The cult French electro and techno producer gets set for Ministry of Sound
Interview : Dan Prince
Pascal welcome back to DMCWORLD. Where in the world are you today?
“Hello Dan. I am in Paris right now, at home.”
London is bracing itself for you arrival at The Gallery’s mammoth Ministry of Sound adventure on November 28th. Is this the best sound system in the world?
“It’s difficult to say, but it’s certainly one of them indeed.”
Major news in your life right now is the work in progress on your 4th album – what can you tell us about the direction of the long player…?
“I can say I am back to disco punk stuff. Rave Age, my previous LP, was a mix of a variety of genders, while I want the new one to have only one colour.”
Absolutely loved your rework of Paul Kalkbrenner’s ‘Altes Kammufel’. Amazing work. How do you approach a remix when first sitting down in the studio? Some producers strip everything back and leave only a vocal, some are just hell bent on leaving ‘their sound’ ingrained on the finish article…how do you see each project – surely there must be a connection to the record in the first place for you?
“I have no routine, the process is kind of different every time. Sometimes I hear the original track and suddenly I know what I want to do. Sometimes I have no real idea and the remix is coming by itself. In the case of Altes Kammufel, I remade the melodies of the bass and the leads, and all the drums. I kept many original elements but I made them with my own gears.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NTyHQK4opjM&index=1&list=PL8VhJ5cFeOcXqiUwRftl4PtNdI_L0Lwto
What was the best and worst thing about life back in Dijon?
“The best thing about Dijon is that it’s a nice, small and quiet city. The worst thing is the travelling abroad. I kept my house in Dijon but I live in Paris now.”
You have some amazing fans following you on your socials. We loved Jay Smooth’s post a couple of weeks back regarding the night you stormed San Diego and he “peeled off 6 bills to the bouncer to get upstairs so me and my girl could meet our favourite DJ and producer.” Dude – they even played your music at their wedding!! Cool huh?
“Yes, I don’t like the word ‘fan’ too much, but I can see how music has a real impact on people’s life and how it’s touching them, to the point that they can do weird or crazy or funny things. I do receive some intense messages and pictures.”
A famous quote from you… “When I started to listen to recorded music, I knew I didn’t want to DJ—I wanted to compose my own stuff. I would buy some records, but I preferred to wait and buy my first synthesizer. I didn’t put my time and money in something that wasn’t my cup of tea.” Who then were your early influences musically?
“I liked this German trance initially, but soon I got fed up with the genre, that was very repetitive. Daft Punk and the French Touch brought something really fresh in the 90s. On my side I was into electro and the Gigolo Team was the thing.”
An album we’d be surprised to find in your collection?
“I am pretty sure nothing is that surprising in my collection… I have a compilation of William Onyeabor – an African composer mixing drum machines and traditional African music. It’s weird and hypnotic.”
Your festival moment of 2014?
“I am just back from I Love Techno in Ghent and that was really crazy. I loved it.”
Privilige is a big space for a DJ to spin…how was your night in Ibiza back in June?
“It was really cool. I love Privilege really. I am not precisely the type of musician that you expect to see in Ibiza, but I performed 4 times this year. It was fun.”
You once admitted to listening to ‘Heaven’ by Talking Heads 200 times a day. Since then, what is the song that has been on repeat the most?
“I was crazy with that song…but now I listen repeatedly to Christine and the Queens – Paradis Perdu.”
Recording an album must see a lot of dark through the night lonely hours. How do you chill/relax/re-invigorate yourself out of the padded walls?
“I go to the gym and I run. Or I see my friends and go out. It’s true that there is a part of the recording and composing process that is actually lonely. But introspection is necessary and I kind of like it.”
Who is the first person you play your music to?
“It’s the 2 girls of my team, Elise and Raquel. I send them the MP3, waiting for some comments. They are very reactive and direct. They don’t lie.”
What did your family think about your choice of career?
“They were ok with it as long as I finished my studies. So when I released Poney EP on Gigolo and I was soon invited to play in Brasil and NYC, my family was happy with it. My parents are only complaining about the life style that goes with it: jetlag / lack of sleep / cigarettes…”
And finally, as you sit in your rocking chairs drinking a glass of mulled wine by the fire at Christmas looking ahead to 2015…what would you like to have achieved by this time next year?
“I achieved many things this year, both on the music and personal aspect. Many important things happen to me and I am happy with that. By this time next year I would like to have the LP finished and released. I would like to have a show that brings people together and that makes me happy to perform.”
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Check out Vitalic’s mix on Thump…http://thump.vice.com/en_uk/mixes/mixed-by-vitalic
The Gallery presents Vitalic at The Ministry of Sound, London on Friday November 28th. Joining Vitalic will be Phil Kieran, Marco Bailey and Ant Brooks.
Ticket link:
http://www.ministryofsound.com/events/calendar/club/2014/09/02/12/16/141128-vitallic
