Juan MacLean Get Help From Above

How do you divide a person in two? Expensive surgical tools? Experimental mind-wave therapy? A really good agent?

It is possible, just ask John MacLean of The Juan MacLean. He's two separate men and it's thanks to this skill that the world gets to enjoy Juan MacLean, super-cool DJ, and The Juan MacLean, future-electro-DFA band of action.

"Having to consciously separate DJing from making an album was a big reason why there was so much time between albums because I was DJing so much and my head wasn't in the game of making an album again," John MacLean explained over the phone from his tour bus.

"My music consumption was based solely around 12-inches and DJing, so when it came time to making an album, I just had to stop and get back into the mindset of listening to full albums again and conceptually get myself in a place where I was going to begin making an album from beginning to end because that is the way that I approach it."

A fan of all killer, no filler, MacLean slowly composed The Future Will Come with help from bandmate and LCD Soundsystem-ite Nancy Whang as well as other DFA pals. Over time, the album truly became a team effort.

"I find it hard to [narrow down an album] myself and that's where James Murphy and Tim Goldsworthy and other friends at DFA come in," MacLean said. "The way we tend to work is we'll all be working on tracks and we'll pass around MP3s among each other and it can be James or Tim, Andy Butler or someone from Holy Ghost and someone will say, 'That track is great! Get rid of that one part and just capitalize on this.'

"We're just always playing stuff for each other and there's a pretty heavy filter that helps me keep only what is the best."

Along with the heavy DFA filter, MacLean also used a slew of live instruments on the latest album to create a warmer, tighter and more organic feel to the often sterile and cold futuristic themes on The Future Will Come.

"There are two favourite instruments [on the new album]," MacLean excitedly listed.

"One is a very rare thing made by Father & Son in the United States by a company called Future Retro and its called the Revolution. It's a clone of the Rowland TB303, which is basically the sound of acid house.

"The other thing is the Rowland SH101. I own six of them at this point. We have three on stage on tour and we take back-ups with us. It's my favourite utility."

The Juan MacLean will show many of their utilities (including a shitload of tambourines!) at these shows:

June 17 Cleveland Heights, OH @ The Grog Shop
June 18 Toronto, ON @ Tattoo Rock Parlour
June 19 Montreal, QC @ Les Saints
June 20 New York, NY @ Webster Hall
July 4 London, England @ The Queen Of Hoxton (Neon Noise Project)
July 5 Ibiza, Spain @ Space (DJ set)
July 7 Montreux, Switzerland @ Montreux Jazz Festival (DJ set)
July 8 Paris, France @ The Social (DJ set)
July 11 Brighton, England @ Loop Festival (DJ set)
Aug. 12 Helsinki, Finland @ Suvilahti Power Plant (Flow Festival)
Aug. 16 Glasgow, Scotland @ Optimo
Aug. 17 Edinburgh, Scotland @ Cabaret Voltaire (Edinburgh Fringe Festival)
Aug. 19 London, England @ Cargo
Aug. 20 Hasselt, Belgium @ Pukkelpop Open Air Festival
Aug. 21 Biddinghuizen, Netherlands @ Walibi World (Lowlands Festival)
Aug. 22 Burgos, Spain @ Parque Fuentes Blancas (Electrosonic Festival)