The soundtrack of a new generation of french producers (part 1). Nine rare or unreleased tracks from Gentlemen Drivers, Discodeine, Dilemn, Digikid84, Stereoheroes, Spa, Chateau Marmont & Donovan. Interview below:

GENTLEMEN DRIVERS

What are you up to at the moment?
Working on our first EP and remixes.

As an artist how do you use & see the web today?
One of the best thing that happened to music. A great tool to concentrate all artists activities.

How important is it for you?
It is the main way to communicate with other artists and fans. It s also the best tool to show what you want people to see with your music.

How do you see it evolving in the coming years?
We are only at the beginning of the era. Internet is no longer stuck in computers. You can now have it on cell phones, tomorrow, you’ll have it in your cars. It is becoming the major way to listen to music if it s not already the case.

And the music industry
It will have to fit in this new frame to exist.

As an artist, what would be the best online music service of all your needs?
Fairtilizer!

What do you except from a label in 2009?
To help you realize your project as you see it and to defend it !

Favorite digital and physical format and why? Recommended music site (shop, blogs…)
We are not so picky about the format. Obviously we prefer the sound of a cd or vynil on a good player but today we listen more on computers and I pods.

We have a few blogs we really like.
Besides that we don’t spend a lot of time on digging new blogs, there are so many things on the web that sometimes it can lead to very bad stuffs. That’s what we try to avoid !

DISCODEINE

What are you up to at the moment?
Finishing our lp, naked.

As an artist how do you use & see the web today?
Very briefly.

How important is it for you?
Quite important. Mailing can be a hobby.

How do you see it evolving in the coming years?
More chaotic, thus more police controlled.

And the music industry?
They’ll probably complain a bit more, which is still a lot.

As an artist, what would be the best online music service of all your needs?
alainfinkielkraytrockblogspot. « something for everyone »

What do you except from a label in 2009?
Money orders, clothes, analog synths, holydays in Sicily.

Favorite digital and physical format and why? Recommended music site (shop, blogs…)
Very low quality MP3s (at 192 k, it does not sound the same ,really), 10 inch vynils with nice covers, white 80’s Scotch blank tapes. Phonica records in London, such a good shop, it’s almost virtual.

DILEMN
What are you up to at the moment?
I am finishing a Dyebox remix for Boxon Records,and I have to finish 2 or 3 remixes more before returning to my album

As an artist how do you use & see the web today?
Since the beginning of Myspace, many artist found a platform to promote themselves , and to make listen their music in the world.

How important is it for you?
It’s a fantastic way to contact artists or label what you like . I released my track “Ghetto Town” on Turbo rec, asking them to have a look on this track on my page, and 2 days after Turbo answered me to reserve the track for them…wow , it was awesome for me.i released and signed many others track s like this. I try to do a cleverly use of it.sometimes to inform me from the lastest releases, or for looking some plugs , but being careful to not lose my time on things without interest.

How important is it for you?
Try to guess with what i was saying before

How do you see it evolving in the coming years?
I don’t really know, maybe like a big source of information for industrials who want to sell things that people don t need .brrrr..but fortunatly there is a lots of good things too, so i hope that we will preserve the human side of it; to not become robots.

And the music industry?
Maybe we ll see in a few years different new ways to sell and diffuse the music , to play records, to make live sets, technology is always evolving.

As an artist, what would be the best online music service of all your needs?
I don t want a lot of these kind of site to make listen my music, i try to use Myspace as good as possible , and that s enought for me.

What do you except from a label in 2009?
Boldness, honesty and originality,

Recommended music site (shop, blogs…)
Wave files because i do only live sets with my prodution, so it s only format i use to play ! I recommend my future album (maybe it s a bit early) which will release end of 2009 or begining of 2010 to wait it you can ever listen some tracks on my space page =)

DIGIKID84

What are you up to at the moment?
I’m makin’ a lot of music those days. I got so much of project actually! I can’t tell you more for now, but it’s gonna be really cool!

As an artist how do you use & see the web today?
To be honest with you, I’m really enjoying the Internet! It’s like a huge source of inspiration. I can listen to all the new stuff every day, be informed, and get inspired (or not lol). According to me, it’s the best way to be informed and to spread music.

