Fakear interview: French artist on new album Animal, moving out of Paris, and the new electronic music scene
-
Loading... - Coby Groff
- 03 Jun 2022
- 269 Views
- 0 Like
- 0 Comment
Hailed as something of a figurehead for a new, emerging electronic scene in France, Fakear, born Théo Le Vigoureux, is fittingly energetic ahead of the release of his debut LP Animal.
His UK label have done a fantastic job of tracking down the perfect interview setting. At the Booth Museum in Brighton, as The Great Escape festival rumbles on in the city centre, Le Vigoureux is sat at a table surrounded by cases filled with exotic bird displays; their fragile wings spread out as though in flight. Bird calls are played from speakers installed around the museum rooms and it's impossible not to be reminded of Animal's first single 'Sheer-Khan'.
"I worked on this album for a long time," Le Vigoureux says. "I'd composed a few tracks but thought this wasn’t me… so threw everything away."
Things changed last year when the 24-year-old met his now-girlfriend, whom he describes as a "big inspiration". In three months, he had 12 brand new tracks.
"I used to be very rational and closed to any notion of spiritualism," he says, speaking of the moment they met. "And seeing her I began to believe in something else, these ideas of karma and exploring other worlds.
"There were many things I wanted to explain… my use of the vocals as animal cries. I didn’t want to use voices just to speak with. I wanted people to see human beings as the animals. The music is more from my imagination – the philosophy and ideology of these countries – that I really wanted to explore."
Referred to as "a prodigy" by enthusiastic journalists in France, the Caen-born artist is joined in this wave of new music by producers like Stwo, Dream Koala, and Superpoze (Gabriel Legeleux), the latter of whom Le Vigoureux has known for years. French electronic music – from Jean-Michel Jarre in the 70s to St Germain and Daft Punk in the early 90s – has always been about breaking new ground, and Fakear, with his mini-album Sauvage making it into the Top 10 on the French LP charts, is its best and brightest new hope.
Comparisons have, perhaps inevitably, been drawn between Fakear and Daft Punk, but this is perhaps more due to that excitement of someone else who could change how people view electronic music.
“We see electronic music as just for nightclubs – music for dancing and partying and that’s all. But I think we’re just beginning to see all the possibilities of electronic [music]. I don’t party so much now – I’m an early bird. That’s quite unusual in a producer, I think,“ he grins.
“I don’t focus on the hype too much. That’s actually one of the reasons I moved from Paris, because it’s like you’re always at work. I’m not a working boy, I’m lazy,” he says, laughing. “I want to do stuff from my bedroom. And all this hype… I don’t care. For me it’s about making music with friends.”
It's a level-headed approach to music earning admiration from established artists such as M.I.A, who tweeted at Le Vigoureux asking for a collaboration (it's happening). Read More...
