The University of Vermont's Independent Voice Since 1883

The Vermont Cynic

The University of Vermont's Independent Voice Since 1883

The Vermont Cynic

The University of Vermont's Independent Voice Since 1883

The Vermont Cynic

STS9 Is Coming Too

Sound Tribe Sector Nine has played Burlington many times in the past few years. After releasing their new album Artifact on their own independently owned record label 1320, this tour will be one not to be missed. The new album features styles ranging from House and Down Tempo to R&B and Hip-hop flavored beats. While Artifact is a departure from their more experimental live sound, it still captures a voice that is unique to STS9.

On Monday February 21 at Higher Ground you can be sure that you will hear some old favorites as well as some new material. Here’s what keyboardist David Phipps has to say about the new album:

DB: Do you think that with the release of your new album Artifact people will view you not only as a great live act, but also as a band capable of studio work which is just as innovative and creative?

DP: We sure hope so, we spent a lot of time, effort, and attention producing this album ourselves. It took us almost 5 years to produce this album on the road and also in various other locations.

DB: I noticed that on this past Halloween show you guys played the first set without guitar or bass, and used laptops instead. Can we expect more shows like this in the future?

DP: Yeah, more and more in the future we will be doing a lot more material working on laptops. A lot of the material on the new album features tracks that were created on laptops, and then adapted for the album. So as a result of that we would like to incorporate some of those songs into our live shows. Hopefully, if we have the chance to do some more international touring, like when we went to Japan, we would incorporate more electronic pieces created on laptops. It would also help us out, because we would have a lot less gear to lug around.

DB: As most of your listeners know, you all have a very diverse and eclectic style, can you name some artists and or albums that truly inspired you to become who you are today?

DP: My stock answer for musical influences is always Hunter Brown (Guitar Player for STS9). Whenever I look for music, I just ask Hunter. Hunter is probably my biggest musical influence because he has so much music, he is constantly collecting, always trying to challenge his musical senses. Because he always has so much music, so do I. Other musicians like Boards Of Canada and Alice Coltrane have also been a huge influence. After the New Years show we got kicked down a bunch of music from Richard Devine. He gave us an enormous collection of music that spans the evolution of electronic music from the last 50 years.

DB: In the past you have done shows with MC Conrad, Scottie, and other MC’s. Can we expect any future collaborations with MC’s?

DP: For sure, Collective efforts and the Atlanta Crew. We are working on a release of Artifact with remixed songs, and songs with MC’s. Our new record label 1320 hopes to have many different projects from Hip-hop to Meditative works.

If you want to check out the new album head down to Pure Pop, strap on the ear goggles and space out. Be sure to check out the show at the new Higher Ground with Futureman from Bela Fleck.

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STS9 Is Coming Too