David Last profile picture

David Last

Bass is crucial. Use headphones or speakers.

About Me

Mr. Last makes music, for a number of labels in the USA, Europe, and Japan. With Alka Rex, he is also a founder of the record label (and music project) "Konque."


The snowmans arrived a mile too late, the sell by date had been sold to a milliner in Grand Junction. "Why did they let it ride, why didn't they suture it in place, why didn't they know, why why why?" These were the prevailing sentiments looking backward on the vast expanse of technological warpage that led to the majorest of the minor relapses. Maybe they were busy computing new passwords that would be uncrackable by advertising clones. Maybe they were busy making the zeroes pop up another notch. Maybe they were busy partying in the desert with stag horns on their motorcycle. Maybe they were busy jumping on a motorboat and firing pistol shots at the coast guard. Maybe they were heartbroken, staying in and crying silently into the ribbon edge of their security blanket. Whatever the reason for the treason, they never saw it coming until it came. Oh well, she sighed, sitting up and hooking her oily brown hair behind her ear, time for pancakes.

Response by Yoko Solo :
through the winds that ground my face down to a flap of skin, through the stinking waters that made my hair smell of old leather and disease, through the miles of pointless travel, i held on to the vision of a man who would rule these sullen lands... that man is you, mr. last. your prophecy has been fulfilled, your unknown codes as transcribed in my holy comment box have unleashed the stream of numbers, the machines have risen, the bats squirm and peep, the earth steams, the brown okonomiyaki sauce may not be available in Western supermarkets; but you should be able to find it in Japanese grocery stores that exist in most large European and American cities.

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Hi friends! Thanks for stopping by. To be my "friend" on here, message me. If I don't know you, I can't be"friend" you.

You can get tracks from BEATPORT , with the following labels:
Konque
Staubgold
Dope Recordings
Geometric Deck
W+L

and downtempo tracks from Bleep with:
The Agriculture

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Selected Discography:

EP
(* = vinyl)
*Musically Massive EP | David Last vs. Zulu | Staubgold 2008
BounKs EP | David Last | Konque 2008
Sinking Basement EP (As Konque) | Konque | Konque 2008
Bubble Tea EP | David Last | Dope Recordings 2007
Krust EP | Pocket Pet | Geometric Deck 2007
The Itchy Family | David Last | W+L Music 2007
Bubble Tea EP | David Last | Dope Recordings 2007
Narrabeen Darjeeling | David Last | W+L Music 2007
WhatWhat? EP | David Last | Unfoundsound 2006
*WeSendIt | Pocket Pet | Goosehound 2006
*Posca Kid | David Last | The Agriculture 2005
*Badlands | David Last | The Agriculture 2005

FULL LENGTH CD
The Push Pull | David Last | The Agriculture 2005
Vari-Speed Error King | Plazm | Plasmalab 2001
The Golden Age of Home Computing | Cave | Elemo 2000

REMIX
A Side of Penis | Smirk & W+L | Bear Valley EP | W+L Music 2008
Funky Fromage (David Last's Cheezwiz) | Someone Else | Pencaps Remixed | Foundsound 2007
Falling (David Last remix) | Royale/Attentat | Falling | Dope Recordings 2007
Stucco (David Last remix) | Flacker | Stucco | Dope Recordings 2007
Throbbing Madness Remix | Isomer Transition | Space Madness EP | Moodgadget 2007
*Re: (Re:rechord David Last remix) | Various | Audio.NL 2006
*Matt (David Last's Doki Doki Rock Mix) | Kammerflimmer Kollektief Remixed | Staubgold 2005
*Lazarus (Pocket Pet remix) | Antfactor | WaveTek 2005

COMPILATION
Snails | Pocket Pet | Thoughtless Times Volume 2 | Thoughtless Music 2008
Bubble Tea (Royale's Fenyan Mix) | David Last | Incite CD (XLR8R)
Noctiluca Falls | Pocket Pet | Minlove06 | Minlove/Goosehound 2006
Secret Society | David Last | BBQ Beats 2 | The Agriculture 2004
Vausu | Handheld Soundsystem | Fuzzy Boombox | Fuzzy Box 2002

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1-minute film created for SLOMO VIDEO FESTIVAL:

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Bios are annoying, but here is the Hype:

David Last's tracks often combine dancefloor energy with the deeper-leaning funk of dancehall, dub, latin music and hip hop. All this stuff is probably present in one way or another in his tracks, but it's still something new. A new foodgroup... too simple to call it dancefloor dub, or field funk, or maximal tech(no!)... He has become internationally recognized for his unique soundcraft and deeply funky rhythmic sense, which may be a result of having played drums with NYC bands.

