London Transit

London Transit's sleek and stylish debut lands the local synth-poppers smack in the middle of the indie-electronica landscape, blipping and humming away somewhere between the catchy beats of Hercules and Love Affair and the sugary vocals of Hot Chip. With a quirky, lighthearted approach to heavy subjects (the sinking economy, for example), the Kansas City trio successfully floats candy-colored dollops of synthesized sweetness over murkier lyrical topics. And with tracks that are polished, streamlined, buffed and waxed, Digital Kid sounds like the four years of meticulous work that went into its making. Tinged with humor and spunk, Kid gleams with ruthlessly glossy beats and minimalist pop sounds. Each track rings with pure intention. At its best points (such as the single "Capital"), the album offers soft, breathy vocals paired with pastel-colored electric disco beats; at its worst, it's completely danceable — albeit a tad unremarkable — hipster electro. Either way, London Transit's new album boasts clean beats, fun lyrics and poppy hooks. Hell, we'll dance to that. - Pitch

London Transit released their full-length album Digital Kid in early July 2009 after working on the electro-based compositions over the past four years. Updating two early tracks “Capital” and “Target Market” and developing a fresh batch of songs was worth the wait. Shiny and sleek, these songs wiggle through dance-pop grooves like a Brazilian supermodel plunging across a Slip-and-Slide.

Brian Schick and John Brown founded London Transit in November 2004 as a side project when the drummer from the duo’s main band, Sky Pilot, decided to leave. London Transit shifted into high gear in fall 2006 as they began to write new material. Influenced by the British electro/club scene and avant-garde rockers Radiohead, Schick and Brown focused on developing an electro sound that was hormonally more danceable and less remote than club electronica or self-conscious as indie rock.
Featured Tracks: "Capital" (2009 version) and "Fever Beat"
Click to launch player.

Since then, the duo added keyboardist C.J. Drumiller to broaden their sound. “C.J. got involved when we opened a show with the Soft Reeds in November 2008 at the recordBar,” says Schick. “At the time, one of our members was unavailable to play the show. I knew C.J. played keyboard and was trained in music.”

Schick asked Drumiller to fill in which led to his further involvement. “He’s helped us with some of the songs that were not finished on the record, like “Digital Kid” and “Bright Side.” He has also helped us a lot on our live show.”

They scrapped their early work and forged ahead with fresh ideas. “'Capital' and 'Target Market' have evolved in part due to the time it took to finally get them released. In that time, we played them and other songs out live a lot,” says Schick. “They needed to be enhanced for the live setting. The more we played the more we started to feel like the songs maybe needed to have an upbeat, danceable feel that the crowd could get into. We also wanted to still have the song structure in our music. We didn't want to get into the electronica/dance music too much where people can't connect with the songs. If you can connect with a song and get a feeling or thought of an experience that you had or have, then that’s a success for London Transit.”

Armed with synthesizers, software, and selected guitar licks from Brown, the latest material gleams like polished chrome and silicon. The band worked with Paul Malinowski, one of the best sound engineers and producers in town, at Westend Studio to mix Digital Kid.

“I mentioned to him that we were making a record and asked if he’d be interested in doing a mix on ‘Okay’ and see if maybe we would do the whole record with him,” says Schick. “We were impressed with that mix and decided to do it all with Paul. It’s been really cool to get to know him on a personal level as well. He's a really cool guy, father, and sound engineer.”

The result is a crisp batch of songs with subtle textures woven throughout the recording. Full of danceable beats, quirky electro signatures, and lyrics that aren’t overly serious, London Transit has made music that’s ready to ride out the tumult of the economic markets and find common ground on the dance floor. It’s light in spirit but not insubstantial, Schick explains.

“The lighter feel is on purpose,” he says. “There is good substance in a lot of the songs that have been sort of disguised in the lyrics too. I think pop music lends itself to a lighter feel sometimes. There is so much serious stuff going on in the country and the world right now that you need to just enjoy some fun music sometimes. I also like to have a positive feel to the music. There's so much negative stuff flying around in the world that it's sort of a fresh concept to have.”

“Capital” punctuates the opening with a series of synth blips and an electro beat as subdued vocals float like fog. Soft-edged phrases about markets, buying low, and selling high drift past. Relaxed as a yogi, the vibe of the song is catchy but unrushed.

“Hot or Cold” introduces a snazzy beat and muted roller rink keyboard sound. Brown’s guitar needles in and out like a dragonfly with hot gossip to unload. The lyrics are light-hearted, reminding the listener to dance. The 24-hour news cycle can wait a few minutes, right?

The enhanced version of “Target Market” is still a primal/techno urge aching to be relieved with a glance, a touch, a whisper, a nod, a knowing best left unspoken. Glimmering notes are sprinkled in the background. The song pulses as the perfect score for a rendezvous on a bullet train to anywhere past mundane nights in the metro, harsh street lights, and cool indifference.

“Digital Kid” pops and locks with a heavier beat, blurting an occasional digital non sequitur like The Jetsons’ robot maid Rosie heavily caffeinated. Layers of tumbling sound textures work in the background as a guitar drones.

“Fever Beat” is a dance-friendly track, a boogie down production for a 21st century Buck Rogers or the sexy crew of Battlestar Galactica.

