8 minute read
Martin Solveig
We cannot talk about the French electro scene without mentioning Martin Solveig. With more than 20 years in the business and still creating bangers like «Places», «All Stars» and «My Love», Martin Solveig has a serious track record and still knows how to entertain and please his fans. He returned to his hometown last month to play a full set at the legendary Olympia in Paris and took some time to talk about his way to create music, future endeavors and plans for 2019.
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On The Move: Hi Martin! We’re happy to have you with us here in Paris. How does it feel to be back?
Martin Solveig: Hey guys! Thank you for having me! Of course I’m super happy to be back, Paris is my hometown and even though I left it sometimes to travel, it remains where my roots and family are. Everything is here.
On The Move: How did your show at the Olympia go? It’s been a while since you played a big show like that in Paris!
Martin Solveig: That was amazing! That was the second time I played there, the first show was in 2009 so almost 10 years ago. It’s always an important date when I play there. My first time really impressed me and I have the best memories from it so I really wanted to go back and play there. This time was a particular occasion though because I am working on a new show which takes me away from the turntables a little bit and goes more into pop. I thought that it was interesting to get back to my story, where I left it in 2009 at the Olympia. Now we are in 2018, almost 2019. Time flies!
On The Move: We see nowadays a lot of crossovers and collaborations between electro artists and pop/rock artists. Did this new trend influence your own way to work?
Martin Solveig: Not much for now because I don’t have a lot of collaborations like that yet but I’ve naturally started getting into it for the last couple of months. I am currently working on many collaborations with other artists. Production wise, I’m working with EDM producers and I’ve always loved collaborating with different types of voices. Whether it was with Kele from Bloc Party, Inna who is a pop singer, or Madonna. I mean, Madonna is something else of course.
On The Move: Are there some artists’ voices you’d like to get on your productions?
Martin Solveig: Yes, there are a lot. For example Lenny Kravitz or Gwen Stefani. I’d love to work on a particular track with them and really collaborate. Not just being me and their voices but I know it’s not really possible with artists like Lenny for example.
On The Move: You’re mentioning the fact to really collaborate versus doing your thing and asking them to sing on it. Which way to work is your favorite?
Martin Solveig: I don’t really have any preferences, the only thing that matters to me is that I’m 100% satisfied of the track I’m releasing. For instance, let’s talk about “All Stars”. It took me 4 years to release this song because it took me 4 years to be satisfied with it. At the moment, I’m working on a track with a rapper, the voice is amazing but the track itself is not good enough so I’m waiting until the moment I’m satisfied. The making of a track doesn’t really matter to me but I just want to be able to press play and be entirely satisfied and happy with how it sounds. If I have doubts, I’m not releasing it.
On The Move: The music industry has really changed over the past few years especially because the main focus now is releasing singles instead of albums. Is your technique evolving because of the new marketplace?
Martin Solveig: This new era allows us to do pretty much whatever we want to do. When I started in the business, you had to release albums to be legit, it’s not like that anymore so we can say that the new marketplace influences people’s way to make music. There’s more and more music coming out every time and I try to be sincere and honest with mine. A lot of managers explain that you need to release new music every two weeks because people want more music, faster. I have issues with it because if I was capable of releasing new songs that I love every two weeks, I would. But it’s not possible. Everyone around me, myself including, want me to release more music but it’s difficult because the more I age, the more I am getting demanding with myself. I already have a lot of music out and I don’t want to repeat myself, to do the same thing or unveil tracks that aren’t great. I’m not impatient.
On The Move: You don’t want to repeat yourself and your music videos show that very well. You try to always display a new form of creativity there. Are you always thinking about the visuals you want to propose, when you work on a track?
