Hello Ivan.
Good evening.
Let's talk about collaboration, 
as one of our main subjects is people 
working together,
You're a man who works well with others, 
And you've teamed up with 
a lot of people,
Like Marc Collin, with Volga Select,
It's a fine line, with Tim Paris,
and lots more, Black Strobe for 
a few years,
What has motivated you 
to collaborate so much? 
Quite a lot of things.
For me, it is a lot easier, 
to work with another person,
If the other guy gets up, 
say, then you have to get up too,
and I don't necessarily want to get up 
and go to work every day,
So when there are two of you, 
the ball bounces back,
It bounces back artistically, 
but also logistically.

Then it's also a question
of who you meet,
everyone I've ever worked with,
except for recently,
are people that I knew from
before electronic music, 
especially Marc and Arnaud,
These are people who...
I've been a DJ since the early nineties,
But I've been listening to music
for a lot longer than that,
and you make friends, 
then grow apart, 
in some cases,
But I don't know if there's ever a
precise reason for a collaboration,
Maybe I don't want to make 
music by myself,
Though I can, 
so it's not a question of technique,
It's a question of mutual inspiration.
And generally,
the people I work with
All come from quite different worlds.
Well there are these duos or trios,
Where people all think
the same way,
Where as I usually pick people,
Or else people pick me,
Because we see things differently, 
at least that's how I think it works.
So actually,
when you talk about difference,
One of the people 
you've been working with,
for a few years now in London,
Whose name is Rupert Cross,
And who's from a totally different 
world since he's an orchestral arranger...
Yeah,
well my meeting up with Rupert Cross,
That I'm working with on a project 
that'll be out at the end of the year,
Is in fact an arranger,
Someone who works mainly in film,
And his real job, 
well this is a bit technical,
is to take a score written by a composer, 
and transfer it onto a computer,
Before the orchestra 
record it in L.A.
Or I don't know, in the U.K.,
Basically he's someone 
who can do pretty much everything,
Whether we're talking classical music, 
pop, violins...
So he's someone, 
when we met him,
I was introduced via 
Tim who used him for his album,
he's not really a collaborator 
but someone who turns up 
at the end of a project,
To add a final layer of sorts,
To make things more beautiful.
And finally, 
this man who doesn't know 
a thing about electronic music,
who's also a composer 
of what we call contemporary 
classical music,
I think that he was interested, 
basically, 
It's a form of relaxation for him,
For example,
when working with him, 
I wasn't allowed to use violins,
Because that's like his desk job,
There were rules like that
So it's like I was saying, 
we're so different,
That he inspires me,
And I hope I inspire him.
Something happens,
a kind of discovery.
I discovered a lot working
alongside him.
And I think he did too.
I mean, 
when we were doing stuff,
He had no idea,
what a techno or a house track was, 
really,
a completely separate universe,
But you realise that,
Of course, his skill,
As a musician, 
he has what we describe 
as perfect pitch.
It all went really quick, 
he catches on really quickly,
But it's interesting for me 
who's been into this music 
for so many years,
To see the effect, 
it can have on someone
With virgin ears, 
which was totally his case.
And the result will 
surely be quite, 
weird, if I may say so,
But there's always something 
going on,
When you get someone 
who's totally in one genre,
And someone who's 
totally in another.
And here, 
with Rupert,
that really is the most extreme 
example I have of this.
So people who work with orchestras 
and who have perfect pitch,
Are often described as hating dissonance,
Or it bothers them at the very least...
I see where this is leading... 
This is a meeting of two worlds 
with a completely different sound...
It's funny because when 
we started working together,
It was quite simple,
As with him I couldn't, 
well it's quite hard to describe 
what you want musically,
when you're not classically trained.
And he uses this technical language 
I don't speak, not really,
So before we started 
working together,
The easiest thing,
Was to give him fifty 
odd tracks I like,
Not necessarily ones 
we were supposed 
to use as inspiration,
But tracks that move me 
and so on,
And a two days later 
he said to me
And these tracks really went from
Stuff released in '69,
to today, so there was 
no recognisable style,
and he said, 
99% of your tracks are the same.
I asked him 'why?', 
he answered, 'technically',
and you're right, 
he also told me 
I was in love with dissonance,
Well I don't want to go 
into too much technical detail,
But what we'd call dissonance 
doesn't bother him per se,
In the sense that here, 
he had to learn to tame it a little,
And dissonance is...
Also used in classical music, 
especially film,
And here,
He had a lot to learn but it didn't,
Bother him at all,
As he's someone who...
These type of people
who are music professionals,
Are so far removed from 
the world of electronic 
music production,
I'd already seen him work 
on projects I wasn't part of,
Recording strings and so on, 
just out of interest,
It really is another world.
