Taking time for his busy schedule, Electric Rescue sat with us to talk about his latest work.
EG: Hi Antoine, thanks for taking the time to chat with us, how has 2016 been for you so far? Any particular highlights release/show wise you could tell us about?
ER: Hello ! 2016 started really strongly with many gigs with my different projects Möd3rn with Traumer and Maxime Dangles and with W.LV.S a second collaboration project with The driver added to some very nice solo shows, it was very intense and fun in the same time. Now I’m more concentrated on my forthcoming Album Release. I have an EP who’s announcing the album in April with huge remixes from Inigo Kennedy and Zadi. Then the album will arrive on may 9th.
EG: You have a new album on the way called Parallel Behaviours set for release via your very own Skryptom imprint, could you tell us a bit about this project and what it means to you?
ER: For me it’s very special because it’s the first time I release an album on my own label, so it’s a big challenge as I’m alone to decide everything and take my own risk. Usually you have a label manager who’s telling you if you do good or bad, but in that precise case I’m the label manager and the artist in the same time, so it’s really special. But I have the chance to have a great team I work with like Astropolis team who’s doing my management and bookings and they really help me deeply each days to take the right ways. I have also all the Skryptom artists who support me a lot like Traumer, Maxime Dangles, Paul Nazca, Moteka, Kmyle, Leghau, Shekon. Skryptom and Astropolis teams is a big family for me, there is a very nice ambiance inside, there is a positive energy and everybody is helpful for the others. So this release is a big challenge but also it’s a big freedom to propose what I really want to share with the public. On this album, I didn’t make what I would do on an EP it’s more like the film scoring of the 2 years past of my life without dance floor limits. Also, I decided to push the things farer with that release and do 2 videoclips produced by Velour Visuels and Julien Thiverny, and now I’m thinking for what I could do to propose on stage. So it’s global project not like a pure musician but I’m involved in all the things, music, video, promo, etc etc etc, it’s really fantastic to do all that things, It is really fascinating.
EG: You’re a French native and the Techno scene across the country, particularly in Paris is thriving right now with clubs like Concrete and Rex operating as institutions for the underground electronic music world. Would you say you draw musical inspiration from this and what else do you find inspiring about Parisian life, not specifically music related?
ER: I’m into this Parisian scene since the beginning of the 90’s, so I really know and love the Parisian scene, but I left Paris 10 years ago to live with my family at the country side and I’m a bit less involve in the Parisian scene, just into My REXCLUB residency and the other event I play. But most of the time I’m more outside of paris from my gigs in France and outside. So Paris is not the first influence for my music at the moment except the rex club for who I did the third track from the album REXPIRATIONS, dedicated to the REXCLUB family and public. I have the chance to play at the french techno temple for 20 years and I’m very lucky for that. All the team inside the club is fantastic and the public is the best Parisian one for me, more focuses on the music and deep feelings than on others subjects who doesn’t really interest me. For me the Rex is really the more interesting place to play in Paris added to nice festivals or great Rave parties who’s appear sometimes.
EG: You launched Skyrptom back in 2006, what have been some of the highlights for you over the past decade, any particular output you’re particularly proud to have played a part in releasing or any Skryptom linked shows that hold a special place in your heart?
ER: All releases are very specials, because I’m not releasing so much 30 releases in 10 years is not so much. I really want to keep it precious and rare. I had the chance to propose releases with Laurent Garnier, Inigo Kennedy, Traumer, Zadig, Truncate, Jonas Kopp, Mark Broom, Johannes Heil, Slam, and many many more huge or legendaries artists, so I’m very lucky. Each period spent as her specificity. We started in a minimal melodic period, then we continued with more minimal techno then around 2010 to 2012 I came back to my techno roots and proposed more techno and electronica releases. Skryptom had a big success between 2006 and 2010, but to be honest I’m more into the new Skryptom generation, I came from techno and electronica and I’m happy to be back in techno for the last 5 years. I was happy to do the 2006 2010 period but the new time are more interesting for neither we sell very less copies, I don’t care, I don’t car about the business but I care about music, techno and pleasure. So I’m really happy with the label today, we have great support from the artists we love, so I’m happy to run Skryptom these and I think I will always happy to do this. So all the release are special and the next is special special.
EG: You’re also part of the Möd3rn group alongside Traumer and Maxime Dangles and you often play as a live trio act, could you tell us a bit about how this came together and also a bit about the equipment used? Who does what in the live scenario?
