Chin Chin just wants you to dance. So why don't you?
by John Sewell
The eternal tug of war between artistic pretense and fun-for-fun's-sake entertainment has never been more evident than it is in the form of Brooklyn-based dance band, Chin Chin. The trio, which consists of college-educated jazz musicians well known in the NYC jazz/funk/studio scene, is the embodiment of the yin and yang balance. And who would've thought it, the guys in the band all agree that artistic expression and entertainment can coexist within one unit—in this case in the form of their oddly named band.
"What we're trying to do in the group is to make funky dance pop that comes from the tradition of both Tortoise and Bell Biv DeVoe," says drummer/vocalist Torbitt Schwartz. "We call what we do 'electro-soul.' Everybody in the group is musically trained. We have an ear to the art and experimental music scene; but what we really like is getting our audience—especially the girls—to dance and have fun."
This insistence on fun is blatantly obvious when hearing the band's latest release, Take Off Your Shoes and Dance Like A Monkey (Trino Records). Sure, it's clear that the band has its chops honed to perfection. And, despite the claimed allegiance to Bell Biv DeVoe, Chin Chin is not exactly a bunch of organ-grinder disco hacks. Chin Chin's music has its odd moments and a wry sense of humor, but the focus is on propelling bodies onto the dance floor and keeping them there.
The band was all about fun from its inception. Chin Chin is actually a happy accident. Torbitt Schwartz enlisted his brother, Wilder, to help put together music to be played at a series of Brooklyn house parties. Soon, the Schwartz brothers had signed on Jeremy Wilms as a third partner.
"Chin Chin originally started as just my brother and I," says Schwartz. "At the time, Wilder was having kind of an adverse reaction to jazz school. I had just put together a series of weekly parties where we were backing up a bunch of singers and MCs. We were just really enjoying that project and we decided to take it to another level.
"We've all been trained in jazz, and there's a definitely influence there," Schwartz continues. "But we're definitely not jazz. Our chord voicings might be a little bit more complex than your standard dance pop, but we're just trying to make music that's fun."
It's hard to imagine just how Chin Chin could pull off the complex arrangements of their recordings live. For the current tour, the group is abetted by additional percussionists. Schwartz says the addition of electronics and samples fills out the sound.
"Everything on the record is actually recorded live. Of course there are overdubs. But I use a hybrid drum kit live that is both electronic and acoustic.
"For the record, I made a real effort to make it sound as live as possible," says Schwartz. "But as a live band, I think we're a bit edgier.
"I like the record and I'm proud of it, but it's vaguely innocuous. It's a gentle record. Live there's more desperation. We just totally go for it live and the excitement level is really high. I just dig as deep as I can when I play. And there's this tremendous warmth of spirit that comes from our combined personalities—especially the interaction between my brother and I. We like to get right down there with the audience and have a good time."
One thing Schwartz seems dead set against is pretense, whether it be in the jazz world or in the indie rock community. A native of Louisville, Ky., Schwartz frequented indie rock events there as a teenager and was frustrated by the oppressive sense of "cool" that seemed to hang over the scene like a dark cloud. "I was around that scene when Slint was really popular, around 1993," says Schwartz. "And everyone was just too hip to move or to react to music at all. I hated that."
Schwartz says he was a little worried the first time Chin Chin came to Knoxville because the regulars at the Pilot Light have a reputation of being slightly immobile. This just turned out to be a bad rumor, and the band was greeted with a warm response.
"The last time we were there [at The Pilot Light] the crowd was really there for us," says Schwartz. "We started our set with just electronic drums and kind of staggered in our entrance, adding a musician at a time. And the people in the audience were like, what's this? Next thing you know, everybody just started dancing. I think they were just really open to have a fun time. And that's exactly what we want."
November 20, 2002 * Vol. 12, No. 47
© 2002 Metro Pulse
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