz says. "The closest we are to the rap community is I've been tweeting with Kitty Pryde, and she's favorited some of my tweets." Their next Launch Pad series will be a mash-up of Frank Ocean. Meanwhile, Talibam! are reveling in their personae as fledgling rappers and the doors Puff Up the Volume will potentially open for them. "If they hear the album on face value, if they know who we are or not, the songs speak for themselves—they - VILLAGE VOICE

Kevin Shea, the freewheeling drummer for Brooklyn's ridiculously intrepid avant-everything duo Talibam!, is waxing about adding "rapping wordsmith" to his already extensive résumé. He has crowned himself MC K-Wizzle; his Talibam! partner in genius, keyboard guru Matt Mottel, has taken on the name MC Moaty Mogulz.


Courtesy Talibam!
Talibam!: No school necessary for Mottel and Shea
Location Info
Map data ©2013 - Terms of Use

Secret Project Robot
389 Melrose St.
New York, NY 11237 Category: Music Venues Region: Williamsburg
0 user reviews
Write A Review


Le Poisson Rouge
158 Bleecker St.
New York, NY 10012 Category: Bars/Clubs Region: Greenwich Village Photos
Related Content
An Oral History of the "Super Bowl Shuffle" and Other Links
January 31, 2013
The Best Tweets and Photos From Last Night's Grammy Awards
February 11, 2013
Memphis Bleek+Freeway+Young Gunz
December 19, 2012
The Ten Best Concerts In New York This Week
December 31, 2012
Jay-Z Coldplay = Play-Z: A Rundown of Other Oddball Mashups
December 28, 2012
More About
Kevin SheaBrooklyn (New York City)Matt MottelHip-Hop and RapArts, Entertainment, and Media
"We don't have much experience being rappers," Shea says. "We don't listen to rap or anything. We're 'no-school' because we actually have no school. We don't have any old-school skills or knowledge. We literally have no school."

Like true hip-hop moguls (if on a budget), K-Wizzle and Mogulz concocted a master plan to flood the Internet: They've released hilariously low-budget "rap reports," the Launch Pad series (where they integrate their sounds into recent releases by the likes of Dirty Projectors), and music videos.

And this month brings the release of the duo's rap debut, Puff Up the Volume (Critical Heights). Says Moaty Mogulz: "If you went to rap school, you wasted your money." Turns out a bizarre accident K-Wizzle suffered in Paris manifested itself into what would become Puff Up the Volume. "Kevin had broken his toe in a gong accident. A gong accident is good. He played bass drums with his left foot," recalls Mogulz on how the duo goofily ventured into the rap universe.

But a fortunate gong accident wasn't the only spearheading event Talibam! needed to suddenly transform into rappers, nor was it a spur-of-the-moment revelation to cash in on the rap genre like hipster novelty jokesters such as Das Racist. Instead, their foray into rap has been brewing for some time. Beginning with 2009's rollicking skit-driven-cum-wack funk-jazz-noise sprawl Boogie in the Breeze Blocks (ESP-Disk) to their epic Zappa-ian art-rock, Sun Ra-esque improv theatrical spectacular AtlantASS (Belly Kids), Puff Up the Volume, is, in fact, the band's natural progression. "Puff Up the Volume is part of this larger context of other things we've done," Mogulz explains. "If you've been following us from Boogie to Cosmoplitude [Electric Cowbell], Puff Up the Volume, to me, is the next logical step. AtlantASS is closer to Boogie but Cosmoplitude to this [Puff] is pretty clear. . . . Cosmoplitude was more of a pastiche kind of compositional approach, where every 45 seconds the tune is rapidly changing. We were just like 'We'll make four minutes and build structures around that.'"

Mogulz and K-Wizzle morphed those structures and emerged with, arguably, the essential, bombastic party-your-ass-off record of 2012. Puff Up the Volume bustles with gloriously vulgar and infectious dance-rapology anthems ("Tappin That Ass"; "Zombie From Albuquerque"), nutty, environmentally conscious statements ("Step Into the Marina"), and sweat-dripping, ass-shaking techno as on the title track. "We tried to have hooks, you know, like Jay-Z always has hooks," says K-Wizzle of their rap-composing process. "We went out of our way to make choruses and repeat the choruses."

With Talibam!'s ever-daring trajectory and improvisational ethos rooted over its decade-long existence, one would suspect riotous rap wordplay like "Squeeze your nipples hard, lactate spicy pork buns" or "I wanna blow, blow, blow on all the nipples on the block/'Wah, wah, wah!' say the kids that can talk" might have been spewed off the cuff. Not the case. "We had to learn how to write rap songs," says K-Wizzle. "It's not easy—or maybe it is for some people—to come up with lyrics. It took a while. It's a whole process."