How important is it for you?
I’m using it to spread my music all around the world actually, thanks to Myspace or Facebook. And I also made some Digital releases recently. So, I can say that it’s quite important for me!

How do you see it evolving in the coming years?
I think it’s going to be simply the biggest media ever. For example, unfortunately, CD’s are goin’ to be quickly replaced by MP3’s, that’s a fact. In the future we’ll have to go only on the Internet to buy some music. Maybe it’s a dangerous thing, for now I don’t know. But honestly it looks a little bit scary lol.

And the music industry ?
As I said, I think we’re about to begin a new era, the Digital Era! That’s why I’m goin’ by the name of Digikid ha ha! No Seriously, I think the industry is going to change in a strange way. Today, being in a Major Label is not as prestigious as it used to be. And I think it’s going to be more and more difficult for everybody.

As an artist, what would be the best online music service of all your needs?
The one who offers the most complete data base. Where you can find old and new stuff! From 80’s funk to the new Hip Hop bangers. And where you can buy CD’s, Vinyl, Cassettes and MP3’s. No discrimination lol!

What do you except from a label in 2009?
You know, I’m not expecting anything special, just doing my own music and travelling all around the world. Of course, catching a good deal is always the best thing an artist can get. And, for me, a good deal is just about being free and going to all the part of the world to play your music! Today, I think that labels can help the artists to spread their music more easily.

Favorite digital and physical format and why? Recommended music site (shop, blogs…)
We all got good memories with physical formats, like CD’s, Cassettes or Vinyl of course. So those are definitely my favorites. There’s a real atmosphere with physical format, it’s something real, something you can touch and feel! Of course, I’m using MP3’s and other digital stuff like that, but I’ll always prefer the old way. Sometimes you have to be the Old School you know lol!
I’m not into blog things that much, but yeah, I got some good addresses for you! You really have to check one in particular, it’s called Stereotree ( HYPERLINK “http://www.stereotree.blogspot.com” www.stereotree.blogspot.com)! it’s one of the best French webzine! It is about the best French underground HipHop/Electronic artists, but they are also talking about new musical movements like Electro Soul or Nu Hip Hop and even Mainstream stuff .They’re always making some good projects. It’s really dope! And I’m also mad about of Street Tease. Check these out!

STEREOHEROES

What are you up to at the moment?
Right now, we are touring Asia and we are answering this interview from Bangkok. It’s so amazing here. Regarding music production, we are finishing a few remixes (missil, underhall, suck shaft) and we are working on a full E.P. with South African M.C. Spoek Mathambo and U.S.A M.C. Cerebral Vortex. Should be ready soon but no infos yet on where it will be released.

As an artist how do you use & see the web today?
We feel as more artists as computer geeks. We spend so much time online promoting our sound and discovering other’s. With internet you really can share your music with the entire world and you can easily find new exciting tunes and inspiration from everywhere on the planet. We use every music community website we can find.

How important is it for you?
We can say we exist thanks to the web. Our entire (short) career been built through blogs and online magazines. Websites been the first (and still quite the only) medias to feature us and push us. It’s still the best way for us to share our work. How could Thai people know our sound and book us here if myspace (and other websites) didn’t exist ?

How do you see it evolving in the coming years?
We don’t know … we can see myspace decline now after it helped so many artists. New websites are poping out. There is no way to know how everything will evolve. Who could have predicted what’s happening now just 10 years ago ?

And the music industry ?
This is the big question too. We are not sure even them know how they will end … Online music seems like a growing business while less and less people are going to the physical stores so they will have to continue to adapt. But who wants to pay for music nowadays while there is so much exciting free music we don’t even have time to listen to it all ?

As an artist, what would be the best online music service of all your needs?
It exists, it’s ‘fairtilizer’ or ’soundcloud’. We can post our music, share it, discuss it it’s so user friendly, the coding is amazing .. what would we need more ?

