El gran sello de I’m a Cliché nos trae una de las sorpresas de la temporada, una brillante sorpresa, pasado y presente, la colaboración del genio de Kim Fowley con el dúo francés de Bot’Ox, hablar de Kim Fowley, es hablar de la historia de la música, de un genio creativo, nacido en 1939, ha sido el manager de The Runaways, empresario, músico, cineasta, actor, artista… y nombre de culto de la historia de la música con su personal visión con sus discos a finales de los 60s y 70s, con muy brillantes discos como el ‘Outrageous’ de 1968 (el tema Bubblegum sería versioneado por Sonic Youth en 1986), todo un precursor de muchos sonidos que luego fueron asimilados y copiados; y desde Francia, Bot’Ox, una de las formaciones más interesantes en los últimos años, que también tienen su particular visión de la música, y esa mezcla de elementos electrónicos con instrumentos, con una muy recomendable lectura sobre como ha surgido esta colaboración, acaban de publicar el single de estos genios juntos, y un vídeo en el que podemos disfrutar de Kim Fowley a sus 74 años, en plena forma……… Gracias Bot’Ox por recuperarnos a este genio de la música….
Kim Fowley & Bot’Ox – Arrogant American Pig [I’m a Cliché CLICHE050] (18 March, 2013) Buy @ Beatport
1 Arrogant American Pig 05:31
Cosmo Vitelli (half Bot’Ox) wrote a text introducing the project:
“I contacted Kim Fowley by email a few years ago, having a potential collaboration in mind. I was a big fan of a handful of records he made in the 60s and 70s, but also charmed by his role in the history of rock n’roll : eternally around, never really at the center. A songwriter, musician, singer, producer, impresario, mentor, he has deeply rooted in him this American ethics of entertainment. This, for instance, gets him to make videos of himself in a hospital where he stays to cure a cancer. His email address starts by »kimfowleysurvivor» : that says it all, he survived everything, made a show of his whole life, and sacrificed almost everything to feed the rock n’roll narrative of his own life.
Subject: Kim Fowley sings for the money
This is the email subject of his first reply. We make an instrumental that seemed to us suitable for him, we send it over so he can record the vocal part, he agrees. Then I tell him : “It would be great if we could discuss before you go in studio.” “Ok, call me that day, that hour.” “Hi, it’s Cosmo from Paris.” He hangs up. I call him back 15 minutes later, he tells me: “Why do you want to speak ? Are you Jewish ? Are you a socialist ? Do you work for Satan ?” The conversation is not long.
We wait for the recording, we receive a thing that cannot be used, probably recorded in 30 seconds. With Julien, we laugh our ass off. Given the way he talked to me until then, I don’t bother to be very respectful so I ask him for the real track and I add that the one he sent is not usable. The discussion is getting worse.
Subject: Kim Fowley -vs- The King of France
Here are the best extracts from the emails I find in my inbox every morning:
“After 53 years in the music biz, recording in 22 countries & 39 American Cities, I wish to tell you this. No record company/ production company has ever insulted me like this before. I will fight back & I will hate this situation if I choose to.”
“What happened to you, bitch? are you a small, tiny penis a go-go man?”
“CALM YOUR EURO ANGER …”
“HEY HEY HEY HEY HEY, if you can’t give me directions so we can correct your masterpiece track, then you have my permission to release this as: «KIM FOWLEY = THE OBNOXIOUS AMERICAN PIG ARROGANT MIX» You can even release all the emails for the CD package.”
“The best thing that you can do is release the music that I sent you. Why not overdub French insults on separate tracks & mix them together?”
He also sends us an artwork project for the cover. Front: his face with a freaky make-up in close-up. Back: him and his cat called Sex Fat. It is quite funny and I reply : “Good idea! I start to like you.”
He makes another one. Front: a dog shitting. Back: a dog shit. It really makes me laugh. I ask him without feeling it too much if he wouldn’t mind to keep all his insults and turn them into a song. Unexpectedly, he replies he will be going into the studio the following day. He entitles the track: “Arrogant American Pig”.
Before knowing him, my favourite track of Kim Fowley was “I Hate You”. Now we get along well.”
Cosmo Vitelli, Bot’Ox