Martin Solveig: I have many music videos, some are awesome and some are not that great. Since the very beginning I’ve been thinking that there’s a connection between the sound and the visuals and I never thought that we could give only music without visuals. What I like the most when I work on my project is the body of work which includes both the visuals and the music. It’s very important to me to collaborate on the visuals side because I’m not that skilled on this part, I have less experience in this area but there’s always an imagery attached to a song I make. When I finish a song, I always have an idea of what I’d like when it comes to the music video. For example, the music video of “All Stars” was made thanks to Thomas Lélu’s hard work, who I wanted to work with for a long time. When I made “All Stars”, I instantly knew I wanted to work with him on it. I wanted something really pop but at the same time different and funny in some sorts so I really wanted him on board.
On The Move: Is there an artist / director that you often collaborate with on your music videos?
Martin Solveig: I met my current manager because he was in charge of the visual production company that helped me to make all my music videos from “Rocking Music” to the end of my album “Smash”. We were a small team and we’ve done everything together and from this point on I wanted to collaborate to open new doors and collaborate with other artists, directors and producers who had more experiences, had another point of view and could enrich the visual world I wanted to display.
On The Move: Outside of music, are there some artists that you are getting inspiration from?
Martin Solveig: There are a lot of them. One of them is Maurizio Cattelan. He is very well-known and is very pop with a funny side. Someone who has a lot of humor, sometimes dark humor. Another artist that has been inspiring me a lot is Bacon who’s my favorite painter. When it comes to directors, I’d say Spike Jones who is a big influence to me, he’s an artist I love. He’s a genius to me.
On The Move: You played at the Olympia last month. How was it?
Martin Solveig: That was a particular preparation. It wasn’t a DJ set but a real live show where I vocally interpreted half of the show and I was with musicians and performers. It wasn’t made like a DJ set and it was important for me to have this because I think that at some point, being behind the turntables won’t be enough anymore. Electro artists and any artists have a lot of room for growth with live music. Every time you have a hit, people take possession of it and associate it with their daily life. So when they listen to this song at a show or festival, they find each other and share something deep with strangers. One of the biggest challenges in our current society is to bring people together because a lot of things are tearing people apart. Music has this power of bringing people together. When they are together at a show, they are less agressive, and they go to talk to each other and share things. It’s the thing I’m the most proud of and this is what matters the most when you make music because you tell yourself that what you’re doing is worthy and help people to find each other.
On The Move: What’s the main difference between this performance and a DJ set?
Martin Solveig: Let’s talk about Ibiza for example. This is a real DJ set. The only thing that matters is not the fact that I’m physically there but the music that will be played for hours. People are coming to dance, just like in a club and I’m just here to give the ‘tempo’ and the vibe. What I showcased at the Olympia and what I will give in the future is something you need to see. You can just come and sit and be entertained. It’s a whole package, not just music.
On The Move: Is there a song you’d like to remix?
Martin Solveig: Not really, I don’t like remixing tracks because this is not what I am the best at. I feel like I’m more art than technique. I need to get better at arranging songs, I am not a fan of machines and technical things but I think that people who do great remixes are good at arranging songs. So I prefer my songs to be remixed.
On The Move: Speaking of your songs being remixed, there were a lot of remixes for “My Love”
Martin Solveig: Yes and I’m very grateful for that. There was Kölsch who is a big electro producer and I’m very proud he accepted to do it. There’s also this artist I love, Dillon Francis, who remixed the song. I was very spoiled on this one. I think it was a track with good foundations in terms of melody and lyrics but not mixed well-enough. I love my version of course but there was room for good remixes.
On The Move: Which artists do you like at the moment?
Martin Solveig: I listen a lot to Angèle, she’s great. But there’s so many things I listen to.
On The Move: What can we expect from you in 2019?
Martin Solveig: A lot of things. I have many songs I’m currently working on. I don’t know if there’s gonna be an EP, album or just singles, we’ll see. I hope to release as many good things as possible.
39Martin Solveig witj Alma for the hit-single «All Stars» (2017)
INTERVIEW BY NAOUMIE BENATTAR AND PAM CHARBIT
FASHION DESIGN BY Marion Hassan
ASSISTED BY Johanna Imbach
PHOTOS BY DAVID FITT EXCLUSIVELY FOR ON THE MOVE.
