AVAN LAVA

MOSCOT Music is presenting an unofficial CMJ Party on Wednesday, October 19th with French Horn Rebellion and Avan Lava. This is a free show that starts at 7PM.

French Horn Rebellion (Robert and David Perlick-Molinari) kicked off 2011 by announcing the US self-release of their debut album, The Infinite Music of French Horn Rebellion. Written, produced and mixed by Robert and David, the album warps together the fabric of dance, electro, rock and funk. Previous to this release, the Brooklyn-based duo has had an illustrious pedigree; David produced MGMT's indie release "Time to Pretend" EP for Cantora Records, and French Horn Rebellion’s previous single “Up All Night” scored Record of the Week on BBC Radio 1 and a slot on the influential Kitsuné Maison compilation series. Pitchfork praised the track as, “irresistible, panting synth-pop, with fat new wave key tones and ecstatic vocals.” The band has also toured with Yelle across the US, and remixed tracks from the likes of MEN, Two Door Cinema Club, OMD and Alex Winston.

Born in 2010 in New York City, AVAN LAVA is the union of singer T.C. (Tom Hennes), musician/producer Le Chev (Michael Laine Cheever), and drummer Ian Pai. After touring playing bass and DJ’ing with Fischerspooner on their “Entertainment” tour, Le Chev began collaborating with T.C., a singer with a performance background in NYC, to create the debut release by AVAN LAVA, an EP entitled “Vapors”. Prior to the first EP’s completion, the record was picked up by Faux Pyre Records, and the duo was flown to Los Angeles for mixing and mastering sessions at the prestigious Infrasonic Sound Studio with audio wizard Pete Lyman (The Mars Volta, Bloc Party). During the initial pre-production sessions for AVAN LAVA’s second release, tentatively titled “Fantasy”, the duo called on Ian Pai, also of Fischerspooner, and to collaborate on the upcoming album and he soon became a fixture in the group. AVAN LAVA is planning its second release in January 2012.

The MOSCOT Gallery and Music Space is located at 118 Orchard Street, NYC (NE corner of Orchard & Delancey Streets). Attendees will receive 20% off purchases of MOSCOT branded glasses the night of show. - Brooklyn Rocks

In an issue full of spectacular music interviews, our sit down with Avan Lava was lot of fun. The NYC band has recently released its debut album Vapors, made entirely with borrowed equipment and recorded in a church basement. Actually, we think the Avan Lava album would sound great played in a cathedral. While you could blandly categorize the album as electro-pop, Avan Lava plays their style of it with more soul and ambiant grandeur than most. Here's a few questions that didn't make it into the magazine, but you can check it out here to get a little taste.

Jettison: Of course, we know what kind of music you specialize in, but would you care to make a few playlists for Jettison, on of Doo-wop and Soul music, and another one of Country-Western songs?

Le Chev: These are just Doo-Wop –

* Billy Ward & The Dominoes - Sixty Minute Man
* The Chiffons - He's So Fine
* The Monotones - You Never Loved Me
* The Penguins - Hey Senorita
* The Temptations - Paradise

Country –
* Dolly Parton – Jolene
* Patsy Cline - Walkin after midnight
* Bill Monroe - Blue Moon of Kentucky (Elvis Presley Version)
* Kris Kristofferson - Sunday Morning Comin' Down
* The Rolling Stones - Wild Horses

Jettison: Best karaoke song?

LC: Rock The Casbah – The Clash.


Jettison: What music genre could you live without?

LC: Country

Jettison: Favorite Prince song?

LC: Diamonds and Pearls - Jettison Quarterly

Someone called Le Chev mailed. Le Chev plays bass with Fischerspooner and this is his new project Avan Lava. I explained that I'd read an interview with Fischerspooner in Thrasher magazine when I was about 14 and probably deemed them a bit gay at the time cos back then, if they weren't Slayer, they weren't worth the steam off my piss! This is pretty good though! - Hype Machine / Pop Goes the Radio

Big Stereo says, "Avan Lava is a new project made up of singer Tom Hennes and music maker Le Chev (the bassist for Fischerspooner). The duo just put out their debut "Vapors" EP which is available to download from their site (free as of now). Of course, if you dig it you should be showing support by dropping the five bucks at iTunes." The show at Glasslands tonight will be their debut performance. - Brooklyn Vegan

You probably haven’t heard about Avan Lava quite yet (though they have been covered on a few blogs already), but I’ve got a hunch that you will soon be hearing more about them. The group is made up of two guys, Tom Hennes and Le Chev (who you may know as the DJ touring with Fischerspooner most recently), whose real name is Michael Laine Cheever. They’ve got that “can’t quite put my finger on how to classify them, so I’m not going to try to and am just going to enjoy the music” vibe. Definitely a cool sound though throughout the “Vapors” EP.

