Acid Washed
Paris, Île-de-France, France | INDIE
Music
Press
The Record Makers label continues its mining of France's dancefloor talent with a celebratory release of the debut album from electro duo Acid Washed. Their lush cosmic disco party was conceived in the faded grandeur of an old country house before being polished by a suitably qualified group of friends and collaborators including Supersoul's Xaver Naudascher.
7/10
Nick Annan - Clash
The latest signings to Record Makers, Acid Washed are crafting cosmic disco party tunes, as additionally produced by Xaver Naudascher (DFA / Supersoul) with remixes from Blackstrobe and Gavin Russom. Remaining mysterious, they claim themselves to be a primarily two-man process creating a combitnation of filter house and DFA disco via a collection of close friends and analogue equipment. This idea of collaboration is paramount to Acid Washed, holding a list of musicians with labels and artists such as Gavin Russom (aka Black Meteoric Star), Christian Kreuz (Get Physical), Arnaud Rebotini of Blackstrobe, Turzi (Record Makers), Barbara Panther, and Christophe Chassol (Sébastien Tellier, Phoenix) waiting in line.
WHAT'S…
...so special about you, then?
A: We know where we’re going, everything’s under control! The man and the machine.
R: What’s really special is the quality of our DJ set. We build it properly in order to literally kill the dancefloor. People are freaking out in ways we’d never seen before, even as average clubbers. Aside from that, it’s our faces. You’ll never see them, until you come to see us. Until then, Anthony Burrill is our face.
...your worst vice?
A: I’m a maniac.
R: Accumulating vices.
…the story behind your name?
A: We were thinking about a name for this project to do with vintage gear (machines, clothes...) and somebody came up with Acid Washed.
R: It was a friend of ours, Jennifer, who works as a stylist. She said, “I love acid washed jeans, especially vintage acid washed vintage jeans”. Then she said, “By the way, you should call your music unit like that, that’s chill!” And I guess, we just did.
...the world coming to?
A: To love us!
R: It’s a 1926 silent film featuring Stan Laurel. It’s a good one.
...your worst fashion secret?
A: Expensive deodorants.
R: Our name.
...your favourite website?
http://www.thenightday.com/archives/132
http://www.anthonyburrill.com/
...at the top of your shit list?
A: Bills...
R: Paying all the bills.
...are you listening to now?
A: The remix Gavin Russom made for us.
R: Our next remix of DatA.
...dream did you have last night?
A: I was spinning, spinning and spinning!
R: None, because we were out until the sunrise, and that was a dream.
How would you describe your work?
A: Timeless & epic.
R: If DFA made love to Daft Punk, we would be their secret, crazy and beautiful lovechild. - Dazed Digital
Those horrid faded jeans splattered all over American Apparel and Urban Outfitters
that look like a whole load of sulphuric acid just seeped into the Levi's factory really
out to be obliterated from the face of this planet. They look like ripped wallpaper and
that doesn't even look all that hot on the crumbling walls of a Shoreditch bedsit. Acid
Washed however, not to be confused with shit leg wear, are a Parisian duo caught in a frenzy of vintage synths and post-Justice retro euphoria. As bongos cascade headlong into tempo-rupturing arpeggiated breakdowns, Change explodes like a viciously teething firework, gnawing at your ears as it drags you up into stratospheric atmospheres. Sprawling out subtly over almost seven minutes, it's a fairly bold claim to reaffirm the underground status of a city allegedly losing its edge. - Dots & Dashes
Is There a new French Touch stirring across the Channel ? Singles from Kavinsky and Jamaica suggest something’s going on, but leading the way are Andrew Claristidge and Richard d’Alpert, aka Acid Washed. ‘General Motors, Detroit, America’ dropped last year (check the Blackstrobe remix); now their hit-heavy self-titled album recalls the glory days of French filter, but with a contemporary cosmic disco edge. Roping in a pan-European crew of talent, including Phoenix and Sébastien Tellier’s synth lord Christophe Chassol and Get Physical’s Christian Kreyz, they’re a force to be reckoned with. - Mixmag
A sparkling debut from a mysterious French electro duo recently signed to the ever-reliable Record Makers imprint. From the very first note you know that these guys have got something special, and you also know they’re French – echoes of Air’s soundtracky analogue synth melodies and Daft Punk’s mid-90s disco/house sound run throughout and – once you’ve added crunking old school electro and bursts of female-fronted hip-hop to that backdrop – it’s a hugely entertaining listen. Hard to define, even harder to stop playing all the time… These guys sound like nailed-on stars of the future.
