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Damn mobiles! If they weren’t so useful to my social life, for listening to music and playing games and accessing the internet on the go and waking me up in the mornings and stuff, I probably would have chucked mine out of the window years ago. Anthony Gonzalez, front man of French electronic shoegazers, M83, took few minutes out of a busy UK tour to talk about live shows and their latest album, ‘Saturdays = Youth’, but technology had other ideas and it wasn’t until we were cut off once that the interview started…
Looking at your touring schedule, you’re playing in Manchester tonight?
Yes, yes we are playing tonight in Manchester. That would be the first time!
Any Madonna-like pre-concert rituals before you guys take the stage?
[laughs] No rituals. We like to have a good meal and go to a good restaurant. We like to have sushi before we go on stage and yeah, drink a bit of alcohol!
Congratulations on your Scala gig! I went with a friend who’s reviewing the gig and we were both curious as to why your drummer is in a box?!
Because I think it looks good on stage – I like it! But no, it’s also because otherwise there is too much sound because those drums can be very loud. So it’s just a question of sound level.
What’s your favourite song to play live?
[Thinks for a bit] I don’t know, I like to play ‘Don’t Save Us From The Flames’ because a lot of people are expecting that song during the live show. And I like ‘Couleurs’ on the new album.
Is there one song that you’ll never play live, or do you give everything a chance?
We never really play songs from the previous albums because it is always difficult to reproduce the sound of the album live, you know? And it’s quite difficult to play some of the songs from those previous albums. For example, we never play the last song from our last album, ‘Lower Your Eyelids To Die With The Sun’, because it’s very long and very produced so it’s almost impossible to play.
What made you want to make an album about your teenage years?
Just one minute! [at this point, something clicks and whirrs in the background]. I mean, yeah, I’ve always been fascinated by teenagers and also because I was really happy as a teenager and it was some of the best days of my life so far. So this album is kind of a tribute to that.
What kind of music were you listening to then and how has it influenced the music you’re making?
Oh, mostly rock music like and the New York scene and also a lot of German music from the seventies. Because of the German music, I started to buy keyboards and synthesizers and I started to play electronic music. And because of bands like Mogwai who have a lot of guitar, I satarted to learn the guitar and play rock music as well. I think that my music ‘looks’ like my influences, just a mix of the music I love, a combination of everything I like in music.
German music? So like Kraftwerk, perhaps?
Not Kraftwerk in particular. More like Popol Vuh and Tangerine Dream and these kinds of bands.
So what kind of music are you listening to now?
I’m listening to a lot of classical music and popular music. I’m listening to a lot of albums this year; I think it has been a good year for music. I really like the Fleet Foxes album!
Why the 80’s? A lot of people are going back to that era in terms of fashion, films and music. Why do you think that is?
I don’t know, I think 80’s music is certainly one of the most important for the music industry and for music history. It’s definitely one of the most interesting periods. A lot of bands from the 80s, they have invented something, like a sound that really created something new. I really like the sound production on the albums from the 80s. I think it sounds always amazing – it’s really different from the 70s. There’s this really big gap for me between the 70s and the 80s.
It’s been over six months since S=Y came out. Are you happy with the reception?
Yeah! It’s been a while since the previous album and it’s really encouraging for the future. I’m really excited to tour for this album and it’s been very positive overall!
Would you do anything differently?
It’s very difficult to create and compose an album – the most difficult thing for an artist! I spent so much time on it and so much energy, but I think it’s a good album for now and I just can’t wait to work on another one.
Probably a scary question, but you’ve hinted at it earlier on: any ideas for the next album?
It’s too early to say, because my head is so focused on the tour right now – we’re touring until the end of the year and at the end it’s going to be very difficult for me to work on anything new. But I have some ideas in my head.
Can we expect an album based on 90s youth, maybe?
[laughs] Yeah, maybe! But it would be for sure different.
And then, just as the conversation veered towards their up-coming tour supporting Kings of Leon, the line drops. So we’ll never, ever hear if he has any words of wisdom for the current youth, or whether, as his latest album title indicates, Saturday is still the best day of the week. Perhaps we can answer that last one for ourselves.
M83’s latest album, ‘Saturdays = Youth’ is out now and they will tour with Kings of Leon around the UK in December.
