Black Tiger Sex Machine Releases ‘Futuristic Thriller’ EP

Today, Black Tiger Sex Machine (BTSM) released their Futuristic Thriller EP, which, in true BTSM-style, boasts aggressive bass beats perfect for headbanging. The Canadian trio—comprised of Marc-André Chagnon, Julien Maranda and Patrick Barry—is well-known for creating a performance that strikes the right balance between a live show and a DJ set. This could be seen in their Futuristic Thriller Tour, which unfortunately had to be postponed due to the COVID-19 crisis, because it created a movie experience with their visuals that matched their music. The Kannibalen label bosses took the time to share with Forbes the inspiration behind the Futuristic Thriller EP, live streaming their movie experience tour during quarantine, what’s next for them and more.  

Lisa Kocay: What was the inspiration for your forthcoming EP Futuristic Thriller? 

BTSM: “The title comes from a mix series we’ve had for several years. Within them we incorporate storylines and audio clips from sci-fi movies to give the mixes more depth and make them more immersive. We’ve always been inspired by cyberpunk universes like Blade Runner, Mad Max and Akira. Since the beginning of BTSM and Kannibalen, we’ve slowly built up our own storylines, characters and universe. We had reached a point where we could push the universe to the next level with a live action movie experience. The goal was to pair music with scenes from our short film. 

“The idea of Futuristic Thriller as the EP is taken from our mix series and our most recent tour—we felt the need to close this adventure with a musical journey. Hopefully fans can live or relive the experience at home and feel part of the BTSM Church. That’s why we incorporated the Naomi character from our live action film on the Futuristic Thriller EP artwork. 

“We really wanted to dive in and give a clearer look at some of the main characters, including Naomi, a resistance fighter for the BTSM Church, as well as the BTSM Fighter, which is controlled by Naomi or other resistance fighters. The resistance is going up against many enemies including AI Zombies, which are hybrid creatures that are biomechanically enhanced. These are just some of the characters in the universe we wanted to further shine a light on with this EP.” 

Kocay: Can you share any stories behind how some of the tracks were created? 

BTSM: “Because we look at all of our songs, especially ones for EPs and albums, as a part of a larger universe, each track holds its own space or story within that post-apocalyptic world. Sometimes, things that are going on in the real world play into or inspire that. In a way, things in our world will mirror those within the real world, but in a distorted, dystopian sort of way. 

“‘KILLZONE,’ ‘Let’s Get It’ and ‘Time Travel’ were used during our tour alongside the live action scenes, so we built the visuals around those tracks specifically for the show. ‘KILLZONE’ would open the show with the AI Zombie arriving in a BTSM Church bunker. He’s there to kill the remaining members of the resistance. Naomi, who’s one of the last survivors of this facility and part of the resistance, is a connected fighter. She controls the BTSM Fighting Machine via a cerebral connection. Against slim odds, she decides to fight the AI Zombie. 

“For ‘Let’s Get It,’ the AI Zombie vanishes somewhere in the base. Naomi searches for the Zombie, which attempts to sneak up behind her and a huge fight scene ensues. She’s forced to take drastic measures near the end. 

“‘Time Travel’ closes the show. The BTSM Fighter, controlled by Naomi, seems to be in critical condition after she doubles down on her drastic measures. Even more zombies infiltrate the warehouse in big numbers. As she seems defeated, it fades and we are disconnected. We also try to use every artwork as an opportunity to keep the storyline alive—that’s why we’ve been incorporating the characters on the singles artworks. On the ‘Doomsday’ art, for example, it seems like the BTSM Fighter has in fact finally won the battle against the AI Zombie, and the story continues.” 

Kocay: Some of the tracks on the EP are very hard hitting while others are more mellow (at least in comparison), which really allows the EP to span the spectrum of bass music. What’s your creative process like when making music? 

BTSM: “For us, making music needs to make sense when playing live. All three of us are working different angles of the songs and the music needs to fit within our story and show. When we play live, we try to take people on a journey. Lighting, visuals [and] music—it all allows us to communicate with the crowd. It’s always evolving and we love switching the tempo and music style throughout the show.

