Duke Shin

You know the sound. Disco-amalgamated punk, electronic flourishes and the double-barreled vocal attack of guitarist Luke Jenner and bassist Matt B. Safer. The Rapture might’ve been slugging it out on the Sub Pop/CMJ circuit for a couple years, but then there was this up-and-coming production duo called the DFA who produced their first LP "Echoes," and the rest is history. Critics and fans agreed, there was something captivating about the band’s penchant for danceable rhythms, and caterwauling vocals of Jenner, seemingly baptized by the Church of Latter Day Robert Smiths.

Yet Safer would take his own distinctive vocals overseas to record with mutant disco aficionados Headman, Kaos and, most visibly, the crossover club smash "Warning Siren" with German electro-house juggernauts Tiefschwarz. Fast-forward to the latest effort from The Rapture, last fall’s "Pieces of the People We Love." This time around, the band employed dance-floor svengalis Paul Epworth (Phones) and Ewan Pearson to craft the majority of the songs, with DJ-turned-über-producer Danger Mouse at the controls for a couple more (including the forthcoming self-titled single "Pieces of the People We Love").

Yet despite all the successes of the band, the Rapture seem determined to reflect their success back to the dance floor, with a variety of remixes under their belt (most recently for Chicago’s own Greenskeepers, and fellow Brooklynites Escort), DJ gigs for Safer and Gabriel "Druzzi" Andruzzi and a new dance-oriented label Throne of Blood.

"We’re not looking at [Throne of Blood] as a launching pad to label czar-dom," Safer explains, taking time out from visiting family in Providence, Rhode Island. "We have friends in New York and across America, and it is probably at the moment going to be a dance label, twelve-inches and that sort of shit. Down the road? I don’t know. It’s a way to bring some excitement into our lives." One of these friends who’s also helping run the label is DJ extraordinaire and former manager of Trevor Jackson’s Output Recordings, James Friedman. "We went to high school together," explains Safer.

But why is it so important for the Rapture to keep the dance floor in the equation? "To be honest, it’s just personal taste," Safer says. "It’s what’s been exciting for me for the last nine years of my life. It’s just nice to feel connected to what you come up from. Rappers talk about staying connected to the street, it’s important for us to be connected to the floor."

So what should be expected from Safer & Druzzi’s DJ date? "Good times, some disco, some house, some techno… good times and a hangover."

Matt B. Safer and Druzzi of the Rapture spin at Smart Bar, 3730 North Clark, (773)549-0203, on June 8, 10pm-4am. $10

(2007-06-05)

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