The soundtrack of a new generation of french producers (part 2). Eight rare or unreleased tracks from Danger, Nil, Spitzer, Anoraak, Djedjotronic, Rove Dogs, Mondkopf & Breakbot. Interviews below:

ANORAAK

What are you up to at the moment?
I’m just back from a sunbath and a coffee, and right after answering your questions, i’m going to make the last set-ups for the live i’m doing tommorrow for the live radio show Purple UFO in Paris.

As an artist how do you use & see the web today?
As a unique chance to build things by yourself. But it’s cleary a part of the job running a myspace page, and it takes a lot of time, but it’s really worthy, you can have a direct relationship with the people who listen to your sound.

How important is it for you?
It’s really important, 90% of what happened to me (and most of my friends too) is coming basically from the internet networking.

How do you see it evolving in the coming years?
It will be, and is already i think, the first and easiest place to find, listen or buy music.

And the music industry?
People will always ask for physical releases, so it’s not going to die, it just has to change.

As an artist, what would be the best online music service of all your needs?
Myspace is quite ok, it’s a huge network, everybody’s on, and it helps a lot if you use it the good way.

What do you except from a label in 2009?
High quality champagne and loads of money.

Favorite digital and physical format and why? Recommended music site (shop, blogs…)
Vynil is still a great object to buy, go to Melomane (Nantes, France) or Rough Trade (London, UK).

I don’t buy digital, but iTunes is cool i guess. To find new free licenced tunes, valeriecollective.com is a good place to go

DJEDJOTRONIC

What are you up to at the moment?
I’m cleaning up my computer desk.. too much cups of coffe over there:)
I’m also working on a remix and an edit… and training for my upcoming summer gigs.

As an artist how do you use & see the web today?
I’m connected every day. It’s like an imaginary office where i can work and keep in touch with the rest of the world in real time.

How important is it for you?
It’s my main promotion weapon.

How do you see it evolving in the coming years?
I hope it will stay as free as possible. I mean, i hope that we keep access to any information at any moment.
Not like in certain countries..
I think we’ll probably have all our discotheque on an online server. No more dj bag.

And the music industry
I feel that free access to music is the rule now.
We cannot ask the kids to pay 15bucks to download an album when they pay 20 bucks per month for internet access.
Music Industry has to change…

As an artist, what would be the best online music service of all your needs?
It should be a mix between discogs, youtube, and fairtilizer in one unique web site.
A place where u just have to click on the artist name and then access to all his downloadable discography. Even old catalogue references.

What do you except from a label in 2009?
Freedom

Favorite digital and physical format and why? Recommended music site (shop, blogs…)
mp3 320 kbps & vinyl.. I’ll never sale my old techno vinyl collection.

NIL

What are you up to at the moment?
Answering this interview, cooking a good lunch, watching Frekazoid episodes, working on a new track at the moment called “Sans titre 6″ and willing to make a bunch of new songs to release them later on this year.

As an artist how do you use & see the web today?
I stream badly encoded versions of my tracks, so that the proper versions sound a billion time better when you see me live or buy the record.

How important is it for you?
To cut a long story short, I got my publishing deal thanks to a Fluokids post. So I guess I like the internet !

How do you see it evolving in the coming years?
More and more internet. Thousands of internets, with lolcats and FLAC files instead of porn and mp3s.

And the music industry?
I just make music.

As an artist, what would be the best online music service of all your needs?
A brain washing service to gain fans would be definitely more efficient than Myspace.

What do you except from a label in 2009?
To help me becoming the new Madonna ?

Favorite digital and physical format and why? Recommended music site (shop, blogs…)
40 minutes long 10-trackers albums on CD. I love the crystal clear sound. I buy records to label’s online shops, or on Amazon’s Market Place. I download stuffs from Bleep, Beatport etc… and Soulseek. And I read Fluokids, Icanhaschezburger and Thisiswhyyourefat.

MONDKOPF

What are you up to at the moment?
I’m reading comics in a park in Toulouse. I might have three remixes to finish off.

As an artist how do you use & see the web today? How important is it for you?
It’s like a time machine to travel through music history, and even in its future (when albums are leaked before their official release date). I like the spirit of sharing, i just started http://mondkopf.tumblr.com

How do you see it evolving in the coming years?
Looking to today struggles on the use and regulation of the web, and our political leaders being so out-of-context, it’s hard to know what might happen.

And the music industry?
I have no clue but the major companies should know that they are done.

