Summer is in full swing and offices are already a little less crowded as people head off to the world’s destinations. This week, the Whyd community turned its ears towards the land down under, where Whyd favorite Flume just released a remix of a different Australian duo: Collarbones. “Turning” is resonant and powerful. The voice is reminiscent of Years & Years. The melody attracts and captivates. But then Flume adds depth. He boosts the original track deep into house territory, all of it climaxing into a heady blast of turn-it-up electronica.
It’s been nearly 20 years since Lauryn Hill released her smash hit “Doo Wop” that catapulted her into superstardom. The question then goes: how do you remix such a powerful song? How do you respect the track and its fans, yet creatively bring it into the 21st century? Leave it to none other than our man Poldoore, who has been tearing it up recently. Modern and electronic, Poldoore’s remix provides a layer of funk while staying true to the original soul of the track. The trumpet at the end is the icing on the cake. No wonder it’s been at the top of the hot tracks all week!
Put this track on when you’re getting ready to go out tonight, and you’ll be assured to pop it off right.
One of the biggest success stories our of France recently has been Rone, the young producer signed to InFiné music. His music has been praised by the greats, and he sports a unique European personality. Most importantly, he has a knack for taking songs and transcending them to a new level of reality. This is precisely what he did with his remix of Yael Naim’s “Coward.” Originally a typical Parisian-style ballad, with its a cappella, church-like choir, and a few piano notes here and there, Rone brings “Coward” into an era so modern, it’s basically the future. Punctuated, powerful, and prescient, it’s no surprise that this track was the most popular on Whyd this week!
This time it’s Greenroom who we need to thank for getting it to us. Thank you guys!
The situation is getting more exciting every day here at Whyd, as we power onwards towards the realization of our vision. In order to reach this harmonious vision, we need some extra help. Please give a big hello to Laurent, or new techno-lumberjack who is going to play a key role in our top-secret development.
Laurent comes from the town of Muret, near Toulouse in south-west France. He is a lover of beards and music. He loves beards and music so much that he actually produces electronic music under the name Les Petits Barbus. He is a perfect match for the Whyd team.
In addition to his music passion, he loves nature, mountains, and the mechanic side of do-it-yourself projects like fixing bikes. He also spent six months in Australia on a surfing road trip making him officially a hipster, and now officially a Whyd team hipster.
A heavily bearded technical team sets up instruments on a packed stage while multicolored lights reflect brightly from the walls of the popular French TV Show “C A Vous.” The kitchen of the hidden studio in the 11ème has elegant-looking appliances. Everything gleans in stark contrast to the rainy grey courtyard outside.
The hubbub is all for their latest episode, featuring a true Whyd favorite: The Avener, whose track “Fade Out Lines” has been sitting in the top 10 of the Hot Tracks for months on end. It’s in a small office stocked with Mars bars to the side of the studio that we finally meet Tristan from Nice, the French artist who has just released his album “The Wanderings of The Avener,” and who is about to perform for the French public at large for the very first time.
If he was nervous, it was transmuted into warm friendliness. He sits down, cigarette in hand, ready to answer the Whyd community’s questions. We have 10 minutes. The mic clicks on.
This interview is translated from French. Tony Hymes for Whyd in bold. All photos, (except the selfie!) courtesy The Avener’s Facebook page.
In your new album there are a lot of reworks. When you create a remix do you try to break something down, or do you try to build something on top of what exists?
Tristan: That depends on the song that I use to do my rework. Sometimes I have to do a lot more, to change a lot of the arrangements, and sometimes just adding a bit of salt and pepper is all it takes to season the plate! So it depends, for example sometimes I’ll use a dozen or so tracks, and there are other times where I will use more than 50 tracks!
Let’s use your new remix of Rodriguez as an example.
Tristan: Rodriguez’s (“Hate Street Dialogue”) was a song that was rather easy to create because the heart was already there. All I wanted to do was amplify the rock aspect and make it more appropriate for the club. For that one I used about a dozen tracks to modify it.
How do you choose the songs that you remix?
Tristan: It’s really just music I like from my years as a DJ. With my DJ background I’ve played a lot of music, from funk to soul to house, and there are tracks that I can’t really play sometimes, because if I did it would empty the dance floor! So I tried to modify the tracks that I wanted to play, but wasn’t able to, and that’s how this album was born.
You have a classic music formation, notably the piano, but it’s not something that we take from your latest album. So does that serve something for you?
Tristan: Classical music helps me with music in general, with the notes, understanding, and writing sheet music. For this album it helped from a technical standpoint, and didn’t really serve as a source of inspiration. Having a classical background is a big advantage to make music, but orchestrally speaking it’s difficult to bring that into this type of music.
What do the artists that you remixed think of your remixes? Phoebe Killdeer (“Fade Out Lines”) for example?
Tristan: She was the first test. Phoebe Killdeer loved the track, but at the beginning she didn’t want to have her name attached to it, because it wasn’t in her overall artistic direction. She was, however, really happy with it. For the other artists, some of whom were collaborators, like Rodriguez, they love it, so it’s a huge joy for me.
Who are your influences? Who do you look up to?
Tristan: My music comes from different places. I listen to a lot of music, I’m very eclectic, at home or when I’m DJing. There are a lot of artists that influence me. It’s true that I spent 10 years in classical music so I have a lasting adoration for Beethoven, and Bach, they are THE composers, and no one from today will arrive at their level, they have so much unique musicality. They are still my favorites to this day.
