Human Life
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Human Life

Los Angeles, California, United States | MAJOR

Los Angeles, California, United States | MAJOR
Band EDM Pop

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This band has not uploaded any videos
This band has not uploaded any videos

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"Human Life 'In It Together' video is pulling at every childhood heartstring"

Yanking everything I loved from my childhood and weaving it into one dance-infused music video, the newly formed LA-based super group Human Life have pretty much forced me to buy stock in them.

And now, I pass those savings on to you!

Their debut video, "In It Together," laces visual and sounds very familiar to us 80's born folk. The trio, made up of veteran house music producer Joshua Collins and musicians Matt Wasley & Rachael Starr, joined forces to create a catchy pop group of sick ass memory sampling explosion.

Let me break it down.

Example A: Starting with the actual track, which features the iconic Super Mario Brothers shrinking sound -- "bwah whaa whaa" screams out numerous times in the chorus like Luigi is getting pummeled by King Koopa (listen below).

Example B: On to the video, there is a tranny trash lady who points the lead actor on his quest, but on closer inspection, she seems strangely similar to the cranky 'ole Marjory the Trash Heap on "Fraggle Rock."

Example C: This chick in the red dancing around the party at the end is no-doubt The Noid after a routine sex change ... I just know it

Example D: The most important reason of all why this video is straight outta my chidlhood, the main kid's "Thundercats"-like Mumrah helmet that gets bestowed upon him half way through his journey. Tell me it's not, just tell me. - New York Post


"New Band of the Day: Human Life (No 792)"

Hometown: Los Angeles.

The lineup: Joshua Collins, Matt Wasley, Rachael Starr.

The background: Human Life are three house music producers and musicians whose individual CVs would require, well, at least a side of A4 each. Joshua Collins's Wikipedia entry states that he has released hundreds of singles and remixes. Rachael Starr has apparently had "numerous chart-topping singles" on various "high-profile labels" – the fact that we've not heard of them is undoubtedly an indictment of our narrow tastes and failure to attend the right clubs. Matt Wasley's MySpace features, along with a couple of his tunes, two Human Life tracks that aren't on the trio's MySpace, and they're worth hearing: Fall for You and Turn It Up, which pretty convincingly nail their "French house-influenced electro-pop" aesthetic. Listening to Fall for You, which leans heavier on the "French house" part of the equation, you can tell why Mr Stardust himself, Alan Braxe, is a big fan and is hoping to release one of their forthcoming EPs. And Turn It Up brings the brooding electro-pop elements to the fore – it could almost be a Depeche Mode track beefed up for one of those clubs we really must go to at some stage, but we can't because we're too busy finding new bands for you.

The song that Human Life are pushing hardest, though, is their debut single, In It Together, which is a bit ravey, and a bit synth-poppy. They claim to be influenced by everyone from Genesis and Toto to Depeche Mode, Prince and Happy Mondays, but you wouldn't know it from this tune, although at a pinch you can hear Prince in the singer's falsetto. Not that the Toto reference can be dismissed completely out of hand. The keyboards on In It Together are a bit MOR-ish, the beat retro-funky like Chromeo's Tenderoni. They've also got another track called Show Me the Night which has echoes of Zoot Woman, Stuart Price's 80s-aping crew, with some of their Yacht Rock sensibility.

Basically, we're struggling to get a handle on Human Life. We're casting around for a pigeonhole but can't do much better than the ones that have already been ascribed to them: dreamwave and nu-disco. Good single, though, and the none-more-garish promo – which makes us think of a rave in Goa, in 1989, after someone dropped some outfits from Frankie Goes to Hollywood's banned, Bernard Rose-directed Relax video, then a paint-bomb – is a hoot.

The buzz: "SoCal electro-pop never tasted so good" – Alt Sounds.

The truth: They're not very Genesis or Happy Mondays, but if Prince and Dave Gahan had a baby, in Paris, in 1990, that child might now be making music like this. In LA. At night. In clubs we rarely visit but really should.

Most likely to: Elicit some fancy footwork.

Least likely to: Produce Madonna. Kylie, maybe.

What to buy: The single In It Together is released by LifeX on 7 June.

File next to: Monarchy, Chromeo, Superfunk, Nightbus.

Links: myspace.com/humanlifedjs

Tomorrow's new band: Superimposers.
- Guardian UK


"Human Life - In It Together"

As the lines between cool underground electronic music and savvy, accessible pop continue to blur, a trio from Southern California arrive to strike while the iron’s hot and show the world the slick, engrossing electro pop that they’ve been honing over the last few years.
Human Life are made up of veteran house music producer Joshua Collins, and musicians and singers Matt Wasley (a producer of solo work for the likes of Bedrock, Nettwerk and of several rock bands) and Rachael Starr (of Till There Was You fame) and cut a fine life in cool, catchy, potent electro with pop vocals and strong song writing. Citing influences including classic French and Chicago house and pop music as diverse as Genesis, Toto and Depeche Mode along with Prince and Happy Mondays, theirs is a sound which combines the best of the underground and the overground without contriteness or awkwardness – and it’s one that’s already been catching the attention of French legend Alan Braxe and Radio 1’s Jaymo.

Josh and Matt were introduced at a mutual friend’s birthday party (a certain Swedish tech house producer), and quickly established that they were both interested in making music that was detached from the usual megaclub styles. Studio sessions swiftly followed, and when Josh showed friend Rachael the results, she asked if she could come on board for this exciting new project with her multitude of experience as a vocalist, engineer, producer and DJ.“I would describe it as French Touch influenced Electro- Pop,” says Matt, “but some of the other labels people have used are Dreamwave, Nu-Disco or Indie-Dance. Really it’s all about combining melodic music with dance oriented elements.” Originally from Boston, Orange County and Chicago respectively, Matt, Rachael and Josh all now live in Southern California, with LA nightlife providing another strand of influence in their dynamic sound.

