LCD Soundsystem

LCD Soundsystem You thought it was all over, but the genre-mashing LCD Soundsystem couldn’t farewell the live scene without one last set at Big Day Out 2011. BBM’s BEN HARLUM caught up with Pat Mahoney from the group to discuss the last hurrah.

You met James when playing for Les Savy Fav, how did that develop into the formation of LCD Soundsystem?
James spent a lot of time with the band and we really hit it off, but he played us a bunch of music that we had never heard before.

To me, it got me excited and thinking about making music in a different way. I started collecting records like crazy, and during that time period we both became obsessed with the Beastie Boys on vinyl.

We decided to make music that you could dance to, because indie rock at the time had gotten really stale and a bit silly. We started playing together with two drummers, played a Christmas party at my loft and that was the genesis of LCD Soundsystem.

What’s the production process like, does James look after the album and you influence the live show or do you both collaborate?
I play on a lot of the records, but the records are influenced by having to perform them as a live band at some point down the line. Even when James is looking after the album on his own he’s thinking about being able to perform these tracks live.

James and I are always in a conversation about music and what is influencing us so that’s essentially the relationship we both have.
On a similar note, how do you approach the live sets?
When we find out how a sound is going to work it’s going to stay that way, partly because the technology we use is pretty ancient these days.

We often play the same set every night because Gavin Russom is playing equipment that need to be replugged and repatched manually, which can take time. He can’t have two songs with different settings next to each other on the setlist, so there’s a bunch of considerations that need to be made when playing with the technology that we like.

LCD Soundsystem play Big Day Out across the country in January and February.

Gold Coast: January 23rd
Sydney: January 26th and 27th
Melbourne: January 30th
Adelaide: February 4th
Perth: February 6th