Interview with Allison Lapinski

Allison Lapinski is a writer and DJ currently based out of Chicago. She worked at the great college radio station WLUW 88.7FM and has a wide range of experience behind the scenes in underground music. We were stoked to talk with Allison about her experience at WLUW, why radio stations are important, her thoughts on the Chicago scene, and more. Enjoy!

Allison Lapinski

WLUW 88.7FM  PERSONAL WEBSITE

Remove Records: Thanks for doing this interview! Tell us a little bit about yourself.

Allison: I’m originally from suburban Detroit and moved out to Chicago for college a few years ago. A lot of my interest in art and radio definitely stems from listening to Motown and soul and just having such an incredible and historical music city near me as a kid. Now I’m post-grad  and hoping to keep working in music in some capacity. 

How did you get involved with the radio station WLUW? 

I started off at WLUW as a volunteer DJ, with my slot being on Tuesdays from 2am-4am. This was a bit difficult for me, because the station was downtown and I lived on the north side. But I made it work because I loved it and I loved finding new and old music every week for my show. Then I found out that the station could send you out to shows for coverage on the blog (https://wluw.org/news-and-events/). I really quickly fell into music journalism from there, and would interview touring bands and be able to discover some amazing Chicago venues as a broke college kid. The summer of 2019, I became the Music Director at the station, which meant I picked all the new music and was in charge of a massive CD library. The graduating senior told me it would be the best job I would ever have, and I believe that to be true. 

What was your favorite part about working at WLUW?

The people. I met so many strange and cool people, whether it was the DJs or the radio promoters, or a random band that contacted me. I think it also helped open me up a lot more and just be able to listen to people's stories and learn more about their creative processes. I also loved helping film live sessions with bands, where we’d have them come in and perform some songs and then put them up on YouTube: 

(Photo of Burr Oak's live session prior to COVID)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Uc4lFnbMZM

What have you been listening to lately?

Cher Strauberry, Pontiac Stags, Ganser, Prince, and Olivia’s World are some that I’ve been frequenting.

Do you make music? Are you in any bands?

I do not. But maybe I will actually work on learning the guitar this summer. 

What are your thoughts on the music scene in Chicago? Any favorite local bands, venues, or record stores?

The scene in Chicago has so much going on, especially pre-pandemic. Humboldt Park is home to some of the best DIY house shows I’ve been to. And then sprinkled throughout the city are jazz clubs, dance halls, and old punk clubs. I used to average probably 2-3 shows a week just because there was always something to go see. My favorite venue is Schubas Tavern. I am really excited because the Metro just announced an industrial music fest this fall with some really great goth and new-wave bands like Clipping. and Pixel Grip, a great disco punk band.

Why should people listen to record stations in the modern age?

Local and college radio stations have a lot of ties to the success of 90s punk bands, and I think the spirit of that has still continued. The people who work at those stations typically care about musicians and new music in a different way than the algorithm on Spotify or whatever. There’s something different when it is more personal. 

An old photo of the station circa the 1970s-90s.

How do you feel about the future of music/art?

I think that true music and art will always find a way of persevering itself. 

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No Justice, No Peace

 

New comp just dropped!! Listen here (also on vinyl) https://removerecords.bandcamp.com/album/no-justice-no-peace

Interview With Barbican Estate

Barbican Estate is a dark psychedelic rock band based in Tokyo. They released their incredibly captivating self-titled EP last year and are a part of a vibrant rising music scene in Tokyo. We spoke with multi-instrumentalist Kazuki about Barbican Estate, inspirations, the underground scene, and more. Enjoy!

BARBICAN ESTATE

INSTAGRAM  FACEBOOK  BANDCAMP

YOUTUBE  APPLE MUSIC  SPOTIFY

Remove Records: Can you start by telling us a bit about yourself. How did the band get started? 

Barbican Estate: We are 3 pieces band “Barbican Estate” based in Tokyo.

First, I (Kazuki (Gt)) and Miri(Ba, Vo) met at the venue in Tokyo Shibuya. At that time Thurston Moore came and played there.

We realized that we had the same taste for music and also other arts like movies.

And then, Koh (Dr) joined us, and we started the band in 2019!

What's your process like for recording music?

