Photo Credit: Ana Madrid
Golden Bug is nothing short of a truly incredibly multi-talented artist; delivering consistently excellent levels of disco-tinged house and electronica for the last ten years on labels like La Belle, Les Disques de la Mort, Höga Nord, Gomma, Multi Culti, and Kompakt. Now, with ‘Piscolabis’, Golden Bug delivers his new body of work: a sonic UFO oscillating between electronica, robot vibrations, and psychedelic dub that features an impressive cast of guests, including rock act The Liminañas and electronic producer Tim Glass from France; the Australian Funboys; Vega Voga from Japan; and Pajaro Sunrise, from Spain, as they all help him lead this project born from opposites confronting each other.
Today, EG catches up with Golden Bug to learn more about the incoming release of ‘Piscolabis’, his views on collaborations, opposites, hopes of the future, and more.
Electronic Groove: Hi Antoine! Welcome to EG! It’s great to have you with us. How’s your year so far? What have you been up to?
Golden Bug: Hi and thanks for the invitation! I spent my year in the studio polishing my album and also experimenting with new machines.
I also took the opportunity to travel in Europe and to get some fresh air by living in a village on the Costa Brava for a few months, which allowed me to take the time to read, cook, and experience what life is like outside of the city. I also took the opportunity to develop my activity as a music supervisor by working on several TV shows, movies, and commercials.
Electronic Groove: Congratulations on your return to La Belle Records with ‘Piscolabis’! How long has it been in the works? What has the initial reception been like?
Golden Bug: I’ve been working on the album for 2 or 3 years because I wanted to have the time to step back on the tracks so that the whole thing is coherent and varied at the same time. For the moment, the feedback we’ve received is very positive and I’m very flattered by it, so I hope it will continue this way.
Electronic Groove: So, what’s the story behind ‘Piscolabis’? What kind of ground is covered throughout the LP?
Golden Bug: I like the idea of confronting very different universes and cultures to create fusions that I hope will surprise listeners. That’s why I decided to invite artists I’ve been following for a long time, to collaborate on my tracks in order to open my universe to new sounds. The track ‘Variation sur 3 bancs’ featuring The Limiñanas is a good example: mixing electronic music with a much more organic band that comes from a more garage rock scene was like a breath of fresh air and it’s very enriching artistically. I wanted to put forward my taste for psychedelic music and dub while preserving very electronic sounds. I also wanted to move away from the club scene by making more airy and quiet tracks that you can listen to in the car or at home even if some of them are for dancing, I didn’t want to make music only for club DJs.
Electronic Groove: How have you grown in these six years since the drop of your last album, ‘V.I.C.T.O.R.’? How is that reflected on ‘Piscolabis’?
Golden Bug: ‘V.I.C.T.O.R.’ took me a long time to realize because the project was ambitious and long because there was the live act to accompany in parallel with a big visual aid on stage which took a lot of time to set up.
I loved to go on tour with my friends of Desilence but I was a bit tired at the end to always listen and play my tracks. I took advantage of these 6 years to listen to a lot of music and discover new artists, new labels to feed me and go in more varied directions. I also wanted to come back to a more playful way of making music and I hope you can hear it on the new album.
“I like the idea of confronting very different universes and cultures to create fusions that I hope will surprise listeners”
Electronic Groove: There are some truly eye-catching collaborations with guests from all over the world. What was that process like? Had you collaborated with them on other projects prior to ‘Piscolabis’?
Golden Bug: I really wanted to base this album on artistic encounters and it was done in a very natural way without a plan defined in advance. I contacted the artists as time went by and then I did my best to make the tracks fit together in a coherent way like pieces of a puzzle. I had already collaborated with Pajaro Sunrise on my last album, and it was a pleasure to invite him again to sing on a new track because I am a fan of his musical universe. With Lionel from The Limiñanas it all started with our collaboration on the track ‘Variation sur 3 bancs’ and as our way of making music together was very fluid and easy. We continued and he participated in 4 other tracks (‘Tokoyo No Kuni’, ‘Nid de guêpes’, ‘Kotodama Part I’ & ‘Kotodama Part II’) of the album, playing supersonic guitars. For the other artists, it was a first, but I hope we’ll have the opportunity to do more tracks together.
Electronic Groove: The release is accompanied by a very vibrant artwork that seems to tie it all together perfectly. Who was in charge of it and why did you settle on that particular piece? What does it seek to transmit?
Golden Bug: I’ve been following Marko’s work for a long time and his work captivates me every time…these flyers for the Smala club in Vilnius, his record covers, his paintings…I was looking for something very graphic and simple at the same time to illustrate the album visually, but I didn’t have a definite idea beforehand. I made him listen to the record and he came back a few months later with 3 covers that I love!
Electronic Groove: Are there any plans to recreate ‘Piscolabis’ in a live format or any kind of special presentation surrounding the release?
Golden Bug: I’m currently thinking about how to transcribe my songs live and make them cool musically and visually. I hope to find the solution very soon!
Electronic Groove: How do you feel about the current state of the electronic music scene? What changes would you like to see moving forwards, in terms of ethics and politics?
Golden Bug: I think that the scene is doing very well creatively and there are a lot of great projects (and not only electronic, fortunately) even if it’s true that it’s sometimes difficult to find them because of the number of records that are released every week. The problem comes more from the parties and festivals because the health crisis has affected a lot of artists who lived mainly from their gigs and I sincerely hope that we arrive at the end of this anxious period.
“I took advantage of these 6 years to listen to a lot of music and discover new artists, new labels to feed me and go in more varied directions. I also wanted to come back to a more playful way of making music and I hope you can hear it on the new album”
Electronic Groove: What else can we expect from Golden Bug in the future? What new milestones are you looking forward to in 2022?
Golden Bug: I hope that the album will appeal to a maximum of people and that the nightlife will be reactivated as soon as possible so that we can experience music in another way than via a computer screen or a cell phone.
Electronic Groove: Thank you for your time, Antoine! We wish you all the best for the future!
Golden Bug: Merci beaucoup!
Golden Bug’s ‘Piscolabis’ will be out via his own La Belle Records on February 18th. Pre-order your copy here.
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