Huge new EP out on Cadenz from the producer who tells it as it is
Charles welcome to DMCWORLD dude. You are having another great summer, tell us all about your ‘Heart of Flesh EP’ which has been smashing The Buzz Chart for a few weeks now. The first track ‘Heart of Flesh’ is a gear above Cadenza’s usual cool, cruising speed…
“When I joined the Cadenza roster, we thought it would be good to have an EP introducing what my contribution to the collective was going to be. As you know, I come from a more Detroit techno production background, although I grew up with the Chicago House sound when I was a teenager. I’ve always liked that combination of harsh groovy beats and funk/soul flavour like the guys in Chi-town used to do it so well back in the 90’s. I think ‘Heart Of Flesh’ is an ode to that sound, and it also represents well what I like to play today: not the boring hammering techno 1-2 groove but also not the soporific modern House and Techhouse sound you can hear all over charts, clubs and festival today. I like the thin line between the two genres, I like music with attitude, with character, with ‘flesh’.”
The second track ‘Octaval’ reminds DMC about the sleazy sound of Ibiza house from a decade ago, was that the aim?
“Yes, I think you described the track well. That’s exactly what I was trying to achieve when making it. I miss the 90’s sound, you know… In both House and Techno. Electronic music today is so plastic, so formatted, so empty. I’m surprised most people don’t even realise that. Whether it was Jeff Mills slamming at 145bpm on three decks, or Erick Morillo jamming house beats and accapellas in the Space Terrasa, I miss that very authentic sound from the 90’s. This is what I’ve always tried to fight for, and what I’ve tried to input in my music for these last 15years because this is what I come from. And fuck all the arrogant pricks that say that this music style is outmoded. Time will prove them wrong.”
And finally ‘Michigan Ride’ touches on days of Detroit gone by alongside Berlin’s current new school dub techno sound. How have the three tracks been going down around the Med this summer?
“You know what, I’ve always loved Stevie Wonder because he was able to make all these huge timeless quality hits throughout his career without ever selling off the success of a record at the expense of the quality, and he never fell into the usual typical standard. I wouldn’t dare comparing that EP to what Stevie did of course, but it’s following the same creative process. The whole EP is very flavoured, lots of soul to it, crossover as well, but never falls into that commercial crap that’s over flooding us right now. I think this is why the response from the general public has been amazing towards that release. You can take people for a fool a while, with all the bullshit all those labels are trying to make you buy, all the fake music, but it never lasts long. The truth comes out sooner or later.”
What in your mind makes a great techno record in 2012 with so many records released every week?
“That it wasn’t made in 2012!! No, seriously, it’s kind of an impossible task to make a “Knight of the Jaguar” or “Mouth 2 Mouth” today and it’s NOT because today’s producers are not skilled enough. It’s because actual producers don’t DARE doing something different than the norm. They are all so scared to be kept out of the buzz that they make the same shit as the other one does, who also make the same crap as the other one etc.. It’s a completely useless, uncreative way of thinking and it’s definitely made things not last very long for them. I think today’s producers are also quite lazy, they just drop those dumb loops into Ableton, put a bit of reverb and compression and that’s it…I mean come on, a bit of creativity please! A bit of genius! The recording of “Heart Of Flesh” took me 6 months in total! How many of today’s producers would do that??! Most of them make 3 tracks in a day!.”
Techno has been the talk of Ibiza all over the winter with DJs and club nights moving around. What are your thoughts on Ibiza 2012?
“I think ’11 and ’12 is a turning point in the history of the island. People are realising that it’s time for a change. Most clubs and parties have been established for a long time, some for decades, and to tell you the truth, there’s a strong wind of renewal going on, whether it’s for the regular parties, the new concepts or the venues, and the ones yet to come. Ibiza has been sitting on its glory and business model for too long so it’s normal that things that have been kept out of Ibiza for such a big amount of time are now making their way to it.”
What are the big tunes you are spinning?