ER: With Romain (Traumer) and Maxime we are friends for close than 10 years and I was doing live with Maxime Dangles and Maxime was doing ones with Romain, then with Romain we want to do together too, but we said, hey why don’t we do live all together it should be more exciting and we can see ourselves more times, good combination friends/work. Then we did a first show and immediately we decided to do records then the first records had a big big success and others gigs proposals arrived, then other records and gigs followed quickly. We were really happy that a friends project become so appreciate by the public.
On the material side, it’s big combination of modular system, analog synthesizers, computer, controllers, every kind of good material interest us and everything is plug in a big desk MIDAS 24 channels. We never plan any scenario or story or whatever, we just push the mood we feel from the moment with the people. It’s 80% of improvisation, no plan, just the moment. We can play all night long as we are 3 and one of us can make a small break sometimes to continue strongly after. It’s really a lot of fun.
EG: You explore a broad range of styles with the Parallel Behavious LP, which is essentially the key to an enjoyable and coherent long player. Could you cite some key influences for the album, artists or particular albums that you’ve been inspired by throughout your life?
ER: For this album, I wanted to be alone, totally alone, I was in a period of my life I wanted to know where am I, if I was still ok. I love to do music, I love to live everyday in this techno and electronic since, but I needed to improve myself that I could do a long play without any collaborations, without any help in the creation. I needed to be totally alone. I’m doing enough collaborations every-time with Möd3rn, W.LV.S or others, so for this long I wanted to be alone with myself and make an musical introspection through different moments of life. Moments with my family, 3 tracks from the album are for my wife and my son, one track is dedicated to the Rex family and public, an other one is dedicated to paris east (my part of paris, and the part of paris who’s been attacked by the terrorists). forgotten lands is dedicated to the countries we always left alone like someones in Africa for example, in a retro future is a little memories from the 90’s, etc etc…
I didn’t tried to take influence from some others artists, all my life is influenced by all the artists I love and follow, but to do this album I never listen to other artists just before starting a track, it’s just deep ELECTRIC RESCUE deep spirit. I didn’t go 100% into the actual techno mood, and I never did that I always have parallel behaviors 😉
EG: Looking back through your history I can see you’ve been involved in the electronic music scene since the early 90’s could you tell us a bit about what you were up to back then, what the scene was like and how it compares to the present day?
ER: Woow we need the night to speak about it, ahahah, to be honest the actual scene is really close from the 90’s scene. The 00’s scene was totally different and not so interesting for me, but the 10’s scene is really huge and close from the 90’s scene, a big excitation around techno, huge events raves and many new clubs, a lot of new artists. I’m really excited about the actual scene.
90’s were magic because it was the beginning of something new, we never live such a period before, a lot of freedom, a lot of music research it was really exciting as we were creating the new way of making music and the new way of doing music on stage, the new way of organizing event. Everything was new. And today we are lucky to live it a second time and I hope it will be a long period like this… Let’s do the future…
EG: What’s going on in your world outside of Electric Rescue and Skryptom? Does running the imprint and producing take up all of your time or is your life multifaceted?
It’s really full of nice projects, I’m organizing event at the Rex Club for 20 years now, I used to organize event in special venues like abbaye, church, castle, theater, old factory, etc etc.
I’m running 4 labels Skryptom, Möd3rn Records, and 2 other ones I can’t tell. I’m running an electronica solo project named RE.KOD. I’m developing some artists like all the Skryptom artists plus some other ones close than 10 to 15 artists to follow plus or minus deeply. When I can, I’m doing music for tv, film or tv commercials. But everything is around the music.
My family is always angry as I’m working too much, but they understand, but these days I trying to take more and more time for them as I love them so much. It’s funny at this precise time my wife enter in the studio ☺
EG: What does your production set up consist of as Electric Rescue, do you work in the box or predominantly with outboard equipment?
ER: I’m working with everything no rules, just fun, I can use modular system, digital, analog, acoustic, everything is good to make good sounds.
EG: Lastly, what’s next for you as an artist post album release? Will there be a surrounding tour?
ER: Yes a lot of gigs are already planed, all over Europe and Asia, I’m waiting for other requests as I love to tour and go on scene. It’s huge to live into the music scene not easy everyday but we (artists) are really lucky to live that everyday and we have to never forget it, stay relax and take a lot of pleasure and fun on scene. I propose you to check on my Facebook and Gigatools to find your city … if I can permit myself to say that ☺
EG: Thank you for giving us some from time!
