Getting Low with the French producer. Plus, an exclusive 'Smartbanging' mixtape!

Download the Smartbanging Mixtape

Check the 'Smartbanging' EP here and grab a free mp3 of 'Ann Arbour'.

Fulgeance is the latest beat scientist to turn heads - his 'Smartbanging' EP on the increasingly great One-Handed label sees him come across like a day-glo Hud-Mo: the wired, wild synths reflect his love of the sound of his country, the 'French Touch', while the beats reveal something more, too many hours in front of his beloved MPC.

Playing live is a big deal for you right? Can you tell me about the set-up with the Akai MPCs?

Yeah I used to compose on MPC, and it gives you fresh ideas. You make it simple and in a really improvised way at the same time. So now, even if I compose my tracks on computer, I still use the MPC live. You have a lot of fun and reactions, playing with bass, beats, chopped samples... finally you play like a kid on the pads, and the crowd like that. I think we should not forget - all of us; beatmakers, DJs, nerds, geeks - that a live show is made to make the crowd. So today I use a laptop with an AKAI MPD controller. It's not the same, even if some new tricks are amazing, but I don't know if one day I could leave my dear MPCs!

Most people don't bother working with hardware when playing live…

I will just say that I like to take some risks, freestyles etc - when you use hardware, you have to be tight, concentrated: you really play some music. The most important thing is to think of your track like a real song, and there you go. The way you prepare your sounds, how you chop it will make your track live. And I don't want to be pretentious about all this hardware stuff - you can do that with a laptop or hardware. It's more the way you think about your song and how you will play/present it to the crowd.

You call the music you make 'Low Club'. What does this mean to you?

Ahhh, euhh... it was a joke first, because I can't stand it that people just dance on 1/2 music, ‘boom boom’ music you know... Ed Bangers! Ha ha! So I created that style to show that you can dance on low tempo music, near 100/110 BPM, and you can see this day many slow house tracks like this. I love that. But now I like the way people call my style low club, it fits me well. And if that's a way to do not be classified in a style like "abstract hip hop" or "electro hip hop" I take it with pleasure.

So is it music for the head, or for the feet? Or is it for both?!

Both man, both. But I want to warn people: if you listen to most of my tracks, some are cool, some are banging, some are smart and more inspired by electronica or soul/funk. But my love for hip hop and house beats maybe brings more a club thing into it.

What do you call the 'new sound' that the likes of you, Onra, Hudson Mo and more are making?

I don’t know. I don't like to classify. Ross (Hudson Mohawke) make the joke to use ‘Emotronic’ on Myspace - and after that, everybody used that name – crazy, no! So I think we could say ‘electronic’ as, even if it's huge (term), it's more interesting to say electronics with some hip hop influences that to try to make a mixed word. I know it's not simple but the most important thing is to hear the music first.

What is your background in music, where did you start?

I was a bass player, in little funk bands. After that I DJed and arrived to MPC and then computers. So I'm most of all influenced by black music I think. My house music background is really important, and I have another project called [Peter Digital Orchestra]((www.myspace.com/peterdigitalorchestra) which allows me to expand my love for house and dance stuff. After that I'm a jazz and tropical music lover, and I think one day I'll go back to real instrumental music. Playing bass in a band - why not?

Has the French sound been much of an influence on you?

Yeah. French Touch stuff like first Daft Punk album and their own labels Roulé and Crydamoure really touched me. And many underground producers like Deelat and Jess & Crabbe gave house a wonky-hip hop touch. That's what I really liked, to mix it with many styles to do not stay in one ‘proper’ style. After that French pop music was really cool, but today it's just a nonsense. I don’t know why - maybe the world around us do not inspires the singers. But I would advise you to check out producers like Gablé, Débruit, Marvin, YoggyOne – these are ones who really change that "clichéd" French music.

What do you think of what Kitsune are doing?

I don't really know them. I like the way they associate fashion and music. They have their own way to think about music, and I like that. But maybe it's too trendy for me. But all that fresh labels in France bring some good changes: I'm speaking of Tigersushi, Versatile, Supra and there is many more.

Who has been your biggest influence?

Roy Ayers, Herbie Hancock, Dabrye and Prefuse 73. But the list could be really longer...

At what point did you realise that your music had 'broken through'?

I think the Low Club Anthem track really wake up people, DJs, press... And it's crazy because I don't produce just that kind of music style. But yeah, it was a good step. After that I think that live shows bring me more these days. The more I play, the more people know me. That's how it works. But I'm okay to stay like this: a little famous; known, but not too much.

Favourite hip-hop album?

Q Tip ‘Amplified’

What do you think of where hip-hop is at at the moment?

I think it’s in a good inventive way, even in r’n’b or pop stuff, you can hear some really fresh ideas - like wonky, crunky, glitchy productions. And when I see Dorian Concept, Tanya Morgan, Hudson Mohawke, FlyLo and all the producers and rappers who collaborate to make new stuff and original productions, it reminds me the beginning of electronica or techno, because we have to go forward, even if we use samples and are really influenced by all the music, ‘new and fresh’ is the good way.

Will you work with any MCs in the future?

Yeah I have some ideas, but not always simle to get. I'm connected to Kadence MC, Tanya Morgan, a good Greek MC called Yinka, Buddy Leezle and Cerebral Vortex from 215 The Freshest Kids, and singers like Ahu and Tita Lima from Brazil. But nothing is confirmed. I have a lot of work before my album.

How was playing Giles Peterson’s Worldwide festival?

One of my best gigs as Fulgeance. It’s a big festival, but people are not stressed. And when you see the place, how could you not be? I met really good cats like LeftO, Simbad, Shuya from Kyoto Jazz Massive, Micheal Rutten. And they were really excited about my live set. So it was perfect.

Tell me about the 'Smartbanging' EP... is there a clue in the title as to what you are about?

Ah ah! The first contact we had with Alex Chase from One Handed Music (who released the EP) was from a friend and producer called Blackjoy. Really good first exchange on emails. He describes my sound as being like ‘smartbanging’ music, and I was ‘woooahhh’ cool name! So let's work on an EP called 'Smartbanging'. Cool word for a style no? After Low Club, 'Smartbanging'! Bim! And I think it really fits the EP!

What do you have coming up next?

A third EP on my home label Musique Large, some remixes including one for Jean Jacques Perrey… so many works man, but I prefer that than to have to search for work! I'm workin on Peter Digital Orchestra project and a soul/funk/breaks project I have with my friend Soulist called Souleance on First Word Records. I'm hyperactive!

http://www.myspace.com/fulgeance