HELL

He visited our country once more last month for Reworks Festival. I had the chance to interview him last May because of his brand new release titled "Teufelswerk", a real masterpiece.

1. In late April you release a brand new album, which is called “Teufelswerk” that means the Devil’s Work. Why did you choose this name for your album?

"In German Teufelswerk means "the Devil's work", and that's exactly what this album represents. My work, the work of Hell."

2. “Teufelswerk” is divided in Day and Night section. What is different between them?

"The Day side of my album is a collection of ambient tracks, avant-garde electronic music blended with my own take on a kosmische music. Kosmische is an experimental genre from Germany from when I was young, it's very psychedelic and also progressive. When I was writing the tracks I was listening to a lot of NEU and Can, Jarre and Pink Floyd. The other side of my album, called Night, is the dance oriented side of the record. I wrote Night thinking back to my first influences in techno... classic German electronica, Chicago house, and when Detroit techno was ruling the world."

3. You have said that “Teufelswerk” is the best record you’ve ever made. Is it truly your masterpiece, and why?

"I think when you go through the process of making a record, it's different each time. Each time you release an album it's like bringing a child into the world. It has it's own character, it's own creation story. It's part of you, and represents you. I only make an album once every five years, so I feel like I've also been a different person each time I've released a record. For 'Teufelswerk', I wanted to show people what I was capable of. I had so much material and I had the concept to do a double album, I brought on the best of the best people I could find to work with, took my time, and gave everything I had to making this record. All of my experience from the whole course of my life and all of my heart is in there."

4. What is the atmosphere of this record? Tell us about its music style and the feelings someone gets when listening to it.

"The feedback has been great so far, and I hear from most people that they feel it's an album that everyone can pull something from. For some people I think it's very nostalgic, both discs, and for others it's a small history lesson, through my eyes."

5. You are responsible of the electroclash sound few years ago. There are also several types of music like nu rave, nu disco, nu electro, etc. What do you think will be the next movement in music?

"I think it's hard to say. Techno was always just techno and now it's splintered into so many different directions. I would like to see the music go into a more sophisticated direction. A lot of productions are getting more and more organic, by that I mean that most of the things I am getting these days have real instruments or real percussive elements mixed into the tracks somehow. I think it's probably a hard time for electronic purists. I hope this trend is going to bring some of the feeling back into dance music, open the productions up to be something more dynamic. I think in years past minimal and it's popularity changed how a lot of other types of electronic music was produced, even house music. I miss an element of depth and musicality in a lot of music these days."

6. What can an artist do if he wants to collaborate with Gigolo label? What are your criteria in selecting artists to work with?

"A lot of it is personality. I meet a lot of the artists I choose to work with while traveling and playing, I meet them on parties or festivals or I see them out somehow. The Megachurch of Gigolo is like a philosophy, a collective of artists, and the final output has to be something really good and really genuine and the whole package has to be there.... the songs, the performance and the persona. We raised up so many artists and showed them the way, people like Tiga and Miss Kittin and Vitalic. They all have that special something, they're all a part of the family."

7. Your upcoming album has some really interesting collaborations, like the one with Bryan Ferry. Tell us what was like working with each one of those artists.

"I am not a good singer so also on this side i used the best i can get and Brian Ferry is a master in what he is doing and one of the greatest singer and songwritter of all time. Puffy is a genius and to watch him is the best learning process for people like me.I think Puffy become the new andy warhol and now hes talking about after hours clubs and music thats played out in techno clubs all around the world,so poeple will listen to what he says and at the end of the day i could not get happier to work with people like this on my new album. Me and Peter are old friends and we know each other for so many years so it was clear to end up in the studio one day and getting some help from Christian Prommer and Roberto DI Gioia for playing the instruments and doing the string arrangments. What kind of music do you enjoy listening to?- I like something like classical when I am at home, and the rest of the time I am listening to demo and promo CDs."

8. What is your opinion about all software used nowadays to dj or make music? Which way do you prefer?

"I'm a vinyl DJ and I'll always be a vinyl DJ. I have software at home and have tried playing with it a few times, and I can see why people use it, I think it some DJs think it looks better to play with something like Traktor rather than to use CDs, but I am just used to the way I play and it doesn't benefit me to change now. Some of it is kind of funny, there's all these settings you can work with and it's like you don't even have to be able to mix anymore. But like anything else I think you'll only really get better at something like DJing if you practice and do it right. You can use whatever you want, but you know, you can't fake the funk.

