Exploring Illumination With Miami Horror

By Jake Guidry in Arts & Entertainment on Sep 14, 2010 6:20PM

History repeats itself--as we've always been told--and it repeats itself in just about every facet of our lives. Music is no exception. Trends wax and wane, and now at a rate so fast that we can hardly discover a trend before it's long gone. One of these trends is the re-emergence of disco, or nu-disco, and bands and DJ/producers all over the world are re-imagining the form into something exciting and fresh. DJ-turned-full-band Miami Horror, like a few of their Australian counterparts, are among these bands. Their debut album, Illumination, is a perfect example of that.

Illumination is a sonically rich album, taking disco into a more electro direction, akin to Cut Copy or Empire of the Sun. Where those two bands draw the line, though, Miami Horror goes further, setting themselves apart from similar music that has released over the past few years. While Illumination by no means tops Cut Copy's In Ghost Colours, the album is an update of those sounds and comes out fresh and vibrant--perfect for the ending days of summer. It is infused with emotion and melodies that conjure sunsets on the patio and the ensuing late nights on the town. As a debut album, Illumination is a wonderful start of something we hope to be around for a long time.

We had the chance to ask a few questions of the band's conceiver, Benjamin Plant, before their fun show last Thursday at Double Door. This is what he had to say:

Chicagoist: Not many DJs/producers make the full transition into a live band with their music, at least not as quickly as you have. What spurred that transition and how difficult did you find it?

Miami Horror: Basically, I was losing interest in club music very fast. The people and the music standards lowered, or at least became less interesting to me. The aim for any original music was always for it to work outside of a club and have emotion to it, so I just took this idea further with the band and made sure it was possible to write and play for our own merits and not that of a trend.

C: Australian bands with heavy disco and pop influences have received a lot of acclaim in the States in the past couple years. What separates you from Cut Copy, Empire of the Sun, The Presets, Pnau and others?

MH: The aim with our live show is to take some of the ideas we did on the album a step further. Create more interesting sounds live, experiment with synths and guitar on top of playing our parts. So, I would say our newer sound is a little more psych and prog influenced, and we focus on having a lead guitarist, which most Australian disco/pop orientated bands don't have..

C: What was the greatest challenge in recording your debut LP, Illumination?

MH: To make it as perfect and varied as possible while keeping a strong iconic sound and consistency. It's an example of where we're currently at musically, while also attempting to keep to a set of rules I made many years ago based on my favourite albums.

C: What kind of tunes have you been into as of late? Any guesses as to "the next big thing"?

MH: Well, Tame Impala have done pretty well with their first album, so who knows how big that will spread..

C: Any cities you're particularly excited to play for the US portion of your tour?

MH: Well, I've never been to Chicago, and apparently it has one of the stronger music scenes in the US, so I'm pretty excited to go there. And also New York.

C: What's the next step for Miami Horror?

MH: We are just hoping the album will spread over the next six months, then we'll tour the US properly and also Europe live for the first time.