The members of Sacramento's Must.Not.Die are both deejays and musicians. Yes, Miguel Francis and Quinten Larsen, both 24, play records and remix songs but they also create their own music.
"We DJ really fun stuff - a lot of indie, electric dance music," says Francis of the tunes he Larsen spin at clubs such as R15, Old Ironsides and the Blue Lamp. "But the stuff we make is really different - we're going for that whole shoegazer, wall of sound, sample-based sound."
Francis and Larsen, who attended different area high schools, met through their school's theater programs and quickly bonded over a shared love for "nerdy music."
"We geeked out on stuff like Edit and Glitch Mob and then we just decided to start producing stuff on our own," Francis says.
Now the two tap into their other, disparate tastes - Larsen likes groove-oriented hip-hop, Francis prefers indie and math rock - to fashion new sounds.
"We'll work out something from a synthesizer and then create our own melody," he says.
"Quinten's good at laying down tracks and (creating) the rhythm section - I'm more involved in the melody so we'll just throw something out there to see what direction we go in."
They also use music samples in their songs -but with limits.
"We'll use samples as a pop element but when we do they have to be short and unrecognizable by the time we're finished," he says. "We don't want you to be able to tell what song it's from."
The two are currently at work on an EP, which Francis describes as "edgy and rough."
"It has a caustic energy - I'm just trying to represent my world view which is very imperfect, brooding and anxious."
The EP will be released by the end of the year, until then listen to the single "Attachment Interlude" at www.sacbee.com/ sacramentosingle.
Must.Not.Die
Song: "Attachment Interlude"
Style: Surreal, dreamy electro-pop
Behind the song: "This song came out of a break-up," Francis says. "I was really in love but we weren't talking and I was listening to this one Pete Yorn song over and over. There was a small loop (in the song) that asked this question about not talking."
Francis took a three-second sample of the loop and then deconstructed, distorted and sequenced it into a brief, tense melody.
"It builds into this energy and madness that I was trying to convey," he says.
"I just wanted to personify that question of (not knowing) and have it build and build until it finally releases to the point where you let go."
See them: Must. Not.Die deejays Wednesday at Barcode Nightclub & Lounge, 1890 Arden Way, Sacramento. The 18-and-over dance club opens at 9 p.m and is $12 at the door.
On the Web: myspace.com/mustnotdie
Listen to "Attachment Interlude" here:
About Comments
Reader comments on Sacbee.com are the opinions of the writer, not The Sacramento Bee. If you see an objectionable comment, click the "report abuse" button below it. We will delete comments containing inappropriate links, obscenities, hate speech, and personal attacks. Flagrant or repeat violators will be banned. See more about comments here.