9. Any plans to visit Greece?

"I was just there recently, but a summer would not be complete without a trip to Greece, so wish me luck."

10. The lead single of “Teufelswerk” is called “Angst”. Why did you choose this track, is it more suitable to communicate the whole record? Which will be the next one?

"I thought it was a beautiful track, one of the strongest ones on the album and so I wanted to present that as the first single from the Day side of the record. The music video is also beautiful, it was done by a director named Nicole McDonald from LA. This track was the perfect balance of all my ideas. The next single is going to be another track from the Day side of the record, it's called "Hell's Kitchen" and it will be released June 1st on Gigolo Records, with a Playhouse remix by Trevor Jackson."

11. What are your future plans?

"I will spend the entire next year traveling and DJing, and sharing my new album with the world. I will also work with Berlin designer Michalsky on another fashion show, I will release a line of men's slips with Wendy&Jim, sunglasses by a company called Freudenhaus, and I will donate my time to a feminist organization in the Ukraine called Femen to draw attention to the problems with young girls and prostitution there... just naming a few things. It's going to be a very busy but very good year."

More Info:

HELL SPACE

HELL SITE

CASSIUS

Any introduction seems needless for artists like Cassius and their influence in how french house evoluted through the years. Being in the front of "French Touch" movement along with Daft Punk made them totally respected.

1. WHEN SHOULD WE EXPECT YOUR NEXT STUDIO ALBUM?

"Soon! We just started, as we're free from EMI. We're doing our own label: Cassius Records!, which is going to be based in Berlin."

2. HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR MUSIC?

"It's always evolving. Sometimes it's more rockish, sometimes more housey. I would call it electronic pop."

3. WHAT WAS THE CRAZIEST THING YOU'VE EVER EXPERIENCED AS DJS?

"The craziest is deifnitely the airport and the planes, other than that, except playing in raves in England in the nineties or in Medelin in front of very special VIPs, there is always some surprise for a DJ."

4. HOW DID YOU EXPERIENCED THE "FRENCH TOUCH"?

"It was great... Something really rare for french music. We travelled a lot (and still are) and we met so many people..."

5. DID YOU EVER THOUGHT GOING SOLO AGAIN?

"We do but we always are best friends, so Cassius is always somewhere and is always the strongest."

6. TELL US WHAT YOU HATE AND WHAT YOU LOVE IN YOUR LIFE.

"I (Zdar) love a lot of things in my life. I use my talent for my music but try to keep my genius for my living. Not really hating anything."

7. WHAT ARE YOUR ACTIVITIES APART FROM MUSIC?

"Love, hollidays in the sun, cooking, reading, taking care of a little girl and watching old movies."

8. WHAT ARE YOUR FUTURE PLANS?

"CASSIUS RECORDS!!!!!!!"

Cassius Top 10

PRINCE - SIGN OF THE TIME
DERRICK MAY - STRINGS OF LIFE
CHRISTOPHE - LE BEAU BIZZARE
STEEVIE WONDER - AS
VIOLENT FEMMES - BLISTER IN THE SUN
BIKINI KILL - JET SKI
METTALICA - WIPLASH
PHAROA SANDERS - KARMA
SEBASTIEN TELLIER - LA RITOURNELLE
TRIBE CALL QUEST - PUSH IT ALONG
NICK DRAKE - RIVER MAN

MORE INFO:

CASSIUS SPACE

CASSIUS SITE

TAREQ

Being the frontman of Techsoir and now going solo, Tareq proves he can success both ways. Multi-tasking in the music industry, it is more than expected he is on his way to the top.