The Human Life live show experience combines Matt and Rachael’s vocals with live synths, bass and guitar, aiming to provide something more than the usual nightclub experience. “We put a ton of work into the performance to make sure it's really something different than you'll see on an average club night” says Matt. “It's always interesting because it turns out to be very different than what people are expecting to see that night!” Their DJ sets show off their range of influences, from slow disco grooves to aggressive, thumping house music, electro coolness and all in-between – as Matt explains “when we DJ we try to share a little bit of what Los Angeles sounds like to us”.

With a hot DJ mix circulating across the blogs right now and EPs coming out on their hero Alan Braxe’s acclaimed Vulture label and Boxon in 2010, as well as their debut release ‘In It Together’ on their very own LIFEX Recordings label, Human Life look set to become one of the first must-have acts of the new decade. SoCal electro pop never tasted so good.
- AltSounds


"Human Life Featured in Mixmag"

Full print article as well as feature in podcast - Mixmag


Discography

Out Now - 'In it together' - LIFEX Recordings

Remixes by; Kris Menace, Jaymo & Andy George, Acid Girls, Lazy Flow, Louis La Roche, Pelifics, Underhall, Polygon Palace, Moonchild..

Out Now - Jump Jump Dance Dance 'Show Me The Night' (Human Life Remix) - Etc Etc/Universal Music Australia

July 22nd - Bonsai Kat 'Egotripping' (Human Life Remix) - Grand Hotel Records

August 2010 - 'In it together' - Sony Music Australia/One Love

October 2010 - 'Wherever We Are/Italo Crimewave' - LIFEX Recordings

October 2010 - 'Human Life EP' - Vulture Music

Date TBC - Minitel Rose 'Heart of Stone' (Human Life Remix) - EMI France

Date TBC - Shake Aletti 'Dancefloor' (Human Life Remix) - MODA

Date TBC - Parallels 'Reservoir' (Human Life Remix) - Marigold Productions

Read more: http://www.myspace.com/humanlifedjs#ixzz0wMi9Ni9l

Photos

Bio


As the lines between cool underground electronic music and savvy, accessible pop continue to blur, a trio from Southern California arrive to strike while the iron’s hot and show the world the slick, engrossing electro pop that they’ve been honing over the last few years.

Human Life are made up of veteran house music producer Joshua Collins, and musicians and singers Matt Wasley (a producer of solo work for the likes of Bedrock, Nettwerk and of several rock bands) and Rachael Starr. The trio cut a fine line in cool, catchy, potent electro with pop vocals and strong song writing. Citing influences including classic French and Chicago house and pop music as diverse as Genesis, Toto and Depeche Mode along with Prince and Happy Mondays, theirs is a sound which combines the best of the underground and the overground without contriteness or awkwardness – and it’s one that’s already been catching the attention of French legend Alan Braxe, Radio 1’s Jaymo & Andy George. Carte Blanche, Grum, Aeroplane, Sasha, A-Trak and Crookers.

Josh and Matt were introduced at a mutual friend’s birthday party (a certain Swedish tech house producer), and quickly established that they were both interested in making music that was detached from the usual megaclub styles. Studio sessions swiftly followed, and when Josh showed friend Rachael the results, she asked if she could come on board for this exciting new project with her multitude of experience as a vocalist, engineer, producer and DJ.

“I would describe it as French Touch influenced Electro-Pop,” says Matt, “but some of the other labels people have used are Dreamwave, Nu-Disco or Indie-Dance. Really it’s all about combining melodic music with dance oriented elements.” Originally from Boston, Orange County and Chicago respectively, Matt, Rachael and Josh all now live in Southern California, with LA nightlife providing another strand of influence in their dynamic sound.

The Human Life live show experience combines Matt and Rachael’s vocals with live synths, bass and guitar, aiming to provide something more than the usual nightclub experience. “We put a ton of work into the performance to make sure it's really something different than you'll see on an average club night” says Matt. “It's always interesting because it turns out to be very different than what people are expecting to see that night!” Their DJ sets show off their range of influences, from slow disco grooves to aggressive, thumping house music, electro coolness and all in-between – as Matt explains “when we DJ we try to share a little bit of what Los Angeles sounds like to us”.

2010 has seen them play some standout gigs in Geneva, New York’s legendary Webster Hall, L.A.’s number 1 nightspot Avalon, London’s acclaimed Neon Noise Project and Barcelona’s Razzmatazz, with showcase spots at the prestigious In The City music conference (set up by Hacienda and Factory Records legend Tony Wilson) and the acclaimed Amsterdam Dance Event Network Bash.

After releases for Alan Braxe’s Vulture label, their own LIFEX Recordings and Boxon, they found their smash ‘In It Together’ being licensed to Sony Australia, being played on music TV stations around the world, and the video receiving over 20,000 views in 24 hours on YouTube. Remix requests came flooding in for the likes of Mason (feat. Roisin Murphy), Plump DJs’ new label Grand Hotel, Canada’s Parallels and Jump Jump Dance Dance, cementing their status as one of the hottest things to hit the blogs since Jay-Z’s last album got leaked early. New single ‘Wherever We Are’ drops in November after receiving support from many key players including Pop Justice who made it a ‘Song of The Day’, and features hot remixes including one from Lady Gaga remixer Grum.

The live dates continue to flood in, the remixes keep coming, and with their debut album set for release in 2011, Human Life are set to explode after making a solid impression on the electronic scene in their launch year.

www.humanlifemusic.com

For all Human Life enquiries please contact Roo @ Rood Media – roo@roodmedia.com