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Matias Aguayo at the Melt! festival
Интервью · 24.07.2009
By Маргарита Аминева
Matias Aguayo - a Chilean who grew up in Germany, who in time mastered the German electronic scene and found his own style in music - danceable, built on a mixing of genres, deliberately sexual. We met the artist at the Melt! 2009 festival in Ferropolis, Germany, where before his performance Matias told the readers of 44100Hz about himself and his work...
44100Hz: Matias, where did you travel from to get to Melt!?
Matias Aguayo: I came from Berlin, where I've just finished work on a new album that will come out in October.
44100Hz: But you live in Paris?
M.A.: I'd say I spend half the year in Paris, half in Buenos Aires.
44100Hz: Is it true that in Paris you share an apartment with two women of non-traditional orientation?
M.A.: Yes, that's so.
44100Hz: As far as we know, you were born in Chile...
M.A.: I was born in Santiago, but my family moved to Germany when I was very small.
44100Hz: You performed in Moscow this spring. I came to the club in a bad mood and knew nothing about you then. By the end of your set I was dancing happily in the front row - that's how infectious your music was. How do you yourself define its message?
M.A.: My music is fairly simple, but always danceable. I want the audience to enjoy the rhythm together with me.
44100Hz: Do you write the lyrics yourself?
M.A.: Some I compose myself, some I borrow from already well-known tracks, sometimes I just improvise, sometimes I simply play music without vocals. The microphone is my advantage, thanks to which I can make contact with my audience.
44100Hz: You used to write serious techno, and then at some point you switched to more lyrical music...
M.A.: For a musician it's always hard to analyze the path of one's own development. But it's probably really true: my work used to be more serious, more minimalist, whereas now my music is very open. What can you do - with age you become a romantic.
44100Hz: And how old are you now?
M.A.: 35. In general, dividing music into genres - house, techno, IDM - isn't relevant for me. As a boy I listened to funk, disco, again Michael Jackson. Then there was dub, new wave, but I still never forgot what I was raised on. In other words, I'm for mixing styles. Right now my goal is to move into popular music, so that it plays in shops and people hum my songs.
44100Hz: The weather at Melt! is bad. On the first day they even cancelled Moderat's performance because of the rain. Are you weather-sensitive?
M.A.: Not really - there's enough warmth in my life not to become dependent on the weather. I spend most of the year in the sun, so I don't feel any shortage of it.
44100Hz: Tell us, finally, what does the title of your track "Pitaya Frenesi" mean?
M.A.: Pitaya is a kind of exotic fruit, it looks very psychedelic. Frenesi means crazy. Pitaya is also a region in Mexico that Rebolledo - my partner, with whom I produce music together - comes from.
44100Hz: Tell us, how was the video for this song shot?
M.A.: It was complete improvisation. We were staying in Mexico then, on the Caribbean Sea, Rebolledo was performing as a DJ, I was playing too. I had an ordinary amateur camera with me, the one I often take on trips. We came to the beach, Rebolledo bought me an ice cream, and suddenly this idea was born. Me, the ice cream, the microphone, the pitaya - action!
44100Hz: And what then does Comeme - the name of your label - mean?
M.A.: This name has a sexual undertone and translates roughly as "take me".
44100Hz: What languages do you speak?
M.A.: My first language is, of course, Spanish, then German, since I grew up in Cologne, and English.
44100Hz: What did you do before becoming a professional musician?
M.A.: I worked in theatre, where I performed a great many roles - from assistant to director. But my work was always in one way or another connected with music, and at some point it filled everything.
44100Hz: Where is your studio located - in Paris?
M.A.: Yes, I have a modest studio there, and I don't need a huge one anyway; I get by with a small number of small instruments, since I travel a lot. The best equipment is small-sized equipment.
44100Hz: There's currently a retrospective exhibition of the works of the Russian abstract artist Wassily Kandinsky in Paris. Have you been to it yet?
M.A.: I've heard about it, I definitely want to go.
44100Hz: Do you find the time to follow your colleagues' achievements, how new musicians are emerging?
M.A.: Honestly, I only manage to watch how my friends are developing. For example, Diego Moralez - an excellent DJ from Chile. And among the more established ones - well, they're all doing great! I probably like Sascha Funke the most.
44100Hz: What else are you good at besides music?
M.A.: Let me think. I'm an excellent improviser - I can find a way out of any life problem. I also love to cook. I'm an excellent swimmer. That last one is a joke.
44100Hz: You know, this morning I thought I saw you. In a little train car with an open door sat a curly-haired man, pensively smoking and watching the sun rise over the river...
M.A.: That could well have been me, but at that time I was still in Berlin...
44100Hz: By the way, what will the new album be called?
M.A.: Ay Ay Ay - it's Spanish, a kind of cry of passion.
44100Hz: But you live in Paris?
M.A.: I'd say I spend half the year in Paris, half in Buenos Aires.
44100Hz: Is it true that in Paris you share an apartment with two women of non-traditional orientation?
M.A.: Yes, that's so.
44100Hz: As far as we know, you were born in Chile...
M.A.: I was born in Santiago, but my family moved to Germany when I was very small.