Tareq is the Nu Electro Disco Lover. Born and grown in Thessaloniki, Greece. Half Jordanian, half Greek. From his young age got familiar with music, by composing musical pieces in piano. His musical studies were on the piano and the alticorno. Being fan of the electronic music scene, made him deal with music production and DJing.In 2002 he created the nu-electro band TechSoir and he was the frontman of the group until 2009. TechSoir had a number of releases. The singles, “Tech Soir” and “Try Me”, got in dance compilations. They also participated in the music score of Alexandros Pantazoudis’ Film “Don’t Go”. After that, the full length album “Dark Room” (Undo records/ EMI) was released in January of 2008. TechSoir appeared next to names such as Fischerspooner, Digitalism, UNKLE, Hercules and Love affair, James, The Fall and Chicane. Tareq as a DJ appeared next to Swayzak, Metope and Scorpio. Beside the TechSoir project, he produced some official and unofficial remixes for The Blow Waves, The Snoopy Lads, de:tech, Digitalism, Rod Thomas and Furiku.

1. WHEN WAS THE FIRST CONTACT YOU HAD WITH MUSIC?

"The first contact was when i was a kid.. at the age of 5. We had a piano in our living room, which was an interesting toy for a baby boy. I started playing , by ear, the songs that i liked, so my next movement was to go and study the piano in a music school."

2. YOU ARE A MULTI-TASK ARTIST. WHAT'S DIFFERENT ABOUT YOUR ACTIVITIES AND HOW YOU ENJOY EACH ONE OF THEM?

"Writing and producing music was something that i could do by early age. That's why we created TechSoir. the singing came after that, while we needed vocals for our tracks.. We realised that this was working well, so we turned out to be more like a band than simply producers. After that i was performing in every show we did. Amazing feeling that makes you addicted! The DJ part was an act of hobby which we were doing with some friends DJs on sundays! I really enjoy DJing because it is a demonstration of the music taste you have. Is really cool to make people dance."

3. YOU WERE THE FORNTMAN OF TECHSOIR AND YOU RECENTLY DECIDED TO GO SOLO. WHY?

"Me and TechSoir where together since 2002. After all those years and experiences, you see that people change and you can't have a lots of things in common anymore. So, the best thing to do is to leave things as they are in a good shape. Ithought it was time to move on and create the different project i had in mind. I am proud of TechSoir because we released a strong album (Dark Room), it was a dream becoming true, and lots of performances next to such great names. What more to ask?"

4. HOW DO YOU GET INSPIRED? WHAT ARE YOUR INFLUENCES?

"I get inspired by things that happening in my life.. beautiful, bad, strange, hilarius.. At the moment i really dig the disco thing. I consider this as an infuence! Artists such as DFA, Godfrapp, The Emperor Machine, The Juan Maclean, Fischerspooner, Cut Copy, The Presets, Lacquer, Hot Chip and noumerous others are my influences!"

5. SINCE THE BEGINNING OF YOUR CAREER, WHICH IS THE MOST EXCITING MOMENT YOU'VE EVER EXPERIENCED?

"I had a lot of exciting experiences, while meeting some of the artists that i like.. The best and most recent was when me and TechSoir were the opening act for Fischerspooner. Meeting Casey Spooner was the most exciting moment. That was the last gig i had with TechSoir and it was the best end for that chapter!"

6. YOU'RE A MUSICIAN WHO LIVES AND WORKS IN ATHENS. I SOULD ASK YOUR OPINION ABOUT THE MUSIC SCENE IN GREECE.

"I believe that the music scene in Greece, talking ofcourse about the electronic and alternative scene, is getting better and better. A lots of respectable artists with great pieces of work. It was about time for the Greek musicians to demonstrate to the rest of the world their cababilities. Nothing to be jealous of and there is more to come! Let's keep it up."

7. WHAT ARE YOUR FUTURE PLANS?

"My future plans include a solo album, which hopefully will be released this year! Lots of dj sets up to come and maybe some live gigs, while I'm working on it!"

TAREQ TOP 5

1. Curses! - The Deep End (Holy Ghost Remix)
2. Simian Mobile Disco - Hotdog (Cosmo Vitelli Remix)
3. Nomi & Deep Red - Fun girl
4. Rod Thomas - Your Love Is A Tease (Tareq Remix)

5. Mock & Toof - Underwater

At the moment Tareq lives in Athens and he is working on his debut solo album. You can listen to his radio show “Sechoir” every Wednesday at 18:00 (GMT +2) on WaveRadio.gr

MORE INFO:

TAREQ SPACE

TAREQ FANPAGE

DIGITAL RIOT

Digital Riot are one of the most promising dj duos in the Greek electronic music scene. Upcoming, fresh and powerful, they will keep us interested in their music for a very long time. They love breakbeats, nu electro tunes and they certainly know how to rock the dancefloor!