As an artist, what would be the best online music service of all your needs?
Internet will create those needs.

What do you except from a label in 2009?
Enthousiasm and cutting-edge.

Favorite digital and physical format and why? Recommended music site (shop, blogs…)
MP3 320kbps, laser-disc (not to confuse with compact-disc), keytarsandviolins.blogspot.com, aerophonesonaeroplanes.blogspot.com, blogotheque.net (concerts à emporter) & fluokids.blogspot.com.

SPITZER

What are you up to at the moment?
We are just back form the Nuits sonores festival and we are now waiting for the release of our first EP previously called “Roller Coaster”. It should be out this autumn on InFiné (Rone, Apparat, Clara Moto…) and we’re gonna probably have some gigs then.

As an artist how do you use & see the web today?
Obviously it’s the new communication support and more and more people use it to buy their favorite music.
Everybody’s on myspace and the music crosses the world in few seconds which is a good thing.
We are not afraid of the Web.

How important is it for you?
It’s a way to get in touch with fans and promoters and we only use it as a tool.
We are not Nerds at all but we’ve understood how useful it is.

How do you see it evolving in the coming years?
CD stores will close and Internet will be the world music retailer but myspace will probably not be free any more.

And the music industry?
Musicians won’t make any money with their records so the live acts will be something crucial to make a living with music. It’s a good thing.
Physical supports will be for promotional use and maybe labels will think about a new way to sale discs to the real fans who really want something physical (with graphics, pix, vidéo…).

As an artist, what would be the best online music service of all your needs?
We think Beatport works great…nothing more.

What do you expect from a label in 2009?
A label is now something you want to be affliated with because of its artists, its image and its popularity and we think that the economic model of major is not good anymore. Independant labels are more focused on artists’ point of view than money and we’ve chosen to workin with Infiné because their artistic vision perfectly fits our music.

Favorite digital and physical format and why? Recommended music site (shop, blogs…)
MP3 is a soooo bad format. That’s why we still buy CDS because of their good sound quality.
We really like the blog of our friend Mary Ann from Modular, ladecadanse.blogspot.com, full of good good music and well written.

ROVE DOGS

What are you up to at the moment?
I’m still working on my own label ” SILICON SQUARE GARDEN” wich I created in 2007…I released several 12′ of PLAY PAUL, ROVE DOGS and GOLDEN BUG + GOLDEN BUG’S first album that we licensed to Gomma records…We also have been remixed by Trevor Jackson, Pete herbert, Database and Krmpck…I’ll be releasing some new Rove dogs originals after this summer.
Recently, I’ve been doing some edits for Mindless Boogie. I’ve done their last 12’ with an edit of Eberhard shoener with Sting on vocals it’s called “ Why don’t you dub ? “ and it received an early support from Trevor, Optimo, the revenge…
I’ve been so much enjoying doing edits, i’ve opened “ Small time cuts records” a sub-divison of Silicon Square gardeen, which will be only releasing re-edits..The fist volume was sold out in two weeks…
I also host a party in Paris with my wife, it’s called “ OPTMISTIC SQUARE DISCO” : We already received TREVOR JACKSON, GUCCI SOUNDSYSTEM, SERGE SANTIAGO, GREG WILSON, HOLY GHOST, DISCO BLOODBATH,PETE HERBERT, AEROPLANE…

As an artist how do you use & see the web today?
I see the web as a giant megastore. I love to do my shopping on line. Back in the day, we had to travel to find some special items in the Us or in UK….but today everything is so easy to find…
I also like the social networks because it helps you to stay in touch with your old friends that are no longer in your close entourage.
As an artist, i use the web to make my promo, it’s very useful to get some precious comments about your work from the guys that you respect.
Web is connecting all the independent scene as a family, I like that !

How important is it for you ?
Unfortunatly, I can’t live without an internet connection…and i’m not really proud about this fact

How do you see it evolving in the coming years ?
I think that more and more stuff are going to be created to make us loose more time and money…It’s important to stay focus on the real world…
It’s hard to see how the future will be, but it seems like music, money, friendship and family are getting unmaterialized and it makes me freak out..