Usually, we create a foundation of song while jamming. After finishing it, we try to add other instruments like sitar, baglama while recording.

So we try to mix improvisational and oriental sounds into the songs.

What do you think of underground music in Tokyo? Do you have any favorite local bands or venues in Tokyo? 

Tokyo has so many good venues. One of my favorite venue is Shimokitazawa SPREAD.

This venue has concrete floors and its looks and sounds are amazing.

Once we have played a gig with “Happy” which is one of my favorite Japanese psychedelic band at this venue.

It was a good experience for us!

Do you have hobbies outside of music?

My hobby is studying any histories of the world. Actually my major at university was “Ancient History of Greece and Rome”. By studying History, I was able to learn a lot about arts and humanities. So it has inspired me a lot for making songs.

What is coming up next for your band?

We will start the recording of our first album at the end of this month!

Who would be one band or artist you would like to collaborate with?

I would love to collaborate with past Sonic Youth members!

We have been greatly influenced by them.

How do you feel about the future of music and art?

We are living a turning point in history. 

I think people want underground arts because they are oppressed by the pandemic.

Underground arts is usually great for liberating people and we expect them to go mainstream as they once did.

Interview With Silicon Heartbeat

Silicon Heartbeat is a punk band from West Michigan. They've released a handful of incredible tapes, including "Earth Static" on Goodbye Boozy late last year. We spoke with Silicon Heartbeat about the project, splits, and the future of music. Enjoy!

SILICON HEARTBEAT

BANDCAMP INSTAGRAM

Remove Records: Tell us a bit about Silicon Heartbeat. How did the project start?

Silicon Heartbeat: Silicon Heartbeat is a one man project from Kalamazoo, MI that started out of boredom, for the most part. I hadn't done any music for a lot of years and I guess I just got the bug & thought it'd be fun to see if I could put my love of (early) Soft Cell & the Ramones in a blender & see what came out. Apparently people like it & that makes it a lot more fun.

How did you link up with Goodbye Boozy for the "Earth Static" tape?

I love what Goodbye Boozy puts out, and, if memory serves, I just emailed and said "Hey, check out my stuff" and Gabriele emailed back and said it was good and maybe we could do something and then a few months went by and I forgot about it. So I was caught off guard when he emailed and asked if I wanted to do a tape, of course I couldn't say no!

You've put out a couple cool splits as well. What do you like about split releases?

The thing I've always liked about split releases is the contrast in styles and that it's a cool way to hear new bands. If you like one band that puts out a split you'll buy it for their side right? But then you flip the record & there's a band that you've never heard before that knocks you out! I've always thought that the unknown element was cool, you don't know what you're going to get. Kind of like trying a new dish at a restaurant or something.

Are there any other bands/artists you'd like to collaborate with?

I would absolutely love to collaborate with Billiam, I think that dude is a genius. Him and Erik Nervous, I would like to work with both of them. I would like to do a split with Axe, they're a killer synthpunk duo from California who put out one of my favorite EP's this year.

What's the music scene like where you're from?

I'm not really involved in the scene here, I'm a stay at home hermit kinda person. I'm sure there's some awesome stuff from here but I don't get out enough or at all (pre-Covid) to really comment on it. Erik Nervous rocks, of course, as well as Thee Elder Gods, a hardcore band from here. Those are the only two local bands that I really know of from here though.

What are you working on next?

I should have two 7's out sometime this year. One is going to be on the always awesome It's Trash! Records & the other one is going to be on the equally amazing Under The Gun Records, I believe that one's going to be a split. I'm super stoked to be involved with both of these labels & I'm really excited about the songs! Although I must say the songs I did for It's Trash! are probably the best I've written so far. But I'm really excited for both!!!!

How do you feel about the future of music/art?

The future for live music is kind of scary with all the Covid business going on but in the end I think it will get back to what it was sooner than later, things are looking up. I think the future for music in general is really exciting. With technology, pretty much anybody can record and put it up on Bandcamp or whatever. It's kind of a double edge sword though for the same reason. Sometimes you have to sift through shit before you find something really good. But it's so much easier now to hear all of the amazing stuff coming out of, say, Australia that back when I was younger you would never be able to hear about unless it was from, like, somebody's second cousin who visited there once.