REVENGE OF THE NERD: Introducing offbeat french ambassador

Music Interview by code314 - Sun 16/11/2008 at 04:09
Your resumé is really impressive; we could say that everything seems to fit together and gives the possibility to bring something new. When we talk about "offbeat hiphop" we hear a lot of England, Scotland and the United States, but now we are also seeing a lot of producers on the european continent, how is the situation in Paris?
I don't know if we can still talk today of an artists resume, but yes lately things go really well. I think that's because of the long work in my artistic work as well as in my music, but also  because of meeting people who supported my projects.
For me the french scene was always late with everything, but it still has some own inspirations and some good new artists. But each new style doesn't develop itself as in a lot of other countries. Paris doesn't really like the new scene, even artists like Flying Lotus, James Pants and others arrive slowly...I think Paris centralises the new styles but it doesn't communicate about it with the rest of the country. There are good things that are happening in Paris, but also in Besançon, Nantes, Lyon, Nancy or Metz, and I assure you that I'm always hallucinating when I here (hear) people outside France only talk about Paris. In general when you are french, you are labeled as from Paris. (Fulgeance is nevertheless Parisian)...I don't feel any hate, but it lacks a bit of openness...on the other hand I really support people like MusiqueLarge Records or the What the Funk parties as much as la Maroquinerie who are trying to do something new.

After the dubstep scene that dropped like a bomb in the global underground scene and installed itself easily, now the "wonky scene" is establishing itself. It's almost like a new era that arrives, a renaissance for the hiphop. Is Fulgeance the revenge of french hiphop?
I consider myself more as part of the electronic scene then as part of the hip-hop culture, I'm a fan of black music and the after-beat way of composing. But I'm a hip-hop lover, and hip-hop musically formed me more then anything. In general I'm looking to link different kinds of music and dancing grooves in my music. Low Club is a kind of slowed down house that's flirting with the west coast hip-hop. I like to mix that in a way that it creates a trance or a surprise with the listener. My electro style is more about destructuralisation of beats but without loosing the line of the beat and the groove. More than "the revenge of hip-hop", I would talk about "la revenge du Nerd" hey hey! (title of one of the tracks released on the Fulgeance 7" for the beatstrumental series of the Irish All City records label).

Do the enthusiastic comments and the good critiques you received, put a lot of pressure on you?
Bah, it's not really pressuring me at the moment. For me, whatever happens I will still enjoy the sound and continue with it.
I know that I always reach a specific crowd, my goal isn't to be popular, we will just say it's about playing a bit everywhere and selling some records. When u see the difference between the two EP's, Chico and Low Club, and the remixes and the 12" on All City, I think u will always win and loose people when u vary in style, but I take the risk, I think u will always win and loose people when u vary in style, but I take the risk, because I don't like static music.
 
 

"I think u will always win and loose people when u vary in style, but I take the risk"


I read that you prefer to make your live sets on MPC than with a laptop, a choice that fits the stage, if I've been following well. Can you explain us how you envision those two steps? live/stage. You also play live drums?
Yeah, I prefer to play with MPC's to activate something more visual for the public. At my place I produce on a PC, then I reconstruct phases and transfer on my MPC, this allows me to improvise during live performances.
(euh live drums?) euh...yeah, I play live on the pads, the beats, the synths, the sounds, the bass all at the same time, sometimes even the growling of my cat!

You are a producer that likes to do a lot of collaborations. What are the next ones? Or any remixes? What do you think are your most remarkable collaborations? Some dreams on that level?
Architeq will bring out a maxi with remixes of his track Birds of Prey, on Tirk Records. There is one remix of me, one of Debruit (my friend from Music Large) and one of James Pants. I will also do a maxi on the label One Handed (London) with artists like Bullion and Paul White. And Wireblock, the label of Jackmaster (with records of Hudson Mo, Rustie...) also would like to do a release!
Collaborations aren't really my priority at the moment, I did one with 215 the freshest kids and Tita Lima or D3CCPT, but that is more for the album. A project I would like to do is to do a duo with Dorian Concept, who did a remix of Chico on Low Club EP. He's a genius, and I think we have a similar taste in sounds and breaks. He's even on a level that I can't reach. My dream...mmmm.. a collaboration with Q Tip, the best MC in the world, man!
For me at least!
 
Is there already a "number 3" at Music Large (Fulgeance immediately got signed for 3 Ep's and an album...)? What do you have in store for the near future, and the not so near future?
Yes, it will arrive really soon, but the album is still in preparation. It's my first album and I prefer to take my time. For Music Large there will be another Débruit, a mini album of Onra, I think, and we would also like to do a maxi with Take, who fits well with the label, in our opinion.
 
Can you tell us more about your label?
Music Large was created as an impulsive decision following the Tribute to Masakela, on the Chico EP (it was for a contest for Wax Poetics). My friend Pierre aka Rekick created the label with Pantone, and from that time everything started out serious.
Pantone isn't part of this anymore, so right now I'm more involved in Music Large and taking a bigger role in the label. Everything is going better and better and through the artists the label is growing a lot bigger.

Any tour coming up? When are you arranging a date in Brussels with 1000 names?
Ahahaha! I'm not the booker, its up to you to spread the information and to interest people in booking me! Spread the word!!
For now I'm happy about the tour, Vilnius with his collective Mondayjazz invited me again, Nancy with l'Autre Canal is supporting the project, I'm leaving for the first time to the USA, to Columbus (Ohio) and Ann Arbor (Michigan). fEUx, an austrian beatmaker invited me with three dates together with Dorian Concept, so everything goes really well, and I have a hard time believing it for once....heheheh....!!!
 
Some suggestions for the InYourBass readers?
The last Matthew Herbert Big Band or the maxi of Dorian Concept (Maximized) on Affine Records.

 

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