SPEED DEALER MOMS
A magnetic collaboration born out of close friendship, Speed Dealer Moms is a collaborative electronic music project with a fluid line-up, commonly made up of John Frusciante, Aaron Funk and Chris McDonald. First crossing paths in 2008, Funk and Frusciante initially met through mutual musician friends, with a shared love for electronic music leading them to discover they had a certain chemistry in the studio as well. McDonald, a longtime friend and collaborator of Funk's, soon came into the fold. Bonding over dice games, marathon recording sessions and an infatuation with analog and digital hardware, the group of like-minded friends began creating music without paying any mind to outside pressures or business-related formalities, marking a distinctive shift in mindset from their other projects and obligations as professional musicians.
For these three friends, the absence of an anticipated outcome is a natural instinct, allowing their sessions to be wholly focused on creating in the moment. With this collective mindset at the forefront, Speed Dealer Moms organically took shape, borrowing the name from an inside joke that was simply too good to pass up. Since their earliest recordings, such a purity of intention has remained at the core of what Speed Dealer Moms is all about, giving the group the freedom to experiment, improvise and fully explore the clairvoyant complexities of their expressive sound together. Outside of their work together as Speed Dealer Moms, each member has built a substantial catalog through a range of projects and aliases. Funk is best known for his prolific output as Venetian Snares and his Last Step alias, while McDonald is best known as SKM-ETR and The Alison Project. Frusciante currently splits his time between the Red Hot Chili Peppers and his work as a solo electronic artist, releasing music both under his own name and through his moniker, Trickfinger.
Although separated by busy schedules and different geographic locations, with Funk and McDonald based in Winnipeg and Frusciante in Los Angeles, the group has routinely carved out space to work together in person several times a year, usually for two weeks at a time. During these designated sessions, the group records live to stereo with no overdubs or edits, improvising arrangements that feel composed. By placing a subconscious and unspoken emphasis on challenging the other creatively, Frusciante and Funk have cultivated a creative process that has a seemingly telepathic quality to it, often employing a numerical musical language of their own making to bring their tracks into being.
Together, they've found ways to write in odd time signatures with ease, as well as figured out how to maneuver regimented machines in a way that allows them to sound free-flowing. Programming instruments such as a multifold of modular synthesizers, 202s, 303s, Monomachines and Machinedrums, SDM pushes the limits of these machines, generally going out to the edge of risking the track's self-destruction before getting to the end of each recorded take. McDonald, whose expertise also includes building custom analog synths, amicably fits into the intricacies of such a dynamic writing process, one that is driven by mathematics, mechanical understanding and musical spontaneity alike.
After amassing hours of recordings and finding themselves inspired to share a taste of what they've created with others, Speed Dealer Moms released their inaugural EP through Funk's Timesig imprint on Planet Mu in 2010. Composed of two stunningly beautiful tracks that strangely and curiously typify acid, electro and techno influences, the limited 12-inch vinyl pressing featured song titles that alluded to the date of when they were recorded, offering a glimpse into the treasure trove of Speed Dealer Moms' unreleased material. Throughout the past decade, Speed Dealer Moms have continued to add to the vault whenever circumstances have allowed. Over the years, various ideas have been considered on how to release more of their unorthodox recordings in unconventional ways. As fate would have it, Speed Dealer Moms will make their return to the public in 2021 with a 12" 3-track EP courtesy of Evar Records.