We all know that music feeds the soul. But what does it do for the body? Well, if you listen to The Glitch Mob, apparently it can make the lame walk. That’s the story from LA Weekly: After a devastating snowmobile accident that left Grant Korgan paralyzed from the waist down, he is walking again, with the aide of crutches and fueled by The Glitch Mob, the electronic crew whose dubstep, glitch-hop and IDM helped popularize those genres throughout North America.
Los Angeles based DJ group The Glitch Mob is made up of three like minded guys: Justin Boreta, Ed Ma, and Joshua Mayer. Boreta, Ma, and Mayer — or Boreta, edIT and Ooah as they like to be called — came together sometime around 2006, after passing through several members until they settled into the core threesome of instrumentalists/producers. Together, they combined their different skills and aesthetics into the compellingly collaged whole that has become one of the most beloved live electronic acts, and distinctive recording artists, working today.
In 2011 they released a 3-song EP entitled We Can Make The World Stop. It was all a triumphant extension of the excitement that followed 2010′s release of Drink The Sea, the Mob’s debut artist album, which rose to unexpected heights amidst already heightened expectations, with fans following as the band pushed into uncharted boundaries, yet still emerging victorious.
Put out via The Glitch Mob‘s own Glass Air imprint, Drink The Sea represented the group’s growth up from the underground into a full widescreen vision. From the cosmic cover art by Sonny Kay (famed for his haunting imagery for Mars Volta) to the cathartic, psychedelic, unclassifiable grooves it holds inside, Drink The Sea launched a whole new phase in the group’s evolution when it was released in 2010. The album’s first single, “Drive It Like You Stole It,” sped to the top of the most popular songs on The Hype Machine’s charts, and cleared the road for a number of successes to follow. When all was said and done Drink The Sea had landed at #15 in its first week on the Billboard Dance Chart, while the Mob became the #1 most added on CMJ’s “RPM” charts, debuting in the top 10. The album also rose into iTunes’ top Electronic Album charts, hitting #1 numerous times, cementing it as one of the year’s best-selling independent electronic albums.
The Glitch Mob learned the expanse and commitment of its community like never before when the band initiated a wide-ranging charity endeavor via Drink The Sea‘s ambitious remix project to benefit post-earthquake Haiti. Over two volumes, landmark artists such as King Britt, DJ Vadim, Eprom, Salva, ESKMO, and Kastle, among others, remixed Drink The Sea‘s original material into 24 tracks whose sale aids tragedies around the globe. “That was a milestone for us — our first foray into getting our music involved with a cause we believe in,” Boreta said. “We realized there’s no better time than the present to use the power of music to create awareness.” The Glitch Mob supplemented this activity with a series of staggering remixes for other artists, including an official remix commissioned for Daft Punk‘s Tron Legacy Reconfigured project, joining the likes of Moby, M83, Boys Noize, Com Truise, Photek, and Pretty Lights.
Last week, The Glitch Mob took a break from the recording of their sophomore LP to spend time catching up with Carson Daly on his show Last Call With Carson Daly, who found this story to be an elevating tale of triumph over hardship. At their home away from home, The Airliner (The Venue for Low End Theory), The Glitch Mob discuss the creation of their music, the special relationship they have with their fans, playing live, and how their music helped to heal Grant Korgan… See the full segment below!
