by LORRAINE CARPENTER

Everything has been done. It's a suspicion that anyone with a stake in music - be they musicians, fans, journalists, analysts or historians - has probably pondered in recent years. It's not true, of course, but the constant turnover of rock 'n' roll clones and mediocre dance acts frequently suggests otherwise.

From the sound of it, this decade's antidote to stale rock and techno is hybridization. Not that the genres haven't been slapped together before, but today's mash-up DJs, culture-jam bands and genre-bending solo acts are mixing it up with way more finesse than, let's say, the Spawn soundtrack.

Enter the Rapture, a band whose passionate marriage of indie rock and house honeymooned on New York and London dancefloors through 2002. Their singles "House of Jealous Lovers" (recorded and released by NYC's DFA label/production duo) and "Olio" (on Output, the UK label run by Playgroup's Trevor Jackson) pair traditional house beats and flourishes with rock's guitar, bass, drums and a voice that can't escape the Cure comparison. Though they've released two mini-albums, Mirror and Out of the Races and Onto the Tracks, the singles have received the most acclaim and paved the way for their upcoming LP, Echoes, out on September 8 on vinyl and shortly thereafter on CD.

"It's a diverse record," says bassist Matt Safer. "We incorporated as many aspects of our songwriting as we could - house tracks, more rock songs, even love songs. There was certainly a lot of love put into the record."

A whole lotta the love comes from DFA (Death From Above), aka James Murphy and Tim Goldsworthy, the pair who convinced the Rapture's founders, singer/guitarist Luke Jenner and drummer Vito Roccoforte, to move to New York City. The band formed in San Francisco in 1998, then moved to Seattle, where they were briefly based after signing to Sub Pop, but it wasn't until hitting the Big Apple that they hit their stride.

"The reason we were able to connect so well and so successfully is that, once we all got to New York, we were already moving towards dance music," says Safer, a Washington, D.C., native who was enlisted shortly after his bandmates moved east. "We were already getting into old Chic records and early trance," he adds, dispelling the notion of the Svengali-like influence of DFA and their awesome record collection. "The most important thing about our relationship with DFA is that we helped each other overcome any fears of pushing the limits, and they afforded us the equipment and the know-how to go a step further than just appreciating those records. The wonderful thing about those guys is their belief in our potential and quality as a band and their willingness to back it up with time, energy and money."

Twisting my melon, man

Between listening to other people's records and remodeling their own sound, the band took on another member, Safer's cousin Gabe Andruzzi. Although he also plays sax and keyboards, Andruzzi's on-stage mobility and percussion playing has earned him the title of the Rapture's Bez, the maraca-shaking, dancing fool of Happy Mondays fame.

"It bothered him at first," Safer says about his cuz, "but then he realized that Bez represents the everyman and, in a way, he was the heart and soul of the Happy Mondays. I think it's a compliment."

And it's telling that the band evokes Manchester's "baggy" scene, a free-for-all period that preceded indie rock and techno purism, two schools that are only starting to get back together.

"[In North America], the two sides are coming from a little further apart than in Europe," says Safer. "It's really only recently that there's been a growth of - whatever this new sound is called, this thing that we've tapped into."

Whatever that thing is, it's dealt a blow to the techno/rock divide, earned international buzz for both the band and DFA, and kept the rest of NYC's punk-funk scene on its toes. But if the Rapture had one wish, it would be for an audience on their feet, a tough call with the often aloof hipsters they attract. Perhaps ironically, the band have met their most lively crowds in smalltown America.

"Quality dance music is still at a very fledgling stage [in the US], particularly outside the major cities," says Safer, "but the general level of excitement seems higher in small towns. It doesn't matter, it never matters, if they can name a million reference points, 'cause they're just enjoying themselves and they're excited that we're in their town. It's great."

With Erlend Oye at la Sala Rossa on Friday, June 6, 9pm, $15

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