Etienne Jaumet is probably most familiar as one half of French electro pairing Zombie Zombie. However, a penchant for vintage analogue equipment and an unexpected period of having to work alone has resulted in one of the best albums of space techno that I have heard in recent times. Add Carl Craig into the mix - literally, as he mixed the album, and you have on your hands a bona-fide classic. Perhaps one of the first of the decade. Electronic Beats just had to know more.
Hey Etienne. At the moment, you are probably best known as being one half of Zombie Zombie. When did you decide that you wanted to release an album of solo material?
It was Gilb-R, the boss of Versatile, who encouraged me to do my own album. After I had finished my first EP, Repeat Again After Me, Neman, the drummer of my other band Zombie Zombie, was on tour with Herman Dune, so I had the time to work alone. It was actually not my idea!
Ah, okay. So it was not something you have been working towards for a long time?
No, not at all... I probably expected it would happen some day, but I had never worked on it before the recordings for Night Music started... I’m not an amazing instrumentalist, so I always try to develop my own expressions with my own technique... This album was recorded after years of experimentations.
So were you trying to capture a certain feeling? The songs conjure up very strong images in my head.
I only try to have fun and play, in the first instance, with my instruments. I don’t really have images in my head. My music is instrumental, so I need to find other ways to build a song without 'a verse, a chorus, a bridge' etc. I prefer to try and build a kind of story with the sound...
Did you have a particular approach to making the songs on Night Music?
Yes, well I improvised all the songs during the recording! All tracks are the first takes. 75% of each song was recorded live and I’ve only done overdubs where I felt something was missing. I can’t do in any other way - I’m a saxophonist, I love free jazz very much, and improvising is what I do the best...
It was mentioned in the press release that you were influenced partly by the idea of working to fit two sides of a record. Was this restraint helpful to the creative process?
On a LP you can only put a maximum of 22 minutes on each side. The LP is the best support for music. 45 minutes is plenty enough for me as I don’t like it when an album is too long. I love very much those album in the 1970’s with a long song one side and few little ones on the other side...
Were the sounds created mainly with analogue machines?
Only analogue keyboards: Arp, Roland, Moog, Yamaha and acoustic instruments like the voice and my saxophone.
If you could go to one place in space - where would it be?
Not far - the moon.
Were you interested in space when you were growing up?
Yes of course, but much more by life under the water in fact. More real and poetic for me.
What was it like to work with Carl Craig? And what input did he have on the album?
I would just send the separate files to him with a rough mix of each song with no instructions! He then did what he felt was right. Carl imagined the mix differently than me, but that’s what I was expected. I wanted him to push the songs in another dimension. I know very well my instruments, and the sound he has done is so much better that I can ever do – he is a master!
Did you reject any of his suggestions?
No, but you know, there is not only one-way to interpret a song. And his way made my songs more effective...
Do you plan to perform any of the Night Music material live?
I already have done! It’s not too difficult because all the songs were composed live. There's a lot of instruments involved. Sometimes when it’s possible, Emmanuelle Parrenin plays some hurdy gurdy with me! Real instruments just sound so great live...
Night Music is available now on Versatile.
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