Born Leo Ramsey, Bauchamp grew up in the sub tropical countryside of Rwanda, a small and green country of central Africa. Back in Switzerland, he excelled in mathematics in school without working and he finally majored in history of arts. First Leo Ramsey went into film acting for the money, though playing music was always his true love. He began with experimental collage music, fascinated by electronics pioneers and the lo-fi indie scene and then he went into dance music, candidly discovering raves and club culture. His latest single is Foolish Touch, a baroque ode to the mysteries of romance, to the inaccessible intimate secrets of our partners in love. Out of sight, out of mind, folly is the missing key. Written while on tour, Foolish Touch pays tribute to this vital imperfection, secret pathway to passion. DMCWORLD dive in…
Welcome to DMC, Leo! How’s 2022 been treating you so far?
Thanks a lot DMC. and thanks to 2022 who has been pretty nice so far…
You were born in Switzerland but spent your early years in Rwanda… how do you think your upbringing affected your relationship with music, if at all?
More than an influence on my music, I guess it’s the whole cartography of my mind that is impacted by this shift. It has probably helped me to relativize the rigid and arbitrary way in which borders are placed.
When did you first think about music as a career? Was there a moment that sparked everything for you?
After taking acting classes in Paris, a career in the cinema was open to me. But every time I watched a movie, I could only perceive in the actors’ acting that it was a trick, while the music struck me in the depths of my soul. I abandoned the front of the cameras to get behind the speakers.
Your new single Foolish Touch is described in the press materials as “a baroque ode to the mysteries of romance”. Are you a romantic guy?
Once I was doing a concert the same night as DJ Funk and in the backstage he gave me a long theory: in life there are two categories of people, the players and the lovers. I am definitely a lover. Yeah, very romantic.
It seems to celebrate a very particular 90s French style of house music, is this something you have a particular affinity for?
Yes, it’s an insouciance, a simplicity and a candor that touches me a lot. And the way of filtering the loops in this moment of the French house is a real metaphor of life: sometimes things seem obstructed, smothered, muffled, and other times they are sparkling, shining, open. But it’s always the same loop. And the passage from one state to the other is what makes the evolution.
Vocal house fluctuates in popularity as tougher, more instrumental styles take over… but for you, what does a vocal add to a record that instrumentation cannot?
I was playing the instrumental in my live act for a while, adding a synth solo. There was good energy but something was missing to really make the track take off. With the voice and the words of Pilar, a certain narration began to be embodied in the tracks. It is probably this aspect that is more direct with vocals.
Is there more planned from Bauchamp over the coming months?
There are many vineyards around the place I live and I’m in contact with a wine maker too make a special collab!
And finally, for you, what’s the greatest house record of all time?
Daft Punk, Homework, évidemment…
