In case this tidbit got lost in your daily pile of James Franco news, let’s review: the actor/artist/filmmaker/author/Oscar host recently announced that he’s releasing a dance EP, a collaboration with his performance-art soul mate Kalup Linzy that boasts production by DJ/rupture. Because Franco never does anything halfway, each song from the duo of 7-inches will get its own music video. Today, Stereogum brings us the first clip in the series, for “Rising.” And it’s pretty much what you’d expect: a project floating somewhere in that zone between Internet meme and video art, with Franco doing backup vocals for Linzy’s slightly off-kilter R&B panty-dropper. There are some hazy double exposures, a good amount of casual drag theatrics, a lot of purposefully bad effects, and the whole thing begins and ends with Franco and Linzy apparently spacing out on a couch in what looks like a cloud of smoke. It’s a fairly useful framing device, if you ask us. Watch the video after the jump, and let us know if you’ll be dreaming of James Franco’s smirking, disembodied head tonight.

Read More »

On his Twitter profile, DJ /rupture, aka Jace Clayton, lists “dj * writer * jetlag king” as his occupations. And though he’s best known as the turntable mastermind behind albums like Uproot and Special Gunpowder and his latest release with Brooklyn producer Matt Shadetek, he wouldn’t be much of a DJ without the latter gigs. All three are intertwined: he’s written regularly for magazines like The Wire and N+1; and his recent piece for the latter, which landed in the 2009 Best Music Writing compilation, begins “I’ve DJed in over 20 countries…”

Read More »

Known for his impossibly out-there turntable antics, DJ/ rupture is an unmistakable original. Andy Moor, meanwhile, has made a name as one of the most fiercely independent and anarchist guitarists. The question isn’t whether a collaboration between the two will sound original. The question is, will their combined effect be utterly overwhelming? After the jump, Michael Byrne, weighs in with Flavorwire’s review.

Read More »