Are there artists that you don’t like? Maybe not artists, that might burn some bridges, but are there styles of music that you don’t like?
Tristan: There are some genres that I appreciate a little bit less. But I am still a student of music, so when there is a style that I don’t like, I try to figure out what the artist was trying to do. I never say “that doesn’t sound good.” There are always good songs in every style of music, you just have to find them.
You’re labelled as being deep house, but on the new album there is a lot more. Are there other styles that you are moving closer towards? A bit of folk maybe?
Tristan: Yes! This album is sort of a voyage between different epochs and different styles. And finally I can re-vindicate my eclecticism because it’s not easy for an artist to be so diverse with their music to say “I make all music.” It’s complicated to say that. This album is about sharing, it’s surrounded by my influences, so it’s a journey among lot of different points.
Would you classify your music as being French?
Tristan: I would like that! I definitely like the “French Touch” period, which had a big influence on me. But now do I bring anything new to this “French Touch” compared to other artists? I hope to have that energy.
Now I have fans that come from all over the world, not just in France, like Germany, Switzerland, Australia, South Korea, there are lots of people that loved the first single, and that makes me happy!
When you are aren’t making music, what do you do for fun?
Tristan: When I don’t make music I play music! :)
I have a second passion, aviation, so I’m in the process of getting my private pilot’s license.
Awesome! At least you’ll have a great soundtrack to fly to!
Continuing in our series of Playlists of References comes an epic banger from Switzerland: Indie Dance. Time to get out your flower crowns, clip on your suspenders, and prepare to Instagram. But first, let’s get the story behind this 400+ track playlist from its curator, Rainer Etzweiler of RCKSTR Mag.
When did you start listening to Indie Dance?
Around 2007/08 when I started DJing and producing music.
Did you ever have a moment when you felt like Indie Dance started speaking to you?
A lot, if you count the remixes of pop or indie songs. Almost none if you don’t, there are not too many disco songs with heart-touching/deeply moving lyrics. Disco music is mostly about the simple things and that’s a good thing.
What are some example situations when you would listen to this playlist yourself?
Usually when I’m out for a run or when I have friends over at my flat. Also before I do a new mixtape, it helps me to pick the right tracks.
If you had to choose just one track from this playlist, which one would be your favorite?
Uhhhhh, that’s not easy. Especially since there are so many. I would go with one of my latest favorites: RAC - “Cheap Sunglasses” feat. Matthew Koma - Viceroy Remix.
Since the very beginning of Whyd we’ve been attracted to unique sounds. The first tracks shared across the platform were from obscure artists experimenting with original beats and unheard melodies. Now as we’ve grown into a buzzing community of music curators, we have been fortunate enough to follow the careers of these artists, some of whom have fallen into obscurity, and others who have blossomed into one-of-a-kind masters of their trade.
Throughout 2013 there was the brother duo of Disclosure that kept on claiming the honor of the Whyd Track of the Weekend. Week after week new remixes and versions of their tracks popped up and shot to the top of the hot tracks. Their dominance was such that we had to come up with a new title for them: Artist of the Year.
It was a tradition we wanted to continue this year, so we kept our eye on which artist was being shared the most across the entire global platform.
No one on Whyd is a stranger to C2C, the DJ group whose album “Tetra” set fire to electronic music around the world last year. Many of our hip hop lovers also know Hocus Pocus. One of the members of these groups kept releasing remixes throughout 2014, and those remixes frequently ended up as the Track of the Weekend. That artist is 20syl.
20syl, or Sylvain Richard, comes from Nantes, France. He is an acclaimed turntablist and rapper from On and On Records. We are proud to present this honor to such a gifted artist and music visionary.
As we’re plowing towards the end of the year we are looking forward to everything that 2015 has in store. But first, we have to celebrate the end of this incredible year. Our team is slowly reuniting in Paris, and there are christmas parties on the horizon. Next week we will be announcing the hottest tracks of 2014, along with our favorite albums and the Artist of the Year on Whyd.
But first, to get you in the mood for the weekend, Parrad’s epic remix of The Dø’s “Miracle” will rock you to your foundation, turn it up for an epic weekend.
Hello KRONO! Where did you find the inspiration to start making music together? You cite a Daft Punk concert as the day when your voyage began, but were you making music before?
Hello Whyd! Since we were very small, we’ve been music lovers, but we were not at all in the DJing world, more into chess and arts in general. And on that day in 2007, when we had the chance to see Daft Punk live, came the idea of creating something with my brother.
Inspiration is not something that can be found, it’s something that you don’t look for; it’s more of a short, intense moment that you have to know how to seize, and so, we think, to be a true artist, you must be conscious of the things around you, because music is above all a story, an emotion, not noise.
It’s raining here in Paris and that means a dampness that will stay with us until the sun returns in force in April. Spirits are understandably a bit dreary, but luckily for us, there is – and will always be – music.
Capturing this unique autumnal feeling is difficult, but the Isaac Delusion remix of Fránçois & The Atlas Mountain’s “La Fille aux Cheveux de Soie” (translated as The Girl with the Silk Hair) does a wonderful job summarizing how we all are feeling. It’s delicate as silk, dreamy like the morning fog, and warming like a cup of Jasmine tea with a dash of honey.
Thanks to Lucile (our petite lu!) for getting it to us!