This is something I wanted to post for a long time now. I’ve known Nicolas Chenard for a while now, and I know he produces sick techno tunes. since I’ve known him I was always fond of his music. I got to know him a while ago and I had a bunch of stuff to post from him. So beware, here you have an interview and a fresh baked exclusive track! (By the way, you might want to listen to his fresh new genius track at the bottom while reading.)

Interview:

1. So, tell me Nicolas, before we get all serious, how’s life treating you?
Nicolas: Oh, thank you for asking me. Right now? I’m feeling ok, having a cup of ginseng tea and listening to some geekish c-64 video game music. Life? Listening to my music, you may understand how life treats me.

2. How and when did you get in touch with the electronic music scene?
Nicolas: I began composing music at the age of twelve (around 1990) using the great Amiga-500, a very limited computer with poor sampling and synthesis abilities, but it rocked at that time. I’m still using it as a matter of fact. Its used in “Do Not Educate” (contest).

But Lets go back in 1988. I was a ten-years-old pupil, acid house/garage house was breaking the ground, and i was living in a quit hot suburb. There teaching solfege wasn’t easy, so the teacher decided to change the school program and teach us about electronic music culture instead. We were listening to records such as S-Express, Confetti’s or Lil’Louis’French kiss (those were the House tracks that were on the radio at that time in France) or even Jean michelle jarre’s Revolution! Then she explained us how House music, Acid and New Beat was born, the way it was produced (samples, vocoders, samplers, sound synthesis and beat boxes).

Can u imagine you, as a kid, listening to you teacher saying: “… then this Belgian DJ put the 45 rpm records on 33 rpm, and the crowd loved the new track, without noticing the mistake… new beat was born”
Heaven in school? I dont’t know. But a door opened to the world of electronic music production, for sure!

3. What is your top 5 of great electronic artists?
Nicolas: Sorry, I don’t woship any god of music, there are so many great artists, famous or not. I can’t tell whether X or Y is my favorite. Each artist is different to others, each artist is unique. If not, they aren’t artists, but copies. But as a response to your question I would say the prototype of a top artist is an artist with his own sound, built on his personality and able to transmit feelings into seconds.

4. What do u like about playing live?
Nicolas: Having sex with hundreds of people at the same time! That’s how it feels! Haha, seriously, playing live allows you to work directly on your tracks, change it or even improvise, noticing on how the crowd reacts to it. In fact, that’s why it’s similar to sex: people in front of you feel your music, and you understand what to do to give them even more feelings. Its a real exchange between the artist and the crowd. In a bed such a behaviour would lead to an orgasm, on a party it leads to the birth of energy. The energy thats makes you move and shout. So, giving people energy is the best part of playing live, for me.

5. How did you end up with Absolut Freak (label)?
Nicolas: Thats simple, I’ll do it fast. Frederic was sent a techno track (Thriller Express) I produced years ago. This made us meet and create Absolut Freak Records.

6. Any rumors around you can tell us about?
Nicolas: I heard a cataclysm will occur and destroy about 75% of us in the next 15 years. Transmit this to 75 of our contacts in 15 minutes, or you won’t be in the 25% of survivors!!!

I also heard a rumor saying that producers believing their techno or house tracks could interest Chenard should get in touch with him. I don’t really know what that means, but hey! It’s just a rumor!

7. Tell me something about the Do Not Educate contest. Any information you wanna spreak about a release?
Nicolas: I was really surprised how remixers all around the planet had shown interest for the “Do Not Educate” remix contest. Lots of great and coherent remixes, really! This contest allowed very skilled (but still quite unknown) producers to get in touch with us, which was also the point of this remix contest. We had to find the killer remix (and we have it!), but also found new talented artists! And it worked, I’m currently on musical projects with some of them. About the release… I know by mails its highly wanted, it’s coming! keep an eye on it!!!

8. Name your two favourite tracks at this moment?
Nicolas: My first favorite track? the sound a modern common human is making on everyday’s life… Walking in the street or in public places, i’m listening to you. I’m listening how you’re having fun in supermarkets, stressing with your job and talking about very interesting thing such as the lastest reality tv show. Such an interesting music you make! Thank you people, you’re one of my first source of inspiration. Can’t you hear the techno kick-drum beating out conformism? I’m trying to.

So, anyway, at this moment, I would like to listen to:
Pink Floyd – Welcome to the machine
Polysics – Kaja kaja goo

Now i have to dive back into the musical production

Thank you and have a nice day!

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So here’s the track. Notice its not for download as it is exclusive! Be sure to check out the Nicolas Chenard Myspace for more music!

[audio:/0608/Cubik-NicolasChenard_remix.mp3]

So I went to a party Blast Your Ghetto the 25th of january. Andy (D.I.M.) was performing his first live act in Belgium. I’m proud to say that Phase02 had an exclusive interview with him. Also I want to welcome Nicolas a.k.a. Fierce. He helped me with putting this interview into text and he has a great interest in music as well, so he joined us.

Phase02: when did you start producing?
D.I.M.: Pretty early.. It depends on how you want to judge it. My father was a musician, he also worked with computers and machines. My first machine was the Linndrum and that was by the age of 14 so then I started to get into it. But professionally, so I can really live from it, it started around the age of 21. My music career didn’t really start with producing. I started more as a sound engineer and had my own studio. It wasn’t because I wanted to, but because I had to, I had to make money, and it’s not so easy to make money out of producing.