1. CAN YOU DESCRIBE HOW AN IDEAL PARTY SHOULD BE?
"First of all, the hottest and freshest music, lots of alcohol, beautiful women and last but not least, a crowd ready to party all night long!"

2. WHAT IF YOUR SOUND WAS A COLOR AND A FEELING, WHAT WOULD IT BE?
"If our sound was a color it would probably be very bright and happy but every now and then it would turn into a very dark color and if it was a feeling it would be a mix of the most happy, "dancy" feelings."

3. WHAT KIND OF MUSIC DO YOU ENJOY LISTENING TO?
"We enjoy listening to all kind of electronic music as well as indie alternative, brit pop and whenever we need to chill out we are listening to trip hop and everything else so relaxing."

4. ARE THERE ANY ARTISTS YOU REALLY ADMIRE?
"There are a lot of artists that we admire some of them are Jarvis Cocker, Manos Xatzidakis, Ian Curtis, Dave Gahan, Daft Punk, Justice, Stereo Nova, Joe Strummer, Sid Vicious, The Beatles, Radiohead, Kurt Cobain, Miss Kittin, David Bowie, Kraftwerk… that's enough, isn't it?"

5. WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THE MUSIC SCENE IN GREECE?
"We think that the music scene in Greece is promoting "cheap" music that will never last on time because it has nothing to "give" to the listener. We believe that the alternative music scene in Greece needs a little more support and then everything will be perfect!"

6. HOW DID YOU COME UP WITH YOUR NAME?
"We thought that we should have a word in our name that could describe our sound and this word is "Digital" then we said that we should put a second word that could describe the spirit of our music and we came up with the word "Riot" and so we are Digital Riot!"

7. WHAT ARE YOUR FUTURE PLANS?
"For the future we hope that more and more people will listen to our music and we would like to work with very good djs as we did in the last party of Kormoranos where we played with The Twelves and with Feadz and we hope that such good co operations will happen again in the future either in a club or in a festival."

DIGITAL RIOT TOP 5

1. Zombie Nation- Forza
A real dance dynamite!A song that will never let you down and will make you wanna dance all night long.

2. The Black Kids- I'm Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How to Dance (The Twelves Remix)
This song is so bright, cool and groovy that will make your feet moving by themselves

3. Daft Punk- Technologic (Balboa Remix)
Technologic is a dance anthem and this remix is too.

4. Kaiser Chiefs- Never Miss a Beat (Yuksek remix)
So aggresive and so happy same time!

5. Depeche Mode- Wrong
The new Depeche Mode track is new and already a classic!!So hard, dark and sexy!

MORE INFO:

DIGITAL RIOT SPACE

DIGITAL RIOT FANPAGE

DIGITAL RIOT BLOG

DANGER

Franck Rivoire makes music and performs it under the costume and character of Danger, a strange creature with a tendency in dark analogue sounds and old fashioned synthezisers creating an ideal soundtrack for a vintage video game.

1. WHAT IS THE IDEA BEHIND THIS SPECIAL APPEARANCE OF DANGER? WHAT IS HE REPRESENTING?
"It's a character : black skin and white eyes, he's just a part of the universe of danger, he's linked with the global story, the pictures, the music... And he knows how to mix, but he's a little weird, be prudent."

2. WHERE DO YOU GET IDEAS FROM?

"Video games, movies soundtrack, movies, classic music, hip hop, graphism, design, books, comics, manga..."

3. WHAT IS THE CONNECTION OF SOUND AND VISION AND WHY IS THIS SO IMPORTANT FOR YOUR PERFORMANCE?

"I try to put the public into a real universe, a real world, I’m not interested in the music for itself, but only with the pictures, the animations, the titles, the covers : the concept works."

4. HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR SOUND?
"A mix of : Video games, movies soundtrack, movies, classic music, hip hop, graphism, design, books, comics, manga... the result is a cutted melodic narrative dance sound."

