French star Vitalic has advanced his country's reputation for quirky and intriguing electronic music, with his new album "Flashmob" providing light relief from the trend for all things minimal.
Vitalic, real name Pascal Arbez, continues where he left off with 2005 debut album "OK Cowboy", conjuring up unique sounds, relentless beats and a humorous edge which recalls compatriots Daft Punk and Justice.
The album offers an antidote to the harsh and highbrow minimal scene, which is currently popular with dancefloor fashionistas Europe-wide.
"Some musicians or scenes in minimal have a tendency to be a bit snobbish," the artist told AFP.
"Without criticising the genre in itself, over the past few years, you will see that there were 20 good records and all the rest were just bad copies with no creation.
"I see no special intelligence. On the other hand, some people like Villalobos or Sven Vath are also full of humour and not snobbish at all," the songwriter added.
Arbez spent much of his youth in the eastern French city of Dijon. He began making his own music utilising rudimentary equipment, including an Amiga computer and free software.
The remixer was influenced musically by French artists Daft Punk and Laurent Garnier but also by Italian songwriter and producer Giorgio Moroder -- godfather of disco genre Italo -- reflecting his family's background.
"My parents would listen to disco stuff but not only. In fact, I really discovered Italo later, around the year 2000. My parents were much more into Moroder or Pink Floyd.
"I don't know if my Italian roots have something to do with my taste for Italo."
The Frenchman disagrees that the southern European climate lends itself to more melodic electronic music.
"If you look at the scene in Italy now, which is quite active at the moment with the Crookers or Bloody Beetroots, you'll see that it's not that melodic. So maybe there is no link between melody and sun," he said.
"However, I think that if it's too serious or dark, it may narrow the possibilities. I do like a bit of humour in it. Daft Punk or Teenage Bad Girl and Mr. Oizo are very good at that.
"I don't think that electronic should only consist in making people dance. It would narrow things and no path should be ignored but why not make good dance music that's fun and experimental?" Arbez added.
"OK Cowboy" was characterised by the originality of its sounds, with few samples -- a philosophy which is continued on "Flashmob".
"There are a few samples, but the songs are not really based on those. They are there as decoration only," he explained.
"I may change that view about samples later, but I don't feel comfortable with using a two-minute sample and putting drums on it."
Expanding on the songwriting process, Arbez said: "Most of time I do have my sound in mind but accidents are also part of the process.
"A combination of the two can be good, having the sound in mind and changing my mind because a nice accident opens new scapes."
As part of an extensive British tour the electro-star recently played England's Leeds and Reading festivals, renowned for rock and metal music.
"It was very nice," Arbez claimed.
"I was happy to play UK festivals again. I think Leeds went great despite some sound problems. In most UK festivals, there are dance tents or dance acts so everything is mixed up.
"I am used to the drawbacks, like waiting for hours, bad weather or technical problems, it's part of the game," he added.
"But I'm always happy to go on tour and also happy to be back home. I just enjoy this way of living so I appreciate all the good moments."
Copyright 2009 AFP Global Edition