I actually really dig all 5 of the songs on the EP, but some favorites are below. Give them a listen and give these guys some love if you like what you hear. I believe they just played their first live show last week and have some more scheduled around the NYC area, so check out their website and go catch them live if you can. The group is also giving away the EP for free for a limited time, so make sure to stop by their site if you like what you hear. - DailyBeatz

New York's super-funky disco exports (see Invisible Conga People, Escort) just got maybe their most luscious addition yet. Not to be confused with YIMBY favorite Ava Luna, Avan Lava is lush, sparkling, Italo-fried duo courtesy of Fischerspooner bassist Le Chev and the Princely pipes of newcomer Tom Hennes. Their debut EP, Vapors, was just self-released digitally; a few rare physical copies, encased in painted wood, are currently floating around New York's record store hotspots. With Hennes's vocals in the forefront doing wildly funky, Erasure-evoking falsettos and Le Chev's music blipping along in epileptic harmony, it would be easy to paint these guys as the joyous sons of Jamie Lidell. But Avan Lava's textures are more euphoric than headknocking--their relentless grooves also evoke a love of things like Sigur Ros, Sea Change-era Beck, Beach House, and other feel-good blasts. The EP's closing track "The Easy Way" is a little more on the retro-futuristic side, working a little electro-soul into a boinging bassline, a stuttering drum part, and a Dirty Mind-style hook.

Download: Avan Lava, "The Easy Way"

Q&A with Avan Lava's Le Chev

What is "The Easy Way" about?

We will never tell specifically what any of our songs are about. It would ruin your whole experience. But here's a hint: American youth obsession, life, grim futures.

What inspired it, musically?

At the time I was listening to The Clash on repeat. They're incredible at using major chords and getting the same power as minor chords. So I wanted to write something like that, but I didn't have a guitar, I had to make the beat with my friend's keyboard and flip-flop [laptop]. Also, if Vapors was an audio meal, it needed some dessert. "The Easy Way" is the nice treat at the end.

Tell me about starting on borrowed gear.

We wanted to record an album, but we didn't have any money or instruments or microphones or a computer. So we had to borrow everything from our friends, and trade favors to get access to equipment. My roommate at the time was a sound engineer with a microphone and computer, so I would sneak into his room when he was gone and work on the beats. When he got annoyed, I started going to my other friend's place who had some keyboards. I would stay up all night experimenting with headphones on and then I would get her a coffee in the morning. Then, I would go to my other friends to do some mixing, and trade him by playing bass on his tracks. We had to use four different friends computers to record everything, so when we showed up to do the mixing in LA some of the files were missing. We had to redo all the vocals for the track "Sooner or Later" in 20 minutes. Good thing Tom can actually sing. It makes it a little more difficult to not own things, but whenever you get you hands on something, it's like having an affair, and Vapors is full of these.

What's your favorite recorded instance of bass slapping ever?

I love disco funk, so this is tough. Cerrone, the Quincy Jones of Europe in my opinion, "You Are The One" , bass by Sauveur Malia. His tone is so incredible.

Why and how did you make a wooden version of your record?

Physical forms of music like CDs and vinyl records are just for collectors now. Everyone has their music as digital files and only buy these things as a novelty. So, we wanted to make something different that had the same "collector" appeal. We made these wooden cut outs that are the exact same size as CD's and records, so they would fit on the shelf at the record store, and people could have the physical connection that comes with touching or holding a record. We only made 100 of those. I think physical albums are going to become fun objects with a download code. They could be anything you can put a sticker on. Record shops will look like toy stores.

What's the best show you ever played in New York?

I played at Music Hall of Williamsburg with Fischerspooner and Madonna was staring at me from the balcony. Locking eyes with her I thought, "I should ask her on a date." But then her security team whisked her out before I got to! Next time...

What's your favorite place to eat in Brooklyn?

That's easy, Pies n' Thighs. It's the go to.

Avan Lava play Joe's Pub on May 21. - Village Voice

Avan Lava is a new project made up of singer Tom Hennes and music maker Le Chev (the bassist for Fischerspooner). The duo just put out their debut “Vapors” EP which is available to download from their site (free as of now). Of course, if you dig it you should be showing support by dropping the five bucks at iTunes.

The EP itself explores different sides of Avan Lava — at times chill, other times experimental and lush. And then there is this pop moment, “The Easy Way”, which leans on Prince a bit but is also deeply rooted in electronic sounds.

