STS9

If you're into the Livetronica sound or festival circuit, then without a doubt you have heard of Sound Tribe Sector 9. Their seamless grooves and etherial melodies are not just a favorite to many, they're also a staple of the scene. We are happy to finally able to get a chance to talk to them about what happens in the world of the Tribe.

LDN: It's an honor to have you here. So please tell our readers about the Tribe. Where does the name Sound Tribe Sector 9 come from? Where are you from? How long have you been together?

STS9: Thanks for having us.... STS9, its a total mystery, we're not even sure where it came from. We're from the lost city of Atlanta, Georgia. the dirty, dirty. We've been together forever!!!

LDN: Please tell us about the trippy candles and crystals at your live shows? Which is your favorite crystal and why?

STS9: We try to create a space. We just think it makes the room more beautiful. Our friends are really the ones who make it happen. Big up KC and John Henry!

LDN: You feature some excellent illustration and other artwork on your site and you also have live painting and floral arranging while you do your thing, tell us about that.

STS9: Doing what we do is just a good platform to share what our friends are doing. Kris D, Oliver Vernon, J Garcia, Tribe 13, Yamabushi, Michael Brown, L&B, Luke Brown, Carey Thompson have all contributed to the STS9 expression. We respect all of them so much, it's an honor to share the stage with them. Plus cool connections are made which leads to new expressions. The flowers are a pretty unique situation, our friend anthony is a master at what he does, we just thought it was a beautiful collaboration.

LDN: What are your musical influences, and how do you feel about similar bands in the realm such as the Disco Biscuits and Siamese?

STS9: There's a ton of cats from Atlanta like Organized Noise and Tria Di Luna, that have been huge for us. A lot of old funk, jazz, soul, and hip hop, Herbie Hancock, David Axelrod, Heatwave, Mighty Ryders, Outkast, A Tribe Called Quest, De La Soul, Cee-Lo, Black Star. I come home and usually put on some old mellow jazz stuff like Pharoh Sanders, Alice Coltrane or Lonnie Liston Smith. Sun Ra or Yuseef Lateef all day. Most recently, I've been listening to Marion Browns, "fortunato" pretty much everyday for the past week. It's one of those melodies that you cant live without once youve heard it. We listen to a lot of new music too like Boards Of Canada, Telefon Tel Aviv, Scott Herren, Do Make Say Think, and Silver Mt. Zion. The Books are crazy good. There are a ton of young labels out there that were always checking for that are releasing really good records. If you walked on the bus after a show its probally Erykah Badu or Hip Hop.

LDN: Give us gear nerds the rundown on the equipment are you using right now, and how does your live setup differ from equipment you use in the studio?

STS9: I've been playing my acoustic guitar everyday. Phipps got this old piano that sounds like its coming off some old 50's jazz record. It just has this sound to it that we love. Theres a lot of stuff that we dont take on the road that we use in the studio. Random samplers and drum machines and odd instruments like the kotamo, tambora... glass xylophones and music boxes. We set up mics sometimes and record ourselves going ballistic on everything and anything we can find in our friends warehouse. It's pretty thereputic. The recordings are crazy, you hear this nice rhodes or xylophone progression get taken over by cymbals and chimes hittng the wall with two cell phones feeding back in the background to all of us on one drum kit. Someday we'll do it live somehow, have the audience wear helmets or something!

LDN: So what's on the horizon for STS9?

STS9: We just finished and released our new studio album, Artifact. We're rehearsing a lot, learning a bunch of new material. We've got some songs and other projects that we want to release as well as some collaborations that we're working on. We're threw a big New Years party this year in Atlanta on the 30th and 31st at the Tabernacle. We're played with one of our favorite bands, Tortiose, both nights along with some suprise guests. This year we'll be on the road a bunch.

LDN: Tell us about a day in the life of the Tribe.

STS9: Lately everday is different, hough it consists mostly of music somehow. I'm truly addicted to this artform. Whether its listening, playing or producing, somehow its always music.

Special thanks to Laura B Cohen.

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