And in fact, 
I think it's a shame 
they don't cross paths more often.
Weíre just going to listen to  
A recent remix of yours, 
in all cases, released recently,
That he's collaborated, 
or at least worked on,
Or maybe just arranged...
Well actually it depends, 
it's only very simple touches 
on some of them,
And others are genuine collaborations, 
it depends on the track.
It's a remix of a song 
by Alain Chamfort, 
Manureva.
And I'll tell you about it afterwards, 
that right...
♪
To start with, 
did you listen to this song 
when you were a kid?
It's a great classic...
It's more than that. 
It's the first 45 
I ever really wanted actually,
Christmas '79 if I remember rightly.
I'd asked for that 45.
So that's the background story,
And when Marco, 
the guy in charge of that project,
Asked me to remix Alain Chamfort, 
I wanted to do "Manureva"
And I thought that everyone 
wanted to remix "Manureva",
And no-one did, 
only me.
So that was lucky.
Then there were all these funny stories,
Because there were all these 
complaints at the beginning,
'Where's the vocal?'etc.
But what's interesting 
to me with "Manureva",
And I discussed this with Chamfort 
who pretty much agreed,
is that sometimes the essence 
of a track is in its first 16 bars.
And here, fundamentally, 
I don't even think it's the first 16 
but the first 8, that's it,
But he was quite happy with it.
Because "Manureva" is a song 
with a strange back story.
And the words on this version 
aren't the original lyrics.
Gainsbourg turned up afterwards 
to write the lyrics.
And he didn't like them, 
so Alain Chamfort was pretty happy
they weren't featured.
On the remix. 
Other people weren't so happy.
Well it's a pretty touchy story, 
built around those lyrics.
Well I...lots of people know that story, 
with Alain Colas, so...
But when you do a remix,
You can, well, 
keeping the structure of a track,
And in fact, 
I think my remix is more loyal
than some,
I kept the drums that were in the original,
almost everything, actually,
without necessarily sticking to the song.
Other did stick to the songs.
This remix sounds almost like an edit,
Precisely because the whole essence 
of the track is at the beginning 
of "Manureva",
And that will be extended for over 
6 minutes in your version,
Because actually, 
it's all there, at the beginning.
Yeah that's...
I've done a lot of edits, 
I'm a huge fan of those too,
I don't think you necessarily need to...
I mean the term remix,
I've always been a little 
bothered by remixes
That totally do away with the original.
That's to say when you ask for a remix, 
you've got roughly two solutions,
Either it's got a vocal on it 
and it's quite simple,
You keep the vocal 
and rearrange the song,
If it's an instrumental, 
Often, you take a piece of what's already 
there and stick something on top.
I'm not that interested in either.
Especially for something like "Manureva" 
that has value to me.
During this experience,
How does an arranger work? 
What do they do?
What does the arranger do? 
Well the producer does the remix and they, kind of,
Check a load of things and improve them, 
as they have perfect pitch, like I said,
they'll single out errors 
I might not have heard,
Or they'll tell you that your mistake was a 
"good" one,
For example, 
it's not because it's dissonant 
that it's no good,
That's not the point, 
he's just someone with such a different outlook,
And now he's got this totally different view 
of electronic music,
And that wasn't the case for him before, 
he wasn't at all interested,
In fact, now he's not even my arranger anymore, 
we work together.
He's now something else entirely.
But technically, 
an arranger is someone you pay, 
if you have a pop hit,
With strings on it at some point, 
that's an arranger.
It's true that it's unusual,
To see this kind of approach in electronic music,
Where most productions are composed, 
mixed, well almost by the same person,
Or people, who created the track, 
which is very different from... 
Well I was asking myself that question too 
and I don't know...
Well I do think that yes, 
well there are people who make 
electronic music 
who studied at the Conservatory too,
People with formal training like Flavien Berger,
But an arranger, that's something else 
entirely.
And another collaboration that's going 
to be released soon is It's a fine line.
It's a project involving you and 
Tim Paris that's been going for a few years. 
Yes, for almost ten years.
It's the longest running one, 
we sometimes call this record 
'the sea snake'.
But it's finally coming out in May, 
fingers crossed.
So what is this album exactly? 
Oh, wow, this is going to be tricky. 
Just now I was chatting to the person 
who's taking care of... 
Well there's one thing you never write 
when you make an album, 
and that's the description
Of your own product, it's an unwritten rule.
I know I've done it a lot for others, 
but I can't do it for me,
So I was chatting and they said 'cold psychedelia', 
so there you go.
That's where we are for now. 
