Friday 28 August 2009

Neurosonics Audiomedical Labs Inc.

Every so often something drops into The Reel’s heaving mailbox that blows our collective tiny minds and makes us feel all funny inside like a sneeze but eight times better. And it happened this week. And it was marvellous.



Fresh from Partizan’s charmed creativity lab Darkroom come Chris Cairns' (he of the magnificent Cadbury’s Crème Eggs spots) latest, a short film made in collaboration with world champion turntablists Scratch Perverts, Foreign Beggars and Shlomo with sound design by Will Cohen.

We managed to grab Mr Cairns for a few questions about the production – but be warned, it seems that excessive exposure to beatjuggling has warped his mind somewhat.

How did the collaboration with the Scratch Perverts and Foreign Beggars come about?

Blackmail and bribery respectively.

Who came up with the concept? Was it something you’d considered before?

My mum. Once before.

Any thoughts of turning the short into a promo?

I like the idea of a gnarled A&R man, rendered destitute by music theft, exhuming the corpses of his favourite historical musicians and making biomechanical attachments from their heads. In his dilapidated basement Buddy Rich's head comes to life on a pristine robot body and proceeds to chew out the man's young assistant. We recognise the assistant as QBert who, after cracking his neck, nods in time with Mister Rich's beat and starts cutting up Biggie and Bob Marley on the turntables.


You have pretty much visually explained the art of turntablism and beatboxing in one fell swoop – which is no mean feat! How does that make you feel?

Like Rocky after the Russian training montage. He's knocked out an on-the-payroll journeyman, I've felled a big tree.

‘Neurosonics Audiomedical Labs Inc.is getting loads of attention, and has already been screamed about in The Metro and Hype Beast, which means the great unwashed love it now. Did you make the name of the short deliberately difficult to say?

It was a toss-up between that and Cool Internet Scratching and Beatboxing Video.

Who was the best at scratching? (come on you must have a favourite)

Anthony Dickenson, the first AD and my erstwhile lover, had a rash on his face and wins hands down.


Scratch Perverts vs Foreign Beggars? Who wins?

Irresistible Force versus Immovable object. Experience versus enthusiasm. Stig's a big lad but I reckon Tony Vegas could give a good account of himself in a fight.

You vs Tom Vek? Who wins?

Tom has better hair than me. I'm better at cricket than Tom.

And finally, have you got anything exciting in the pipeline you can tell us about?

A haircut.

Lovely.

Many thanks to Chris and the team at Partizan for the interview. Check out the short in-situ on the microsite here - www.neurosonicsaudiomedical.com

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