Acid Washed are a duo of DJ’s producers and performers from France who last year revisited Oxygene (among other musicians) at the Nuit Sonores Festival in Lyon in front of Jean Michel Jarre himself. In this interview Acid Washed speaks about this, his views about Jarre and more.
1. Please, tell us who are Acid Washed…
Andrew Claristidge: Acid washed is a duo. We are from France but I am living in Berlin when I am not working and traveling 😉
Richard D’Alpert : So, as you see, we are Andrew Claristidge & Richard D’Alpert. We are producers, DJ’s, and we have an electronic live ax as well, along with drummer Frank Richard & a house producer, Stuff.
2. When you started in electronic music?
Andrew Claristidge: Well I started almost when I was born 😉 My dad’s favorite album was Kraftwerk – Radioactivity, the year I was born. I am interested in electronic music since ever but I really started to make a living out it early 2000…
Richard D’Alpert : Pretty late, in my early 20’s…But it depends on how you define electronic music. As a child, my dad brought me to Stockhausen’s concerts, was listening loads of contemporary music, sometimes flirting with electronic…Actually, as a young fella, he was very keen on Jean-Michel’s works. My mother and him told me that when I told then we would “rework” Oxygen…
3. We are a web dedicated to Jean Michel Jarre, so let’s talk about JMJ: did you know his music before your colaboration together?
Andrew Claristidge: well Jean Michel Jarre in France is very popular. I am a child of the 80’s. His music is, somehow, the soundtrack of my childhood. His music was even used on TV, radio shows … etc … That was “the sound of the future”… So yes we knew him as a visionary, an icon… etc… and we met him once one year before our collaboration @ Nuits Sonores Festival.
Richard D’Alpert : You know, as a kid, JMJ was THE international superstar, the one playing in front of the Pyramids of Cairo! I guess everybody knew his name, maybe not his works…Still, as a child, I remember that I would always think that JMJ was some sort of gigantic magician doing an extraordinary light show! My interest for his music came long after that…and I became really interested in his works in its globality & its chronology.
5. How came to make the Oxygene Tribute on the last Nuit Sonores in Lyon?
Andrew Claristidge: our team (the people from Nuits Sonores Festival) wanted to collaborate with him and do a special event called Oxygene Revisited and we got requested if we wanted to do it, so we did! :-)))
6. When was your first meeting with Jarre? What was your first impression about him?
Andrew Claristidge: as I said already one year before Oxygène Revisited @ Nuits Sonores Festival. He is very communicative, curious about all the new genres of electronic music, also very open minded. It was very interesting to meet him and exchange few ideas about music.
Richard D’Alpert : He’s extremely easy going. In a very clever way : he behaves as a real gentleman, curious & enthusiastic. I think that curiosity & enthusiasm define him pretty well.
7. How was to rework the mitical Oxygene? How was your approach to revisit this piece of music?
Andrew Claristidge: well it would be, I think, the same feeling than doing a remake of Starwars 🙂 You touch a state of the art, an ultimate piece of music, something very avant-garde for its time. We wanted to respect the original and also to give a modern touch, a new twist to it … So we found solutions to make a rework easy to dance to, powerful, epic…
8. Did JMJ participated on the rework or recording sessions of your Oxygene?
Andrew Claristidge: no. He gave us “carte blanche”. We just sent him few recording before the show.
9. How was for you to work with JMJ??
Andrew Claristidge: It was a fantastic experience. We got some original material, sounds which are really impressive! We would love to do it again.
Richard D’Alpert : It’s a fantastic feeling. Just imagine you have a young rock band, and Paul Mc Cartney comes and say : “Hey, would you like to officially rework Lucy in The Sky in front of me?”! That’s pretty much about it, man!:-)
10. Have you got any favorite song or album of JMJ?? And any particular JMJ album you like to remix or rework in a future?
Andrew Claristidge: Oxygène is for my taste the best album. But I would like to remix Zoolook for some personnal reason 🙂
Richard D’Alpert : Maybe Les Champs Magnétiques…although because it’s an “hommage” to Breton & Soupault, the founders of Surrealism?
11. In some interviews Jean Michel Jarre has said that he is working in a new album surrounded by some electronic artists. Are you among this electronic artists? Are you working in this new JMJ album? If so, could you give us some hints about this project?
Richard D’alpert : Well, let’s see…We do really hope so:-)
12. Would you like to colaborate again with Jarre in a future?
Andrew Claristidge: sure!
Richard D’Alpert : we must!
13. Have you ever performed in Spain?
Andrew Claristidge: yes, we performed in Barcelona (few times already), Madrid…etc… We love Spain for its culture, food, people…etc… One of our best friends lives in Barcelona so I won’ t lie to you if I tell you that I know Barcelona quite well 😉
Richard D’Alpert : Barcelona is my second home, after Paris (and Berlin, in a certain way). I do have the keys of m best friend’s flat there, so I come & go:-) I know Spain extremely well, not just Catalunia, but although the area around Valencia, Andalusia, Madrid (that’ Im really found of), etc.
14. Please, tell us about your future projects.
Andrew Claristidge: Our near future is our new single called Fire N’ Rai”n which will be release April 8th and our new album House of Melancholy, produced by Joakim, planned
for May 13th. We are working also preparing our tour with our new live band, new videos and so much more we can not tell you now:-)
Thanks a lot! Andrew Claristidge & Richard D’Alpert.
http://www.myspace.com/weareacidwashed
https://soundcloud.com/acid-washed