interview of melodium
autres directions (france)
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Who is Go Segawa? What allured in your music and what, on your side, allured you in his work?
It is the label which dealt with the small pocket. They met Go Segawa during an exposure in Rennes and asked to him whether it would accept that its installation is used for a small pocket of disc. I do not know any more and is unaware of if it listened to the disc.
Do you think of falling under this mobility of young French electronic artists, energy of M83 with Shinsei or Domotic?
I do not know, our musics have certainly the common point to be a rather pop electronica. But I do not have the feeling to belong to a group whatever it is, I make music because that brings a certain balance to me. My bonds with the musical medium are very restricted, I am in fact completely isolated, I am simply satisfied to compose of the pieces in my corner, to send them to labels and to wait... Among the groups which you quote, I appreciated much the album of Domotic which is at the same time moving and impressing on the level of work on the sound.

Rather than of rythmer your music with beats, resulting from the hip-hop for example, you often use noises which you adulterate to create your clean rhythmic. You like what in this step?
First of all I am limited in material and I am useful myself of this pretext to try all to create in a more or less artisanal way. I have evil to appreciate a piece with a too conventional rate/rhythm, that annoys me quickly. What I like, it is all to create myself and in a rather hazardous way, I have the sounds a little randomly and I wait to obtain something being connected with rhythmic.
The idéee to collaborate with does other artists excite you?
For the moment, I never collaborated with other artists quite simply because it was never proposed to me. I am not against but I badly see myself composing with a person beside me. I would consider a remote collaboration rather as can do it certain groups, still would be necessary it that somebody contacts me because I would certainly not dare to take the first step.

In the composition of much of your melodies as in your rates/rhythms, you seem attached to a vague concept of flux/reflux, to and from & of swinging. What justifies your attachment?
I fairly see what you want to say, in any case it is not conscious. Most of the time, when I begin a piece, I do not have anything at the head, I let my fingers move on the keyboard, I record all, when I a pleasant melody a small joy hears invades me and I stop the recording. Later, I make more conscious choices to arrange the tracks and to give a structure to the piece. In fact, I make electronic music because I find that amusing, I consider that like do-it-yourself. But beyond the ludic aspect, I am attached to transmit emotions to the listener, I think that what characterizes most simply my pieces is the melancholy.

Do you like réécouter your discs? Do you generally regret concerning your recordings or you regard them as stages forced in your training?
That depends, it is clear that I enormously listen to them during and right after the composition, it is perhaps even excessive and my vicinity must suffer from it... On the other hand, once that they are on a disc, I much more rarely listen to them and I have difficulties in make an assessment. In fact, I have evil to be detached from the technical aspect, which is rather sad... As for your last question, it is clear that my various exits gave me a motivation to try to improve my music.

How do you think that your music will evolve/move? Do you imagine it more pop or, on the contrary, more experimental?
I do not stop changing direction. Following this album, I composed of the rather acoustic pieces with dirtier sounds and forming a unit a little bordélique and after that I went back to more traditional pieces. In this moment, I try to call me in question because I do not think to leave hundred times the same disc. I want sometimes to introduce more tension into my music but that still remains very fuzzy...

What motivates you today in your creation?
Before all it is the pleasure which I take to compose of the melodies then to reverse them then to superimpose them with other exits of other pieces... Ca makes so much a long time that I make music that I do not put myself any more the question to know why I spend the days contained rather than to wander like a zombie in the streets. With the base I think of having come to the music by trouble and certainly to purge me the brain. I currently try to limit my investment to leave a place to other activities but at the end of a certain time, I feel almost a physical lack. I think of being dependent and since for me detaching some too a long time easily. In addition, I have more and more the feeling to be less free when I compose of the pieces by knowing that they could be on a disc. I think that a little retreat and abstinence would make me the largest good...

interview stéphane via Internet
05/02

INTERVIEW
LOOP CL

Melody and noise combine perfectly in your music even there some epic track like on "Terminus". There is an especial idea behind this melodies.
"Melodies are for me the most important aspect of my music, therefore the name "Melodium", "noises" and beats are just here to complete tracks. I want that my tracks have an emotional power that's why I don’t really focus on the technical aspect of my material, I prefer creating sensitive melodies."
How did you get into producing?
"I make music for many years now [more than ten], I decided one day to send a tape to a label and Geoff at Static Caravan liked it and it was my first release I was so happy cause I wasn't sure of the potential of my music and then other labels contacted me for other releases, I'm very lucky I think cause I know so few people involved in music."
The remixes are brilliant because the tracks have a completely new proposal. Dudley gave a folk touch to "Mmiomm" and Depth Affect a hip-hop rhythm to "Terminus". How these remixes arise?
"Yes I think there are very interesting; Motenai just used my material as a background sound and Dudley reinterpreted my melodies with his acoustic guitar and Depth Affect gave terminus a hip hop tune but there was no directives, they did what they wanted and it’s a cool result for remixes."
It seems you have contacts with other French artists around France. How is it the electronic scene in Nantes.
"No in fact I'm very isolated because I'm shy and my music is like my baby I've difficulty sharing it with other people, I'm more open for collaborations now, Stephane at Autres Directions knows other artists in Nantes and proposed them to remix me I don't know if there is a good scene in Nantes, but Motenai who remixed me release a great album on Effervescence label called "My Wedding Alone", and Depth Affect is making a great mix between hip-hop and electronica, Dudley will be the second reference of Autres Directions In Music."
Do you have any side-projects?
"No in fact I have a full time work so not all my time free to make music, that’s why I focus only on Melodium's material for the moment."

Text Guillermo Escudero