One thing's for sure, 
it's not a house record,
It's hard for me to talk about it 
as it took us so long to make, 
People mustn't expect an album 
in just one style, 
As it goes from 60 to 170 bpm,
There's no real club track, 
well maybe one or two, 
it's always quite relative,
What's a club track? 
I don't know, 
we can discuss it later,
But there are a few guests, 
a few vocals, but of everything. 
I can play you something from it, 
this is the album's pre-single,
With the singer from Franz Ferdinand.
Just one anecdote: 
I didn't get in touch with him, 
he's my next door neighbour.
I can even tell you exactly what happened. 
He was doing up his house, 
next to mine, for two years. 
And I had no idea it was him. 
So one morning, I totally lost it,
And asked the builders to give 
me the owner's phone number,
And we actually had a go at each 
other on the phone. 
Then by chance, 
we've got common management let's say. 
Who said, 
hey Alex from Franz Ferdinand 
is moving in next door to you. 
And when he finally moved in 
he came round to apologise,
With a case of wine,
And then he said in English, 
'is there anything I can do for you 
apart from that?'
So I went, 'yeah, there is'.
♪
I can see the boss over there telling 
me to stop.
I think it's the first time we've aired it;
it must be for that.
Not long to go now, 
it'll be out in May.
So this project that's been going on 
for ten years now, 
has a sound that's always kept moving... 
Err, I feel that, since, 
the beginning, 
we've always had these hooks, 
that we've kept.
It's, err, the same thing with Tim, 
we have these worlds,
Which are very different, 
and very different ways of working,
To simplify, 
you could say that I've brought 
a lot more influences 
And that he's surely a much more 
accomplished musician,
Who can play the piano and all that.
I work a great deal with references, 
it's always been the case, 
That's because I've been buying 
records since I was a small boy,
stuff like that, 
some people are musicians 
and they create from scratch,
When I create, 
there's almost always something 
already stuck in my head.
That said, 
you can't always tell by listening.
I've even started out intending 
to copy a piece of music.
A track I liked, 
that I really wanted to imitate, 
And because of the creative process,
And the final result is really different. 
It's just a question of starting points.
Some people start playing on a keyboard, 
to compose something. 
I don't work like that. 
There's always some kind of reference
And it's not necessarily one track, 
it could be a mood, 
or several tracks that cross paths,
And Tim's more the opposite, 
he's more likely to be spontaneous,
To go and turn on a synth 
and start playing. 
So it's meted out like that.
But weirdly enough, 
it's always quite smooth,
It's our fault that it's taken ages 
but it wasn't
It's never like, 'I want this', 
'Oh I want that'. 
It's fundamentally pretty smooth.
Which isn't always the case 
with other collaborations.
Well actually, 
the fact that you turn up in the studio 
with reference points and ideas, 
Desires and a concept, 
is that just as important
As having technique, 
as playing chords?
Because you can have great skills 
and no ideas or...
Not knowing exactly how to...
Well that brings us straight 
back to team-work...
Which is really practical, 
as by myself, 
I do a lot of edits, 
stuff like that,
And I'd be tempted to stick too 
closely to my ideas,
and actually, I think that having 
someone else, 
Allows me too...
someone who doesn't always know where 
I'm coming from in fact,
and that's often been the case, 
well Rupert is an extreme example,
But it was a bit the same with Tim,
It's in those cases that 
it works the best,
With people I was a lot closer to, 
musically,
With Marc Colin, for example, 
we really did come from the same world,
Well both of us were over-referenced, 
I mean, we worked together well,
But it was as if we already knew 
what was going to happen in advance,
As if we already knew where 
we were going and how to get there,
So it was a bit less fun...
You do have to remember 
that making music takes a lot of time,
It's not necessarily that much of a laugh, 
it's a real job,
Which is sometimes quite fastidious,
So if there's something, 
well if you can react to someone else,
Or if your wires cross, 
something like that,
That helps me, personally. 
I think there are people who'd rather work alone.
Or in a really close-knit duo, 
that's not at all the case for me.
And to come back to what you were saying, 
you've been a DJ since the early 90s,
Did your parents have a large record collection?
Yeah, my dad especially.
So you grew up in a home where there 
were lots of records? 
Yeah.
And when you started buying records 
you were, what, 13? 14?
Well the first 45 I bought personally, 
the first I really wanted,
that was "Manureva" as I said earlier,
I was, personally, 
it came out the same year as 
"Tainted Love", so 82 or 83,
And I've never really stopped since. 
And I think that, 
well it might have changed 
now that I make more music,
But at a certain time, 
they were much more important
Records, than making music or even, 
and I often say this,
More important than DJing.
There are two types of DJs,
Those who like the party, the clubs, 
and those who like records.
And me, I prefer records.
