The Colurs

Multi-instrumentalists Max Townsley and Drew Erickson make up Denton's The Colurs, and they've recently released their self-titled debut EP, on which they play all primary parts. They even composed an accompanying orchestral score.

The band is nominated for three DOMAs: Best Song for "Easy To Love," Best New Act and Best Pop Act. Below is my interview with Max Townsley, regarding a few very important topics.

How did The Colurs originate?
Drew and I have been making music together for years. As The Colurs, we have been fortunate enough to work with some amazing musicians on our recordings and live shows.


What are some of the band's goals, both literally and musically?
World domination.

How do you feel about being nominated for three DOMAs? What are you expecting to receive if you win? Do you have any "terms" we should know about?
I'm very pleased that we are nominated. Lot of very talented people also nominated, and I'm happy to be listed among them.

What makes a great pop song, in your opinion?
Gotta have a great hook.

When do you turn into a snob? In other words: What are you most critical of?
I will not stand for artificial Christmas trees, or that fake snow spray stuff. A minimal amount of tinsel is OK.

You've seen "Drunk History," right? If you were to get hammered and have to speak at length about any subject, non-music related, what would it be?
If I had to, I would love to babble drunkenly about Tulsidas' version of the epic Ramayana, written in the common tongue and particularly beloved in North India. - Dallas Observer

Channeling an eclectic body of influences, The Colurs combine contemporary pop production with the songwriting aesthetics of Brian Wilson, Todd Rundgren, and The Beatles, and lush orchestral arrangements reminiscent of scores by Frank Churchill and Oliver Wallace (from Disney’s Alice In Wonderland, Bambi, etc.), to create a fresh new sound. Max Townsley and Drew Erickson joined forces in 2011 and converted an old house in Denton, Texas into a full recording studio, where they completed their unreleased debut EP. Both multi-instrumentalists, the two played all primary parts on the record and composed an accompanying orchestral score, commissioning musicians from the Metroplex to form The Colurs Orchestra, a crew of young, talented string and horn players. The Colurs write, produce, arrange, and mix all of their music.
www.thecolurs.com - BMI.com

Back in early July, we introduced you to Denton's The Colurs, an outfit we were became so immediately enamored with, we thought they just might be the best new band in town. Now, with yesterday's online release of their debut, self-titled EP, we're even more certain of it. Yes, the indie and orchestral pop brainchild of former Roy G. and The Biv collaborators Max Townsley and Drew Erickson is just that good.

The new, four-track release, uploaded yesterday to BandCamp, impressively showcases a wide array of the twosome's talents, from the bouncy pop of opening cut "Easy To Love" to the gorgeous orchestral and instrumental arrangement of "Washed Away" (grab the with-vocals version here) to the almost angular jangle-pop of third cut "Where We Belong" (which sounds like the best song the Burning Hotels haven't yet released) to the painfully great and heart-breaking yacht rock EP closer, "Julia."

Perhaps even more impressive: The band didn't go to a formal studio to record this. Instead, they opted to record at the Normal House in Denton, where they'd previously performed these cuts before a live audience and camera crew.

We've still yet to receive word from Townsley or Erickson on when we can expect to catch the band's next live performance, but, as Townsley told us back in July, the band's in no rush to do that right away.

In the meantime, we highly recommend you listen to -- and then download -- the band's debut below. - Central Track

Sometimes a love song comes and hits you with such vigor you’re not sure what to think. Julia is one of those songs. Makes me okay with writing something and hoping that that girl remember that moment the same way I do. The Colurs wrote us a love song too. Who wants to sing it for us? - www.yourstru.ly.com

DJ Nick La Rosa played Roy G and the Biv's "Nicotine" on the 04-08-2008 broadcast of MTV Australia's: The Lair.

