15/01/2017 – Limousine-Madonna’s Boyfriend
Can Wrestling Wave become the underground sound of 2017? Let’s hope so!
Last year an album came out that on the surface was just a bit of fun, but after repeat listens it became something far more enjoyable and important. That album was Wrestling Wave by Limousine. At first it was a hilarious trip down memory lane, as the songs are made up of samples of classic wrestlers’ interviews and promos with underlying music that sums up the vibe of the track. Limousine has now returned with Wrestling Wave’s follow up Long Limousines. I managed to interrupt Limousine’s hardcore diet of synthwave and to ask a few questions.
Where did the idea for this project come from?
The Limousine project all came about by accident, I had been in a lull for about 3 years of not really doing anything musically, I had previously been in metal bands and electronic music projects both solo and in groups. During those 3 years I listened/purchased a ton of music, I had been heavily listening to vapourwave for a couple years, around a year and a half ago I decided I wanted to create something different but still be a part of the vapuorwave family tree, that’s when I decided to create ‘wrestling wave’ the genre, I was at work doing my daily routine, listening to vapour mixes on YouTube when I accidental clicked on 2 videos at once: 1. A Vapourwave mix, I don’t even know which one probably one by Jason Sanders (Shout out to Jason), and the second being a WWF shoot interview with references/footage to past matches etc, at first I thought it was part of the mix but then I realized I did it by accident, I fell in love with that accidental taste and tried to create an entire sound around that, almost like an epiphany really. Glad I went through with it though now.
Do you have the idea for the artwork first and then make the music match it or the other way round?
When I realized I found something new with Wrestling Wave the genre I went all out from the gate, I remember my ideas were flooding through me for the first few months completing up to 3 drafted songs a day, instrumental and vocal just like that, so from the beginning I was churning a lot of tunes as I had tons of ideas from the last few years, finding & holding onto samples here and there. By the first 3 months I was sitting on 100+ tracks, some with vocal some just instrumental, I come up with my album concepts after I have a heap of tracks to pick and choose from, there’s a narrative in there if you’re listening closely.
What is it about wrestling circa 1982 – 1996 that makes the promos and interviews so samplable?
This is almost a question more so for the listener as its 100% nostalgia, for me to be honest it’s all about the ego, in the sense that it’s the wrestlers themselves that really carry these songs, the history they created that sadly has been forgotten over the years, I mean these guys were literally strung out on drugs spitballing in front of a camera some of the greatest things that have ever been said on our planet straight off the dome, that shit wasn’t little league, it’s also 100% ego as I don’t have to work with real singers/vocalist as that becomes an ego battle in itself, so I don’t need to compromise for anyone else at the end of the day as I’m a one man show, if I like the way something sounds I’m running with it.
Were you a WCW or WWF fan?
I was born in 1990, so I was brought up in a household that celebrated both Hogan and Flair in their own rights, as did I respect Sting & Undertaker for their roles, during the mid 90’s it’s almost like it wasn’t just WCW & WWF, it all felt like one for a while(2Become1 Spice Girls style), those moments, shit was real, loved them both but stopped watching wrestling altogether around 2001 after the WCW/NWO Invasion, we all died a little bit that year, Lucha Underground is dope though, I’ve been to a handful of their tapings in LA in the last year, shout out to Pentagon Dark! (0M)
Who is your favorite wrestler of all time (face and heel if it’s easier)?
The cynic in me is screaming ‘La Parka’ the original one though (L.A. Park), who I do love and adore, but it’s hard to put my finger on just one, I loved the stables, NWO was hard as shit, no way around it, they changed it all with a double edged sword, 4 Horsemen, I was a huge fan of Doink, Scott Steiner (who deserves to be in the HOF), I love them all, all the wrestlers I’ve worked with rank high on my list.
Which wrestling films and books are your favourites?
‘Wrestling With Shadows’ & ‘Beyond the Mat’ both impacted my outlook on what we saw on that square box each week growing up later in life. Both tell the truth of what goes on behind those wacky merch commercials, behind those weekly title changes, behind those illustrious entrances, it’s mostly sad really, lots of heartache, real life betrayal & temptation. I give those guys a lot of credit for doing what they did and the sacrifices made, ‘The Wrestler’ also does a pretty good job of conveying it for the mainstream.
What is your favourite match and PPV of all time?
WrestleMania X-Seven, one of my last GREAT memories of GREAT wrestling, Rock v. Stone Cold ’nuff said! I do not have a favourite match off top..
When creating the music do you try and match their theme songs perfectly, as that tends to explain the character perfectly, or are you more about creating an overall vibe for the song?
More about the vibe honestly, yeah the wrestlers are dope and they need to stay respected to keep it from coming off too ‘cheesy’, but I use their vocal as more of an instrument at times, others I’m celebrating the words they’re actually expressing. Sometimes it just comes out perfectly and I give The Universe a lot of credit at times.
Have you sampled anyone and the music hasn’t quite worked and it didn’t make an album?
YES, seriously, I have had some brilliant ideas come up in my head (Mr. Wonderful, Sid Vicious, Scott Steiner, Iron Sheik) that I thought would FOR SURE be fire but crashed and burned about halfway through, like I said earlier I’m sitting on a couple hundred tracks at the moment and most will never leave my hard drive more than likely because 100% of the samples I use are from YouTube so the quality sucks to begin with so some stuff just ends up trash like any other artist would have, I have a few WWF/Blackbox PPV tapes from back in the day I’m planning on re-watching one day if I’m not burned out by then. I have a shit ton of Flair tracks done and completed, I debated releasing an album 100% dedicated to Flair/4 Horseman samples at one point, may still do the Horseman idea but I’d get bored I would think and so would the listener.
What are your plans for the rest of the year?
Lots of things cooking in the kitchen, currently have a handful of projects in the works, trying to figure a schedule to make everything fit while working my main 9-5, I’m working on re-presses of the tapes, Wrestling Wave the album will 100% be seeing a repress/new versions in the coming months, new releases are bubbling but not giving any Info/Titles up on that yet, but expect tapes, vinyl, hats more condoms and other weird things I can find to make to be up on the Bandcamp eventually. Also there are a couple LIVE events that are lining up here soon, more than likely only LA & SF for now but that’s still in the works but expect an ‘animated’ live show once I do get around to them, neon signs, world titles, ring aprons..
Do you want wrestlingwave to become the sound of 2017?
At the end of the day this is a micro genre I created, I’d love to see other artists join the movement and am always up to listening to tracks/collaborating to put out on my label Total Power Records, but we will have to see, I’m just about creating fun memewave albums, creating awesome merch for people to keep forever and riding my wave, they can ride with me if they wanna find me.
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