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'Space porn' band makes shiftParticle, from stage to studio
By Joseph Van Harken
(CNN) -- This fall, self-proclaimed "space porn" electronic funk band Particle, known for improvisational instrumental-heavy sets that roll long into the late night -- or early morning, depending on your point of view -- will try something different: a studio album. The band believes they've pulled off the switch well. "It was a really good time recording," said keyboard player Steve Molitz. "There were times when it was maybe only one or two of us with the engineer and we hit these peak moments which were like the same moments we would hit in front of 20,000 people." The band members -- Molitz, Eric Gould on bass, Darren Pujalet on drums, and Charlie Hitchcock on guitar -- come from different musical backgrounds, and draw on their mix with elements of jazz, rock, hip-hop, world beat and Latin rhythms in their sound. Following an intense, five-hour performance at the Bonnaroo festival earlier this summer, CNN caught up with the band for an interview. CNN: Tell us about the new album. ERIC GOULD: We're really excited about this album, it's danceable the whole way through, it's so much fun. It really captured where we've been at for the past couple years. DARREN PUJALET: We're proud that, from beginning to the end, it's a consistent listen. And it's a joy for us to have it out finally because we've been on the road touring so much. Every time we've actually had a chance to, that we've seen a window to actually go in and do and record the album, something would come up. ... But finally we did find a window where we were able to do a large chunk of the album [and] ... we were able to wrap it all up in about a three-month period. CNN: Was it difficult to capture [your high-energy act] in the studio? STEVE MOLITZ: I don't think it was as much because the live performances sort of act as fuel for the recording session. ... I think we were able to capture that feeling in that live moment and borrow it and take it with us into the studio and release it. CNN: Do you guys feel that last year's Bonnaroo performance helped launch your careers? GOULD: Absolutely. Bonnaroo last year was huge for us, it exposed us to a lot of people. And just the way it is and the scene, the jam scene, it's a word-of-mouth thing, that's what's so great about it. ... And Bonnaroo is a trigger for a lot of bands that are playing out here. CNN: Talk a little about [your performance]: five hours -- how much fun were you having and what did it feel like with all those people sticking with you for that long? GOULD: That was the best part of it right there. PUJALET: It's pretty awesome. I think all of us were up for 24 hours. I know none of us went back and took naps before we played. And I think I was more energized two-thirds of the way through the show than I was I actually got out of bed that morning. GOULD: The other thing that we do as a group, within these shows that we create, we really give people a test, a test of musical endurance. And people know by now that so long as there is a good crowd out there and people are receiving and enjoying then we're going to keep on playing. CNN: How do you decide when to end point is? MOLITZ: That depends from time to time. Last night they were about to pull the plug. GOULD: The other answer to that question though, is when you are in an experience like that, you kind of know when the time is right. There comes a certain time when everybody is settled, everybody is at peace -- musicians and audience included -- and you just know when that time is and whether it ends on this insane, chaotic, high-energy jam, or whether it ends on the most mellow, spiritual, beautiful music imaginable, y'know, you just gotta know it. You take a deep breath and are like, "OK, all right, that's it. It's done." Note: Special thanks to Hotsupe Productions for hosting the interviews at the Bonnaroo Music Festival 2003.
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