5. WHAT ARE YOUR FUTURE PLANS?

"Wow : early 2009 NEW EP III, NEW EP II, NEW CLIP, NEW SHOW, NEW and First ALBUM -> work."

6. WHAT IS THE REASON YOU USUALLY CHOOSE A SONG TO REMIX IT?
"The first reason is : - I have to like the song, especially if it is not in the same music style than me, cause it's more interesting, more rich. The second reason is : - If an artist with good and big "aura" , reputation and visibility, even if I’m not in love with the song, I will do it."

MORE INFO:

DANGER SPACE

DANGER OFFICIAL SITE

TEENAGE BAD GIRL

Teenage Bad Girl were in Athens 2 months ago for a smashing dj set along with DJ Girl. They answered few questions to ME8H about djing and partying. Things they are totally aware of!

1. WHAT IS INSPIRATION TO YOU?
"Many things! Like all the music we listened to as teenagers… like Rage against the Machine, Prodigy, Chemical Brothers, Nirvana, Radiohead, Cassius, Mortorbass, Daft Punk of course… Our big brothers fav music, like Queen, Police… our parents fav music, like Gainsbourg, or the Beatles… and also many 70’s Funk bands like René & Angela or Gene Dunlap for example…"

2. WHAT ARE THE CONDITIONS FOR A GREAT PARTY?
"Most of the time, the first thing we look when we arrive to play somewhere is lights!
They are so important… It’s very difficult to make people dance with one disco ball and a 3 colors light. Then the size of the venue… if it’s too big and not crowded, the party seems already a bit compromised. That’s why we prefer small clubs, with stuck and squeezed mood! And the last thing before we play, we walk around in the club to see if people are here for party, or to look at each others."


3. HOW DID YOU START DJING?
"We’ve first started to produce music… both of us around 18… we released our first records about 3 years ago on my label, Archibell Records, “Hands of a Stranger”. Then we made a remix for the Scissor Sisters, and Citizen, Vitalic’s label contacted us for an album project. That’s why we started to spin records on decks, especially to promote our music, and party with people who enjoy our sound."


4. WHAT ARE YOUR FUTURE PLANS?
"We’re working rignt now on few remixes, and a compilation project for the end of the year. Then we’ll think about new sounds, and see what’s resulting, for maybe a new album, but not before end of 2009."

More info:

TEENAGE BAD GIRL SPACE

CITIZEN RECORDS

JERRY BOUTHIER

Jerry Bouthier is a great dj first of all. He is half part of JBAG, a project he created along with his music partner Andrea Gorgerino. They've made some of the most amazing remixes and re-edits to names such Sparks, S'Express, Kylie and many many more. They also make soundtracks for the hottest catwalks and fashion shows. Usually, after the fashion shows they travel the world driving people crazy with their beautiful sounds. I am also happy to be able to confirm that Jerry Bouthier is a beautiful person above all... Thanks Jerry!

1. HOW DID YOU START DJING, AND WHY?
"I reckon this is not really something you choose, it kind of chooses you (lol). Since school etc I was always playing/selecting music at parties, and then before you realize it, you're doing clubs etc... Also it keeps me busy in parties so I keep out of trouble (lol) which is probably a good thing as I love to party and go a little wild ha ha... It's a cliché but I think I've always enjoyed giving people a good time, entertaining them whilst getting them to discover stuff they don't know..."

2. WHAT IS INSPIRATION TO YOU?
"Inspiration is about feeling and emotion. Again I don't want to sound cliché but I'm always looking for music which is giving me a thrill and goose pimples... a strong sensation that I won't forget easily... I'm not into 'wall paper' music... every track should provide a big impression... I believe that as long I'm enjoying myself behind the decks, other people might do too... it's possibly a little selfish but it works! Excitement communicates easily ha ha."