I always say this, 
but if I could make a living spinning records 
for 3 people in my living room, 
I'd be fine with that. 
Some people need energy from the crowds,
I'm not really interested in that. 
It's not that I don't like it,
But it's not really my thing. 
I'm into the records. 
And how did you get into club music?
Err that's a good question too. 
I hated that as a teenager and post-teenager.
I was raised more on guitar music, 
the new-wave 80s kids typically listened to.
Where I'm from, 
the kids at school were either  
into Joy Division or Bob Marley, 
those were the two... 
Well I'm stereotyping them a bit, 
but...
Well me, at that time, 
until '88 or '89, 
you'd really have to have killed 
me to get me in a disco, 
Really, I've no teenage disco or funk culture, 
Absolutely nothing zero. 
I got that later, made up for lost time,
I started going out to discos 
when I discovered electronic music,
But it's the same, 
it's was at a time, 
'88, '89, '90, when anyway, 
The record stores I went to, 
New Rose or Danceteria,
The first house twelve inches 
that arrived in France, 
Were filed under industrial music,
That's to say, 
next to Cabaret Voltaire, 
Next to Skinny Puppy, 
New Order and so on. 
There were already stores like 
Champ Disques, 
that specialised in,
They sold disco, black music, 
stuff like that,  
And house too, 
but I didn't really go to those shops,
So I came to this music from a weird angle,
An angle that was basically, 
New order, etc.
I think they come from the same place 
as me and got caught up 
in all that a bit by chance,
Like Soft Cell, all of that.
But then, 
raves started in Paris 
and that changed things around, 
of course,
But I didn't want to become a DJ. 
I never had, well I don't even know 
if people wanted to be DJs at that time,
Some people, surely, 
but it happened to me a bit by chance, 
Because I had loads of records so 
I was asked, 
well somebody asked me, 
It was Mr Fred Agostini, 
who asked me in fact,
To play for the first time, 
but I didn't want to,
I wasn't particularly into that.
Yet you'd buy records compulsively...
Yeah, buying records is a compulsion 
for some people,
A lot less nowadays, a lot less, 
now, but
it's something that, 
well when I say a lot less, 
it's all relative, 
Well let's say that yes, that's right, 
there are two things, 
I'd separate buying records with 
passion from functional record buying,
You must never forget that club music 
is functional music,
I don't mean to criticize it by that,
but it's music to make people dance,
I could never...
in fact I listen to very little of it at home,
I've got some kind of a double brain like that.
There's a part of my brain for functional music 
- that I do listen to and enjoy,
I play it so I have to at least like it a bit,
But I've also got a brain that 
I use for listening to music 
that's not club music at all,
It would be unthinkable for me 
just to listen to club music, 
I just couldn't,
And at that time you were working in 
a record shop, next to a radio station
I was stuck between the two. 
And you quickly ended up working 
for the radio station, Radio Nova
On a show called 'Bad Karma', is that right?
Yeah, well, Fanny's over there, 
her memory is better than mine... 
No, me, I started out on 
'La Grosse Boule',
I did record reviews, 
with Ariel Wizman and Edouard Baer,
Then I worked with Loic Dury for some time,
We had a long running show called 'Gonzo',
Err no, I had a show with David Blot, 
Loic Prigent and Eva Drucker, for a while,
I did a bit of everything, 
and also more classic DJ shows,
Like 'Bad Karma', 
and then for two or three years,
'Test' which was an important show, 
well huge for me at least,
Because it was every day, from 7 to 11 p.m., 
well from Monday to Thursday,
With a compilation of the best moments on Friday,
And that was a really big show,
Yes, I can see your face, 
mine is the same. 
I'm wondering how we did it.
How can you do a four hour show every day?
Well...you've got to buy a lot of records,
A lot, but we were young too, so it was easier,
It was easier, we had guests too, 
it's a show where we invited just about everyone,
on the scene, but I do miss it a bit,
I do a bit of radio now, 
in the U.K., blithely,
But that really was...
that's where I met Loic and Gilbert too,
That I still see now.
Nova's changed a lot, 
we left in...'99, 2000?
When they took this turn, 
stopped DJing etc.
And I think it's true that I miss it a bit,
Radio has something other media doesn't...
Well there's internet radio, 
but that's different, 
choice is good,
But when you had no choice 
there was something interesting too,
To have something imposed on you, 
and that's what FM radio was,
You discovered new stuff as it was imposed,
You couldn't choose between 
30 thousand styles on the internet 
I regret that a bit, 
must be the old fart in me. 
And at the time, Nova were really open, 
in that of they gave you a show, 
it was pretty much up to you to fill it, 
Well it was completely up to me, 
and before these shows, 
I'd never really been on the radio,
I think I must still have the first tapes 
that I've never really wanted 
to listen to again,
The very beginning was a real disaster,
But yes, it was freedom.
