FRONT 242
September 2003
interview with Daniel Bressanutti
by Ian C Stewart


Is there anything you're feeling particularly mouthy about at the moment?
Yes, but it's personal.

Who does what in the band?
Daniel & Patrick: all music
Jean Luc : texts, vocals
Richard : vocals

Where did the name come from?
Nowhere, just a catchy sum of letters.

Influences?
I can only speak for myself. Early electronic music like Subotnik, Henri and Stockhausen, musique concrete, minimalistic music like Reich, and Riley, the German space and Kraut movements, from Tangerine to Can, and psychedelic music.

What made you decide to start making music of your own?
I wasn't very happy with what was out there, fed up with rock. Today that would be the globalization of music and music business.

Explain your musical evolution if you can.
More than an evolution, it looks to me like I entered a labyrinth, and by trial and error I'm trying to find a way through. Tastes in music only expand as you grow older.

Where do you see your music heading?
Impossible to answer, and I'm not sure I want to know.

What music software do you use?
Trusted Cubase 5.0, Nuendo - replacing, at last, and as soon as we could, Pro Tools - Ableton Live for loop and sampling treatment.

What's your home PC setup?
Mac G3 B&W 448meg ram. 60 gig hard drive with Nuendo. REM multiface. Multiset soundcard. Sony Vaio portable for Nord modular soft.

Can you describe your songwriting methods?
Depends, usually starts with one of the following things: 1 Just playing on a piano 2. Playing drums or trying out loops 3. Playing with analogue sequences

Where's your favorite place to play live?
I have never lived in my favorite place! I love Tuscany, but at the end of the year I'm moving to another nice place, south of France, 100km from Bordeaux

Do you use sequencers or a DAT for live performance?
Until recently, it was a mix of sequenced Nordlead and rhythm box plus Roland 1680 audiotracks. Now all sequenced work has been recorded multitrack in Cubase as audio.

Do you enjoy the process of making music videos?
We have never done music videos, they where always done for us and it was never a pleasant experience. After everyone has their input - record company boss, asshole A&R, video director, the cook next door, the stupid censor from MTV - there is no room or time for what the band wants.

Do you have obsessive fans?
Mostly we have openminded fans. The narrow-minded, "I have no life, please do the same song over and over again" mentality I can do without. What sort of a person are you if you show no tolerance in your music taste? I really hate it when people think they know better than you what musical direction you should take. Take versus explore.

How is the current label situation working out?
Seems okay for the States - we've had a long relationship with Metropolis. I'm less optimistic when it comes to our European label, but maybe it's just me.

Will there be a DVD of your stuff?
We are just finishing a Maleorfemale DVD. It should be out around end of the year. A 242 DVD looks more like a business decision than a creative decision for the moment, but I could be wrong.

How has the internet affected the band?
It just created one more way of relating with the world. It must be like when the electric guitar was created. The good and the bad things generated by the net are not very different of anything else influencing life in the world.

What current music people are you excited about? Is there anyone you'd like to collaborate with?
Some names, not representative: M83, Lightning Bolt, Acid Mother Temple, Space Machine, Can, Caspar Brotzmann, David Allen (Gong), Lali Puna, Neil Young, Sparklehorse, Radiohead and Led Zeppelin

www.front242.com


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