The music employs a wide range of clipped and manipulated sounds, placed with the precision of a sharp shooter. Shades of tone and texture create an emotional reaction to the sound of the music, while a heavy emphasis on rhythmic ebb and flow does the dirty work of getting hips bumping. At parties his set consists of his own unique style of dancefloor rockers, sometimes including a-capella vocals from reggae or hip hop. Given his syncopated rhythmic leanings, the combination sounds natural, never ironic. Crowds respond with screams and sweat. Note the same "f@ck-all let's rock it any old way that feels good" attitude that prevailed back in 70s and 80s NYC; when disco, hip hop, punk rock, and pop music could be found freely intermixing without shame. An offbeat sense of humor is also present, keeping it surprising and uplifting.

Dancehall-influenced music with genius ragga bad-man ZULU is set to hit Europe in August of 2008. New collaborations also include Konque, a music project with Alka Rex, and a record label by the same name. For several years David has been collaborating with Japanese tech-house producer Segeke on a project called Pocket Pet. Pocket Pet has already hit dancefloors hard with EPs on Goosehound (NYC) and Geometric Deck (Osaka).

David's tracks are currently released in a variety of contexts with labels like Staubgold (Berlin), Goosehound (NYC), and Foundsound/Unfoundsound (Philly). He has remixed for many others including indie psych-rock label The Social Registry (NYC) and Audio.NL (Rotterdam). His downtempo full-length CD "The Push Pull" is now in its second printing with The Agriculture label, having gained respect from tough to please critics like Pitchfork, and a sizable cult following. International projects further afield of dance music have included the performance of a commissioned soundtrack for a cavern in Japan, and a video/music installation in Amsterdam.

He can sometimes be found playing live with a 4-piece live instrumental dub group called "Solids," a way of bringing his sounds across with the energy of a rock show.

David lives in Brooklyn. Besides music releases, he also makes soundtracks for film and creates visual artwork with odd abstract cartoon characters. His artwork has appeared on packaging for music and in animated tv-show intros for MTV-Japan. His handmade books have been shown by the Met and bought by MOMA. In his spare time he eats pesto.

(backstory) As a kid in the midwest in the 80s, he was introduced to New York City electro hip hop radio via cassette tapes from his friend CX. Being a fan of Kraftwerk, Sly and Robbie, and rhythm-centric music in general, the sonic world of electro-urban funk was magic. In 1996 in NYC he began making books with the art books collective Booklyn, while playing drums and electronics with bands such as Somnaut (with Jane LeCroy ) and at a pirate radio station on the lower east side. In 2004 he worked with Benton-C on curation of an international audio video compilation for Lincoln Center. The show was called Synaesthesiologists and it was the first time Lincoln Center had approached exhibiting audio/video artwork.

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My Interests

Music:

Member Since: 1/19/2005
Band Website: davidlast.net
Band Members:

vera chytilova, stan brakhage, brothers quay, jan svankmajer, alejandro jodorowsky, martin scorsese, cohen brothers, jeunet+caro, alfred hitchcock, aléx de la iglesia

louise bourgeois, alexander calder, lee bontecou, adolph gottlieb


Influences: Jamaican music, especially Studio One's 60s output: dub, rocksteady, reggae, ska, dancehall. Sly and Robbie, Augustus Pablo, Lee "Scratch" Perry, Scientist, Shinehead, Desmond Dekker, Burning Spear, Skatalites, Michigan and Smiley, Jackie Mittoo, etc. Dancehall: Lenky, Elephant Man, Sean Paul, Sizzla, Mr. Vegas, Tanya Stephens.

