Wired 12.02: Nintendo Rocks!

A great feature on Minibosses (you know, this crazy Nintendo Entertainement System cover band!) in Wired magazine.

Daft Daft Club


A very funny review of Daft Punk recent let's make even more cash mp3s (sorry, brand new exciting unreleased exclusive tracks!!!!) compilation on Pitchfork.

Wired News: Building a New Career is a Snap

glad to see I'm not the only one crazy about LEGO bricks :)

Peter and Brian strike back!

Gabriel and Eno Unveil Digital'Manifesto' :: AO

...and did I tell you that Cornelius did a surprise guest appearance at a recent event in Tokyo with all the crazy PM kids? he did a new song...
thanks Monsieur Cat Genius & David for the info :)

OK Nitro Deluxe and then... RAMP ?!
Everybody loves the sunshine. Yes we do, and it was snowing today in Paris. Yeah it happens sometimes :) Anyway this might be the perfect day to stay home and listen to music (not me, I got a job to do you know) or maybe work on some covers of your favourite songs ? I don't know if 2004 will be the year of the cover song (don't ask me), but I can't wait to hear Olivier Lamm's cover of Tommy February 6 with Kumi Okamoto. I know something like this would happen one day ;)

1986

Nitro Deluxe Let's get brutal is such a piece of history, I mean, you can forget almost the complete house movement but this one is just as fresh and clever now as it was in 1986.

Meet you at the atelier.

gathering tools for a new year

I ran from the office to a high speed train just to be on time for a very special event near Lille at Roubaix' La Piscine musee d'art et d'industrie with Mahjoub Ben Bella and friends. Later, in his atelier, I realized that we are almost in february and that pretty soon it will be time to get back to work, things are moving slowly but soon the schedule wil be full of the usual/unusual meetings, projects, ideas, contextes to re-work. I'm adopting a very low profile on what's going to happen (but believe me, things are very exciting), but if you want to see someone with a busy schedule for 2004 you'd better check Momus' own blog, simply called Click Opera: Moscow! Helsinki!! Hong Kong!!! and then? Cuba?

What's cool about this blog is that it's far too clever (for me at least) and it saves a lot of time if you're looking for the latest qui est in / qui est out ideas. You thought you had a brilliant new idea ? forget it ! it's been on Momus' blog for two days already ! I like that :) It belongs to such another league.
Being clever is not really what I do best, even if last week end Malcolm McLaren and I (we) came to the same conclusions regarding the future of music (but that's another story).

One last thing: OK, call me jealous or whatever, BUT I like to think that I could have done a magazine like OK Fred without any problem (need any help, guys?). And yes, I believe that despite its usual suspects kind of contains it's one of the best reason to read a music magazine. Keep up the good work !

For a Record Label Founded by the Beastie Boys, the End Is Less Than Grand

sad, sad sad :(

Hit & Miss.
It's always the same - the year is over, people ask you 'hey what's your top (5-10-50) for this year?', you try very hard to remember, you do a list, then another one because it's another day etc etc and in the end, the list doesn't reflect exactly what you've been listening to during the year. And as usual, it's during the next year that you realize that you forgot to listen to many essential releases last year.
It's 2004, and because of a massive lack of time I couldn't listen to Robert Wyatt's Cuckooland until now, and of course, it's genius, and of course I'll have to run to the shop tomorrow to buy one or two copies (you're never too sure) of this subtle, delicate, beautiful album.

Beatwork

For funky dancefloors

My favourite french house producer is Alan Braxe. Who? you might ask. Well, remember Stardust ? he was one of the member of the band, with Benjamin Diamond (house crooner) and Thomas Bangalter (this guy from Daft Punk). Since 1997 he did some other tracks, and I love the way he uses the bassline and synthline in his production: for Bjork (Alarm Call), Shakedown or the all-time club classic (it's that good, really) I feel good feel for you by Daddy's Favourite. He even did Britney Spears!
You may think he's the kind of over the place producer, doing everything from popstars to house filter kings, but in fact Alan is a pretty rare kind of guy: he did only 3 singles since Stardust, some remixes (5 or 6 max.) and a few other tracks. No album, no compilations, no collaboration with Justin. But believe me, if we have to keep only one french house producer (with the Dafts of course) it would be Alan Braxe !! It's sooo funky (and not only a filter/loop/beat thing). It's an update on classic soul and funk, and I love it.

Recommanded tracks:

Alan Braxe and Fred Falke: Intro (running) available on CD from Labels (France) and elsewhere too.
A CLASSIC. essential release.

Bjork: Alarm Call (French mixes by Alan Braxe and Benjamin Diamond): easy to find, quite old... CD & 12'.

Alan Braxe: Lovelost (from the Kitsune label compilation: easy to find in France and Japan, CD and 12').

Alan Braxe and Fred Falke: Rubicon new single out very soon ! on CD too. Great other tracks. funky-guitare-synth thing.

The Paradise (Alan Braxe & Romuald): In love with you (12' only) recent release, may be difficult to find...we did a bootleg of this with our very own L'amour a la plage from French Dynamites it works very well !

Britney Spears - Anticipating (the french remixes featuring mixes by Alan Braxe): the rest of this limited 12' pack is shit, but the AB mix is very cool. hard to find, 12' only :(

A new career in a new town.

How to disappear completely and never be found again

Ah, 2004. Yes, happy new year to everyone, let's enjoy another year of good moments, great memories and creativity everywhere.
We were in Berlin, Germany to celebrate the new year, and I think there's no better place to start a new year than Berlin. I love this city, and I'm sure I'll do *something* here in the future. Of course, the *thing* has to be defined, but who knows ? maybe I'm going to open a soba shop there.

In 2004, I don't want to talk about 'music' anymore. I just got enough from this same old thing, and in fact 2003 was the year I found out that I shouldn't keep trying to do music anymore. I mean why should I do music ? I've never been satisified with the result and believe me, your ears won't, too. Some comments like 'hey you're a disco deejay!' were also good ways to make me understand how wrong I was. Thanks for the agressivity, but thanks for the realistic view.

So what's next ? do we need someting *next*?
I think we all need a *next* thing. In 2004 I will focus on my remix CD & DVD project, and I hope more people will get involved.
I want to push Castellane related artists more in Japan. I want to do more remixes too, as 'remixes' belong to the 'deejay' world, right ?

Don't expect any new Digiki original material anytime soon. I should change my name to DJKI maybe, and return to my french touch roots, as someone listening to both Steve Reich and Daft Punk doesn't exist. Forget it, it was just a dream.

As yet another uninspired imitator, to record or not record won't change a single thing. And that's better !

Now that things are said, Happy New Ears to everybody, and see you soon on this blog !
And while you're here check the main page here for some new stuff (remixes, etc)

Live from Berlin...

HAPPY NEW YEAR !!!