“It’s a mix of things as always, from dark Techno stuffs like the last Truncate Remix for Kyle Geiger to House tunes such as the last Mendo tracks, or the recent DJ Sneak remixes for Total Science and Breakbot. I also fancy a lot that new Jerome Sydenham edit for Alistair Colling, “Cafe Sol” on Ibadan. Anyway, I play every weekend in very different styles of events. They can be very techno or very house, or in-between but in any case I know how to handle the crowd for them all. I’m not scared to take over after Ben Sims in a festival and play a very energetic techno set, or spin some funky deep house tunes for the ladies at Pacha. I like it all. I like electronic music for all its facets, and for all it has to offer, and I don’t like to lock myself into one single thing. I have the chance to be part of the electronic music world, which is a very versatile and diverse style of music, so why not take advantage of it?”
You started Technasia in ’96 and Sino in ’99 with Amil Khan out of Hong Kong – a territory that has never caught the EDM bug. That was a big challenge you set yourself back then, what were the biggest problems you overcame and was the opportunity to launch it from your home country France ever an option?
“France was an option to start our label at the time, but to be honest that was an easy one. Amil and I felt back in’96 that it was a lot more challenging to start our thing over there, rather than becoming another of these labels back then. I like challenges, when things are difficult to achieve because when success finally happens, the reward is much greater. Putting the labels in Hong Kong also made us have another overall perspective of the electronic music scene. I mean, how can you be good in this business if you don’t understand its global fundamentals. Some people are too much into their own little local world, like Dutch, French or English producers and promoters. They forget that talent needs global vision and freshness, and not following the same exact thing as other people do.”
You sensed Amil was losing the love of the life as a travelling DJ and he stepped down in 2008 to raise a family. Sure there must have been a downside to going solo but there must have also been exciting new challenges for you to tackle?
“Yes, it was a big challenge for me. You know, we used to do everything together. So when I found myself solo, there was nobody as knowledgable and trustable as Amil anymore to share opinions, ideas of projects and so on. It was a big massive step for me, similar to when you leave your parents’ home once and for all, and I’m glad that in the end it worked out for the best. Amil and I are of course still in touch and I know that deep inside, he misses music soooo much.”
What has been the anthem of the summer for you?
“‘Heart Of Flesh’!!”
You joined the Cadenza roster in January 2012 and the EP is on the label. Why them?
“I’ve been approached on many occasions by different organisations to join their roster, but never really went for any as I believe that most of them don’t share the same values as I do. They like you when you’re at the top, and let you down when you don’t, or ignore you when you’re not there yet… The only one I could ever agree to sign with was Cadenza, cos these guys are doing it ABOVE ALL for the love of music. I mean look at how the aura of the company today, and how many would have used that to turn it into an awful House Mafia shit. But no! They kept it underground quality music all way long, and never let commercial things take over at the expense of the music they believe in. I know they have asked me to join to be myself and do my thing, and not be another joker distracting the king.”
Are there any plans for your Sino label in 2012?
“I’ve let the label down for about a year as my wife gave birth to my first little girl so I had to make choices. I couldn’t handle it all at the same time. You know, being a daddy takes a LOT OF TIME! But we’re back with Sino now. The next release in October will be a re-issue of Terrence Dixon’s classic Detroit Ep “Minimalism” released in 1994 with remixes by Ben Klock, Edwin Oosterwal and myself. There are more releases to follow afterwards, but it’s definitely gonna be soulful techno all the way.”
With three albums under your belt, is number four under way yet?
“I’m just starting production for the fourth one now. It’s a new concept that I obviously can’t talk about now, but it should come out most likely in 2013. I’m in talk with a few labels for its release but nothing decided yet. I can just tell you that it will be the 100% pure Technasia style, pure dance door hits.”
You wrote a piece in Datatransmission couple of years back claiming that “things have grown to such an excessive level in every aspects of the electronic music world during these last ten years, and it looks things might just go off-cocked in the decades ahead…”. What are your thoughts on that now and where do you think dance music is heading in this decade?