Now that the record is done, London Transit plans to promote it locally and nationally. They are in the market for a label and have developed plans for local DJs to remix some tracks from Digital Kid. “We also have planned to get started right away on our next record. We’ll start writing and recording that in the next couple months,” says Schick. “We’re hoping to have it done and released by next spring. We also have a song that wasn't on Digital Kid that we will release as a single in a couple months as well.”

With Digital Kid, London Transit establishes itself as far more than musicians that can program machines and software to make catchy tracks. This latest effort is fully realized as a cohesive soundscape that purrs and yips with playfulness. Sexy but not lewd, smart but not erudite, danceable but not predictable, London Transit avoids the mind-numbing form of electronica that devolves into an aerobic workout soundtrack on crack. The wiry grooves, crisp pop dot-bleeps, and languid vocals of Digital Kid work on the dance floor, in the lounge, during the mellow moment before the metropolis slumbers, or when the day’s digital tide washes in. - Present Magazine

Buy low, sell high. That's the refrain sung by Kansas City's London Transit on its song "Capital."
London calling: from left, C.J. Drumiller, Johnathon Brown and Brian Schick.
Richard Gintowt
London calling: from left, C.J. Drumiller, Johnathon Brown and Brian Schick.
London Transit CD-release show. Friday, July 3, at Czar Bar.
Related Content

* Free Bonnie 'Prince' Billy EP featuring Cheyenne Marie Mize, who happens to be at Czar Bar tonight
July 27, 2010
* Secret Cities, Tut Tut, Expassionates, 500 Miles to Memphis: Tuesday's best bets
June 29, 2010
* Happy-Hour Hit list: Adult Milkshakes
August 26, 2010
* Happy Birthday, TWO$DAYS with Miles Bonny: Tuesday's Best Bets
August 3, 2010
* Vektor, Horse Marriage, Rooftop Vigilantes: Monday's Best Bets
July 26, 2010

More About

* Brian Schick
* The Postal Service (Band)
* Johnathon Brown
* Iggy Baby
* Hot Chip

Like the stock market itself, the lyric's creation has more to do with chance than clairvoyance.

"I was kind of blank on lyrics, and I had an IRA envelope on my desk," explains songwriter and keyboardist Brian Schick. "It's pretty relevant now. No one cared about the stock market a couple years ago."

The same peaks and valleys characterize the local electro scene that London Transit will set aflutter with the July 3 release of its debut album, Digital Kid, a four-years-in-the-making project that reflects the hard work and fun that went into it.

"When you play that type of music, you gotta be careful," Schick says. "You can't just cruise into the Riot Room and whip out some electro-pop when you're playing with the Esoteric. You'll probably get beat up."

London Transit's trick is to combine danceable beats with substantial songcraft and subversive melodies. As with Hot Chip or the Postal Service, London Transit's most valuable capital is its softly sung vocals.

"With the lack of drums, we try to stretch our creativity to make up for that in other ways," says keyboardist C.J. Drumiller. He says the band often hides its musical complexitiy for the sake of those in the crowd who just want to dance.

In the live setting, London Transit gives its more mellow and introspective material a makeover with four-on-the-floor beats, live keyboard manipulations and faster tempos.

"It's like the CD on steroids," Drumiller says. "It's got some more grit."

The swaying men onstage want you to dance, but they don't mind if you stop to watch the show.

"DJs are cool, but you don't watch them," Schick says. "We wanted [the album] to sound indie. I think if you go too far electronic, you narrow your audience."

To that end, guitarist Johnathon Brown rounds out the group with tasteful licks that complement the measured bleeping of the trio's laptops. Software programs, such as Battery by Native Instruments, began appealing to Brown and Schick after the drummer of their former band, Sky Pilot, moved away.

"We were like, 'Screw it, we're going to get an MPC,'" Schick says with a laugh. "We started again with a whole new perspective. There was a newness, a freshness and a whole spectrum of sounds I'd never tapped into. The possibilities are endless — you get to use claps and lots of really great bass."

Eventually, the atmospheric indie rock of Sky Pilot gave way to the kooky electro-pop of London Transit. After hooking up with Drumiller, Schick and Brown ditched their early recordings and began writing the body of work that comprises Digital Kid.

"I've done the rock thing and tried to be serious," Schick reflects. "This is the other side — quirky and fun. The lyrics are almost comical."

Drumiller adds: "I've never been in a band where you can laugh onstage and have it be cool."

That levity manifests itself in such as "Hot and Cold," which ruminates, If I was in Mexico, I might be hot, I might drink agua/If I was in Switzerland, I might be cold, I might drink java. "L to the T" satirizes self-proud hip-hop and brags, LT will make you dance/LT puts you in a trance/We will drive it home.

"If someone dances, that's the ultimate compliment for me," Schick says. "We've played some great shows with DJs like Nomathmatics and Iggy Baby. They've kind of outdone us."

With the release of Digital Kid, however, London Transit sets the bar high for local knob tweakers. The group self-produced the album and mixed it with Paul Malinowski at Westend Recording Studios, emerging with a glossy sound that thumps and chimes and makes listeners want to buy into the boast that LT will make you sing/LT will sell you things.

Such claims will be put to the test when London Transit celebrates the release of Digital Kid Friday at the Czar Bar, where the band will give away 50 free copies of the album.

"I'm sure it will be a fun show — it's not going to be a big spectacle or anything," Schick says. "I think the quality is in the record, and people will hear it and catch on."

If that holds true, the market will truly be on London Transit's side.
- Pitch