8/10 - Tillate
If there was an award for the Best Album Opener Of The Month, ‘Acid Washed’ would come second (sorry, Chems trumps everyone this month). It’s retro, it’s slinky, it rides on a humble tempo with the sexiness of a Midnight Juggies record. Hooking you from the off, it seems this fashion-friendly pair (Burrill’s new range of T’s comes with a free mix) could give Tellier’s Record Makers an apt centerpiece for their ten-year anniversary. ‘Snake’ slithers with Grace Jones sultriness while ‘Change’ tips nods to French funkateers of yore like a Daft Michel Jarre. Elsewhere electro whimsy flirts with the pointless (‘Bikini Atoll’), pumping boogie outruns the Outrun soundtrack (‘Royal Soda’) and ESG-flavoured punk funk kicks its way into the now (‘Apply’). If there was an award for Most Surprising Debut Of The Month’, ‘Acid Washed’ would come first.
8/10
Ben Redland. - I:DJ
Discography
'Acid Washed' EP (2010)
'Acid Washed' Album (2010)
'General Motors, Detroit, America /Snake' EP (2009)
Photos
Bio
Acid Washed is a two-man process primarily, deteriorating sound amongst souvenirs, friends, home studios and analogue equipment. It follows the blueprint devised over the past year by two DJs keen on using modern and vintage equipment to create sophisticated electronics with a sharp pop aesthetic.
Every artist needs a home. Record Makers were only too happy to open their doors and welcome them into the fold. The romantic and cinematic vision of Acid Washed slots in perfectly alongside the widescreen zombie electro of Kavinsky and the sophisticated bedroom grooves recently put out by Sébastien Tellier.
The first part of the process took place in Brittany last summer. One of the architects of the project sought exile in an old country house, setting up a home studio away from the distractions of the city. He was able to focus on the necessary groundwork, putting together all the initial beats and melodies, drawing his inspiration from memories of days gone by.
Solitude was then broken by the arrival of his partner in crime, who jetted in to ensure everything was still going to plan. A few weeks then spent locked in creative dispute, tweaking the songs, pushing them to their limits. Downtime came in the form of drug-
fuelled evenings eating oysters, before sampling the spooky local nightlife. The tracks were then finalized in short, sharp periods as the ideas started to flow thick and fast.
Confident in what they had accomplished, they called in some friends from across the continent to add the crucial final touches to their cosmic party tunes. Lippie swung by the house in a blur of whisky and cigarettes, lending her incredible voice to future pop smash Apply and the broodingly atmospheric Snows Melt.
Additional production on Snows Melt was provided by Christian Kreuz (Get Physical / Dakar). His participation, occurring in typically modern fashion via email, also extended to vocal duties on The Rain, a cover of the Oran Juice Jones soul classic.
A whirlwind 48-hour session in Paris with Christophe Chassol brought a touch of class to the project. The long-time collaborator with heavy-hitters Sébastien Tellier and Phoenix added synthesizer sparkle to the night-riding funk of Acid Washed as well as supplying General Motors, Detroit, America with suitably epic choral flourishes.
Berlin was the next port of call for a rendezvous with Barbara Panther. Her wild vocal presence gives Snake a venomous bite. Equally capable of soft touches, her dynamic performance marks her down as a newcomer to watch.
Last but not least is Xaver Naudascher, the main man at Supersoul Recordings. You might have heard the Nobody Knows Anything compilation put out by Death From Above last year. His timeless sense of style meant that he was the obvious choice to lead Acid Washed off the production line and into the final mixing and additional production stage.
The result is a fusion of late nineties French house vibes and DFA disco touches that acknowledges the influence of Chicago and Detroit without being overly reverential. Throw names like Steve Reich, Giorgio Moroder and Kraftwerk into the hat as well if you like, but dont dwell on them. The list of big time collaborators queuing outside the hit-factory is getting larger by the day and shows no sign of dying down anytime soon.
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