Avan Lava – “The Easy Way” (radio edit)

I left my body baby back there with you… - Big Stereo

I meet Avan Lava outside St. Cecilia’s Catholic School and Church in Williamsburg. Father Jim walks past and exchanges hellos with multi-instrumentalist Michael “Le Chev” Cheever and singer Tom Hennes as the two finish their cigarettes. Father Jim walks back up the stairs into the school and a few seconds later Cheever and Hennes lead me down to the Church’s basement, filled with rooms that Father Jim rents out to artists, dancers, and musicians. We walk through a maze of dust- and clutter-filled rooms until we reach the recording studio where I sit down and talk with the band.

Avan Lava’s music doesn’t necessarily sound like it was recorded in a church basement—it can certainly be haunting and ambient at times, but still the group switches easily between shoe-gazey, dream pop and bouncy, dance-ready neu-disco. Avan Lava have already released their first EP, Vapors, which you can get on iTunes or their website; but the two are still hard at work, spending hours upon hours in the basement of St. Cecilia’s figuring out and perfecting their constantly changing sound.

Jezebel Music: So how did you guys meet and decide to start working together?

Michael Cheever: We were working with a friend of mine, Ian, and all of us were writing this song together.

Tom Hennes: Yeah, and Ian had seen me sing in something random, and was just like “Hey come sing with me.” So I showed up at the studio and it was the four of us, and Mike and I kept having the same ideas. It was weird.

MC: Especially because we were working with like a 70s, glam rock melody. And everyone was kind of saying, “I dunno, I dunno,” and Tom and I were like, “Yeah, that’s it!”

TH: It’s funny because we were the two people whose input wasn’t really wanted, because we were kind of invited into this project.

MC: I actually don’t think it was fitting the track very well, but it was exciting for us.

JM.com: Did you guys find out that you came from similar musical backgrounds?

TH: No, not even. That’s kind of what’s cool—we don’t really listen to the same music. So we both bring weird, opposite things that can clash in this really interesting way. We’re always thinking about the sound we want to make, and it always ends up being something completely different.

MC: You’re never going to make what you think you’re making.

JM.com: What other stuff have you guys done before Avan Lava?

MC: I still play bass with Fischerspooner. But I’ve been in a good amount of bands: I was the bass player for this group Meowskers, which was great; and just tons and tons of stuff.

TH: I’ve done mostly just random things. I used to sing backup for rock singers, I’ve done rock musicals; but this is the first band I’ve ever been in.

JM.com: What are your biggest influences, specifically for Avan Lava?

MC: Well, right now I’m listening to a lot of music out of Paris and Berlin. I really like electronic music. I always have to get a taste of what’s happening right now, but the stuff I listen to over and over again, I usually like to be from 15 to 20 years ago, mostly so I don’t make stuff that sounds like what else is out there now.

TH: I feel like I listen to everything. But as far as influence goes, I love soul, pop, and R&B singers. And that’s what’s fun about this: I don’t think people are making our kind of music with necessarily the same amount of singing that we do. It could be a lot simpler, but I do think of people like freaking Michael Jackson and the great singers who will throw in layered harmonies and just say, “Fuck it, I’m gonna riff all over this.”

JM.com: What kind of process do you have for writing music together?

MC: Well I play all the instruments. It typically either starts with someone having an idea that we should write a song about this, or we just wrote three sleepy songs and now we need to…

TH: Pump it up.

MC: Yeah. Or I try to think about it in terms of a record now. At first it started with random beats and tracks, and then I’d make a bunch of stuff and Tom would hear one beat and say, “This beat is sick,” or “Let’s do something with that.” But now the process has changed to seeing the arc of a whole a record, and fitting in the pieces. The thing is, by the time a record’s finished, whoever’s made it is basically done. You started making this shit a year ago, and by the time it comes out you’re like, “That sounds old already.” So the last track is like a flava sava for the next one.

TH: And I think that’s what we were surprised with the way “The Easy Way” came out, because it was almost like a joke, but not even—we were just having fun and it just ended up becoming our new sound. We definitely want to play with more pop influence.

JM.com: So does the music you’re working on now have a more pop feel to it?

MC: Parts of it. I mean, my favorite records are the ones where people have a few of those tracks and they also give some real treats for the person who’s going to listen to it all the way.

TH: The more complex songs. You’re not going to be able to sing along with it by the second listen.

MC: It’s like, do I want a Coca-Cola Classic or do I want a fruit smoothie with the perfect amount of all these random things. It might not be as punchy and fun, but you’re gonna feel a lot better after you listen to it a few times.

JM.com: You just started playing live. Did you put together a band? When you’re playing live, are you trying to have the poppier, more exciting show, or how do you try to balance it out with the sleepier stuff or the more down stuff?