What do you expect from a label in 2009?
We expect it does a good promotion of the artists. We feel like we are more a part of the entertainment business and gigs are what make us survive and keep on doing music right now.
We still don’t have a record label though … so we don’t really know what to expect

Favorite digital and physical format and why? Recommended music site (shop, blogs…)
Digital : the good old MP3 … simple to use, universal and sounding good. Physical : the GOOD old vynil … it sounds so warm and it’s such a beautiful thing (are we too oldschool ?). For the music sites, we buy our music on Beatport like almost everyone else. And we crawl the blogs via hypem. Those are the two websites to know.

SPA

What are you up to at the moment?
Kundera, Kenneth Anger and Roberto Cacciapaglia, three contributors in different domains, each of them at the edge of their art…back in the 70’s

As an artist how do you use & see the web today?
The extent of this media is weaker than most people think. Beyond all strategies always lie human ideas, and natural harmony is a perfect heuristic. So basically the web remains a tool.

How important is it for you?
As fore mentioned, not that important.

How do you see it evolving in the coming years?
It is just a media, there is more to expect in the way people listen to the music, maybe people will experience the need to listen back to a full album, even without singles. The web brings everything, but you don’t need to know everything to find your way, you need a meaningful experience. Or maybe do you want to get lost?

And the music industry?
Hard to say, probably still alive but with other issues than the ones we currently figure out.

As an artist, what would be the best online music service of all your needs?
I don’t know really, the internet brings everything already, so it’s up to you to pick up things of serious matter.

What do you except from a label in 2009?
Good exposition and occasionally good ideas. But certainly not a corporation.

Favorite digital and physical format and why? Recommended music site (shop, blogs…)
A good track on a poor radio remains good allegedly, I focus more on the energy than the Hi-Fi. Furthermore, accidents caused by a scratching vinyl or a warmed tape modulate the sound, which is always interesting.
Norman Records
La dame blanche
France Musik blog
Mutant Sounds blog

CHATEAU MARMONT

What are you up to at the moment?
We are working on news songs, we plan to release our second ep in september. so it’s all about drugs and synths.

As an artist how do you use & see the web today?
Like most of the artists we guess, checking and upgrading our myspace, facebook and twitter profiles daily, looking for some remixes on blogs for our djset, listening to some new stuffs… internet is like a parallel dimension with no rules.

How important is it for you?
We don’t realize the importance of it. it’s now part of our life, of the process. the web is an instrument like others. just one of the strongest.

How do you see it evolving in the coming years?
Until 2012 and the apocalypse, it won’t really change. maybe more intrusion in our private lifes.

And the music industry?
If we had the answer; we would be very rich !

As an artist, what would be the best online music service of all your needs?
Are you collecting the best ideas from everywhere to start your own service… very smart !

What do you except from a label in 2009?
Vision, involvement, loyalty, passion.

Favorite digital and physical format and why? Recommended music site (shop, blogs…)
blogs : beats in space, alainfinkielkrautrock, robots in heat…..
shop : escort-annonce

DONOVAN

What are you up to at the moment?
So many stuff, we have our next CD/EP coming out in September, on Citizen, it will be 6 original tracks + 4 remixes from Blackstrobe, Mixhell, Acid Jacks and our pal Dinamics.
The videoclip of BANG (one of the track) will also be out soon.
We made some remixes for Bob Sinclar, Something a la Mode and few others.
We’ll be on tour with Vitalic from September to December.
Right now, we are mixing the forthcoming album of G.RIZO a singer, on International deejays gigolos. And of course we still produce tracks as often as we can.

As an artist how do you use & see the web today?
The web today, is one of the greatest mean of promoting our music.
It allows us to be in touch with listeners, artists, labels, etc
It keeps us updated to the music news, new releases etc.
I think that most of the artist, not only in electronic music, should see the web 2.0 as a great mean to broadcast their music, not necessarily to sell it.

How do you see it evolving in the coming years?
It will grow more and more, for sure.
I guess internet surfers will be more involved in the development of it.

What do you expect from a label in 2009?
To support its artist all the way, not only to allow them to sell music, but also to understand their view, their aim, to develop the identity of the artist, to give them opportunities to grow.

Favorite digital and physical format and why? Recommended music site (shop, blogs…)
Beatport, myspace, hypem, discogs and Fairtilizer of course

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