The boy with the panda mask had always dreamed of forming an electroclash group with a female voice. Over the years he had desisted from his intent because he was involved in other projects. He had also decided that, before approaching electronic music and programming, it would be appropriate to learn how to read, write and count.
Having reached these goals of personal affirmation, the boy with the panda mask met the girl with the cat’s mask (in reality she literally burst into a public toilet and met him thanks to a not really reliable lock) which in Italy directly from the Yorkshire countryside. She thought it was the case to give credit to the ravings of the first unknown person met. So, in September 2016, the two masked guys began composing the tracks of an album that could only be called Party Animals. Bikini Death Race music is inspired by bands like Ramones, Tigre, Kap Bambino, Crystal Castles, Tuxedo Moon, Ladytron, Depeche Mode, Cock Sparrer and … the Ace of Base!
Party Animals became their personal exorcism. A soap bubble that they have built and inside which they hide when the evil of living becomes unbearable. They chose idiocy as a psychotherapy. and Dadaism as a philosophy of life.
Party Animals is available both on physical media (CD and cassette) and in “virtual” version (BandCamp, Spotify, itunes, googleplay and many others).
Check out Party Animals below!
We managed to catch up with the band as they talked about their latest release and more!
So how has the release of Party Animals gone down with fans so far?
Well we ‘came out’ as a band in April so it’s difficult to say (prior to that while we were writing and recording the album we pretended to be an extreme car rally, which, if you want to see, is all over our first website, here is the link: http://www.bikinideathrace.com/oncewewerearally.html) . We do have some true non-family, non-friends fans which is amazing. Also, we are in the middle of a crowdfunding campaign to press a vinyl of ‘Party Animals’ which we were a bit nervous about launching since you really need a fan base to make it work and have been very surprised and stoked at the response, again, even from fans who we didn’t go to school with and are not related to us! (May we take this opportunity to plug it? https://musicraiser.com/projects/10791 ?) Last week we played in London to a small gang of ‘bikinideathracers’ who were singing ‘Party Animals!’ ‘Party Animals!’ back to us and demanding ‘one more song! ‘one more song!’ we even had a stage invasion by a panda fan wearing a panda hat while on tour in the UK. All totally unexpected, so I think it’s safe to say we can die happy after those incredible experiences!
Can you tell us something about the release no one else knows?
Party Animals could have been called Alaskan Pipeline…
What’s your favourite track from the album?
Panda: my favourite track is ‘The Rabbit Hole’ because it’s probably the one that I can relate to most. When I meet people, I usually have other inane thoughts going through my mind like ‘where am I going next? did I turn the cooker off? what am I making for dinner tonight? etc.’
Cat: It’s a tough one but probably ‘Time Machine’ because I love the dark undertone to it and the message really sums up my existence: I know deep down what I am happy doing and I might even have the means to do it but I’m too distracted and conditioned by other everyday shit to focus
If you could work with any band on a new song, who would it be and why?
Panda: I’d really like to work with Fever Ray. She is definitely my favourite artist of the moment. I love the lyrics, tunes and the way she composes and arranges song. I really admire everything she did with The Knife.
Cat: Take That in the early ‘90s – I mean, five fit guys with their abs out doing backflips and singing ‘re-light my fire’…no contest!
What’s the alternative music scene like in Rome at the moment?
It’s probably similar to any other city’s alternative scene or most likely a bit worse..there are a few brilliant bands. A lot of good bands and loads of shit.
What was the first ever gig you went to?
Panda: The Ramones, Rome, 1993
Cat: The Inspiral Carpets, Manchester, 1990
What do you get up to in your spare time when not working on music?
Panda: I know it does not sound sexy in the slightest but I really love to lay in bed, sleep, read books and watch TV. I have come to realize that I don’t like being in crowded places. I’d rather stay home at night and talk to my cat.
Cat: Gosh I don’t have a lot of spare time at the moment since I work all day, take care of my family and any moment I get to myself is for music. I’d love to say I work out, go to the theatre and spend hours marveling at the beautiful sights of Rome but it’s simply not true!
So you have a show in Rome coming up at Traffic Live, how pumped are you for this?
We are always pumped for playing live. It’s our favourite thing ever, be it in front of 5 people (yes, that has happened), or 50. It is hard to describe the feeling we get from being up there and just giving it our all. We have a lot of fun and spend a lot of time laughing and doing what we love best…playing and basically being cretins. Life is too short to always be serious. That’s what Bikini Death Race is all about.