Baron von Luxxury is my fake name. I am the Jewish James Murphy, the white Timbaland, and the less hirsute Jeff Lynne. I am a songwriter, producer, artist, DJ, blogger (DiscoWorkout.com), remixer, and label owner (Nolita Records). If I focused on doing, say, one or two of these things, chances are I'd probably be far better at them. Plus I'd sound far less pretentious. As such, I will now try and describe what I do while treading the thin line between self-aggrandizement and the practical need to explain it to people who might find it interesting. Also, maybe my mom will understand what I'm doing ever since I quit my "big boy job" in advertising so I could spend 18 hour days chopping beats, trying to get a better buzzy bass and writing about my favorite Italo remixes ("Oy, when are you going to get a real job?"*)
//// BARON VON LUXXURY IS MY FAKE NAME ////
In 2007 I signed a songwriting and co-publishing deal with Razor and Tie . That means somebody thinks I'm a decent songwriter and that it might be worth putting a few dollars on the table and see where it goes. So I'm currently holed up in LA writing and producing songs with a variety of amazing artists, including: Little Boots, The Mae Shi , HEALTH , Robots in Disguise , Sugar and Gold , The Glass , Scissors for Lefty , The Blacks , Ultraviolet Sound , Vanessa Daou , Jacques Renault and many more. Look for some of these songs to appear on upcoming releases from those artists and some to appear on my next album, which is tentatively titled “Baron von Luxxury is My Fake Name.” I am also signed to Downtown Records’ RCRD LBL, and will be releasing some new songs there later this year.
//// BVL REMIXES ////
I started remixing songs in 2007 when my homies in Scissors for Lefty asked me to give "Ghetto Ways" a rethink. Since then I've done a few more, including:
* Glass Candy: "I Always Say Yes" (Baron von Luxxury Remix Parts II+III)”
* Little Boots: "Meddle (Baron von Luxxury Technicolor Remix)”
* Sunny Day Sets Fire: "Brainless (Baron von Luxxury Remix)”
* Marianne Faithfull: "Broken English (Baron von Luxxury's Light Touch Remix)”
* Robots in Disguise: "We’re In the Music Biz (Baron von Luxxury's None More Black Remix)”
* Hilary Duff: "Stranger (Baron von Luxxury Eyes of Laura Mars Remix)"
* CSS: "A la la (Baron von Luxxury Lovefoxx + BVL = BFF Remix)”
* Scissors for Lefty: "Ghetto Ways (Baron von Luxxury's Super Thanks for Asking Remix)”
*
Del Marquis: "Runaround (Baron von Luxxury Remix)”
*
The Burning Hotels: "Stuck in The Middle (Baron von Luxxury Remix)”
* Dirty Sanchez: "Really Rich Italian Satanists (Baron von Luxxury Remix)”
My remixes have been posted on the finest music blogs all over the planet including , BigStereo, MissingToof, Discobelle, RCRD LBL, PandaToes and literally dozens more. Links to all of the blogs and free MP3s are on my "BARON VON LUXXURY HAS MADE SOME ATTRACTIVE REMIXES" Myspace profile (see my top 8 below).
//// WWW.DISCOWORKOUT.COM ////
Johnatron and I co-founded The (Disco) Workout, a daily updated MP3 blog at www.discoworkout.com in early 2007. It was a way to write about and share our favorite songs, past and present. Bearbaby joined us late 2007 and Modmixxer in mid 2008. They help pick up the slack that Johnatron and I are often guilty of, and we're growing nicely thanks in no small part to their efforts. You should really read it every day because we have good taste. We also DJ as "Disco Workout DJs", mostly in the bay area but sometimes in LA, NY and elsewhere.
////////// LUXXURY //////////
My first musical project was the band Luxxury, which I started in 2003. I wrote, produced, and played all the instruments on Luxxury's debut album "Rock and Roll is Evil." Devin O'Brien helped with mixing and co-wrote 2 songs with me, and Chris Fudurich and Mark Lewis saved a few troublesome songs with their stellar mixing skills. Stephanie Motzkus also gets huge props for starting the band with me originally, as do Anu Kirk, the aforementioned Devin, and Reid Maxwell. And Sha and Rico have been an integral part of the live band, including our amazing(ly expensive) UK tour in 2006.
The album is about the rise and fall of 70's Sunset Strip groupie Sable Starr. It features liner notes by my dear friend Theresa Duncan and an original cover by her longtime boyfriend Jeremy Blake (Beck's "Sea Change"). I am very sad that they are both no longer with us. The album would never, ever have existed had they not taught me that art was a worthwhile pursuit.
People wrote some nice things about "Rock and Roll is Evil.", such as:
"Lethally addictive. Throbbing, yet controlled euphoria." // URB
"Dance-rock-disco-electro goodness. Luxxury is a gem." // Big Stereo
"Unbelievably addictive. Disco fury. Dazzling!" // Subba Cultcha
"Sexxed up shiny new wave electro goodness you can go absolutely crazy to!" // Graffe Giraph
"Irresistible pop music on crack, an insistent beat that simply screams "dance, motherfucker!" // Aiding and Abetting
"Four and 1/2 stars. One of the finds of the year." // Synthpop.net
Did you know you can buy "Rock and Roll (is Evil)" NOW? Click on the button you find the most appealing and see for yourself!
//// "SWEET AND VICIOUS" VIDEO ////
My friend Roderick Fenske shot this amazing video on 16mm film left over from (ok, stolen from) a Mentos commercial shoot he had done the week before. We shot it in London in September 2006 during our UK tour. WARNING: CONTAINS KITTENS, LASERS:
Luxxury's song “Drunk” was recently used in a national Pontiac commercial and "Sweet and Vicious" was recently heard on MTV's "The Hills." Both songs, as well as "Sable Starr" and Luxxury's cover of Frida (from ABBA)'s 1982 hit "Something Going On" have been played on hundreds of radio stations worldwide, including SF's Live 105, XFM, Virgin Radio London and LA's KROQ.
//// PONTIAC AD W/LUXXURY'S "DRUNK"////
While I was working with him on a remix of Glass Candy's "I Always Say Yes", Johnny Jewel told me the song was about fate. But to me, the title encapsulates the fact that in the biz called show, nobody will ever reject you directly. Because someday you might be a star, and they'll have egg on their face. So the rejection is more subtle and insidious; it drips gently, like Sarah Palin wearing a bikini and waterboarding Gitmo inmates. Or something like that.
One day I got a phone call from Razor and Tie Publishing, who said they wanted to sign me. I rolled my eyes, because - well, the "Always Say Yes" thing. "Sure, sounds great. Now what?" They wanted to start pitching my songs while they wrote up a contract, and they'd take a small cut of anything they got. A week later, I got a call saying my song "Drunk" was going to be in a national Pontiac ad for the Transformers movie.
This has helped keep me from returning to my day job for just a little while longer. Sorry, mom.
PONTIAC AD W/LUXXURY'S "DRUNK" (WARNING: CONTAINS MEGAN FOX, ROBOTS):
*My mom doesn't really talk like that. But clearly she'd rather I go back to advertising.
