From early rave roots to international stages, French producer Madben has long embodied the spirit of electronic music with intensity and purpose.
Photo credit: Madben – Official
A founding artist on Astropolis Records, his journey is deeply intertwined with the label’s story — from his debut EP ‘We Want to Rave On’ to full-length explorations like 2018’s ‘Fréquence(s)’.
Now, with the release of the collaborative compilation ‘10 ans révolus’ and fresh new EPs, Madben returns to celebrate ten years of creative kinship, club memories, and uncompromising sound.
In this conversation, he opens up about collaborations, his next milestones, and why Astropolis remains such a crucial part of his artistic DNA.
EG: Hi, Benjamin! Welcome to EG. It’s a pleasure to have you here with us. How have you been doing?
Madben: Hey hey EG’s team. I’m pretty good merci, happy to answering those questions from my music studio.
EG: First of all, congratulations on your participation in Astropolis Records’ ‘10 ans révolus’ VA compilation. What has the initial reception been like so far?
Madben: Merci beaucoup, I’m glad you enjoyed my participation. We received a lot of lovely feedbacks when we released the first of the two collab tracks I’ve done for that ’10 ans révolus’ compilation. It was just before the summer for ‘Into the Void’, the track we made with Belaria. Behind the scene it was a super funny creation process by four hands and this track has been a highlight of our closing track to play during our summer gigs.
EG: How were you approached to get involved in this compilation, and what does it mean to you to be a part of this 10-year anniversary celebration?
Madben: It’s a real honor to be aboard for that 10 year anniversary celebration. We have a long story together with the Astropolis Records’ team. Back in the days, in 2013, I’ve been the very first artist to sign on their label, and I felt super lucky to open this musical story. I’m super proud of all the projects we did together by years, especially my very first LP ‘Fréquence(s)’ released in 2018. So at the end, it was something very natural and very challenging in the same time to work on two new collaboration tracks to celebrate that anniversary, with Belaria and Zaatar, two super talented French artists.
EG: And how did you approach your contribution to the VA? What would be an apt representation of the Astropolis sound?
Madben: I’ve seen (firstly in my head) those two collab tracks like an interesting crossover between different musical universes: I was coming with my own techno, club, break sounds like I usually do on my Madben’s solo work and with a more rough, unconcessionnal sound with my Trunkline sideproject and it was super interesting to mix this kind of sounds with the Belaria and Zaatar’s universes, which are more coming from Italo, EBM, cold waves.
At the end, we wanted to make people dance, that was a crucial purpose in our heads, because it’s also in Astropolis DNA when they do some crazy parties or when they do their festival lineups. No rules in our musical creation process, just the freedom of making music on which people will dance.
“Astropolis always pushed me to move forward and to do my music without thinking about trendy or business side”
EG: What’s a personal favorite of yours from the compilation and why?
Madben: Without being narcissic or ego tripped, I feel our track ‘Into the Void’ like something else! Probably because it’s something rooted in my musical history (I grew up with the Belgian electronic music culture) that we turn with a modern sound design. Closing a DJ set with this track is really really particular to me.
EG: Now, strolling down memory lane… you have a longstanding association with Astropolis Records and the festival. Do you remember your first interactions with the brand? How did your relationship with Astropolis come to be?
Madben: Oh yes I perfectly remember. As I told you earlier, it’s a longstanding association! More than 10 years now. Back in 2012, Laurent Garnier decided to highlight my very first track in his radio show, broadcasted on French FM. I was like “wow is that really happening?”
Few days after, I received an email from Gildas, one of the two guys who established Astropolis in the middle of 90s. He was asking me if I would be interested to play at their summer festival. That was the start of a long musical story together. Gildas became my manager few weeks later and he offered me to open the label one or two later with my very first EP ‘We Want to Rave On’. At the end I’ve done several EPs, remixes and my very first album with them. So it’s a real family story here.
EG: What is the importance of brands like Astropolis in your eyes?
Madben: Astropolis always pushed me to move forward and to do my music without thinking about trendy or business side and they gave me the opportunities to play in so many iconic places! They are a part of my musical DNA nowadays.
EG: By the way, you have been selected to partake in Astropolis Records’ upcoming tour dates. Where are you playing, and what can people expect from your performance?
Madben: I’ve been playing few weeks ago with my Trunkline sideproject in Brittany for that tour. That was a lot of fun! I also play next weekend with Zaatar in b2b in Nantes. I’m super excited because it’s the first time we play together and I love the dark/break/rough sounds she loves to play as a DJ and she loves to do in her own releases.
“No rules in our musical creation process, just the freedom of making music on which people will dance”
EG: What’s next for Madben? What milestones are you looking forward to now? Where can your fans catch you next?
Madben: About the musical releases, I’ve just released past week a new Madben’s EP called ‘Dark Shaman’ on the Barcelona-based DSK Records label and I’m super proud of that eponym track. I also just have signed some new music on Laurent Garnier’s label which will be released in 2026. With my Trunkline sideproject, it’s time to come back with some new music too and Ben Sims just offered us to sign a 4 track EP on his Hardgroove label, we are super excited about it!
About touring, my main milestone on top of the Astropolis Records tour is my next trip to Berlin in two weeks: I play my very first streaming DJ set at Hor and a club gig at Katerblau, to celebrate a remix I did for Mila Stern few weeks ago on Mizik Muzik label. I can’t wait to be back in the techno city!
EG: Thank you so much for your time, Benjamin! We wish you all the best in the future. Take care!
Madben: Thanks for having me here!
Astropolis Records’ ’10 ans révolus’ VA compilation is now available. Stream and download here.
Follow Madben: Spotify | Soundcloud | Instagram