“We’ve always been inspired by artists like Daft Punk, Justice and the French Touch Electro movement from the blog house era, so we still love putting out that type of sound. Basically, we don’t want to limit ourselves to just one style. It’s fun and we think some of the lighter tracks are a bit more digestible for people to listen to on repeat at home while they quarantine. A song like ‘Nobody Wants You’ should give a good dose of nostalgia to the Electro fanatics.

“During the tour, we had a big techno style section that fans really vibed with, so we were inspired to do something in that vein with techno and electro. It’s nice to explore different emotions, because at the end of the day we’re all complex humans and delivering diversity in our catalog is what we want to do.” 

Kocay: How did you choose the name of the EP? What does Futuristic Thriller mean to you? 

BTSM: “Like we mentioned before, originally it came from the mix series. We want the BTSM show and our music to be keys to another world. Our universe is in the future, one that is post-apocalyptic, so that’s where the futuristic part comes in. When you think of the term ‘thriller,’ there’s this energy and sense that things can change at any moment. At its core it can go either way: good or bad, up or down—anywhere. You’re on the edge of your seat waiting to see what happens next because you’re so engaged. So together, Futuristic Thriller embodies all those things.

“On a related note, with us making different genres, Futuristic Thriller fits describing our overall style, as though we’re writing music for an action packed sci-fi movie.” 

Kocay: The EP goes by the same name as your recent tour. Though the movie experience tour had to be cut short due to coronavirus, can you tell me how the shows that did happen went? What were the reactions from your fans? 

BTSM: “We were fortunate enough to play most of the tour, but the last few shows were postponed or cancelled. This was our biggest production that we’ve ever had with a full team on board to make it happen. We were basically bringing our own movie theatre on the road. 

“It was a bit of a risk to bring such a visual storyline to a music event that people want to rage at, but people really connected to it and it paid off. People wanted the movie experience to go even further and they were dressing up as characters and bringing our universe home with them. The fans are involving themselves and making it their own and we couldn’t be happier. It means a lot to us to see all the amazing outfits, the cosplay, the BTSM kandi and perlers, we know all of this takes tremendous dedication and we are forever grateful to our fans for it. 

“We almost sold out every show, on top of playing huge venues like Palladium and headlining at the Great Saltair and Mission Ballroom. We were blown away by everything, a dream come true. We had been dreaming of doing such a project since day one and it still feels surreal we were able to do it.”

BTSM: “We really put a lot into this to make it unique for our fans. We wanted to give the idea that someone is walking into the venue and being in the crowd, instead of just simply watching a livestream.

“It’s full of raw clips from the tour shows and it's as though you’re inside watching the whole experience. We mixed all the music to the movie and visuals. It’s crazy to see how far we’ve taken all of the visual aspects of our show. When we first started out, we couldn’t do everything that we had in our minds just because of pure resources, but now we’re able to transport people and really give them a sense of who we are and what our universe and stories are all about… and it’s just the beginning.”  

Kocay: What are some songs you’re listening to during these crazy times to keep you calm? 

Julien Maranda: “John Coltrane - A Love Supreme

Miles Davis - Kind of Blue

Rüfüs Du Sol - ‘Live From Joshua Tree’” 

Patrick Barry: “‘Jack Harlow - ‘What’s Poppin’’

JOYRYDE - BRAVE”

Marc-André Chagnon: “Young Thug - ‘Sup Mate (feat. Future)’

Lemaître - ‘Fast Lovers’

All three of us have also had Apashe’s album, Renaissance, on repeat.”  

Kocay: What are your plans for the future?

BTSM: “Right now we’re focusing on putting out as much content as possible from both ourselves and our label, Kannibalen Records. We want to put out much more music, starting with this big EP, but we also have some big collaborations we are working on, including one with Kayzo. We want to bring Kannibalen Records to the next level and we’ve got a huge schedule this year. Included within that is expanding our efforts to showcase up and coming artists through Kannibalen Radio.

“Other than that, we’re gonna take the time to work on the screenplay for the next part of the Movie Experience and maybe make a little art booklet with a collection of stories and visuals for fans to enjoy.”