Well maybe a bit less later on, but,
We never received any letters 
from the management,
Saying, a bit more of this or of that, no. 
It was totally free.
You didn't have to daft a radio project... 
No, absolutely not, it was totally, 
well we had quite a large amount of time,
Well there were actual DJs, 
including Garnier, DJ Deep and so on,
But it's true, I was totally free in my choices.
Just to come back to your record collection, 
part of it went up in smoke at one stage,
Part of your records got burnt,
No, all of them. Yeah, everything.
And how do you start over?
You donít. You can't. 
That's why I was saying that maybe 
I'm less compulsive now,
I lost something like 25 thousand 
or 30 thousand records, 
You don't start over, you change. 
Let's say that at that time, 
I really had to have everything. 
I know people like that, 
they have to own everything. 
A collector's mania or something.
I'm a bit less like that now. 
If I want a record, I'll go get it,
but I no longer have this totally obsessive thing. 
Well still a bit,
But you can't, let's say it's tough 
the first couple of years, 
But after that, well now, 
it might even be an advantage, 
For me, in my head, not being totally attached, 
bound to this thing, 
Something material, but in fact, 
it's not just my record collection that got burnt,
It was everything. Not just my records,
my documents, everything. 
I ended up with one bag for my things 
and two crates of records.
It's a bit more drastic than just 
losing your record collection.
And at university, as well as personally, 
you're someone who's quite political...
Yes. 
Is this something you're open about?
Err yeah... 
That you mention easily... 
And you have this rule, which is basically, 
'no rules'.
Well it's something you repeat often, 
'the rule of no rules'.
Well it's what we say about the music...
Well actually, no, not just about 
the music, 
The rule of no rule? 
Well there are already enough of them.
There are already enough, 
especially at the moment, 
And they've always been there, 
so I don't need to impose 
any either to myself or others.
And it's not just me. 
Kill The DJ has always been like 
that too.
By that I mean that we have
our own rules which aren't really rules, 
The rules of transgression, 
that's pretty much it.
Well politics, 
I've never been an activist either,
that's not it, 
it's a political state of mind,
Or a... 
well I think that for example, 
music and politics aren't at odds 
with each other,
Club hedonism and politics aren't necessarily 
at odds with each other either,
It's just a way of seeing things.
I think you can be politically active 
and a party animal,
There's no, 
I can't see any contradiction. 
There is for some, 
for some it's unbearable.
This idea of connecting the two.
But for us, 
and I say that as it's not just me... 
Kill The DJ does, in essence, 
sound like a manifesto...
Yes, it's almost a political organisation, 
well not that far removed,
And is it important to defy roles 
and normality?
Err yes! For us, for me, yes.
If gender and roles exist 
it's to be defied. 
It's like when a wall is built. 
Well some people don't want 
to kick down that wall.
I'm lucky enough to work with people 
who have the same will, the same impulse.
Who want to kick down the walls. 
That said, we're not terrorists either,
well it's not what I'd say here. 
Well there are two ways of creating art, 
either with respect,
And it's true that we're in this 
really beautiful place,
where you can feel the weight of history,
but throughout the twentieth century, 
there are these movements that 
question everything,
I don't know if it's necessarily 
to question everything,
When we created KTDJ at the beginning, 
it was an electronic music label,
But why should a label just release 
one style of music? 
Who said that? 
Who wrote that?
So I'm thinking of projects of ours 
that are coming up, like LÈonie Pernet,
Which is closer to Christophe 
than Richie Hawtin, 
For us I can't see, it's never, 
well it's not something we ever said, 
Hey, we've got to be different 
from the others, 
It just happened like that, 
it seemed obvious,
And anyway, we can't really 
imagine it being any other way. 
Indie labels often try to have an aesthetic, 
to be recognisable, let's say,
It's a form of marketing 
that gives artistic direction, 
Well you can have a recognisable aesthetic. 
Do you mean a musical aesthetic? 
Well the KTDJ graphic palette might have 
helped us be freer, artistically, 
that's possible. 
But imposing limitations on oneself, 
on what we release, and so on, no.
I don't think so, 
but then I'm not just speaking in my name, 
the others agree.
it's sometimes tough. 
It's easier just to bring out reams 
of the same thing.
It's simpler, but we're not interested, 
but it's a rule we have
See I was telling you we don't have rules 
when actually we do.
Our rule is to do the stuff we want to do,
But that's for us, 
I also think there are people who
Work in another way, 
who have this system,
When I say they bring out reams of music, 
that's a bit too critical,
But they've got their finely tuned system. 
