Three Years To Fall in Love

How does it feel to move to New York in the early 1990’s when you’re just 21? We asked Marcus Lambin a.k.a. DFA artist Shit Robot. “At that age you're old enough to pay your own bills and take care of yourself, but also stupid enough to try anything.”

MARCUS LAMBKIN: The name ‘Shit Robot’came from a joke between myself and [DFA Records and LCD Soundsystem's] James Murphy. James has always mocked my raver background and used to threaten to come hang out in the DJ booth, wearing white gloves and doing a really shit, robot dance. It then developed into a character that we used to imagine would come to all our parties and hang out, but he had no friends, he’s a bit sad.

NOUVEAU YORK: You moved to NYC at 21 after winning the green card lottery. Isn’t it the perfect age and time to move there?

ML: Oh yeah, for sure, it was totally perfect. At that age you're old enough to pay your own bills and take care of yourself, but also stupid enough to try anything. It's the perfect time to go out and do some crazy stuff and test the waters. You also have a crazy amount of energy and the ability to go out get wasted every night and still get up and go to work the next day with no problem. It's nuts. 

NY: At what point did you fall in love with the city?

ML: I fell in love with New York pretty much instantly, I mean, my mind was blown right away, it was heaven to me. I can still remember my first time walking into places like Save The Robots, The Gas Station and The Limelight … as a 21-year-old from Dublin, it was quite the eye-opener. I'd never seen anything like it.

Having said that I think it takes about three years for someone to truly fall in love with the place and make it your home. I really felt at home there after a while and I still do to this day, it really broke my heart when I left. 

Photo by Tim Sweeney

“
Liquid Liquid
ESG 
Larry Levan
Futura
Larry David
Louis CK
The Ramones

” 

NY: You co-founded Plant, the party, the record label and the infamous bar, “The coolest loudest bar on Earth”(The Face). A lot of anecdotes have been told about the bar, and you said yourself that you got bored of it, but what’s your fondest memories at Plant Bar?

ML: [Laughs] OK, in hindsight I might want to say that “bored” maybe wasn't the right choice of words. It did wear me out though, it was a little crazy at times, we had lock-ins almost every night on the weekends. There was a period when any DJ that came into town to play a big show elsewhere would come by after the show and have a lock-in with us.

It's a little hard to pick out a single memory as there were so many great times there and a lot of it is more than a little blurry, but having Ad Rock and Kathleen Hanna come and DJ there one night was a big highlight for me. Looking back I feel very lucky and privileged to get to play there every week and to be part of this period in NYC. 

NY: You have been living in Germany since then. Do you miss New York?

ML: Yeah, I still love NY, I feel more at home here than I do anywhere else. There are so many great things, it’s hard to pick anything in particular. The food is amazing, I miss that a bit and I really miss the little neighborhoods, just bumping into friends on the street.

NY: Who are your all time favorite New York artists?

ML: Liquid Liquid, ESG, Larry Levan, Futura, Larry David, Louis CK, The Ramones.

“Maybe another Summer of Love next year?”

NY: What are you cooking during these very weird times? What will follow your last album ‘What Follows’ (2016)?

ML: That's a good question, I don't know really. I took a little break from making music and social media for a while, in the hope that it would revitalize and inspire me to get back to making some fun stuff and doing things that will make me happy. I hate to complain about getting to DJ and make music for a living, but I feel like I lost my way for a minute there. I got caught up in the whole touring and releasing cycle which can get depressing. I think it's working though, I already feel much better and am getting excited about music again.

NY: Our times are not a good time to party. Do you have an idea of what good stuff will be coming from this mess?

ML: Well, hopefully it can be like a big reset button. I think that people will be so excited to get back on the dance floor after all this is over that they will be more open to different types and styles of music like back in the day. Things could get real exciting and fun again. Maybe another summer of love next year? 

NY: What is your perfect party set-up?

ML: I like a small dark room, low ceilings. Not too much in the way of lights, but always a mirror ball. A DJ booth is also important I think, they are so rare these days. It’s just not the same playing on a table in the middle of a stage. That’s not what it’s about for me, it’s not a rock show, I hate it when people come to look at the DJ, you’re supposed to be dancing.

NY: Could you let us know your top 3 favorite movies featuring Robots?

ML: Empire Strikes Back, 2001, Aliens.

NY: And who are your favorite robots in music? 

ML: Kraftwerk.