His set list included:

Take You Down (Featuring Sindri And Taiwankid)- Mochipet
Laddition - Sayem
Love Juice - SymbolOne
Disco Shoes (Original mix) - Acid Jacks
Get Your Whistle Wet (Featuring The Hustle Heads) - Mochipet
Baba O’Riley (SebastiAn Edit) - The Who
Free Things (Alex Metric Remix) - Infadels
Your Favourite Flu (Original Mix) - Dada Life
Bust A Move (Diplo Remix) - Young MC
You’re a Fuck Up - Duke Of New York
Everything Cool - Foamo
Il Buono (Original Mix) - Crookers
Cheeseburgers - Chewy Chocolate Cookies
Hustler - (A-Trak remix) Simian mobile disco
Nicotine - Roy G and the Biv - Dirty Old Man Records

There's a lot happening on the debut EP from up-and-coming Denton dance duo Roy G and the Biv.

The lyrics are peppered with the campy sexual advances that ran rampant in classic disco. The heavy use of Rhodes piano and synthesizers scream '70s funk and '80s dance-pop. The beats and vocal effects take cues from Timbaland, Pharrell and especially Chromeo.
Influences aside, the duo's strongest suit is its devotion to earworm- inducing melodies.
Max Townsley was a student at Dallas' Booker T. Washington High School for the Visual and Performing Arts when he first met Grapevine's Drew Erickson through mutual friends. They took to jamming for fun, and the decision to start a band came after they both moved to Boston to attend Berklee College of Music.
Erickson, 24, stayed in Boston and is close to graduating. Townsley, 21, transferred to the University of North Texas in Denton. They found time to record the new EP during Erickson's visits home. - Quick Magazine

Below is an unedited Q&A with the guys in the band. They had some interesting things to say, some of which were cut for space in the print edition.


Q: What kind of music did you play when you first started jamming together?

Drew: Jazz. And we played around a little with party bands, too. We even played with this singer, Rodney Jackson. [Laughs.]

Q: Sounds like there's a story behind that one.

Max: He was this, like, huge bodybuilder who sang really high falsetto.

Q: And where is he now?

Drew: I think he might be a personal trainer. [Laughs]

Q: So, how'd you get into the electro-dance stuff?

Drew: We went through a big Daft Punk phase, started listening to it all the time.

Max: And never really got out of it, I guess.

Q: What equipment do you use to create the tracks?

Max: We use Logic Pro 8 to record the audio. We have a Yamaha DX-7, which is a bad-ass '80s synthesizer. And then we use a Rhodes [electric piano], guitars and several percussion instruments.

Q: What music did you guys obsess over as kids?

Drew: When I was really young, my mom would play me old musicals. Music Man, Cole Porter stuff, Oklahoma ... stuff that moms watch. And then my dad gave me his record collection when I was about 10 -- Beatles, Zeppelin, Jeff Beck, all that stuff.

Max: I was a hardcore Led Zeppelin, classic-rock fan when I was a teenager. I basically wanted to be Jimmy Page. Also in high school, I got turned on to jazz. But I think the person who impacted me most was a piano teacher we both had. He taught me everything I know about harmony, and got me to the point where I could understand music's deepest levels. We did jazz standards, and we'd explore all the different harmonic paths that were possible.

Q: So, how does that classical training help when writing a three-minute pop song?

Drew: I just think about it as a balance of unity and variety. Using motives and orchestration ... all those things. They're aspects of electronic music.

Max: And, like, Herbie Hancock. He started out as a straight jazz artist, and later he went through that pop phase and wrote the most bad-ass disco songs ever. Melody is the most important thing, I think.

Q: There's exaggerated sexual bravado in your lyrics -- particularly in "Think You Might" and "Nicotine." Is that intended as a humorous thing?

Max: Oh yeah. We're corny people sometimes. I listen to T-Pain and people like that all the time, and some of their lyrics are absolutely ridiculous. So that's the norm for me. Pop music makes people feel good, want to laugh, and want to get down. [Laughs.]

Q: Tell the truth: Which one of you is "that guy" in the songs who's always armed with a pick-up line?

