Vicarious Bliss (Andy Gardiner) is a French electro artist signed to Ed Banger Records owned by Pedro Winters (Busy P). He is known primarily for his “Theme from Vicarious Bliss” and several remixes. He is responsible for producing the most excellent I Love UFO’s debut album out on Recordmakers. Now he’s back and toiling away in the studio finishing his own album Enfin for Ed Rec.
He will be ripping up the dance floor at Platinum in Shoreditch, London on Saturday 17th May 2008, at top electro shin dig, Voltage. Definitely a performance not to be missed! I caught up with him this week for a chit chat with the man himself on a river bank just outside of Amsterdam…
So, what have you been up to today?
Have woken up on a Dutch houseboat 3 miles outside of Amsterdam with my girlfriend, only to be reminded by her that I didn’t catch any fish yesterday and we’re hungry…
I love your DJ name! How did you get it/ what inspired it?
Sounded better than DJ Bobo.
What first influenced you to start making music?
My big brother’s appalling taste in music convinced me there was something to be done. (being forced to listen to Genesis at the age of four should be dealt with by social services).
You started your DJing life in Paris, what was the music scene like out there during this time?
Really cool ! We’d had the first wave of stuff like les Daft, Air, Cassius, Phoenix etc and there was a big sense of optomism that France was finally getting the respect she deserved instead of throwing out crap like Johnny Halliday etc.
The signing to Ed Banger records, and the subsequent release of the ‘Theme from Vicarious Bliss EP was a turning point in your career, how did things change for you after this release?
Not so much of a turning point but more the start of something new. I suddenly got cheaper haircuts too…
You’ve played many gigs all over the globe, and toured Australia last year. What has been the highlight of all of this?
Too many to mention really, but I’d probably have to say meeting my dutch girlfriend at the Effenaar in Eindehoven, as she’s sitting next to me right now (…and really hungry/angry - see answer to question 1)
What’s the strangest request you’ve had as a DJ?
“Got any Ed Banger?” being screamed in my ear as ‘Waters Of Nazareth’ is literally melting the club soundsystem was, er, strange…
How has your sound evolved since you started your career?
more cello, more cello !
What are your feelings about the current Electro Scene? Where do you think it is heading?
I think as long as people are doing their own thing then it’ll stay healthy and interesting. But, too many Justice clones and the only thing anyones gonna be heading into is a brick wall.
What has it been like working with Pedro Winter aka Busy P (the manager of Daft Punk)?
He deserves his own book, and no doubt one day, he’ll have one. He’s one of the only people I know that actually truly deserves the credit he recieves. All of it. He’s just so interested in the real aspects of making and, obviously, selling music. He has a total respect/understanding for & of musicianship, showmanship, marketing, packaging and whatever else that generally fits together to get stuff out coherently. His attention to detail is amazing. He’s able to talk mega-plans for the Daft boys with the Queen of England and then will spend 25 minutes trying to sort out a mistake on a flyer for a tiny little show in Toulouse. Nothing is too small or insignificant to be of importance and nothing of true magnitude gets him phased. I think the end results speak for themselves.
How much time do you spend in the studio these days?
Normally, at the moment it’s all day, everyday. I’ve just got to catch these damn fish first…
What’s coming up for 2008 and beyond?
The Vicarious Bliss album is now top priority above and beyond remixing and producing other people.
Did you know that Platinum is a Gentlemen’s strip club during the week? When was the last time you went to a strip club and where was it, and what did you think of it?
There’s a ‘Platinum’ lap dance nite-klub / strip place in Paris actually. I went there once. It’s owned, or at least was (and was opened by) David Guetta and his wife Cathy. Suffice to say my views on this one particular establishment and David’s music are quite similar and I won’t go into it in any detail here…
And finally, give us a top tip for life…
Be able to speak and understand Dutch when you go to a fishing shop to ask “what bait is the best for catching stuff round here ?” The guy there obviously didn’t have a clue what I was trying to say, and as you now well know, we’re still very hungry out here in the Amsterdam waters… SOS SOS !!!
~ By Anna Wharton
