PropertyOfZack had the chance to switch it up a little bit by doing a brand new interview with MC Lars. Lars and I discussed his upcoming UK and Warped Tour touring plans, his new record, Lars Attacks!, a collab record with Weerd Science, and more. Read up and enjoy it!

The Warped Tour kickoff party was a few weeks ago. How was the opening event?
It was cool. It was a lot of excitement. It was awesome. The space is awesome and we had a good time.
 
Between now and Warped you’ll be heading over to the UK for a big tour with MC Chris and Weerd Science including dates at Slamdunk. Should we expect anything special on that tour?
We might have a few covers. Let’s see, we’re going to have a Welsh MC opening for us. This is Weerd Science’s first international tour besides his touring with Coheed. So that’ll be cool.
 
Will you be doing a set with Weerd Science like you plan on doing at Warped?
It’s going to basically be a long combined set. The point of the UK tour is try out the stuff for Warped and to pick the best thirty minutes for Warped Tour. The timing on it is awesome. It’s going to be good, and it’s going to be a good warm-up.
 
Your label Horris Records put up a Kickstarter for Josh and I believe that it’s surpassed its set goal. Was that a surprise?
It was surprising how fast it happened. I think we did it in the first three or four days, which was dope. I knew he had a fan base, but all the support is nice because it makes it possible. It allows us to do it at a time where we know everyone’s going to download the record for free if they want. It’s a nice counter-balance to that.
 
What do you think about the record in terms of what you’ve already heard?
It’s dope. The music is a step up from his previous album. It’s really cool because the songs are about his drug abuse and getting clean and dealing with having to deal with leaving a platinum band. Musically it’s awesome; it’s like no other rap record I’ve heard. His old label, Equal Vision, was kind of dragging their toes on it, and I’d been waiting to hear it has a fan since ’07/’08, so just to be able to help get it out is really cool as a friend and a fan.
 
How did the whole Warped Tour shared stage idea come up with Josh?
He plays drums in Terrible Things, and my guitarist/tour manager used to book college shows. So he was at a college show that they booked and they talked about Weerd Science and he told Josh that we were big fans, and it turned out that he was a big fan of us, too. So we got together in the studio and then Warped asked me to do it. It turned out Terrible Things is also on Warped Tour, so it’s good because now he’ll be doing double duty.
 
Not too long ago you released your Ill Remix EP. How has the reception to that?
I don’t know, it was just a few tracks. I put up my favorite remixes that kids had sent me as an unofficial thing. People like it. All the remixes have been around for a while, but there have been a few hundred downloads. It’s free and it’s cool. I’d like to just keep putting content.
 
That was released this year, but you’ve been hard at work on your next LP, Lars Attacks!. How far along is that?
It’s all done. We just need to master it. The goal is that we’re going to put out a mixtape this summer called the Indie Rocket Science mixtape, which is going to be stuff from Lars Attacks!, some of my old stuff, and stuff from Weerd Science. Then Lars Attacks! will come out in August.
POZ: The mixtape will be a separate entity though
Lars: Yeah, the mixtape is kind of like a preview of Lars Attacks!. It’s going to come with a comic book and other stuff. For Warped Tour, I know a lot of kids are going to be seeing me for the first time, so I wanted them to be able to hear my older stuff and then talk about the new stuff. In terms of the timing, we’ll also be givng a free download. I’ve found that you’ve just got to keep putting stuff out. Lars Attacks! ended up taking longer than I thought.
 
Can you go into detail about the writing process and production process for the record?
It’s basically all been done out here on the east coast. I did a lot of it in my apartment, and then we tracked some stuff in Upstate in Albany. Then my drummer, he and his friend have a band, so he’s been engineering some of my vocals in New Jersey. We recorded in a lot of places, but I’m really happy with it. The raps are a little harder and the beats are more electronic. It’s more like an album that I wanted to make. It’s a big departure from the last one, which was more poppy. I have some more credible rappers on it; rappers that I’ve always looked up to.
 
What have you realized is different when writing an album now than it once was when writing Robot Kills?
This is my first album where there hasn’t been a label involved. The Graduate and The Laptop EP came out through Sidecho and Nettwerk, respectively. I always had input form industry people. This is the first album where I’ve been the main guy for it. There are less like guitar hero/TV show references on this album. It’s more personal. 
 
Horris Records seems to be growing. Can you discuss its continual growth and any changes you want to implement to it in 2011?
I want to eventually bring on indie rap artists who have original vision that are down to tour, to work, who are good in the studio, who are good live. Weerd Science we signed to a three-album deal. I’m putting out my album out in the fall. Weerd Science and I are going to do a collab album in the fall that we’re trying to get out in late-2011. I’m excited to meet a bunch of people on Warped Tour and network and keep building. The goal is to have three or four really solid artists and build it up as a punk-based hip hop label so that every album we do is going to be amazing. That’s the goal.
 
So both you and Josh will be putting out records more frequently?
Definitely. We’re going to do a collab album and he has an idea for something called the Illogy, which is like a three-part album thing. Being independent allows you to really stay productive. Josh is excited to do a bunch of stuff, and I’m glad to help him.
 
The rumors are that you’d like to make a children’s album after you’ve completed Lars Attacks!, how did that idea come about?
Yeah, that’s been something I’ve been working on for a while. We want to do a hip hop thing post-Warped Tour. We want to really dive into that. Hip hop music is a great tool for teaching and kids really respond to it. I’ve never heard an awesome kid’s hip hop album. It gives you license to bring rhymes back to the basics. That’s why it’ fun. For that, I want to produce it all on my own. Kids like simple stuff, so it’s fun to make stuff like that.
 
Do you have any more touring planned after Warped?
I’m going to go back to Australia in December and then Weerd Science and I are going to do a club tour in the fall in the US. Then maybe back to the UK, but that might be enough touring.
 
After that, are you working on the collab record?
The goal is to finish up that and the kid’s album this year. It’s very possible to also do great demos on the road. My goal is to work on music while we’re travelling to keep it coming.