Max: Neither of us, really. I will say, though, that sometimes when I get in my zone ...

Drew: Ha!

Max: ... I can lure in the ladies if I want. Overall, though, I'm not really a club guy. I have a good time, though.

Q: What's the plan for this EP? You gonna tackle a full-length right away?

Max: Yeah. With the EP, we want to create as much buzz as we can. And get people to do remixes and stuff. We're looking at working on the full-length plans, and also the live setup next time Drew's in town.

Q: On the live thing, I've seen a lot of dance acts just bend over a table and not look at the crowd. Are you guys shooting for something more visually exciting?

Max: Right. We want something much more exciting. We actually have a friend who is a visual artist who is trying to think of a light-up tile situation for our stage set. Like, "Billie Jean"-style. We definitely want to engage people. - Quick Magazine

"...dig deeper and you'll hear a bit of the earnestness of Skylarking era XTC, a touch of old school soul, bold flashes of disco and some well crafted 80's synth funk/r&b, all of which adds up to pretty catchy tunes that can be admired on their own merits. In fact, if the above mentioned reference points are at all appealing to you (not that you would ever admit to liking a Jamiroquai song, of course), then I think you might be in for a treat when you cruise by the Myspace page and check out a couple tracks, particularly "Nicotine," a goofy, oversexed and mid tempo disco/ 80's soul number that sounds like a coke head come on just before last call. Translation: purposefully disposable but highly accomplished pop that you'll have a hard time denying. And the guy is apparently just getting started. (SR)" - WeshotJr.com

"..."Nicotine" and "Socks On," are nostalgic disco tracks with a modern use of sexual metaphor; in "Nicotine," the lead singer tells a worried lover, "I can be your nicotine/it's heaven when you're smokin' me/I might not be good for you/but together we can pull it through." The bouncy blips and boops bring Beck's remix album (Guerolito) to mind, along with the obvious comparisons, Chromeo and (in an alternate, far more violent universe) 3Oh!3.

The strongest track on the EP is"Jungle Fever," a track that feels simultaneously unaware of its inspirations yet commercially constructed, with nods to Pharell Williams, Timbaland, and vocals in vein of Justin Timberlake--the vocals really are that good. The strength of Roy G's production is best showcased here--if I had not been informed I was listening to an unmastered collection I would have thought it was produced in some studio off the Sunset Strip.

There's no doubt Roy G's going to hit radio--keep your eyes on "Runnin"--but until then, they have an exciting period of bubbling under to look forward to. While the EP is not perfect--"Think You Might" is a bit predictable and expected--I am looking forward to the LP." - Happiest Activist/Brooklyn Vegan

Yesterday saw the online release of Roy G and the Biv's self titled EP, something I've been looking forward to since I first posted about them here.

It doesn't disappoint.

Lazy comparisons would put them somewhere in between Ghosthustler and Ghostland Observatory but these guys offer something different, something more.

With elements of R&B, Electro, Snyth-pop and Hip-hop, it's a bit of an ensemble peice, which encapsulates the duo's talents perfectly and is a great platform for them to show the true diversity of their sound.

Standout track Jungle Fever goes straight into some Timbaland-esque production before morphing into all sorts of synth driven madness, culminating in a disco-breakdown that would be at home on a Discovery-era Daft Punk record.

All tracks are streamable on their Myspace, where you can also find their online store. Think of it as a try before you buy, but if I were you, I'd just get it now. It'll also be on iTunes soon.

- Illegal Tender Magazine

Roy G and the Biv bridge the gap between indie rock outfit and dance party starters. Armed with a guitar, a blue keyboard and boyish good looks, the duo interject a myriad of sounds into every track they touch. Juvelen, Zoot Woman, Hall & Oates and Timbaland are a few of the influences that come to mind. With a touch of innocent twee, a healthy obsession with synths and a dose of attitude, Roy G and the Biv are about to become your Disco Fantasy. - Creamteam.tv