LA indie artist, Low Hum, is set to release a cover of Death From Above 1979’s track, “Romantic Rights,” on July 31st. It will be the 2nd installment of cover series in collaboration with Toronto’s Last Gang Records, as it reaches its 20th anniversary. The label kicked off celebrations by announcing vinyl re-pressings of Metric’s Old World Underground, Where Are You Now? and Mother Mother’s The Sticks, and the first of the covers; Maia Friedman (of Dirty Projectors) reimagining Metric’s “Love Is A Place,” feat. Anand Wilder (of Yeasayer).
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Discussing, Low Hum’s Collin Desha states, “It’s an honor to be a part of this project. In my early years of playing music, DFA 1979 was a quintessential saturated fuzz tone that defined an era of music in the mid 2000’s. I had just graduated High School and it was a sound that inspired me and many of my music peers, so when the opportunity to cover “Romantic Rights” came up, I was thrilled to jump on it! I wanted to stay true to the fuzzed out edgy sound but approach it in my own way. I tapped my old friend Cameron Dmytryk to join me on this and we explored how we could capture the same dirt but using more of the traditional Low Hum sounds to get there. We landed on some really interesting bass synth sounds and eventually moved the song into a half time beat to give space for the dirt to really shine. It was a blast to make and I am super proud to be a part of their 20th anniversary.”
Sebastian and Jesse of DFA1979 add, “Back in the early 2000’s when we started Death From Above 1979 we were playing in another larger (more people!) band called Femme Fatal. Our live show was described as ‘the sound of a plane crash;. In contrast, DFA1979 sounded like mainstream rock to us. With that delusion we set out to find ‘people’ to help us transcend the church basements and living rooms of punk and hardcore. On that journey we made it to various illuminated stages (with smoke machines!) and in front of new eyes. Eventually we made it in front of Chris Taylor’s eyes who, at the time, had just started a record label out of his law office downtown Toronto called Last Gang Records. He was probably the third ‘professional’ person we’d met in the music business and the first one (aside from our scandalous booking agent Glen Vogelsang) to ‘get it’. When he spoke he didn’t blink and he told us he’d take us around the world. And he did. The value of that confidence cannot be understated and we are grateful for it”
Last Gang Records was initially founded in 2003 by music industry lawyer Chris Taylor and concert promoter Donald K. Tarlton, as a home to music they loved and believed in. The label was a passion project, while the two focused on their day jobs. Last Gang’s first two signings, Metric and Death From Above 1979, released albums in 2004, both quickly catching fire and turning what was intended to be a hobby into something far more.
Last Gang Records co-founder Chris Taylor noted, “Last Gang started as an art project to put resources behind artists I believed in. The commercial success and longevity of artists like Metric, Mother Mother, Death From Above 1979, Chromeo and others was an unanticipated by-product when Donald and I started the label in 2003. As we move into our next 20 years, I’m excited about the team, which includes Chris Moncada, Dan Hawie, and Todd Roberts, that are finding and nurturing the next generation of Last Gang. Us Against the World!”
Over the past two decades, Last Gang has served as a home to an incredibly diverse array of artists, with the motto of individuality, originality, and an us against the world mentality. Releases from Chromeo, Boys Noize, MSTRKRFT, K-os, Ryan Hemsworth, Tricky Woo, The New Pornographers and A.C. Newman, Stars, Sango, Crystal Castles, and so many more, earning the label multiple gold and platinum certified records, along with multiple Polaris Prizes, and 20 JUNO Awards, and the independent music sector globally.
“Having joined in 2015 and guiding the label through massive changes since then, it is accurate to say that Last Gang is firmly built into my DNA at this point in my career,” notes SVP MNRK/GM of Last Gang, Chris Moncada. “I am both honored and humbled to have played a part in the label hitting this sensational milestone.”
Today, Last Gang Records is part of MNRK Music Group, and home to artists such as Maia Friedman, Anand Wilder, Stars, Keys N Krates, Low Hum, Noble Oak, Mobley, Loving, Dear Boy, Harrison, Mondo Cozmo, Sango, along with Emily Haines & The Soft Skeleton and more.
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