So you are playing a live set – what does that incorporate for someone who has not witnessed it before?
Well its very different from my DJ set. First off, I am playing my own productions as opposed to other peoples music. There are 5 of us on stage – I have a guitarist, trumpet, saxophone, and keyboard player. It’s proper live. Its not like a DJ ‘live’ set where you just have a DJ messing around on a laptop – there are real musicians, its not your average Techno gig. Don’t come if you expect to hear ‘Crispy Bacon’ – although we do play it, it will not be in the way you expect. We are fusing elements of African sounds, Blues, Dubstep, Jazz, Electronica etc.
We love performing live as we get to improvise on stage, and every night the tracks take on a different form and build, the direction of the music can go any way… Its like a Jazz concert. Our purpose of doing a live show isn’t to make people dance – although they always end up dancing.
It would be very sad if I just repeated what I did as a DJ… I hope people expecting the live show to be Techno – they will be really disappointed. We do play ‘Man with the Red Face’ though :
You are also DJing afterwards too?
Yes I am – it will be great to have the contrast of a live show then DJ.
How have the live shows been going?
They have been really interesting. People seem more sceptic at a live show. We have played everywhere and its been going down a storm. We have played in Belgium about 10 times, headlining festivals with 70,000 people crowds and we rock it every time. We’ve even played Luxembourg where I have never DJ’ed before, but the live set was amazing. England, I must say, has probably been the hardest place for us. England originally was all about experimentation, and creativity but it seems to have lost that essence. I think the power of the media – radio, TV and print has slowly been killing the creativity in the UK.
I listen to the music being played on the UK radio stations and I cannot believe it – the music that is being played would never have made it on the radio about 15 years ago – I just really don’t get it. When I look around, all the good English producers are moving abroad – moving to Germany, France or elsewhere. The alternatives now have less space and less chance to break out.
I am very lucky though, I still do what I do and I believe in it, slowly we’ll get there – go for it.
Mark Knight is actually playing the night before – what did you really think of his remix of ‘Man with the red face’?
I produced ‘Man with the red face’ for the Montreal Jazz Festival about 12 years ago. So when a friend called me up when I was in Berlin around the time of the WMC last year, he mentioned to me that he had heard a remix of the track and how everyone was asking who had made it. Then strangely enough, I get an email that day from Mark Knight saying – this is what I have done, here is a YouTube link of me playing it so you can see the reaction. So I checked out the link and couldn’t believe what I saw – so I got back to Mark instantly and asked him to send me an mp3 of the track which I downloaded straight away and played at my gig in Berlin that night. The crowd went absolutely insane! They went mental – so we released it and the rest, as they say, is history.
Its so strange for me to still be hearing it in clubs 12 years later and the way that Mark worked the remix – pumping up the beats, keeping the essence of the track, the mood – he really respected the original. It was kind of weird but wonderful at the same time – a Techno track can last 12 years and still sound cutting edge.
How do you like playing at Sankeys? Is there anything that makes Sankeys unique to other clubs?
I haven’t played at Sankey’s since 2003 – I actually think it was a live show back then too. It was really funny the last time I actually played at Sankeys – the van we had hired to take all our gear over there got broken into. My bag got stolen and I had some original masters in there that were due to be released on my ‘Excess Luggage’ release – I had to re-record everything in different places. We then had to go on to Ireland in this van that had no windows – it was so strange but funny now when I look back at it.
So you haven’t been to Manchester in a while?
I haven’t been to Manchester in a long time… I don’t know what the scene is like at the moment and I am very excited to find out. I am really looking forward to the gig and it’s going to be my only DJ set in Manchester this year.
Do you enjoy visiting Manchester?
I lived there for about 3 years – its always special as I get to catch up with so many friends …
How is the film adaptation of your book coming along?
We’re still working on the film. Making a movie is a very long process. I met a film director in Belgium a couple of weeks back and I would really like to work with him. The original plan was to film in London, Detroit, Manchester but we are not so sure now – the direction may change so we’ll just have to wait and see.
I used to go to your gigs at The End religiously – do you miss playing a residency?
I actually stopped my residency a few years back when I moved out of Paris. I found it very strange not living there and having a residency there. Also, when I left, a lot of the staff that work with me left so it was a good time to stop. To me a residency is like an extension of friends and family – I have to have a connection there and if there isn’t one, I don’t play.
I have heard rumours this is your last DJ gig – is that true?
Noooooooo! Where did you hear this? How could I give up something I love doing so much? No no no no no no nooo! My God, I couldn’t do that. It’s the only DJ date I am playing in Manchester this year and I am only DJing a handful of times this year as I am concentrating on my live shows this year for sure. We have been working on it for the last 9 months and its so interesting. I feel like a conductor, taking the music in all different directions with musicians and I am really loving this role. We are writing a lot of great music.
I am also working with a contemporary choreographer who is working on a show with the Russian Bolshoi dancers. So that’s been really interesting too.
However, DJing is cherry on the cake!
What else do you have going on this year?
Well aside from my live shows, I have just signed to a really big national radio station in France called La Mouv. Its like the equivilant of BBC Radio. I am really excited about it – I am going to be playing all types of music on a Sunday. Its also being syndicated to 3 French speaking countries including Mali in Africa and Belgium.
I also have been running my own Internet radio show for the last 6 years and you can listen to all my old shows on www.pedrobroadcast.com – you will also be able to listen to all my La Mouv shows too. There is an iPhone app for the website too so you can listen to it on your phone. Cool huh!
