ATP Weekender is hauling itself back to Camber Sands for the first of four final holiday camps this weekend. Playing curator this time around are Brooklyn indie chameleons, TV On The Radio and from Friday 10th - Sunday 12th May the likes of De La Soul, Doom, Spank Rock and Death Grips will be soundtracking the swimming zones and crazy golf shenanigans of Pontin's. Before things kick off this Friday, we caught up with the band's lead vocalist, Tunde Adebimpe about the weekend ahead as well as whispers of a potential new record.Noisey: Hey Tunde, you just answered the phone without it even ringing.
Tunde: That's my style! I'm just walking through the street. I was expecting your call. It's been pretty calm for the last few months but in the last week and a half it got really busy again, which is really good.So you're curating this May's ATP?
Yeah, it's been a fun deal. The asked us to do it some time in the middle of last year and of course we said we'd love to do it.Did the group get together in a room and play 'fantasy festival line up’?
Oh yeah, definitely. I feel like the way this happened was everyone wrote a list of their favourite bands and friend's bands that they would like to see play all together and between the four of us there was a lot of people. We threw everything in a pot first and then asked the people at ATP how many people we were allowed to have. It was actually nice to get a list of people together to remind yourself that there are so many good bands out there that you would really love to see.You have the honour of being one of the final bands to curate an UK ATP Camber Sands holiday weekender. How does that make you feel?
Really? Oh wow, I had no idea. I'm so glad we got to do it. We played ATP in about 2006. I think the Yeah Yeah Yeahs were curating. It was great. It's such a great festival. I haven't been to any of the ones in New York or the other cities, but the ones on Camber Sands are really fun.Which acts are you most happy to be playing?
We were kind of waiting to see if Death Grips would be able to do anything. Since I heard their first things I've been a really big fan. I missed their first tour with Mykki Blanco when they came through New York. I'm also really psyched that she's playing. Erm, Shabazz Palaces and I'm really happy that Unknown Mortal Orchestra are coming. It's funny because a few days ago I was looking down the list and thinking that this sounded so great and thinking that these were all bands that I want to see and I'd forgotten that they were all bands we wanted to see because we'd booked them.There's quite a hip-hop theme running through the line-up…
I've had to stop mentioning De La Soul because I can't believe it and I'm really, really glad that they're going to be there and we can, in some way, connect the dots of all that stuff. And Saul Williams is going to be there, which is great. A lot of people, I'm really, really excited.Moving on to your music. I read you're in that place where you're just collecting songs and noises and material right now?
Yeah, we've written and finished some songs at Dave [Sitek]'s place in LA. Everyone's kinda messing around, there aren't any real plans for a record right now but there are definitely plans to keep getting together and working on as much stuff as we can.So people shouldn’t be thinking there might be an album in a year?
Yeeeahhh. I don't know. I really, yeeeahh, we're a slightly bi-polar band so I don't really know what's going on but there are no plans for a new record but there might be a few songs drifting out.You said a couple of weeks ago that you'd left Interscope?
Yeah. We're no longer with them. My main problem, and it's not even a problem - I don't fault anyone, but I feel they didn't really know what to do with us. Which is strange as when you're so used to either doing things by yourself or with a label who's really used to talking to you and seeing how you want to send something into the world, we'd kind of given up that authority as you just think that this is a really well established record label and of course they'd know what to do. I just feel they really bungled a lot of stuff and every time they asked if there was something they could do for us I'd replace it with the word bungle. Like, 'Can I bungle that for you?' Again without getting too specific, I'm glad that we get to try something new.I guess it must be handy that Dave’s got his label Federal Prism and is a great producer too?
I think that that's a great thing because it's better to get to be able to do what you want to do than to try and meet someone's standard of what they think will keep you commercial viable or whatever.I've had the shittiest stressy past two days and Second Song has been ever present to calm me down, so thank you for that.
Oh good. That's the best compliment we could ever get and is kind of the reason and point for us doing that. I hope you're day gets a lot better, sorry things are being brutal.It's not so bad. I'll just eat ramen noodles if I get fired, they’re tasty, right?
They're tasty. I lived on them for years. They get you through it, they keep you vertical.
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Tunde: That's my style! I'm just walking through the street. I was expecting your call. It's been pretty calm for the last few months but in the last week and a half it got really busy again, which is really good.So you're curating this May's ATP?
Yeah, it's been a fun deal. The asked us to do it some time in the middle of last year and of course we said we'd love to do it.Did the group get together in a room and play 'fantasy festival line up’?
Oh yeah, definitely. I feel like the way this happened was everyone wrote a list of their favourite bands and friend's bands that they would like to see play all together and between the four of us there was a lot of people. We threw everything in a pot first and then asked the people at ATP how many people we were allowed to have. It was actually nice to get a list of people together to remind yourself that there are so many good bands out there that you would really love to see.You have the honour of being one of the final bands to curate an UK ATP Camber Sands holiday weekender. How does that make you feel?
Really? Oh wow, I had no idea. I'm so glad we got to do it. We played ATP in about 2006. I think the Yeah Yeah Yeahs were curating. It was great. It's such a great festival. I haven't been to any of the ones in New York or the other cities, but the ones on Camber Sands are really fun.
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We were kind of waiting to see if Death Grips would be able to do anything. Since I heard their first things I've been a really big fan. I missed their first tour with Mykki Blanco when they came through New York. I'm also really psyched that she's playing. Erm, Shabazz Palaces and I'm really happy that Unknown Mortal Orchestra are coming. It's funny because a few days ago I was looking down the list and thinking that this sounded so great and thinking that these were all bands that I want to see and I'd forgotten that they were all bands we wanted to see because we'd booked them.There's quite a hip-hop theme running through the line-up…
I've had to stop mentioning De La Soul because I can't believe it and I'm really, really glad that they're going to be there and we can, in some way, connect the dots of all that stuff. And Saul Williams is going to be there, which is great. A lot of people, I'm really, really excited.Moving on to your music. I read you're in that place where you're just collecting songs and noises and material right now?
Yeah, we've written and finished some songs at Dave [Sitek]'s place in LA. Everyone's kinda messing around, there aren't any real plans for a record right now but there are definitely plans to keep getting together and working on as much stuff as we can.So people shouldn’t be thinking there might be an album in a year?
Yeeeahhh. I don't know. I really, yeeeahh, we're a slightly bi-polar band so I don't really know what's going on but there are no plans for a new record but there might be a few songs drifting out.
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Yeah. We're no longer with them. My main problem, and it's not even a problem - I don't fault anyone, but I feel they didn't really know what to do with us. Which is strange as when you're so used to either doing things by yourself or with a label who's really used to talking to you and seeing how you want to send something into the world, we'd kind of given up that authority as you just think that this is a really well established record label and of course they'd know what to do. I just feel they really bungled a lot of stuff and every time they asked if there was something they could do for us I'd replace it with the word bungle. Like, 'Can I bungle that for you?' Again without getting too specific, I'm glad that we get to try something new.I guess it must be handy that Dave’s got his label Federal Prism and is a great producer too?
I think that that's a great thing because it's better to get to be able to do what you want to do than to try and meet someone's standard of what they think will keep you commercial viable or whatever.I've had the shittiest stressy past two days and Second Song has been ever present to calm me down, so thank you for that.
Oh good. That's the best compliment we could ever get and is kind of the reason and point for us doing that. I hope you're day gets a lot better, sorry things are being brutal.It's not so bad. I'll just eat ramen noodles if I get fired, they’re tasty, right?
They're tasty. I lived on them for years. They get you through it, they keep you vertical.