Cartoon Tyrannosaurus Rexs, ancient wrestlers and costume-heavy live sets – welcome to the surreal world of Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs…
words: Andy McColgan
If you’ve not heard of the Greco Roman Soundsystem you should look them up – very soon. They’ve been throwing wildly colourful parties – with a compellingly unique modus operandi – across the globe for the last few years. No sponsors, guestlist, music policy (other than strictly no deep house or minimal) and no photographers are the rules – over and above that, pretty much anything goes. The collective consists of Joe Goddard from Hot Chip, Half Nelson Full Nelson and Ross Allen, among others, while their record label offshoot features Drums of Death, David Sugar, Grovesnor and Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs. They all DJ and perform at the Greco Roman parties, and the nights have seen special cameos by everyone from Busy P and Basement Jaxx to Trevor Jackson and Tunng…
For as long as I’ve been interested in music, there’s been something about image and artwork that has persuaded me to check out acts that I maybe wouldn’t have been inclined to investigate. Greco Roman are no exception. Have a look at their MySpace page and you’ll get the gist –ridiculous comic book-inspired alter egos for all the members is just the start of it. Amazing record sleeves, posters and the fantasy Olympian wrestling slant all combine to create the perfect level of mystique and good fun. It’s not all style without substance though – the tunes this team are coming out with are original, playful, forward-thinking and rather banging.
The label’s first release is the All In One Sixty Dancehalls EP by Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs, a double act who take to wearing dinosaur costumes or equally surreal outfits for their live shows. These boys are the antithesis of the serious electronic artists who stand on stage doing very little when they play live. The EP features three tracks which veer from the two-step meets synth pop mix-up of Bournemouth, to the bassy electro grime madness of Sickly Child, via highlight Moon Hits The Mirrorball, which is all synthesised wonky pop and toytronica computer game euphoria, reminiscent of some of Hot Chip’s more mainstream offerings. An intrigued EQ caught up with this highly entertaining and humourous two-piece for a chat about the new EP, the Greco Roman Soundsystem and some other nonsense too…
Tell us a bit about All In One Sixty Dancehalls? How’s the EP been received?
On the one hand there is the bass-heavy Sickly Child, and on the other there is disco pop work-out Moon Hits The Mirrorball. It’s going well – we are really happy that people are into the tunes.
Who are the Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs and when and why did you form?
We’re an unknown number of malnourished individuals who find a common ground through a mutual appreciation of Technicolor treble, dark-blue bass, and broken delay units.
What were you up to before forming the outfit?
We were writing spectral music, just separately and in very different ways, which we still do.
Can you tell us about the Greco Roman collective that your part of?
Greco Roman! There's us, Drums Of Death, David Sugar, Grovesnor, Joe from Hot Chip, and The Greco Roman Soundsystem. They throw chaotic parties all around the world, we highly recommend attending. You never know who might turn up and play unannounced.
What can we expect from a TEED live show?
White noise and bass, and then some drums. Sometimes we play bootlegs and have dancing lady dinosaurs. A distinct lack of beard stroking, partly because none of us can grow beards and a genuine sense of panic.
Are you working on an album at the moment?
We’ve got a whole load of tracks that we do live, and new studio working methods that we are getting excited about, so we hope to put something out there before the end of the year. We’ve just finished remixes for Magic Magic, Dan Black and Crystal Fighters.
Where did the name and concept for TEED spring from?
Lunch in a museum.
All In One Sixty Dancehalls is out on Greco Roman Records on June 15. Visit www.myspace.com/totallyenormousextinctdinosaurs and www.myspace.com/grecoromanmusic