Electronic music. Kraftwerk, Art of Noise, Hashim (and other groundbreaking electro hip hop), Delia Derbyshire, Severed Heads, Iannis Xenakis (tape compositions), Negativland, Mouse on Mars, DJ Olive/Lloop, Prefuse 73/Savath y Savalas, DJ Pika Pika Pika, Boards of Canada, Plastikman, Atom Heart, H.A.T., Tetsu Inoue, Vilalobos, Akufen, (a)pendics.shuffle, Someone Else & Miskate, Onur Ozer, Daze Maxim, Trentemoller, Sutekh.
Artful/unusual pop music. Stevie Wonder, Motown, Talking Heads, Prince, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Joao/Astrud Gilberto, Radiohead, Devo, Bjork, YMO, Thomas Dolby, New Order, Depeche Mode, Wire, Zappa, Cornelius, Plus-Tech Squeeze Box, Milky Chu.
Psychedelic music. The Beatles, Haruomi Hosono, My Bloody Valentine, Flaming Lips, Circulatory System, Robyn Hitchcock, Early-mid Pink Floyd, Eno-era Talking Heads, Talking Heads-era Eno
Hip hop greats. Timbaland/Missy, Public Enemy/Bomb Squad, Pharcyde (Bizarre Ride), Antipop Consortium, Kool Keith, Nas, CX Kidfukkentronik, Run DMC
Jazz. McCoy, Monk, Herbie, Miles.
Traditional and modern pop music of India, Indonesia, Cambodia, Thailand, Japan, Okinawa.
Modern classical and film scores. Xenakis, Terry Riley, Steve Reich, Arvo PÃ¥rt, Bernard Hermann, Miklos Rozsa, Lalo Schifrin, Raymond Scott
Sounds Like:


Record Label: staubgold, goosehound, (un)foundsound, wolf+lamb..
Type of Label: Indie

My Blog

Sick Animation

http://youtube.com/watch?v=uuGaqLT-gO4Just completely incredible.
Posted by David Last on Sun, 22 Jun 2008 01:37:00 PST

Why you have to talk to me to be my "friend"

If you want to be added, please let me know who you are, how you found my page, and why you're messaging me. It's like how, if you're at a party and someone walks up to you, you'll like, talk to them ...
Posted by David Last on Sun, 22 Jun 2008 01:40:00 PST

Video: Charles Cohen rocks Buchla Music Easel: Bleepy One-Man Orchestra Action!

http://vimeo.com/902069There's this genius analog synthesizer sound destroyer who lives in Philadelphia. He's my friend Charles Cohen. This is a nicely done video of him improvising beeps and boops....
Posted by David Last on Thu, 15 May 2008 09:07:00 PST

Delia Derbyshire How I Love Thee

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K6pTdzt7BiIEarly electronic music pioneer and sound designer Delia Derbyshire... lending her super tasteful textures to a pop music project... Stereolab probably owns 5 ...
Posted by David Last on Tue, 15 Apr 2008 02:02:00 PST

Annex! / COLORADO Festival!

Hey all! Here’s gig news for New Yorkers and peoples in North America...NYCSaturday April 12, 2007: David Last and Function LESS at Annex152 Orchard St. between Stanton and Rivingtonwith reside...
Posted by David Last on Sat, 05 Apr 2008 04:06:00 PST

Techno Lust

http://www.rogerlinndesign.com/products/linndrum2/Oh. Oh Sh!t.Ohhh Sh!t.(P.S. Yes I am a fucking music nerd)
Posted by David Last on Tue, 01 Apr 2008 01:35:00 PST

Kløverfield

First off, my favorite films are things like The Holy Mountain by Alejandro Jodorowsky, [...] by Stan Brakhage, and Daisies by Vera Chytilova. But who's seen those films besides my friend Mayra, the ...
Posted by David Last on Fri, 25 Jan 2008 05:18:00 PST

Saul Williams / CX Kidtronik : NIGGY TARDUST

My long time friend CX Kidtronik has some beats on this record that, if you ask me, is destined to be an underground (overground?) music classic.Whether you have heard Saul Williams previous records b...
Posted by David Last on Wed, 07 Nov 2007 03:09:00 PST

Flavorpill Party / Amsterdam Film Experience

Hi folks,Fall is here, and the end of the Flavorpill Halloween Party has left me with the distinct impression the summer party season is now officially over. Thanks to everyone who was shakin' it up ...
Posted by David Last on Fri, 02 Nov 2007 09:28:00 PST

Misnomer Dance Theater

I don't see a ton of dance, but this is my favorite NYC dance company.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9eBb5JZSycQ&mode=rela ted&search=
Posted by David Last on Tue, 16 Oct 2007 11:07:00 PST