Reptar Revs Up For Mad Decent Block Party
"I am planning on having the best time of my life!"
Athens, GA-based buzz band Reptar fashions its sparkling, summery sound from percolating grooves, sugary synth shadings, and effervescent indie-pop momentum. They recently unleashed Body Faucet, their first full-length album for Vagrant Records, and the word about their party-ready sound has been spreading fast ever since. By the time they take the stage at the New York installment of Mad Decent’s free, outdoor Block Party series at Williamsburg Park on August 5 alongside the likes of Major Lazer, Erol Alkan, Bonde Do Role, Lunice, and more, the fervor surrounding them will be full-blast. We caught Reptar keyboardist William Kennedy in the midst of getting psyched up for the show.
This isn’t Reptar’s first Block Party – the band also played at Mad Decent’s Chicago bash last year. “It was kinda raining all day,” remembers Mitchell, “but it was really fun and the people there didn't care at all! They all just came to have a good time and thats exactly what it was. Dance music and hip-hop all day gets the booties shakin’ and people get wild. It was a really extraordinary time.” Though Reptar isn’t actually on the Mad Decent label like many of the other acts at the Block Party, Kennedy says “The guys on the label seem to be really into what we are doing…there have been talks of doing a Mad Decent remix of a song of ours, maybe a collaboration in the future…who knows?”
Of course, since Reptar is known for its fun-loving feel, attention-getting outfits, and celebratory shows, pretty much every performance ends up turning into a party. “We try very hard to make the shows not about us but about the audience,” says Kennedy. “It’s all about living and experiencing this music in the moment and agreeing with whatever’s the first impulse your body says to your mind. All of us in the band have a lot of energy and we love the outlet of the live performance to let it all out…it all just kind of happens in that nervous anxiousness that is the true galaxy of performance on stage. A lot of time before shows we also booty-shoot ‘Truckers Luv It’ energy pills.”
Kennedy describes Body Faucet as an album that “lifts you off into a cloud dream and puts you to sleep, and then shakes you awake and says your house is on fire and the only way to put it out is to stop, drop, and do a little dance.” With the band’s recently elevated profile, the energy level at their shows ascends as well. “It’s definitely been cool to see people in the audience actually know what song we are playing as soon as we start playing it, and sing along,” he says. “The album has definitely been a boon for us, but really I think the specialness of this band lies for a lot of people in the live show.”
With that in mind, Kennedy looks ahead to the Brooklyn Block Party saying, “I am planning on having the best time of my life! The scene is all over the place, and that’s what I like about it! You can see people hula hooping in the back, or someone dressed up as Abe Lincoln without a shirt in front, starting a circle dance with somebody with tie-died skin breakdancing in the middle. All the freaks come out and I love it, it feels like I finally fit in somewhere.”