MC: For the live stuff we try to get more emphasis on the foundations of a song, because I think what separates a lot of recordings—and I hope our recordings too—is the weird stuff…

TH: More ambient.

MC: Yeah the ambient stuff and the noises, those really build a recording. But live you just want the drum beat, so we try to plan it that way. But for the last show we had nine fucking people in the band, which is a lot.

TH: And we both recruited people we worked with or close friends who are musicians to be in the band.

JM.com: So you’re still fleshing everything out?

MC: We’re trying a couple different things. Like, my favorite shows are punk shows, and I fucking hate punk. But going to a punk show is the best; it’s like a riot. I saw this band The Death Set, and at one point the guitar players were running around and both of their guitars were unplugged, and it didn’t matter at all. And I love that. I don’t think that’s specifically where our show is going, but that energy is really raw to me. We want to have a show where people can get energetic and where we reach this perfect ground between the electronic world and the acoustic world—like what LCD Soundsytem or Soulwax do live. And also we’re just watching Bjork videos from the 90s.

TH: The best.

MC: Well she has this one dude on like a synthesizer and a string quartet. Or she has one guy playing a snare drum, and the whole time you’re thinking, “Damn that guy’s fucking incredible!” And then you realize there are just some beats playing behind him, he’s not really doing anything. But you bought it.

TH: She’s cool, because live, every song’s arrangement is just completely different. It seems like she just uses whoever’s in town.

MC: Yeah, I feel like we’re fleshing out our “New York Set” with our New York friends, but we want to keep it so it evolves and changes. I think a band naturally does that anyway, but I want it to be a conscious decision where you come to a show and you hear the songs that you like, but there are some differences.

JM.com: Are you recording anything new now, like a full-length?

MC: We’ve had a couple offers of people wanting to put out an album for us, so we’re planning on releasing a full-length by maybe early next year, and also another EP by the end of the summer. I would just like to put something out again pretty soon.

TH: We’re always working on a few tracks…but there’s always one that’s top priority, the one we can’t stop listening to and fucking with.

JM.com: Do both of you have other projects your working on too?

MC: I’m putting out a bunch of house music with my house music project called, Chateau [Laughs]. And that stuff really influences me—you know we’re not a house group, but there’s a lot of electronic influence and I love that shit. I steal all my production tricks from those guys.

TH: I’m actually doing a Jeff Buckley musical that’s doing like a pre-Broadway trial. No one’s actually an actor, which makes it really cool; and it’s just full of really great musicians who all share this mutual love for Jeff Buckley. His mom’s involved too, so it’s like a family project.

JM.com: Tom, do you have more of a musical theater background?

TH: Yeah. I kinda quit in college, because I hated being told how to do it, especially when no one actually knows what it is anymore.

JM.com: Does that background play into what you like to bring to Avan Lava?

TH: I think the most I bring from it is storytelling, and also just being comfortable and improving. I never really knew what the hell I was doing in musical theater, and I’m still kind of in it, but I’m glad I’ve gone to a more rock ‘n’ roll kind of place. It’s so much more fun and fulfilling to do your own stuff.

JM.com: What are your favorite summer songs?

MC: I think mine are a little old, but I really like this song, “My Partna Dem” by Rich Kids, and “Look Like Jesus” by Lil B—“Suckin’ on my dick cause I look like Jesus.” That’s gonna be a summer classic for sure. And I’ve been listening to “High Together” by Siriusmo over and over. Also I’ve been really into Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo’s Crydamoure label—early 90’s house is back, it’s here again for real. And I just listen to Delorean non-stop.

TH: I dunno, in the summer I’m always a sucker for Sigur Rós.

MC: Yeah, so what else are we doing … We are loving diners right now. A milkshake, grilled cheese, French fries with ketchup—nothing better. That’s my summer jam.

JM: Where’s your favorite diner?

MC: It’s either Mega Bites or Pies and Thighs. We were also at this one a few blocks away and we overheard the best music biz conversation. This guy’s giving advice to his friend and he’s like, “Look, if you ain’t playin’ on Broadway and if you ain’t playin’ in a jazz band, you can go fuck yourself.” And then he keeps going and says, “Listen, you gotta be ready to rock all fuckin’ night if you have to. Look at me, I’m ready to rock till two in the fuckin’ morning if you want.”

TH: [Laughs] Two?

MC: Yeah, two. Like I’m in the Ghoul Zone till like five. That’s what we call this place: The Ghoul Zone.

by Jon Blistein

Catch Avan Lava at the Jezebel Music Feature Show June 3rd! - Jezebel Music.com