Mr Oizo Interview with Brain Magazine (Nov 2008)

Myspace - Mr Oizo
Brain-Magazine

Yet another great interview done by somebody else...thought I would post it up.

You can read the original here:

Brain-Magazine Mr Oizo Interview (French)

Or...thanks to JGM you can read it in plain old English.

The release of Lambs Anger, his third album, is madly exciting the underground blogging scene as well as the more traditional media. Amongst the surviving 90s French Touch artists, Mr Oizo is really one of the only one to set off such reactions. This guy has a special thing that makes everybody almost religiously worshipping him. And therefore he's scaring us a bit. So we decided it would be better to entrust Diplo, Kid Sister, Zombie Zombie, Radioclit, Mixhell, Brodinski, MSTRKRFT, Joakim, Errorsmith, Bloody Beetroots and Midnight Juggernauts with the interview.

Diplo: How do you manage to do that 'weeerrrruhbrghshhshhhseeyyer' sound?
Mr Oizo: Diplo I don't know you, but I have the impression your question is badly formulated.

Radioclit: For almost 10 years you used to hide behind your producing appliances and your camera, but finally got to dj in 2006-2007 and play a lot of gigs. Honestly, what are your feelings concerning this close contact with your audience and the dancefloors?
Mr Oizo: It's half exciting and half very depressing.

Zombie Zombie: How did you come to making music? Did you learn musical theory?
Mr Oizo: Dear Zombie Zombie, I never learnt musical theory. My ears and my magical fingers sort things out.

Zombie Zombie: Why did you choose the instruments you're using?
Mr Oizo: I use a computer because it's less of a hassle than plugging 4 appliances. And the result is more or less the same.

Zombie Zombie: What's your relationship with your instruments like?
Mr Oizo: My computer is just a tool. If it doesn't work properly, I dump it and replace it with a brand new one.

Zombie Zombie: Do you still buy appliances? Which one would you love to get? Why?
Mr Oizo: I would like to have a SERGE synth, to spend nights recording sounds.

Zombie Zombie: Which record would you dream to have?
Mr Oizo: I would like to hear the ninth Daft Punk album.

Zombie Zombie: What are the last records you bought? Do you like them?
Mr Oizo: I only buy old vinyls to sample.

Zombie Zombie: Do you listen again to your own tracks? Why?
Mr Oizo: Yes I listen again to my tracks a lot to check if they don't sound too old.

MSTRKRFT: You smoke inside every club. Is the price of the fine included in your fee?
Mr Oizo: No. On the other had, Pedro promised me his lungs if I have any health problem. That's the EdBanger spirit, a true family.

MSTRKRFT: Is it true you never released Moustache on vinyl because the mastering didn't satisfy you?
Mr Oizo: Yes! The Exchange didn't manage to press Moustache correctly. It was a disaster, the needle kept jumping. After three attempts, I decided to give up. On second thought, it was maybe the FCOM boss, who was tightfisted, manipulating me.

MSTRKRFT: If you could do your own plugging, what would it be? Or rather, what's the most annoying thing in producing you'd like to automate?
Mr Oizo: I would like to have a plugin which would be able to interpret the music you put into on its own. With loads of parameters to be able to do anything. For example, you would put a Bowie track into it, the plugin would analyse it and spit it out with altered instruments, voices, harmonies.

Joakim: Concerning music, is it better to be a reactionary punk or a progressive hippie?
Mr Oizo: You're both at the same time, you have to tell me.

Mixhell: What's the best meal you ate during a tour?
Mr Oizo: Who are you Mixhell?

Errorsmith: What are the 5 records you would take with you on a desert island?
Mr Oizo: Not trying to be witty, but I wouldn't think of bringing records on a desert island. And I wouldn't stand it for more than an hour, I hate being bored.

Kid Sister: What's your favourite clothes shop in Paris?
Mr Oizo: Err she thinks she's asking Uffie there, doesn't she? or Kavinsky?

Kid Sister: What's your Astrological sign?
Mr Oizo: Ram, Bull, Two Fish, Archer

Kid Sister: Have you already been to Chicago, and if so what did you think of it?
Mr Oizo: I suggest you keep this question for the beginning of a song verse.

Brodinski: First of all, I wanted to tell you I love the album, particularly Two Takes It! How did you get the idea to work with Carmen Castro on that track? and who is she?
Mr Oizo: Carmen is a mysterious female singer who'd rather hide at the moment, but I can introduce you to her if you publicly confess being a bit fragile sexually speaking.

Brodinski: Are you going to make a new movie?
Mr Oizo: Yes! Will you go and watch it?

The Bloody Beetroots: Your productions have an organized anarchy which is transmitted in your name: OIZO. Is there a relationship between punk and electronic in your world?
Mr Oizo: No I'm a neat guy.

The Bloody Beetroots: Your album teaser refers to a classic of the Surrealism: Un Chien Andalou (from Luis Buñuel). Can your music live without visions? and I mean are there always images before your productions?
Mr Oizo: I don't think of any images when I'm producing music. The reference to Un Chien Andalou is there because my album is an exquisite corpse as well.

Midnight Juggernauts: When I was a broke teenager, I made a trip across the States. Some friend of mine had given me the name of one of his friend, so that I could stay at their place for a week in North Carolina. We discovered later that they were gay dentists. Did you experience anything like that?
Mr Oizo: No, but I like the idea of a dentist specialised with gay people, I find it funny.

Midnight Juggernauts: If you were doing a movie about your life, who would play your role and why?
Mr Oizo: I would ask for a dead actor, so that the movie could not be done.