“If I look at Beatport today, I think I wasn’t really that wrong back then. Look now, you get labels not producing anything just dropping compilations every week with 40+ licensed tracks, all the tracks already released on other labels in the previous years. I mean, seriously, for what!?! 10 downloads of each tracks?? People get so much satisfied today with mediocrity that they really forget that ten years ago, if you were selling less than 10,000 vinyls, your record was a flop. Some people would say today is different, but different in what?? Different in the fact that we let our industry being destroyed by egocentric amateurs that flood the market with thousands of not-selling tracks every week?? As I said before, I don’t like democracy in the music business. Working in our industry is not possible for everyone, as opposed to what a lot of big companies (Native Instruments, Ableton, Apple etc.) try to make you people believe with their “Be a DJ as well!” crap. Our industry requires very special and unique skills that take years to develop and master. And above all – our industry requires talent which is a very rare gift on this planet. Buying Traktor doesn’t make you a DJ, releasing stupid Vengeance library loops on Beatport doesn’t make you a producer and putting out 40+ track compilations of insipid music doesn’t make you a good label. If we believe in salvation with any of this things, it will lead us to the doom of our music industry.”
You have been causing havoc on the dancefloor for over 15 years now – what advice can you give to today’s new techno artists?
“Just be yourself, don’t believe the Resident Advisor hype, work hard, be patient and be nice to people and maybe they’ll be nice back to you one day. And oh yeah, grab your chance when it knocks at the door.”
Do you think the producers of today have it too easy, back when you were beginning technology was mighty different…
“I think it’s not really the problem of producers having it easy, the problem is they make to it too easy for themselves. Most of them wants tracks to be done in a day and have no patience whatsoever… Damn, some of the tracks I make take a year to be produced! Like I said, many people today are satisfied with mediocrity. Go explain to a kid starting playing around that he needs to learn it the hard way to develop his own style – whereas he can just ask mummy and daddy to get him the latest Native Instrument Traktor Kontrol S4 “that-will-make-him-do-like-the-big-DJs”. It’s like putting sunglasses on in front of a mirror and telling yourself you’re a star…many producers say they like Ableton because it’s fast and it lets them expand their creativity. But strangely, 99% of the tracks made with that program sound completely dull and similar one to each others. So please explain to me where creativity ends and where laziness starts. Creativity is (un)fortunately a long and tedious process. Unique skills and originality take years to achieve. it’s easier to produce music today, thanks to the new tools, so use that to make things even better, and even more original, instead of trying to apply the same fucking techniques and formulas as everybody. Last time, I went to that horrible Ableton forum one of the topic was: “Hi, I want to make the same sound as Daft Punk. How do I do that?”. Seriously, what can you answer to that…?”
Where are some of your favourite places to play in the world and why?
“I love Spain. Very open-minded crowd, and they party like nuts even though their country’s economy is in pretty bad shape now. I like The Netherlands because this is the only place in the world where people eat, sleep, drink and shit electronic music. They go crazy for it and not for one style only, but for everything in electronic music. I also like Asia in general because every time I play there I remember myself 20 years ago thinking “shit, everything has to be built for electronic music here”, and I look at it…and everything still has to be built.”
Who were the DJs in the 90s that you were giving high fives to and made you want to follow in their footsteps?
“Dave Clarke and Derrick May. There wasn’t back then and will never be any better DJs than these two. Dave once quoted to me the title of an Egyption Lover track: “What Is A DJ If He Can’t Scratch?”. I since then believe this is the absolute and ultimate truth of DJing.”
Why do you think there was so few producers in that decade for so long?
“You know, one of the problem of the EDM is that it doesn’t really require any musical skills at all to make a career. I mean it’s not like you need to learn guitar or trumpet for years or learn music scoring or how to sing in order to make a beat with a 909. Even my grandmother can do that. So unfortunately our business attracts a lot of useless posers that want to be DJs and get the free coke and the free fucks, and a lot of frustrated people that would never take the time to learn anything but wanna have it all “now”. Fortunately, as much as you wanna bullshit people with lies, the public is not stupid and can make the difference for where true talent is. The answer of your question lies there.”
What is your inspiration these days to keep unmaking music and travelling the world?
“Why would I ever lack inspiration in doing the thing that has been my passion since I was 6 years old?? Music is a wife you can never divorce from, so you’d better find a way to love her, one way or another…”
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