Phase02: Did you start with the same rough hardcore electro sound like u produce now?
D.I.M.: No. not at all. Around the age 20 I did a lot of hip hop stuff. I had a project going on with Alex (Boys Noize), who is one of my closest friends, which called Kid Alex. He was 16 at that time and we did this project where Alex was singing. We had a club hit called ‘Young Love’ and all of the sudden we had a major record deal. So Kid Alex was a lot different from what I produce now. It was more clean hip hop/ electro stuff. A while after that, Alex created the Boys Noize label, and we kind of split up, because we didn’t know who was doing what. Alex went on with the Boys Noize label and I started to think what I could do. That’s why I created D.I.M. around 2004, and that’s when I started to make this hardcore electro sound.

Phase02: At the moment you are again working together with Alex from Boys Noize. The co-operation is called Puzique. Could you tell us something about it?
D.I.M.: Puzique is just the same thing as Kid Alex basically, but then ten years later. He is now living in Berlin and I still live in Hamburg, so we meet up in the studio once in a while and we produce some Puzique stuff. It’s a new fresh name where we can do what we want. It’s not like Boys Noize sound or D.I.M. sound, it’s just the Puzique sound. We just say f*ck off and do what we want, like we did with Kid Alex. It’s really fun.

Phase02: Do u have other side projects going on?
D.I.M.: No, not anymore. D.I.M. is very time consuming so I don’t have time for other projects. I’ve been making so many remixes and for the moment I’m travelling to perform live. The whole year is almost planned so I don’t have much spare time left.

Phase02: Did you like performing in Belgium for the first time?
D.I.M.: Yes, it was amazing. It’s an amazing club and all the people are giving it. No one was just sitting or standing around, the club was really moving!

Phase02: What DJ’s/producers do you like?
D.I.M.: Well I don’t know too many good DJs. I would have to say Alex. I don’t know how he does it, but he’s amazing. It’s weird, we play the same tracks, but he just adds something magical about it. Secondly I would say Justice, as a DJ’s show.

Phase02: What kind of music do you like off the stage?
D.I.M.: Motown! A lot of Motown stuff. I do like Marvin Gaye a lot. But basically I like all music that has been made with the heart and the soul. You have to feel and hear that the music is made with passion.

Phase02: As a final question, what is your favorite remix?
D.I.M.: I’m really proud of the Junkie XL one. The track called My People from The Presets is also a track that I am proud of. And of course Jape because the rhythm, the lyrics, the guy… They’re all amazing!

[audio:/0208/Jape_floating_dimremix.mp3]
Jape – Floating (D.I.M. Remix)

You ever heard of the young Belgium Dj / Producer called Gtronic? If not? You really need to read this exclusive story!

I send him some simple questions for an interview and guess what … one day later I received his whole life, the path he walked to the electro scene, his motivation, his goal, his style …. Gtronic’s Story!

THE STORY

Gtronic was 7 years old when he discovered his passion for music. His father had a music studio, which made it easy for him to experiment with some instruments. Just like his father did, he started to play the guitar. Growing up with musicstyles like Blues and Rock&Roll, he picked up a wide range of musical knowledge.

After 10 years of practising and playing with several other musicians, he discovered the electronic music world. After creating some tracks with Cubase and reason, his fascination increased.

From one passion to another, he started DJ’ing with vinyl after trying Virtual DJ on the PC. Once started spinning electrofunk and tech-house, his style developped gradually to more harder electro like Boys Noize, Ed Banger etc. Gtronic shared the tables with many great DJ’s, like: Monica Electronica, Fraulein, Q-Deck, Roque-cruz, Arcko Drazen etc. And he played at many places like: ‘De cinema‘, ‘Den Almoezenier‘ and youth café’s in every corner of Antwerp.

At the age of 19 years old, he started organizing electro parties “soirée électronique“. Its succes increases each year: more people, great DJ’s, bigger locations, etc. Gtronic started in 2007 creating is own electro trash tracks. His motivation: “Creating my own sound, and trying to influence other people.”

STYLE / INFLUENCES?

I can’t discribe my style very well. I’m more an all-around producer. The style of my tracks depend on wich mood I’m into. That’s why I started a new project: “Gtronic live“. Sometimes I need to find ‘peace’ with myself, and then I create soft-electro tracks.
It’s the best way to let off some emotions…

My influences are a bit complicated. I try to combine my rock/guitar experience with the influences off todays electro music. If I need to call some artists: The whole Ed Banger crew, Dr Lektroluv, The subs, LPP, etc

LABEL?

Well, I made a commercial electro-house track “Crème fresh”. And paria-records will release that track digital in december.
I wanted to create a track like ‘cream’, because it has a very simple structere with a simple melody, but everyone like that track… ‘strange’

I’m still waiting for the right label. But I need to practise a lot first…
I began producing in 2007, so I’m just an unexperienced young producer. It will come with the time I think…

“Thanks a lot for your time Gtronic and wish you all the best in the future. I’m a fan! ”

Go check out Gtronic on MySpace and give him some love!

[audio:1007/gtronic_diehard.mp3]
Gtronic – Die Hard

[audio:1007/thechemicalbrothers_thesalmondance_gtronicremix.mp3]
The Chemical Brothers -The Salmon Dance (Gtronic Remix)