Eclectic avenue
EVIL NINE ARE full of contradictions. They're actually very nice fellows, there are only two of them and although they're an electronic act they sound more rock'n' roll than many bands you can shake a drum stick at.
It's easy to become jaded with the constant stream of big-name DJs passing through Hong Kong, as the events usually feature some earnest-looking bloke working some turntables or a laptop operator who could just as well be checking his e-mail. But electronic artists such as Evil Nine are a rare breed, an act with depth and personality who command the stage with the energy of rock stars as they conjure up a live journey through up-tempo hip hop and grungy grooves.
And it's not done without a sense of humour. On their MySpace page, the British duo say their 'love of innovation, dianetics and their ability to tweak the dance music format, injecting punk, hip hop, s***face, goth rock, metal, folk, sci-fi and zombie soundtracks, dancehall, grunge, asscrack, power ballads and their own heavy, dirty, dusty sound into the mix, has been slowly establishing them as the new golden balls of the all-male choir scene'.
After starting out as a production duo in 1998, Pat Pardy and Tom Beaufoy were firmly aligned with the then-flourishing breakbeat movement, releasing singles on Brighton's acclaimed Marine Parade label and putting together remixes for the likes of James Lavelle's UNKLE project. But it was on their 2004 debut album, You Can Be Special Too, that Evil Nine's unique sound came together, a mash-up of the above-mentioned disparate genres featuring guest stars, including US rapper Aesop Rock and British ragga vocalist Toastie Taylor.
The disc bucked many a trend in electronic music by actually working as a cohesive album from start to finish - an observation with which Pardy agrees.
'The only real plan for You Can Be Special Too was to make it work as an album, and that was the only restriction. I can't see the point of making an album that doesn't work. I think it's a big problem in dance music, people are so used to making 'tune' after 'tune' for the club that they have no idea how to do anything else.
'The White Album would sound like s*** if the Beatles just did 12 versions of Helter Skelter. It would have no dynamic,' Pardy says.
In recent years the duo have taken their sound to its logical progression by performing with a live band, but Pardy says that while they were fun, the gigs didn't feel quite right.
'It would be a waste not to play live as a band seeing as both Tom and I play instruments and come from a live music background, but the truth is that it takes a lot of logistical skill, time and money to put on a live show. But we are still trying. Both of us are massive rock fans and it has a huge influence on our music, but it's just one of our many influences. It seems that people latch on to the rock thing more than anything else.
'We've been jamming a lot in the studio with me on drums, Tom on bass and a friend on guitar and we end up sounding like some sort of warped, danceable version of Sonic Youth, but this doesn't mean we are going to become a rock band'.
The Evil Nine that will be appearing in Shenzhen on Sunday night will present the original, stripped-down version of the outfit, with Pardy and Beaufoy using all the technology at their disposal to create an on-the-fly amalgamation of hip hop, punk, deep house, garage rock, techno and kraut rock - but they're reluctant to call it a live show.
'I'm always dubious about using the word 'live' to describe what we do when we DJ. 'Live' to me means a full live band with instruments and all that jazz. Basically, Tom DJs from CD and I use a laptop to trigger loops, beats, synthesisers, acapellas and play tracks over Tom's beats that you wouldn't normally play in a club,' Pardy says.
Of all the changes You Can Be Special Too brought about in the world of Evil Nine, Pardy says perhaps the most important is 'that we can pay the rent now and live a lot better than we have in the past. We have been doing this for a long time and have been skint for most of it, but over the last few years things have been great'.
When not performing, Pardy and Beaufoy are hard at work on their new album, which will retain the rock/grunge/hip hop flavour of their debut while experimenting with even more styles and influences. 'We are just music lovers and write whatever music comes out naturally, regardless of any scene,' says Pardy.
'Breakbeat at the moment seems to be very xenophobic and whenever anybody does anything different they are slated for 'selling out'. I don't understand why people have a problem with selling out - it's just success and everybody wants to be successful. Don't they?'
Evil Nine with support from Jason F and DJ Chill, Sun, 10pm, Class Club, 5/F Century Plaza Hotel, 1 Chunfeng Rd, Lowu, Shenzhen, HK$100 (HMV). Inquiries: 9128 9246
