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May Profile: Thin Men Doug DuVall, Apolesse, Shaun Slaughter (The Telepathic Drum)
Contact: Doug D / Apolesse / Shaun Slaughter |
Any record label affiliations?
Apolesse: "You Are" came out on Pipeline.
The Thin Men mix of The Cranes - Submarine is out on Instinct Records.
JV & Red Eye Featuring Apolesse - 'Already Mine' is out in May on Groove Pleasure Records.
As far as Djing goes I'm one of the founding members of The Living Daylights, The Deadly Nightlights and The Herban Cowboys...
And of course a proud member of the international misadventure syndicate, the Buh Clan.
Shaun: Pipeline, Ridgeback
DougD: Pipeline Music, Ridgeback Recordings
Where did the name "Thin Men" come from?
Apolesse: When I was the resident of the 0.5 Lounge at Club One I wanted to throw a monthly with Shaun Slaughter and Chivian (one of The Herban Cowboys) and call it Thin Men 'cause we were all so freakin' skinny… But that residency closed before that came to pass. As Doug, Shaun and I were looking for a name for our first project it just seemed like the natural selection… It was either that or Adrian and the Ass Monkeys.
Shaun: Have you seen us lately?
DougD: The name Thin Men was Adrian's idea... I believe being skinny had a little something to do with it.
Care to tell us how much you all weigh? Or what is your collective combined weight?
Apolesse: I weigh a whopping 128 pounds.
Shaun: About a buck o nine
DougD: 150lbs
What kind of music can we expect to hear from Thin Men?
Apolesse: Upfront, sophisticated choons for the pleasantly deranged listener. Each of us have a unique style that give Genreism the finger! I'll never quite describe what they are as accurately as they can so I'll just stick to me. I like it surreal, warm, funky, melodic, percussive, sophisticated, sometimes 4 to the floor, and oft times breaky. If it makes you shake your ass AND scratch your head then its right where I like it. Smart and FUN. GENRE-FREE!
Shaun: You never know. Our sound is constantly evolving. Each one of us is alike but very different. I think that is what makes us such an interesting group to listen to. I don't think that you could lump us into just one genre. That is the beauty of the Thin Men.
DougD: The three of us have slightly different styles that generally compliment each other pretty well. We never limit our music to one style or genre which helps keep our sets sounding fresh. After our release on Pipeline last year we were stamped as progressive DJ's, but if you have caught any of our gigs over the last year then you know that that we play a huge variety of songs in our sets. You can expect to hear house, breaks, progressive, down tempo, tech house, Latin house, etc... Pretty much anything with a solid groove.
How would you say that each of you differ musically? Both as DJ's and in the studio.
DougD: As DJ's, we have pretty similar styles. And our styles vary from week to week. Some nights I will play the more chill stuff, Adrian will play the dance floor bombs, and Shaun will throw a breaks set. The next night, I will throw breaks, Adrian will throw some house, and Shaun will drop the bombs. It just depends on the time, place, crowd, and the mood.
In the studio - Shit - we are all over the place. And that is a good thing. I would say that when we first started recording together as Thin Men, we each brought our strengths to the table. Shaun programmed a majority of the drums, Adrian did a brilliant job with his vocal, and I wrote most of the sounds and melodies that filled out the track. I would like to take credit for showing the other two the ins out outs of engineering and producing, and as soon as they had a grasp of what was going on, their input was money.
Now, the three of us are pretty independent in the studio at this point…Each of us wanting to explore our own creativity and an individual basis. But we will collaborate again.
Apolesse: Both as DJ's and in the studio, I'd say that we have a pretty diverse range of influence and training.
As DJs, Shaun has been at it for almost a decade. I've been Djing for about 5 ½ years with the last four of that in steady residencies. Doug is freshest with almost 2 years in him now, and almost all of that time he's been playing out!
In the Studio Doug has had the most experience working with his brother Darren D for years and years now. Shaun's been at it for just under that time and I've just started to wrap my head around the gear. As musicians Doug and I have been playing and performing for most of our lives. I started Violin at 3 and voice shortly after… I was actually in a synth-pop band called Pop Culture which was part of the Ctrl-Alt-Del network of bands and musicians! Doug's been playing guitar for quite a while (derr… Can't remember) and I think Shaun may have had some piano as a kid. We're as different as musicians as our Djing styles are, but that's part of the experience of Thin Men. Divergent musical styles, cultures, and people together BECAUSE of their differences not in spite of them.
Shaun: Doug is the manipulator. He will take something and tweak into something you never thought imaginable. Both in the studio and in the DJ booth.
Adrian is the inspiration. He brings the emotion and angst. All you have to do is see the emotion and energy that he brings to the turntables. Take that and multiply it by 10 for the emotion and energy in the studio.
I'll let them tell you what I bring.