Us, we might be a bit more chaotic, but, 
But it's intentionally chaotic, 
that's how we see things. 
Do lots of you make decisions within KTDJ?
There are 4 of us. 
Which is already a lot. 
Must be hard to reach an agreement...
Oh yeah, it's tricky, I can confirm that.
And what motivates the desire 
to sign an artist that you know, 
or not, 
et what makes you suddenly say, 
"we want to go for it, and invest",
And help them develop as KTDJ 
is a label that supports their artists a lot... 
Yes, that might be a difference with us, 
compared to other electronic music labels,
We don't release many 12 inches anymore, 
We release a few but especially, 
what we do, on our technical lingo, 
is artist development,
So we'll fall in love with an artist, 
We had this thing with Fanny 
at the beginning of the label, 
Where we wouldn't sign an artist, 
no matter how good they were, 
unless we got on with them, 
So we've got to get on with the person, 
Then it all goes more or less well, 
it's more or less tricky,
Some projects take ages to set up, 
others are really quick,
But there's an artisanal and a personal 
aspect to what we do as well.
And I feel that's important.
It could happen one day, 
we've surely already done it, 
Yes, we have actually, 
12 inches, but I don't know 
if we could release something today, 
Without knowing the people, 
for example.
Which is the case with lots of 
electronic music labels, 
All the guy has to do is send his demos,
that's it, and it's on digital release.
Actually, we work more like a so-called classic 
or old fashioned label, 
Even if we're not like that.
Anyway, there's such a breakdown 
of rules in the business,  
I'm talking purely about the business today,
That I get the impression we're all 
walking forward blindfold. 
It might be an advantage for us as 
we've always progressed through 
trial and error,
But at the moment, no-one knows,  
A year ago, everyone was banging 
on about a resurgence in 
independent vinyl,
And we realised that this resurgence was 
just people buying Pink Floyd re-issues, well, 




No-one really knows where we're going 
or how to move forward,
So you might as well move forward 
however you like, 
So you don't really have a career plan, 
you don't really know... 
Oh yes, I do, come on.
We do know where we want to go.
But we're not going to enforce 
impossible deadlines, 
Or release a 12 inch just because 
we have to release one, 
Like for the 'It's a fine line', album, 
there won't be a twelve inch before,
just a little thing with a video, 
whatever the case, I don't even think 
I could describe the process 
of releasing a record,
I donít think there is one 
- everyone does what they want, 
According to their means too, of course,
If you've got millions to invest in a record, 
that changes the game,
But there, there are no more rules 
but it's not us who said we wouldn't follow rules, 
And does it seem obvious to you, 
if you're about to release a record,
That is should come out on KTDJ?
Or does it depend on the project? 
No, because I've got another label, 
called 'Les Disques de la Mort',
That I manage in London as 
that's where I live, 
and KTDJ are based in Paris,
But, well, KTDJ are focused more 
on artistic development, 
one shots' are less of our thing,
ChloÈ ThÈvenin - DJ Chloe - 
who's one of the label partners,
With her collection, 'LumiËre Noire', 
which is more electronic, more classic
But KTDJ has become more long term, yes,
It's part of a will to develop 
relationships with people, 
Sometimes it all goes well, 
sometimes less so,
But that's what's interesting too. 
Then for me, Les Disques de la Mort 
is much more classic,
I mean, we do bring out records here too, 
And I don't need to worry about whether 
I'll still be with them in three yearsí time.
I was talking about this with Fanny, 
KTDJ is a label with a clear political 
commitment to certain causes,
To many causes,
And this label is extremely interested 
in alternative and underground culture,
Yeah well that's a bit all the...
very specific ones!
Well my question was to get us to speak 
about the speed at which the underground,
Is no longer underground today,
And everything becomes mainstream so quickly, 
That what exactly does it mean 
to be alternative today?
You want me to talk about how easily 
capital adapts nowadays, yes, it's true...
And also the way in which certain alternative 
figures are incorporated into the mainstream,
Well, to start with, I never knew what 
underground was supposed to mean,
I never really understood that,
I think that it's totally subjective,
And it's kind of pretentious 
to call yourself underground,
Or to say that you're not underground,
You're allowed to say it, 
but I never really...
The limit, the line, 
does seem a bit vague,
and especially, it's always moving,
But then, does the underground 
sell out?
Yes, but it's a bit like a game,
When something goes mainstream, 
you just have to be one step ahead 
to stay in it, 
But I don't even know if we ask ourselves 
these questions,
Actually, really, it happens naturally,
And the claim to being 'underground',
That's something which could be 
a bit dangerous,
If you do it in a sort of tacky way, 
let's say, that's it.
You need to be quite subtle.
