Baron von Luxxury

Baron von Luxxury is a fake name used by songwriter, producer, artist, DJ, blogger and remixer Blake Robin. He wrote, produced and performed all the instruments on his debut album (as "Luxxury") entitled "Rock and Roll is Evil." After the success of synchs from that album (including the use of the song "Drunk" in a national Pontiac ad), Baron/Blake signed a co-publishing deal with Razor and Tie in 2007. He moved to LA shortly thereafter to write and produce songs with a variety of artists, including: Little Boots, Robots in Disguise, Sugar and Gold, Vanessa Daou, The Mae Shi, HEALTH, Bullet and Snowfox, Keenhouse and many more. Some of these songs will appear on upcoming releases from those artists and on his next album, "Baron von Luxxury is My Fake Name." His remixes for Glass Candy, Little Boots, Sunny Day Sets Fire, Robots in Disguise, Hilary Duff and many others have been posted on the finest music blogs all over the planet including BigStereo, Discobelle, RCRD LBL, PandaToes and literally dozens more. Baron/Blake also co-founded The (Disco) Workout, one of the most popular electro blogs (http://www.discoworkout.com) and often DJs music posted there in LA, NY, SF and beyond. Recently dubbed the "post-post synth pop king" by LA Weekly, Baron Von Luxxury is interested in the divide between the underground and the pop mainstream. Whether its remixing HEALTH one day and Hillary Duff the next; writing rapturously about Enya or Glass Candy on his beloved blog Disco Workout; or referencing Pet Shop Boys and Steely Dan with equal respect on his upcoming album, BvL seeks that fine line dividing what is cool from what is deeply embarrassing. The Last Seduction taps into a classic Moroder-esque disco vibe but with more modern electronic-influenced bedroom pop feel, evoking equal parts Twin Shadow and New Order, with nods to Sparks, Empire of the Sun, and YMO. As BvL spends as much time crooning a la Bowie as he does falsettoing up a storm, there is a darkness and an edgy wit rarely heard in electronic music outside of LCD Soundsystem. But while the music is bathed in dark beats with shimmering synths and his beloved 16th notes, at the end of the day these are 10 pop songs with clever lyrics, a catchy chorus and sexy, hooky melodies for days. The album openers "The Lovely Theresa" and "Alice Underground" are about his friends Theresa Duncan and Jeremy Blake, who committed suicide in the summer of 2007. "Half the album is me trying to sort out losing two people who had been like a sister and brother to me. The other half is me trying to balance those darker songs with some light." For example, "Terry Richardson" is a smooth, untrustworthy narrator-style "yacht disco" song co-written with LA producer Keenhouse. The single comes with remixes from up-and coming SF disco producer Loose Shus and DFA artist Altair Nouveau as well as a 3D video (with a mystery cameo). Title track "The Last Seduction" and "Women of a Certain Age" dip into "Time"-era ELO territory with a contemporary Empire of the Sun-esque electro sheen, while "Rosebud Was The Name of His Sled" is a slow burning disco funeral pyre evoking Washed Out as much as Sisters of Mercy complete with a melancholy sax solo that would make Sergio proud and has just spoiled Citizen Kane for anyone who has yet to see the classic Orson Welles tour-de-force. "It is excess instantiated, nu-disco funk, and eminently danceable. Even the $10,000-a-plate elite could boogie to this."