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While many people consider social networking sites to be little more than a shortcut to the shallow end of the gene pond, these frivolous time-wasters still have the potential to be the art-house cafés of the future. This proved to be the case when digital wizard Grahm Zilla of Montreal accidentally dragged a song he had been working on into the wrong profile box on MySpace. Another one of his MySpace “friends”, a complete stranger named Isis Salam, received the file on her computer in Toronto and soon returned the track to Zilla with her own sultry urban vocals laid overtop. Thus, music history was made and Thunderheist was born.
Named for the act of stealing someone else’s fame and glory out from under them, this volatile Canadian couple mixes up the MC diva’s soulful rapping with her male counterpart’s electronic instrumentation, resulting in a sparkling “Ghettotech” hybrid that’s made them a phenomenon on the pop-dance scene since their emergence in 2005.
“I’m definitely a vibe-y kind of person,” says Salam of the unusual circumstances surrounding Thunderheist’s formation. “I believe things happen for a reason and there are no co-inky-dinks. I know that if something’s meant to happen it will inevitably come to pass. I’ve always found other musicians that way. I recently connected with an amazing drummer from Manchester that way. You never know what will happen. I’m only 23 years old, so I can’t be too serious — paying the rent is getting serious for me. Meanwhile, Grahm’s 32 and he’s had his youth. He’s all into being responsible and not being a shithead. I try to balance enjoying our highs with enjoying the work.”
Thunderheist has come a long way in a relatively short period of time, from sending MP3 files to each other over the Internet to signing with Big Dada Records. Their song "Jerk It" was featured on the soundtrack to the 2008 film The Wrestler, with the single’s video receiving ample attention from TV and print music media outlets. More significantly, the band’s first full-length finally appeared on March 31, 2009. Preceded by four well-received EPs, Thunderheist’s long-awaited self-titled debut CD promises to take things to the next level.
“We just did the video for the last single, ‘Little Bootie Girl,’” Salam says. “It’s one of the little extras that we’re adding on for the fans. It’s also a way for our director, George, to keep me in four-inch pumps all day. Honestly, I should get an award for the punishment my poor legs and calves took! I’m Nigerian and I come from a family where all the women have these huge behinds that talk when they walk and I’ve got nothing. It’s not fair. I’d appreciate having some junk in my trunk, but I’m just a little bootie girl and this song is about me embracing that. But, you know what they say: The grass is always greener.…”
Once quoted as saying “Our relationship is something like Ms. Piggy and Kermit the Frog,” Salam is surprisingly comfortable with the things that set her apart from her partner, who fulfills the meticulous producer component of their working chemistry. Working out their new material on the undulating masses that pack their performances, Thunderheist storms the stage with catalytic energy. From the finger-popping “Freddie” to the hypnotic strains of “Suenos 2k8” to the Oxycontin-and-Courvoisier cocktail of “(Where the) After Party At?,” each of Thunderheist’s new beat-driven tracks bristles with street-savvy electricity.
“It’s all about the individual with us,” says Salam of the duo’s at-times-tempestuous relationship. “I’m usually content, but never satisfied. That’s where I get my drive. Grahm isn’t as go-with-the-flow as I am — he needs to know if you’re going to take a shit two months in advance. I like to be in control of my environment, but I also like to wing it. Stressing out about the finer things will kill you. I mean, c’mon, you could’ve been a doctor, but you’re a musician instead. Why force things when you’ve got the one career that’s all about having fun?”
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