3. NAME YOUR PROJECTS AND TELL US A FEW WORDS FOR EACH ONE.
"JBAG is myself and my music partner Andrea Corgerino, together we write, produce, remix and re-edit (Kylie, S-Express, Sparks, Rex the Dog...). We've just finished remixing the next Ladyhawke and Adam Sky singles. We're also deejaying together more and more because 'two is better than one' ha ha (a stupid French expression), no seriously I really enjoy deejaying on my own but as JBAG we're seriously rocking, the mixing is quicker, there's more mixing-desk action, it's a show... Andrea is a classically trained musician as well as a great engineer/producer so obviously it shows... I think you'll hear a lot more of JBAG in the near future... we're like a band now... we are doing an EP for Kitsuné at the moment...
BoomBox was my good friend Richard Mortimer's club. I was resident dj there (as well as at his previous club Family) and helped with the bookings of guest djs & acts. I always say BBx was an experiment but went ballistic. It wasn't really meant to be more than a great party for our friends to have fun and go silly but somehow it gave a lot of people, here and abroad, some kind of inspiration too, the excitement that you could do things how you want to and that you don't have to play the game like everybody else...
Neon Noise Project is a new party in London for which JBAG is resident dj. About time London got itself a big party into what I call 'electrock', we've had guests such as MSTRKRFT, Bang Gang djs, Cut Copy djs... in November NNP is organizing Kitsuné Maison 6 launch party at Heaven with Digitalism, Gildas & Masaya. Autokratz, Heartsrevolution... and JBAG (lol)!"

4. WHAT IS YOUR OPINION OF THE INTERNATIONAL MUSIC SCENE?
"It's very healthy! Since the explosion of electroclash a few years back, it's been growing bigger and better... for me artists like LCD Soundsystem, Fischerspooner, The Rapture, Soulwax, Goldfrapp, MGMT, Midnight Juggernauts, CSS, Digitalism, Cut Copy, Crystal Castles are the big innovative artists of today... the sounds that will have marked the present time... it's much more than one sound because everybody's doing its own thing, it's about strong personalities which is really exciting because these days so much music is formularized and formatted..."

5. WHICH ARTISTS WOULD YOU LIKE TO INTRODUCE TO THE GREEK AUDIENCE?
"Er, I'm not so sure who's big in Greece and who isn't (lol). You should check the Kitsuné Maison compliations, they're the best indicator of what's new and hot..."

6. WHICH OF YOUR REMIXES MAKE YOU FEEL PROUD OF? WHAT IS THE NEXT ONE YOU WOULD LIKE TO DO?
"They all make us proud! They're like our children ha ha... We spend enough time on them! Nothing comes out of the studio until we're really happy and satisfied with it... and sometimes it can take a bloody long time I tell you... Today you don't make music for money because it doesn't pay anymore, people have stopped buying records, so you do it because you love it and that you want to leave something behind that is meaningful, that's the important thing... There is so much crap out there, anyone can make a tune these days... but the quality control is very low... it can be quite bad... people who are about to release tracks should really think to themselves: is this really worth putting out?"

7. HOW DID YOU FIND YOUR EXPERIENCE WITH WAVERADIO.GR?
"Yeah I loved it! I don't have much free time to surf the web so a chatroom was kind of a new thing to me and I found it much fun. Real fast and interactive... Is the station big in Athens and beyond then?"

8. WHAT ARE YOUR FUTURE PLANS?
"As previously mentioned JBAG is on a roll... next is world domination ha ha. For our EP on Kitsuné we're working with vocalist Louise Prey who was the leader of the Ping Pong Bitches and sang on The Prodigy's 'Girls'. There are other collaborations with various vocalists and characters... As you might know JBAG also does a lot of soundtracks for fashion shows. That activity's going really well, we're doing all the Vivienne Westwood shows at the moment and younger designers like Jonathan Saunders, Peter Jensen, Roksanda Ilincic... Then there are the dj dates... I'm away most weekends... I was in Australia for 2 weeks in July... I went to Japan 4 times in less than a year... it's great to be able to do what you like best and meet nice people along the way..."

9. WHEN SHOULD WE EXPECT YOUR OWN MATERIAL?
"Soon! Sorry we're perfectionists! But again we don't believe in releasing stuff that we don't think if of high standards..."

10. WHAT KIND OF MUSIC ARE YOU LISTENING TO LATELY?
"All kinds. Particularly for the fashion shows, I'm always on the look out for new stuff... it can be indie, classical, experimental, ethnic, it's all good... when I travel I tend to listen a lot to poppy italo-disco, love songs you can dance too, I am a softy at heart you know (lol)..."

More info:
JERRY BOUTHIER SPACE
JBAG SPACE