Do you ever feel like every band has a clothing line?
Rock-beats-electro duo Analog Sweat and the Native American clothing company UN3EK SY5TEM are connected (but separate), and the ties connecting the two run deeper than the fact that Tyson "Illfranklyn" Powless is involved in both. The music and the shirts share a sense of creative merging.
"The whole concept regarding UN3EK SY5TEM is to take Native American culture, and mix it with street culture ideals," Powless says. "I like graffiti, elements of hip-hop, and just combing them. No one is doing it. When you have an all white clothing company doing Native American imagery, it's like, 'Something's not adding up [laughs].' I don't agree with that. There's a lot of Native talent out there, but they don't have the opportunity, with the shirts, I try to make a bold statement: This is what's up, I don't follow trends."
Analog Sweat doesn't follow trends, either.
"We use keyboards, turntables, guitars. A little bit of everything actually," says Will "Brain A" Currier.
The two come from a diverse musical background, reared on thrash, folk, soul, hip-hop, and electronic music. The varied record collections show in Analog Sweat's music.
This weekend, Analog Sweat will perform at The Fixx Coffee Bar, in conjunction with an art show hosted by Powless. The two will perform separate sets, and then combine.
"We're interested in creating new sounds and atmospheres," Currier says.
Though the two have collaborated with hip-hop artists like Craig G from Juice Crew, Nathan No-Face from Crime Kills, Analog Sweat exists mostly to "create a wall of sound," says Powless.
"We can play anywhere," says Courrier. "It doesn't matter. We can play punk dive bars, electronic shows, coffee houses."
The Analog Sweat is scheduled to perform Saturday, December 3, at The Fixx Coffee Bar in Tempe.
