LA's BANJEE BALL

LA IS BURNING! The folks at Purple Crush have started putting on balls and they look MAJOR. I've always wanted to know more about the ballroom scene in LA. There's more info and future dates at the BANJEE BALL Facebook Page.

And more from LE1F! Performing his now-classic "Wut" (cough Macklemore stole it cough)

PURPLE CRUSH iCarry / interview

One of the great things about running a blog is that when something interesting falls into your lap, it's the perfect excuse to find out more. Such is the case with LA-based production/dance unit Purple Crush, who sent me a sweet little track called "iCarry" (below, so I dutifully sent them back some questions to explain/introduce themselves to CVNTY...

What is Purple Crush/Who is Purple Crush?? 

Purple Crush is the love child between Isla and Jared, a hetero married queer couple.  Purple Crush was born in Brooklyn, NY and saw success in the blog house days, touring the US and Europe extensively.  We then moved to LA where we worked for Interscope and produced music for Lady Gaga (google Purple Crush/Lady Gaga/billboard/rollingstone).  After a drawn out lawsuit, Purple Crush was then resuscitated by the underground LA queer club community, which has brought us to now.

What was the inspiration behind iCarry?

It began as a track with Cobra Krames last may in his studio in Brooklyn.  It's a term everyone is using, not just NYers, and that week i had seen Contessa (of Reign in Ratchet and Azealia Banks' "Count Contesssa") go off on twitter about how she carries.  We've known Contessa for years and i couldn't help being inspired by it.  I had actually asked her to lay a verse but it was literally 3 days before Count Contessa dropped and so she got pretty busy.  Also, I simply must shout out House of Ladosha's "I'm Carrying", because that's the original.  By spelling iCarry like an apple product is sort of calling out the soon to be over exposure of the term (sorry).

Who are the other people you worked with on the track? 

Cobra Krames is an old homie.  He always goes hard.  Rica Shay is this adorable rapper/dancer from NY (though i hear he's moving to LA).  Erik Avery literally started performing in LA 2-3 months ago and is THE buzz kid.  "iCarry" is his first recorded track.

 

What's the ball scene like in LA? 

Well, despite what hipsters may think, it never went away.  I work with a group called REACH LA that houses the LA ball scene, and they have kept it alive; last weekend was their annual ball and Jack Mizrahi came out to MC, it was amazing.  I throw an event called the Banjee Ball which combines the ball scene with the underground club community.  I feel like overall the ball scene in LA is about to become a landmark.

What have you got coming up in the near future? 

We're finishing an album, ICONOCLASSIC (iconoclast + classic).  It features collaborations with the above artists, as well as Raja, Josh Peace (Azealia Banks remixer), Miss Barbie Q, and Rudeness.  I'm also going to be putting together a Banjee Ball tour for next year.

More info at the Purple Crush website.