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Interview conducted
in August 2004
LATEST RELEASE:
OuMuPo vol. 1 |
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| |  | |  | | By Renaud Martin | | Photo Johnny Volcano |
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While we thought he definitely gave up the electronic experimentations of Third Eye Foundation to make a more melodic and less rhythmics music under the name of Matt Elliott (we're still not over the splendid "The Mess We Made"), the young prodigy of the English electronica scene resuscitates the name of Third Eye Foundation just the time of some live concerts in Paris and the release of a compilation of remixes for the "OuMuPo" collection of the French label Ici d'ailleurs.
Revival or swan song? We wanted to know more. Interview.
Why did you leave Domino? What do you think of your Domino years?
There were a number of reasons, I think largely it was because I had been with them for 8 years & I was interested in how other people work, also it was obvious that domino were concentrating their efforts on playing the majors game, I'm glad I worked with Domino, there is no other label quite like it & they've always been supportive of the music i make, they never told me which direction to go in & gave me total artistic freedom, which is the most important thing you can have as an artist, we had a long relationship & i wish them well.
How did you meet the people of Ici d'ailleurs and why did you choose to work with them?
I first worked with ici d'ailleurs a while ago i think 99 when i did a remix of Yann Tiersens La Dispute, they were very encouraging when they received the remix, i thought they might be expecting some beats & noise type stuff but were more happy with what i had done, It made sense to be on a french label because apart from anything I live in france, I also think that the largest part of my fan base is in France as well, & of course I enjoy a lot of the records they put out.
Your new record is the first volume of the Oumupo Series. How did you start getting involved in this project?
Me & Stephane (ici d'ailleurs) talked about this before I even signed with them I think it was when the idea had just started I'm not sure why he asked me in particular maybe just because of that Yann Tiersen remix but I was pretty happy to be involved because it wasn't just a remix of one song I liked the idea, it was a challenge.
What about releasing a new album first?
I would have, but the timing was out I was just working out ideas for the next lp when the oumopo thing started happening I was also waiting to upgrade my studio & had booked a studio & was touring a lot so the oumopo thing just took precedent because of deadlines apart from anything, also because the recording of the lp involved more people than just myself it was easier to get that sorted.
What did you think of the Oumupo constraints and how did you deal with them?
Again, it was a challenge, it was a bit frustrating when you've got 2 tracks next to each other on an lp & you can only use one but aside from that, there was so much music to work with that there wasn't much of a problem finding source material.
How did you work with Jochen Gerner? Together or separately?
Totally seperately I've only just seen the artwork.
Your remixes strongly sound like The Third Eye Foundation. For you, what's the difference between the processes of remixing and composing?
Well obviously composing just comes direct from your head it's yours from start to finish, whereas remixing is like meeting someone half way half the ideas are there & you just have to tweak it (as much or as little as you like).
Are you satisfied with the direction your music took with your previous record "The Mess We Made"?
I am, I'm not sure anyone else is although a few people have said to me at gigs & e mailed me that they love it & that's what means the most to me, music is a form of communication, a sort of communication that cannot be communicated by any other means, it's kind of like emotional telepathy so when someone gets in touch & tells me that i've moved them in some way it means a lot.
"The Mess We Made" was released under the name of Matt Elliott. And with this Oumupo Record, and also with your latest concert in Paris, it now seems that you use the name Third Eye Foundation again. Can you explain us why and what is the difference between these two names?
Well I'm not too bothered really, I used Matt Elliott because I wanted to make it clear (to myself as much as anyone else) that this was not a beats & noise record, I was bored to tears of programming beats & wanted to try something a bit more melodic and emotional, Stephane wanted oumopo to be a third eye foundation remix so i let him call it that, Also I did the gig in Paris largely because i needed to do a gig but couldn't do a matt elliott show because i couldn't get my cellist over, also i thought it might be nice for any third eye fans to hear it really loud, I'm not planning to make any more third eye foundation records at the moment just because my head is somewhere else.
The concert you did in Paris a few weeks ago was a laptop concert, very different from the concerts you use to do last year with Chris Cole for "The Mess We Made".
Yes & actually I hate laptop gigs I hate everything about them, the only thing that was good was it was very loud & the PA was good (& of course it's very easy soundcheck wise) I used to do "laptop style" gigs when touring but it was no fun, I remember seeing Mogwai walk backstage after their show in Bristol & they looked totally elated & i thought that the reason i dont feel elated after my gigs is because there is no risk & no direct communication, I much prefer doing Matt Elliott shows because every gig is different & if you do a good gig where everyone enjoys it, it's much more fulfilling to know that it was created there & then.
How do you deal with these two kinds of concerts and which one do you enjoy the most?
Well the laptop gig, most of the work is done at home with a bit of tweaking on stage as i said the Matt Elliott shows are just rehearsing at home , If i never did another laptop gig I would be happy.
Can you tell us about your next release? Which name are you going to use? Are you going to use beats again?
The next LP will be a Matt Elliott record, there are no beats although we're planning a special edition with an extra track of 20 minutes of 3ef style beats & noise. It's still at the mixing stage at the moment but it's scheduled for Jan 05 if all goes to plan, but it will more than likely end up being February.
Which bands made you want to write music?
Matt Johnsons first lp is amazing obviously My Bloody Valentine but there were a lot of bands I have been obsessed with in fact I can remember being about 7 years old in a russian church & hearing some beautiful choral music the kind that makes you want to cry & thinking 'i'd love to understand how to make music like that.
What music do you listen to these days?
To be honest I'm listening to music less & less these days, I think when you work very closely with things it tends to take the shine away somewhat, It's very hard to listen to music without being overly analytical which is a shame, however I have heard some great stuff the labels Active Suspension & Clapping Music are about to release some really great stuff (& have already Encre's Flux is great) I think it's the best label(s) I've heard for a while & it actually got me excited about music again, also I love Directorsound because when I first heard it I couldn't believe it, it broke all rules of fidelity, (hiss all over the place) It wasn't played perfectly by any means but I loved it all the more for it in fact all the things i spend hours trying to get rid of on my records were right there but like i said i loved it, so it kind of told me that my thoughts on my own music aren't necessarily correct, what i hear as a mistake someone else thinks of as a great moment or whatever.
Do you still live in France? If yes, how is your life here?
I'm still in France & love it, everything I hated about Bristol isn't here, I really can't complain however that cunt Raffarin gets on my tits but politicians everywhere are scum sadly especially these days.
Can we expect a re-release of Semtex someday?
Strangely enough maarten schermer the guy that does my website mentioned doing a re release the other day I think he's just checking it out. | | | | | | | |
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