 “I’m a big Monty Python fan and when they play French people they always have baguettes and that’s OK, I can understand that; it’s typical French. And they also wear berets and I can understand that too, but one thing I’ve never understand is why they always wear stripey sailor’s T shirts. They do that on South Park and The Simpsons too and I don’t understand it: we are not all sailors in France.”
Chuckling down the line from his Grenoble headquarters, Michel ‘The Hacker’ Amato also disputes the findings of a recent survey claiming 9 out of 10 French people hate soap and one in 55 French people never have a shower, though he’s less sure about another saying 50% of French singles now happily abstain from sex for months. “I don’t know about that but I guess it’s not just a French thing, I think more and more people are certainly single,” he surmises. “But one thing I will say is that girls are much more sexy in the South of France than the rest of the country.” Cultural clichés and stereotypes aside, Michel’s talking to Skrufff today to promote his new EP Traces, which his Goodlife Records site says closes the "Rêves mécaniques" chapter. Fellow French producers Oxia and Dexter have been recruited to remix Traces from his acclaimed 2004 album (Rêves Mécaniques), while Blackstrobe have remade its standout Flesh & Bones, a key club tune of the last 18 months,
Skrufff (Jonty Skrufff): What made you choose Oxia and Black Strobe as remixers for Flesh and Bones?
The Hacker: “It’s quite simple, I chose Oxia because he is one of my best friends and he really liked the original track. I just said to him ‘if you want to do a remix, just do it’. For Black Strobe, it’s more or less the same thing, we are very good friends and I did a remix for them a while ago which isn’t out yet, so it was a kind of an exchange. I’m also very good friends with Arnaud from Black Strobe and I know he is a big fan of the original track – of ‘Flesh and Bone’ so it was kind of normal to ask him to do this remix. Then, for the other remixes for Dexter it’s just that I am a big fan of his music. I think he is one of the best electro producers right now. I sent him an email and asked him for that and I was happy he was OK to do it. That’s how it happened.” Skrufff: When they give you remixes, do they give you one versions or do they give you several and then you pick one? The Hacker: “No, Black Strobe just gave me one version and I was happy with it, as did Oxia and Dexter. There was no hesitation, none of that ‘hmmm, I don’t really like this one, maybe you should do this or that. When I heard their mixes I was happy with the results. There was no reworking at all.” Skrufff: You produce your own songs as well as regularly remixing other people’s songs, do you feel different about remixes compared to your own songs? Do you feel that you own your songs? The Hacker: “As soon as you make a track it’s not yours anymore, it belongs to the people; you don’t own it. As soon as the record is out, people listen to it and they interpret it as they want and it’s theirs. For each individual maybe there is a different meaning, different emotions and things like that, so it belongs to everybody after that. When someone does a remix for me of one of my songs, somehow the song doesn’t belong to me anymore either, he can do whatever he wants with it.” Skrufff: ‘Flesh and Bone’ has been one of those tracks that thousands of DJs have played over the last 2 years, when you’re DJing do you feel pressure to play your own tracks even if you’ve got tired of them? The Hacker: “I’m aware that when I play that some people are just waiting for these moments when I will play ‘Flesh and Bone’ or ‘Frank Sinatra’ or ‘Fading Away. I think in a way it’s normal, people want to hear these tunes and it’s fine for me to play them because they are songs that I really love and am proud of. Some artists never play their own track which I think is a bit snobby. It’s not that I’m not a crowd pleaser either, I never go for the easy option, but it just feels so good when you play one of your tracks and see the people going crazy, that I just can’t help playing ‘Flesh and Bone ’ at the moment. When the day comes that I feel people are bored of it, then I’ll stop playing it.” Skrufff: Your current album Reves Mechaniques came out in October 2004 have you written many new songs since then? The Hacker: “I took a kind of break from DJing in December and January to work on some new tracks and right now I have maybe two 12 inches worth of new material. I don’t think it’s for a new album because it’s still more or less in the same atmosphere as Reves Mechaniques. Right now I just want to do one of the twelve inches, maybe on Good Life, maybe one somewhere else, I don’t know where for the moment. When I did Reves Mechaniques I had such a clear picture in my mind of what I wanted to do, that it’s hard to move onto something totally new right now. I’m thinking about a new concept and what kind of direction I could take and I have to say I don’t really know, I’m still searching.” Skrufff: You’ve always stayed based in Grenoble have you ever considered moving to Berlin? The Hacker: “No, never, I like the city but I don’t think I could live there, it’s too dark. It’s very interesting, of course, there is a very good musical scene with a lot of DJs, artists, parties, everything, but I’m from Grenoble in the South of France and personally I need light; sunlight. Berlin is very definitely just too dark for me, during wintertime it’s nighttime at four in the afternoon, it’s very cold and very grey, and that’s why I couldn’t live there. I could live in Barcelona, but Berlin never.” Skrufff: Are you spending much time in Paris these days? The Hacker: “I’m actually not a big fan of Paris though I go there from time to time when I have to play or when I have some meetings. There are some cities you visit where you feel a certain vibe, where you feel either comfortable or uncomfortable and in Paris I never really felt comfortable. I can’t explain why. For the music scene I’ve never been too interested in what’s going on in Paris either. There are some interesting people of course, but I’ve never been really excited by the city Skrufff: There seems to be lots more French producers releasing interesting records again, do you perceive there to be a new wave in France? The Hacker: “I don’t know it depends who you are talking about. If I take people who are more or less in the same style as me, like David Guetta or even Vitallic we’re not really a new wave of producers becausewe are all into our thirties more or less and we have all been around for the last ten years. I can’t really say we are newcomers, but maybe since there is always a little delay between France and the UK in both directions, we look like a new wave for people in the UK, following on from Laurent Garnier and Daft Punk. But I don’t see myself as a newcomer.”
Skrufff: How much has your attitude to music and clubs changed over the last ten years? The Hacker: “I’m less crazy than before, I’m definitely more responsible. Before it was like, go out every night, even if I’m not playing and now. I’m thirty-three no, I’m more relaxed. I don’t need to get crazy every weekend like I used to some years ago. I’m more mature in a way, or boring.” Skrufff: Are you married? The Hacker: “I’m not married but I have a girlfriend and we have been together for four years. That’s maybe one of the big changes in my life. ”
The Hacker: Traces is out now on PIAS Recordings.
http://www.goodlife-ozone.com
Article by Jonty Skrufff Subscribe to Skrufff music newsletter at www.skrufff.com |