But you do consciously try 
to offer something different. 
Yes, I prefer that term, 
offering something different,
Suits me better than saying, 
'I am the underground'.
If someone says that, I'll automatically 
assume they aren't.
So why are they declaring that?
Well they're being the judge of that 
for a start, and that's really,
We're going to get into a philosophical 
debate here... 
But just to finish on the rule of no rule, 
I often heard you say,
That once a style or an artist defines 
itself,
It's already the beginning of the end. 
Yeah, that's my catchphrase for 
when they ask me. 
As I do a lot of interviews, 
That's when they ask me to define 
my style and so forth,
But I do think that once you know exactly 
what style you belong to,
Well you've put yourself in a box, 
but some people like being boxed in,
I feel a bit stifled if I define myself, 
People do it for me, it doesn't mean 
I've no genre,
Just that I've no wish to do that, 
I'm not interested in that task.
That's your job! 
Me, I don't need...
But it has been your job,
Yes, it was, you're right, 
no I can define others very well, 
it's much easier in that case, 
It's trickier when it's yourself, 
but I think it's always a shame, 
To limit yourself to something,
But that's true of everything. 
I'd never say that music was 
my whole life,
I know people for whom that's true 
but it isn't for me.
I've got my cats, my books...
Exactly, you haven't just invested in music, 
you've other activities,
A blog, though it hasn't been that 
active recently. 
Yes, I do read a lot, go to the cinema, 
all that, I could never just be, 
With huge double inverted commas, 
a "musician",
Or a 'DJ', in single commas, 
For a start, that ís not how 
I think so I wouldn't say that, 
No, music's not everything, 
and I think that in fact, 
When you make music,
inspiration doesn't just come 
from music,
For me, anyway, 
I could be inspired by a book, 
Or a film, whereas some people 
work in a sort of...
Once again, it's a question of personality 
and of approach to work, 
But for me, that thing of just 
living for the music, 
Just saying it like that, 
it's a bit of a nightmare.
But how do you translate, 
it's a bit easier to understand 
for the cinema
How do you translate the inspiration 
you get from books?
Oh no, I don't translate, 
it's not transferred directly, 
it's just that me,
It's something I need to survive, 
so if I don't read or see films,
If Iím not interested in anything 
other than music,
It will all stop and the music with it.
It's not a direct link, 
I don't see a film and go off 
and compose, it's not like that,
It's something like an organic 
necessity, 
But some people don't have that, 
like some writers, 
Their life is limited to books, 
or to the movies,
But not me, there's other stuff too, 
well it might be that,
the rule of no rule, 
But I don't know, I'm no special case, 
I can see two or three in the room 
who are a bit like me,
Who are just as interested in books 
as they are in music, 
it isn't extraordinary either.
I'm going to go back a bit, 
but KTDJ, Les Disques de la Mort
Are always team based, you like...
Yeah...
Les Disques de La Mort is more me 
by myself, hang on, that's not true, 
There's my mate Ian with me,  
But that said, people who manage labels 
by themselves have a team of minions,
Of people lower down, 
who handle their everyday 
business for them, 
I could do that too but 
it's not the case, 
But coming back to the music, 
it just seems more interesting to do 
things with others than by yourself. 
But that's just for me, 
these aren't rules 
I impose upon others, 
Some people manage to do everything 
by themselves very well,
It's less for me.
And Les disques de la mort, 
apart from the fact that the releases 
are vinyl 12 inches,
We do digital too but it's primarily 
vinyl,
What would the difference be 
with KTDJ, it's quicker? 
That's right, 
it's a question of rhythm, 
I don't really do any artist development, 
for example,
I just release 12 inches, 
like that, I'm tempted to say in a 
more traditional electronic way, 
Even if the music isn't, 
I don't have to worry
About press photos, 
development etc. 
I don't think about the future. 
It might all change, but I doubt it.
That said, I'm bringing out an 
LP by a band called Save,
But that was a bit by chance, 
but no, 
not the same approach at all,
Or the same rhythm.
So this is a label where even more 
is possible, that's to say that 
on the same record,
You can feature diametrically 
opposed styles.
Well I was saying I had no rules, 
there is one for Les Disques de la Mort,
And that's never to have four tracks on a 
12 inch which are the same, 
or in the same genre,
And if there's a remix, 
it's got to be radically different. 
To the original artist, 
we're trying to break down that format,
and format, generally, 
but there's no real style,
Whether that's generally, 
or on each EP.