That process and Talibam!'s rap identity are not just phases. The duo is already planning a second rap record and seeking to connect with the rap community. "We're looking to interact," Mogulz says. "The closest we are to the rap community is I've been tweeting with Kitty Pryde, and she's favorited some of my tweets." Their next Launch Pad series will be a mash-up of Frank Ocean. Meanwhile, Talibam! are reveling in their personae as fledgling rappers and the doors Puff Up the Volume will potentially open for them. "If they hear the album on face value, if they know who we are or not, the songs speak for themselves—they - VILLAGE VOICE

http://pitchfork.com/news/48491-atp-confirm-first-bands-for-deerhunter-and-tv-on-the-radio-weekends/ - pitchfork.com

http://pitchfork.com/news/48491-atp-confirm-first-bands-for-deerhunter-and-tv-on-the-radio-weekends/ - pitchfork.com

The ubiquitous brainiacs behind Brooklyn's maniacally creative and hilarious duo Talibam!--beardo keyboards squelcher Matt Mottel and bizarro drums wizard Kevin Shea--are airing out their gripes, sort of, as they chill in their Wall Street studio at the Swing Space, an underground bank vault turned artistic bunker. First packaged as 'avant-jazz' when Talibam! formed in 2003, the term has stuck, and alas, Mottel and Shea are ready for something different. Enter their preferred calling-card: 'Stylish Production Team.'
- Village Voice

The ubiquitous brainiacs behind Brooklyn's maniacally creative and hilarious duo Talibam!--beardo keyboards squelcher Matt Mottel and bizarro drums wizard Kevin Shea--are airing out their gripes, sort of, as they chill in their Wall Street studio at the Swing Space, an underground bank vault turned artistic bunker. First packaged as 'avant-jazz' when Talibam! formed in 2003, the term has stuck, and alas, Mottel and Shea are ready for something different. Enter their preferred calling-card: 'Stylish Production Team.'
- Village Voice

It’s not surprising that Talibam! (Matt Mottel on synth, Kevin Shea on drums) is releasing a rap album. Actually, what the fuck am I saying — yes, it is. Despite the genre and conceptual fluidity that Talibam! have exhibited from its early noise/rock/jazz/harmoniacal experiments (Ordination of the Globetrotting Conscripts made #86 on our favorite albums of the 2000s), to dizzying sound experiments with the likes of Peeesseye and Daniel Carter, to boogie-ing in the breeze blocks, to, most recently, the absurdist prog-narrative of Discover AtlantASS, there has still been little to prepare us for Puff Up The Volume — yes, Talibam!’s forthcoming rap album.

The video below is for “Step into the Marina,” the world’s first #noschoolrap single off Puff Up The Volume. It’s about as bizarre and alienating as anything they’ve done yet. The single, backed with “Party Like A Star,” is being released tomorrow for Record Store Day, with Puff Up The Volume due in September, both via Critical Heights.
- Tinymixtapes

It’s not surprising that Talibam! (Matt Mottel on synth, Kevin Shea on drums) is releasing a rap album. Actually, what the fuck am I saying — yes, it is. Despite the genre and conceptual fluidity that Talibam! have exhibited from its early noise/rock/jazz/harmoniacal experiments (Ordination of the Globetrotting Conscripts made #86 on our favorite albums of the 2000s), to dizzying sound experiments with the likes of Peeesseye and Daniel Carter, to boogie-ing in the breeze blocks, to, most recently, the absurdist prog-narrative of Discover AtlantASS, there has still been little to prepare us for Puff Up The Volume — yes, Talibam!’s forthcoming rap album.

The video below is for “Step into the Marina,” the world’s first #noschoolrap single off Puff Up The Volume. It’s about as bizarre and alienating as anything they’ve done yet. The single, backed with “Party Like A Star,” is being released tomorrow for Record Store Day, with Puff Up The Volume due in September, both via Critical Heights.
- Tinymixtapes

Calling themselves a “no-school” rap duo, Kevin Shea and Matt Mottel of Talibam! affected Midnight Vultures-era Beck in sunglasses, vintage sport jackets and popped collars — or, maybe, the Beastie Boys when they work in hardcore guitar crunch. Their Reagan-era Casanova boasts (“Pump up the volume / I’m out to win”) were pumped as much by the crowd as the no wave noise and synth beats backing them. Party vibe aside, Talibam! have pushed boundaries with releases on ESP Disk and stints with Rhys Chatham. Mottel was an ISSUE Artist-in-Residence in 2010. - L Magazine

Calling themselves a “no-school” rap duo, Kevin Shea and Matt Mottel of Talibam! affected Midnight Vultures-era Beck in sunglasses, vintage sport jackets and popped collars — or, maybe, the Beastie Boys when they work in hardcore guitar crunch. Their Reagan-era Casanova boasts (“Pump up the volume / I’m out to win”) were pumped as much by the crowd as the no wave noise and synth beats backing them. Party vibe aside, Talibam! have pushed boundaries with releases on ESP Disk and stints with Rhys Chatham. Mottel was an ISSUE Artist-in-Residence in 2010. - L Magazine