Audio Tonic — the team behind 360º’s distinctive Friday night Sunset Sessions — have launched a new indoor concept.
In a left-turn from their much-loved al fresco concept, the team are now also powering up Shibuya, subtitled The Art of House, a markedly grittier affair in new Tecom nightspot The Basement.
To get the new night off to a storming start, Audio Tonic have called on the services of phenomenal French talent Rodriguez Jr, renowned for his “live” sets which strafe the boundaries between DJ set and band, as he programmes beats and samples on the spot and let’s lose with live piano improvisations. He’s a master in the studio, too, recent EP Persistence of Vision building on the sonic scope and ambition of 2011 album Bittersweet.
We took five with the 37-year-old talent otherwise know as Olivier Mateu.
This is your third visit to Dubai, how have you found the crowds?
Really nice — Dubai has got a good mix of different kinds of people and it’s always great to have those different flavours. I’ve known the Audio Tonic guys for a long time, we’ve worked on remixes together and have a great relationship. This new venue is like a basement, very different to the concept they have at 360º — more underground, sweaty and ravey.
You DJ and play piano — which came first?
I been playing piano since I was six, that’s how I connected with music. I eventually discovered this early house music in the nineties, and began producing with synthesisers and early computers. I don’t really think I’m a DJ — I feel much more comfortable playing live.
Musically, are things better or worse than back then?
It’s different — the audience is much wider and we can reach more people, but at the same time it’s much more mainstream, so it’s not as exciting as it was before. How can we convince these new kids listening to EDM, and bring back to the music we love, educate them? It sounds like school, but that’s how it should be.
You call your sets “live” — how much of the music is improvised?
I have some loops recorded, then I programme most of my beats live, and then I improvise on the keyboard over that — a lot. So every night it’s the same tracks, but the intensity, beats and structure are different — it’s like a rock band. I think we still have a lot to do to show people that dance music is something you can play live. That’s hard for people to grasp, a lot of people who think it’s just pushing records, so it’s interesting to prove we can do more.
It’s clear from your productions you listen to a lot of non-electronic music.
I try to be as open minded as possible — if I had to listen to club music all the time I’d kill myself — if need to refresh my brain with jazz, or classical. Music shouldn’t be little boxes were you put styles. House and techno were invented with musical fusions, so if you want invent things you need to be open to new things.
You first found fame as one half of The Youngsters, when was Rodriguez Jr born?
In 2006 — I needed a new name for a new project. The Youngsters were much more techno and I decided to do more of my on music, it was very necessary at that point, I really wanted to follow my own path.
Do you still see much of the other half, Gilles Escoffier?
Of course — I saw him a couple of days ago. He runs a restaurant now.
Really? So when are you going to sack off the music and buy a cafe?
In a way it’s not possible for me to do anything else, because music is the only thing I know how to do it. I’d love to have a little place where people can network and listen to great music — but at the moment that’s not an option. Music is what I love, and what I do best.
• Rodriguez Jr performs for Shibuya at The Basement, Boutique 7 Hotel & Suites, TECOM, Dubai, on Thursday November 6. Doors from 10pm. Dh100 entry, ladies free before midnight.