44100Hz: You performed in Moscow this spring. I came to the club in a bad mood and knew nothing about you then. By the end of your set I was dancing happily in the front row - that's how infectious your music was. How do you yourself define its message?
M.A.: My music is fairly simple, but always danceable. I want the audience to enjoy the rhythm together with me.
44100Hz: Do you write the lyrics yourself?
M.A.: Some I compose myself, some I borrow from already well-known tracks, sometimes I just improvise, sometimes I simply play music without vocals. The microphone is my advantage, thanks to which I can make contact with my audience.
44100Hz: You used to write serious techno, and then at some point you switched to more lyrical music...
M.A.: For a musician it's always hard to analyze the path of one's own development. But it's probably really true: my work used to be more serious, more minimalist, whereas now my music is very open. What can you do - with age you become a romantic.
44100Hz: And how old are you now?
M.A.: 35. In general, dividing music into genres - house, techno, IDM - isn't relevant for me. As a boy I listened to funk, disco, again Michael Jackson. Then there was dub, new wave, but I still never forgot what I was raised on. In other words, I'm for mixing styles. Right now my goal is to move into popular music, so that it plays in shops and people hum my songs.
44100Hz: The weather at Melt! is bad. On the first day they even cancelled Moderat's performance because of the rain. Are you weather-sensitive?
M.A.: Not really - there's enough warmth in my life not to become dependent on the weather. I spend most of the year in the sun, so I don't feel any shortage of it.
44100Hz: Tell us, finally, what does the title of your track "Pitaya Frenesi" mean?
M.A.: Pitaya is a kind of exotic fruit, it looks very psychedelic. Frenesi means crazy. Pitaya is also a region in Mexico that Rebolledo - my partner, with whom I produce music together - comes from.
44100Hz: Tell us, how was the video for this song shot?
M.A.: It was complete improvisation. We were staying in Mexico then, on the Caribbean Sea, Rebolledo was performing as a DJ, I was playing too. I had an ordinary amateur camera with me, the one I often take on trips. We came to the beach, Rebolledo bought me an ice cream, and suddenly this idea was born. Me, the ice cream, the microphone, the pitaya - action!
44100Hz: And what then does Comeme - the name of your label - mean?
M.A.: This name has a sexual undertone and translates roughly as "take me".
44100Hz: What languages do you speak?
M.A.: My first language is, of course, Spanish, then German, since I grew up in Cologne, and English.
44100Hz: What did you do before becoming a professional musician?
M.A.: I worked in theatre, where I performed a great many roles - from assistant to director. But my work was always in one way or another connected with music, and at some point it filled everything.
44100Hz: Where is your studio located - in Paris?
M.A.: Yes, I have a modest studio there, and I don't need a huge one anyway; I get by with a small number of small instruments, since I travel a lot. The best equipment is small-sized equipment.
44100Hz: There's currently a retrospective exhibition of the works of the Russian abstract artist Wassily Kandinsky in Paris. Have you been to it yet?
M.A.: I've heard about it, I definitely want to go.
44100Hz: Do you find the time to follow your colleagues' achievements, how new musicians are emerging?
M.A.: Honestly, I only manage to watch how my friends are developing. For example, Diego Moralez - an excellent DJ from Chile. And among the more established ones - well, they're all doing great! I probably like Sascha Funke the most.
44100Hz: What else are you good at besides music?
M.A.: Let me think. I'm an excellent improviser - I can find a way out of any life problem. I also love to cook. I'm an excellent swimmer. That last one is a joke.
44100Hz: You know, this morning I thought I saw you. In a little train car with an open door sat a curly-haired man, pensively smoking and watching the sun rise over the river...
M.A.: That could well have been me, but at that time I was still in Berlin...
44100Hz: By the way, what will the new album be called?
M.A.: Ay Ay Ay - it's Spanish, a kind of cry of passion.
44100Hz: Do you often perform at festivals like Melt!?
M.A.: No, I prefer less mass-scale open-air events.
44100Hz: And what foreign festival can you recommend?
M.A.: I'm not even sure. A lot of the musicians I know have told me about the Insomnia festival in Tromsø, Norway. They say it's pretty good there.
44100Hz: Matias, how do you feel about fashion? It seems to me you don't mind a bit of shopping.
M.A.: That's for sure, I love dressing well. It's probably Buenos Aires showing through - people there love to dress up. I think my song "Drums and Feathers" is exactly about that: drums and feathers are the key to a good party!
44100Hz: Your feminine ideal?
M.A.: Bette Davis! A wonderful, sensual actress, I adore films with her... And there, the sun has come out.
44100Hz: And what foreign festival can you recommend?
M.A.: I'm not even sure. A lot of the musicians I know have told me about the Insomnia festival in Tromsø, Norway. They say it's pretty good there.
44100Hz: Matias, how do you feel about fashion? It seems to me you don't mind a bit of shopping.
M.A.: That's for sure, I love dressing well. It's probably Buenos Aires showing through - people there love to dress up. I think my song "Drums and Feathers" is exactly about that: drums and feathers are the key to a good party!
44100Hz: Your feminine ideal?
M.A.: Bette Davis! A wonderful, sensual actress, I adore films with her... And there, the sun has come out.