And the music industry ?
I believe that the situation is gonna be worse and worse until we reach the breakin point. Just like Ecology.
Artists and earth are treated the same way.
One day, the autorities will set up some very very hard and drastic measures to make us change our way of life.
Human is only making some changes when he is threatened

As an artist, what would be the best online music service of all your needs ?
I think that we need to create a service which sells some Hi-res music…some .wav or .aiff
Playing Mp3’s in a club, it’s a health problem. Actually, you’re not allowed to smoke but killing your ears is fully authorized…:-)
I think that major companies should be working on a hi-resolution platform to sell their music and save their future.
Mp3 is the enemy. It’s killing our sound enginneers, it’s killing clubbin and it’s also killing objective listening to music.

What do you expect from a label in 2009 ?
As labels, we need to keep the vinyl alive. Independent music was raised with the 12’ format. Even if you go on itunes , small labels are still selling their material as EP’s or Lp’s !!!
I think that we all have to work together , exchange more remixes etc.. More unity , more productions.
When electronic music came in France , it was really underground, derrick may, juan atkins etc, they were all playing into illegal parties in warehouses…
Today we are back to those basics, independent music is no longer a good business and I believe it’s really great news for creation.
Output recordings is my inspiration, Trevor Jackson gave us the best exemple of how music must be provided, with class and modernism. The loss of Output is a real loss and it leaves a very large failure in our movement and we’re ll responsible for that.
I just hope that Soul Jazz records will stay alive because they are the best music teachers for the younger generations. Soul jazz compilations will be the soundtrack of the education i’ll be givin to my kids !!
I also want to give a big shout out to Carlos from Whatever we want records, he invented the cooperative music label. It could be the future of independent music. I really want to meet that guy

Favorite digital and physical format and why? Recommended music site (shop, blogs…)
Vinyl for music and Hd projector for movies. It’s the only luxury i’m into but it’s the way I like to feel the Art.
Unfortunatly, loads of clubs are using dying turntables so I manage to encode my vinyls on a hi-res to cd’s…
I like to buy my records on Phonica, Piccadilly, Rough Trade. Here in paris, we have “12 inch records” which is a really good spot for edits and nu-disco stuff.
Downloading Mp3’s is not my thing but I do listen to everything on a few blogs : Alainfinkelkrautrock, So 2003, Mimikaki, mylifeisacid, lovefingers and beats in space….

DANGER

What are you up to at the moment?
I’m working on my album for a big part of the summer


As an artist how do you use & see the web today?
I’m one of these guys who uses internet for everything, as a kind of nerd. And I think that some percentage of my public is quite the same.

How important is it for you?
It’s a fantastic way for auto promotion ▲, but you have to find the right way, because everybody now want to be seen and to become a ☆ .

How do you see it evolving in the coming years?
In the future all the artists will have their own label, ‘cause now it costs nothing to produce music.

And the music industry?
It’s mutating but you can be sure that this moment of « liberty » is just a short parenthesis, ‘cause majors are losing a lot of $¥€
Internet is a great opportunity for musicians and artists, thanks to myspace, to facebook, and to all the Networking websites, but you have to be present at the right moment ‘cause those websites have all an expiration date

As an artist, what would be the best online music service of all your needs?
Lot of things already exist, I think the most interesting thing is to develop its own music service .

What do you except from a label in 2009?
I think the most important are the image and the network of the label.

Favorite digital and physical format and why? Recommended music site (shop, blogs…)
I like vinyls for the object itself, but I’m from the CD’s and MP3 generation, I like the uncompressed formats, even if the MP3 as the vinyl has a vintage charm due to the technical restrictions. Google and youtube => I don’t have a favorite music one.

✎

bye, thanks.

BREAKBOT


What are you up to at the moment?
I am finishing my first EP on ed banger records, it will be released this year.

As an artist how do you use & see the web today?
It is a tremendous source of inspiration. Blogs, peer-2-peer, myspace, amazon, and a few websites definitely changed my perception of music.

How important is it for you?
It is very important. For example, without internet I wouldn’t have been able to the work I’m doing today : producing music. Myspace helped me a lot for that.

How do you see it evolving in the coming years?
It is definitely going to change a lot of things in the entertainment business. In fact it already did. A lot of people are trying to find new ways to sell their music and movies.

And the music industry?
It’s not a secret that records don’t sell anymore, people have to concentrate more on live shows and new concepts to make a living out of their work. It can be quite a good thing for creativity, I suppose.

As an artist, what would be the best online music service of all your needs?
A website with free bass lines, free cheesy guitar licks and free kick-ass vocals.

What do you except from a label in 2009?
To support good music !

Favorite digital and physical format and why? Recommended music site (shop, blogs…)
I buy a lot of CDs cause I like to have the object and it is easier to rip than a vinyl.

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