Take, for example, "Sweet Dreams" by The Eurhythmics backed by the a capella of Eminem's "Without Me" (CB Shaw's Glam Slam Vol. 1), only the music videos are mixed and spliced simultaneously with the audio tracks.
"Having been children of the '80s, we were around when video killed the radio star, so to speak," said Toast, eager to show off the latest video loops Crime has put together on his shiny Apple MacBook Pro. "The music video is part of Americana. Now all music has a video tagged to it, and it is almost as significant as the music itself. We didn't want to ignore that—we wanted to incorporate it." Other imagery isn't passed up, either. Loops flash from Chappelle's Show to Tiananmen Square. Another one of Shaw's creations plays videos from MC Hammer's "U Can't Touch This," Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean" and Eminem, all braided with tabloid press from the King of Pop's notorious underage adventures. "With what's available we can scratch a scene from the Family Guy into our set just like we could any audio track," Toast continued. While the group is tight-lipped about the technology, wanting to keep a firm grasp on the ingenuity, the process appears to be a remixing of the audio and video separately, then loading the two into a video file, where both can be maneuvered independently. Going far beyond the current DVD/MP3 format, which takes a frustratingly long time to load, the video files allow for almost instantaneously access to both.
"We are screwing with all your senses at once," said Toast. "All of this talent together just with audio tracks is unbelievable, but you add in the stuff we are putting up visually, and you just have to see it to understand."
"We are pioneers," added Crime. "We are messing with stuff that hasn't been dealt with before. We take the best parts of a video, the best parts of a song, and put it together in an unprecedented audio and visual performance right in front of you."
The ocular sensation can also be themed, like Crime's Blade mash-up, paying homage to the Daywalker while turning the bloodbath scene into an original music video.
"Nothing we create can be bought in stores," Shaw said by phone from Vancouver. "We are amassing our own video collection and in turn defining the fringe of where technology and nightclub entertainment is going."
Already working with big names like Joey Mazzola and The Killers, the eclectic crew has established itself as the go-to guys for video performance in Vegas. Rumors have flown that Crime has already been in talks with Cirque du Soleil (a coincidence that he is the resident DJ at Revolution, in conjunction with Love? We think not). With residencies of the five ranging from Canada to Seattle, it's tough to land all of them together. Around the corner is a PXL8 performance at Late Night Empire on January 5, but the true exhibition of innovation is slated for January 29 at Jet for the PXL8 Party.
"We are like the Justice League but also the Legion of Doom," Toast joked about the cross-section of personalities that have come together for the collaboration. "We're excited. Things are changing, and we're part of it."