You will find in this category each week, an interview or a biograhpy of a Dj or artist which is breaking the news. All styles are on the “menu” of this category: minimal, house, electro, techno or even trance in some cases.
The topic will be supplemented by other Djs following the latest electronic music news.
Lemaitre is a Norwegian indie-electronic duo who formed in the summer of 2010. Together, Ketil & Ulrik create raging disco beats, mixed with soft synth phrases and gripping melodies. When playing live they combine live instruments, not so live instruments and good old live vocals. In their short career, Lemaitre has gained a following from all over the world. The “Friendly Sound EP” was released at the end of 2010, and the duo are currently working on new material and playing shows wherever the music takes them. Lemaitre is influenced by artists like Justice, Phoenix, Daft Punk, Deadmau5, Noisia, Ratatat and Röyksopp. Today, we have the chance to interview one of the hottest Norwegian producers! The interview followed notably the ones of other famous producers like DMarc Romboy, Da Fresh, Umek, Avicii or Dr. Kucho. First, I wanted to thank Ulrik and Ketil for answering our questions.
"Hello guys,
Honestly, it's a real pleasure and honor to interview you, because I discovered your music 2 years ago with your tracks “Blue shift” and “Momentum” and it was almost your start and first tracks. Since then, I've never missed any of your great releases!
In a few days, the 4th of March more exactly, you will release a new EP entitled “Relativity 3” with 4 tracks in an atmosphere between funk and indie. Could you please give us more info about it? Is there any specific story behind it or behind of the track that will be released?
> It took a long time to finish these tracks. We had a lot of ideas trashed before, we had 4 we liked enough to finish. Some of the ideas are based on samples made sometime ago. When you first get a great idea then the hardest part of it is done, but it's also the funniest. After that there is a lot of nitpicking and details and arrangement that needs to be figured out.
Do you have already an idea of what will be your next release? Maybe a remix? Or maybe a full length album for 2013 ?
> We did a remix for Mat Zo & Porter Robinson's new song "Easy" coming out April 14th! Really excited for that. We are also working on a song with Camo & Krooked which is going to be really dope. We will also release a couple of new songs before summer. We don't have time to finish a full length album this year, but we will try to make as much new music as we can.
2012 is over. If you look back to it, what can you say? What is your vision of the couple past months notably with your crazy tour, known for its visual aspect (http://youtu.be/kTP7FGaB9os)?
> It's been really fun and hectic. We are still continuously working on making the live set better. Both visually and musically. We have made live versions of many of our songs, so you can just hear them at our shows.
After you give us these info about your music news we would like to go back to your musical roots. Could you briefly tell us how did you become DJs and producers?
> We have always been really interested in music. And our parents have always had a big record collection. We also grew up listening to Daft Punk and Phoenix, therefore the French inspiration. We have listened to most kinds of music like rock, jazz, funk, classical and drum & bass. So we draw inspiration from everything. But I guess the main reason we think electronic music is fun, is that you got the potential to make basically anything through just your computer. And you couldn't do that not long ago. At least no as easy. It's kind of unexplored territory.
And how did you two meet? Some years ago, I interviewed the duo M.A.N.D.Y and they told me they met on a tennis court!
> Haha, we met like most people do through school. We went to the same high school and after we graduated we decided to try making some music together, as we both were interested in making music for a living.
At the beginning, did your family understand what you did for a living? And now are they proud of what you achieved?
> They have always been supportive, but in the start they were a little worried we wouldn't get any higher education. As we see it, you can't study and try to make music a living at the same time. It takes too much time. Don't half-ass two things. Whole-ass one thing. Like Ron Swanson once said. And I think our parents understood that, and now they don't mention it.
Concerning your career as producers, do you have a pre-determined role in the production of a track? How do you compose together?
> We both produce and basically sit in front each our computer the whole day. When one of us has an idea we both agree if it’s good, we start working on it together. We both write the lyrics and melodies as well.
We said you come from Norway, but this scene is pretty narrow and not very well known over broad. If there were 2 or 3 artists to talk about to our readers to discover about the local music, who will you advice us?
> Cashmere Cat and Todd Terje from Norway are really good if you haven't checked them out before.
As I said previously, I discovered your world and music through “Blue shift” and “Momentum”. Is there something specific behind them it and how did you succeed to release them ?
> “Momentum” was the first thing we put out. We made that song before we had come up with the name Lemaitre. We released it through Soundcloud. After we got some plays on radio in Lithuania we got invited to come over there and play and premiere a video on the radio. We then made “Blue Shift” which got it's premiere on ZipFM. We put it on Soundcloud and Youtube and it quickly got a lot of plays and got used in a lot of gaming videos. Later we released that on "The Friendly Sound EP" as well.
More and more people are asking us about the material DJs and producers used. What is the software or instruments you use to produce and create a track? Could you please be more specific on a technical side let’s say?
> We produce in Ableton Live and mostly use Plug-ins from Native Instruments. Especially Kontakt, Massive and FM8. We also use a DSI Prophet and a Moog Little Phatty both in studio and live. There is a lot of guitar in the songs as well, which gives a very organic sound in the samples we make. We make all the samples in our songs ourselves, except for the first few songs we put out.
The interview will be published on a website mainly read by French people. So, what do you know about the French electronic music scene? Are there some artists that you personally know or especially love their music? I can imagine you will say at least that Daft punk influenced you a lot. Right?
> Yes obviously Daft Punk. And also Justice, Air, Cassius, Phoenix, Fred Falke & Alan Braxe. Ulrik is half French, so he also grew up listening to a lot of french music in general like Serge Gainsbourg and MC Solar.
Guys, before we conclude this interview we have a few more questions. Sometimes one word is enough!
An artist you would like to work with one day?
> There are a lot who would be a dream to work it. The Strokes maybe. Or DJ Premier.
Craziest or best live souvenir?
> Got some really cool headphones from Skullcandy when we played at their event in X-games. Free shit is always fun.
Best place for a live session?
> Clubs with great sound systems are always a blast. Festivals are also very fun, but clubs gets more intense.
3 words to define your music?
> Disco, Chill, Upbeat.
One privilege, being DJs, gives you access to?
> Traveling the world and free drinks.
One word about France?
> Food.
Your favorite track these days?
> Mat Zo & Porter Robinson - Easy
Ulrik and Ketil thank you very very much for the time you devoted to Actualités Electroniques and particularly for this full and exclusive interview. We will wait for sure for your next productions. A bientôt!”
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