Over the weekend, Yellow Claw packed the place with a sold out show at Concord performing new hits from their recently released album Blood For Mercy. The Blood For Mercy tour brought along the group\’s record label newest member, Moksi. Moksi, now apart of the Barong family has become serious artists on the rise. Besides performances from Moksi, Chicago natives Fatboy Mikey and Stratus performed with the Barong crew that night. I was able to catch the Amerstam trio, Bizzey, Jim and Nizzle before they headed on stage to talk a little about what\’s new on this tour, whats new with their music and how they feel about EDM music today with the use of drugs.
Read more about the interview below:
Q: First off you guys are playing a sold out show tonight in Chicago, what could your fans expect from the performance tonight?
B: The Blood For Mercy tour is just a whole lot of new music. There is a lot of new music from the album of course and also some unreleased stuff, and some people on our label, from the Barong family.
N: Yeah, and we are bringing Moksi for the first time on this tour, so that\’s definitely a treat for people. An extra artist from the Barong family and you know, Moksi is really really good, they just released a brand new EP. We just released a brand new album, so it\’s just a lot of new music.
J: Yeah, I think we dress better.
Q: What is new about the album that you haven\’t done before?
J: I think for the album its the first time when we started the album we went in the studio not only making music for playing in clubs. So that actually opened up a whole wide range of options and possibilities musically and we took advantage of it and ended up with a couple of songs that we probably never play but are really fun to listen…The album, I think is a representation of stuff we like to play in clubs and stuff we like to play just in for a long drive or hanging out with friends.
N: And, I personally think that although we took some weird corners, we usually wouldn\’t take I am proud of it, it still really sounds like us.
J: It\’s even songs you can make out with your girlfriend too.
B: And it\’s still trap though.
J: Thats the cool thing about an album, so many songs in there it\’s like a story to tell. From the first to the last song, we really want to take people on a musical trip and get people to sit down, or in the car and workout for an hour and just be there with the album.
Q: EDM music has grown over the past few years and if you could change one thing about the music industry what would it be?
B: Probably our music played on all the radios, tvs and the clubs. Yellow Claw all over the place, and of course the Barong family too…For us it hasn\’t really changed or grown that much because we are from Holland and EDM or whatever you wanna call it, it\’s already quite old, we grew up with it, so for us it\’s quite natural actually.
N: Maybe the only I want to change is maybe the awareness of the use of drugs and stuff. Because I think that\’s way better in Europe.
J: Yeah kids should be aware.
B: They should go to the clubs with an apple or banana and get some vitamins in them.
N: Without sounding like a grandpa, over the past two years we\’ve been touring states, a lot of kids died. And I think that\’s something.
B: Not at our shows through.
N: No but at big festivals we\’ve played at, where we just read it in the paper.
J: Yeah and sometimes you see it in the audience, people on the left and the right that are straight fucked up and they should be more aware of what they are doing. If you want to do drugs do it, but be aware of what you\’re doing and do it responsibly, this stuff is real.
You can catch Yellow Claw on the remainder of their tour and as well catch them in the new year performing at festivals like Ultra and Buku Festival. Although they just released an album, according to the guys there are a lot of songs that nobody has heard yet that they are still working on. They as well have been working on music videos for the album that will be coming out around the new year.
Be sure to check out and pick up a copy of the new album, Jim recommended that it would make a great Christmas present. For more information about The Blood For Mercy tour, the album and everything Yellow Claw click here.