So the surprise of the next one 
is almost part of the way you work, 
Yes, absolutely, 
well I've some idea of what's in store 
for the next ones,
But as there's no direction, 
it's always the same thing, 
if you determine a direction from 
the outset,
You might overlook a lot of stuff, 
it's another way of working, 
That I totally respect, 
but I don't want to say to myself,
I like that but I can't release it 
as that's not what my label does, 
And that's true of KTDJ 
and Les Disques de la Mort,
There's no guiding line, 
and back to LÈonie as that's 
an extreme case,
LÈonie Pernet, 
whose LP we're releasing,
I think that even for people 
who are used to our sense 
of difference,
It's going to be surprising, 
but that's a good thing!
So what are your future releases 
on Les Disques de la Mort going 
to be like? 
I don't know, argh, 
you're asking me to describe 
our sound again,
No, I was wondering what releases 
you had in store... 
It's funny because when I said 
I was going to release a 
12 inch by DJ Oil,
Who used to be in the Troublemakers 
from Marseille, people said, 
'what? that's crap!'
'Your releasing that?' 
So I said 'why wouldn't 
I release that?'
You see, I've also got a 12 inch 
from an ex-member 
of the Glimmer Twins, 
It's always based on a long 
friendship,
The Glimmer Twins no longer exist, 
One of them has a new band so 
I brought ou their 12 inch, 
but after that,
I know what the next two will be, 
but that's it.
And not knowing is not a problem 
for me. 
And it does effectively grant you 
some freedoms, 
That's the point, pretty much, 
I mean it can be a hassle,
Running a label, you mustn't think that...
when I say there are no rules,
That it's each to their own, 
that doesn't mean 
we don't do things,
It's a proper job, 
it's in our approach 
that we try to have no rules, 
You do have to release the records, 
be there for people, and so on, 
And along with the music, 
you've still got a blog, 
'Discipline in Disorder', 
It's been a bit less active recently,
It was an old project, 
born from my passion 
for reading, for books,
Actually, it was never shelved, 
but we did consider publishing 
books at one point,
We even stated writing one at one 
point with KTDJ, 
But we never finished it, 
we might one day.
Was it about the label, 
or something else?
It was about a bit of everything, 
it was in the early stages, 
there were photos, 
a bit of everything,
It wasn't specifically about the label, 
in fact I wonder who'd be interested,
In the story of the label, 
but then I'm a very bad judge 
of that stuff,
I read and watch a lot of films, 
but I never read books, 
or watch films, about music.
You say I've no rules, 
well there's one.
I don't like them at all, 
not interested.
And actually, what's interesting is that 
we've been discussing music 
for just over an hour, 
And you're known as someone 
who doesn't like that.
I hate it! It's true. 
When you talk about music, 
there's a type of contradiction,
Here we've talked about our approach, 
the way we make music, that's fine,
But just talking about music, 
that was the old fight 
Over our promotional description, 
I mean, we're used to it now,
But I can't stand writing track 
descriptions for the label.
It's almost become a running gag, 
but if I open my computer,
And read the blurb on the records 
I receive where the guy feels 
he has to describe the track,
It's almost...in fact, 
I'm working on a random 
text generator for that,
That's it, and it will handle 
the promotional info,
Randomly, 
all you have to do is press a button, 
and you get a readymade promo 
document.
Just for the track descriptions, 
you can fill in the rest.
For me, 
there's absolutely no point in talking 
about the music itself,
But as for the process, 
brilliant anecdotes, etc. 
but the music itself, no.
And to finish, you like what's different, 
as we've been saying, 
Freedom and being able to do 
what you want,
Clearly, little club or big club?
The short version is little club. 
Smaller clubs of course, 
but then there's another form 
of energy in big clubs and 
festivals,
It just really isn't the same thing.
It depends, it's 2 pleasures...
actually I like both,
You mustn't think that it'll always 
be good because it's a small club, 
In fact, 
I don't think I've even been to a club 
where it's always been good,
And sometimes, when I go to a festival, 
I think it's great
With 10 thousand people, 
and sometimes it's awful, 
but it's not just down to me,
Well it is down to me too, 
my mood and all that, 
It's not automatically the case, 
in a small club, sometimes 
I don't want people to bug me,
I don't want people up close, 
but sometimes I do want people 
right next to me,
Once again, no pre-conceived ideas 
or rules.
And finally, really this time, 
does a small club allow for more 
risk taking, 
Pushing people out of their 
comfort zones, 
compared to a big club?
It depends, no, 
it's not a question of size, 
it also depends on who was 
on before, who's coming next,
There are so many factors, 
but obviously,
You can allow yourself that for 
your own night, 
that's why KTDJ
Was a club night before 
it was a label, 
that's why we started out,
We were fed up with listening 
to the same music all the time,
this was in the late 90s,
All the clubs in Paris played 
house music.
And we were sick and tired of that, 
we wanted to play guitar stuff too,
