While James Murphy has no intentions on bringing back LCD Soundsystem, he has been busy building another soundsystem of sorts. In a recent interview with The Guardian, Murphy discusses that since disbanding LCD Soundsystem after their farewell gigs at Madison Square Garden, “I’ve been producing the next Arcade Fire record, some Yeah Yeah Yeahs stuff, building a studio, DJing a lot, drinking coffee. Getting my shit together – slowly, but unsurely.”
Now, if that wasn’t buzz enough, the real buzz is the new project that he is working on – designing a soundsystem for the Manchester International Festival. This new system, called Despacio (which means “gradually” in Spanish), will be debuted for three days at the event, and will feature Murphy alongside friends and cohorts David and Stephen Dewaele of Soulwax/2ManyDJs. Countering the current DJ movement, which relies heavily on programmed music played through laptops, the Despacio trio will rely solely on using vinyls. As Murphy explains, “It’s a challenge. If I don’t have it on vinyl, I can’t play it. the idea will be to take chances without forgetting the principal thing about DJing: making a fun time for people.”
John Klett, who helped build the DFA Studio, assisted Murphy with the design of the Despacio soundsystem, which will be set up in a “Barbarella-esque 60′s ballroom of the Co-Op’s HQ, New Century House.” The concept came about from trying to create an “alternative Ibiza party” (as Ibiza has become the epicenter of the current EDM movement and all of its bad habits), and has taken on a life of its own. Basically, what Murphy and the Dewaele brothers are attempting to do is put the DJ back in dance music, and not just “Shut Up and Play the Hits”; they are willing to take the chances that many DJ’s are unwilling to take these days, and create an environment that has an element of surprise to it.
Hmmmm, interesting concept….actually spinning a set of music, instead of standing there and occasionally throwing your hands in the air. Wonder if it will catch on?