Sat, 12 Mar 2011 / Post a comment
“I want to go to bed at 10 o’clock if I want” this is, in my opinion, the hub of all that Miss Kittin told us before she started to play at Brancaleone. A mature artist who knows exactly what she wants from her music and who perfectly Knows how to use her body and her mind. I want to be honest: the first time I heard Miss Kittin at Brancaleone I was puzzled, like if something was missing, something that turns a night on a great night. Probably I was not ready yet. Now I do not know what it changed, but one thing is certain: Saturday, 12th March 2011, Miss Kittin was amazing!
Gesaffelstein, introduced the artist with a particular and powerful set. Once Miss Kittin conquered the console she played stuff from the Martina Topley Bird’s “Baby Blue” to Daft Punk: a mixture of genres that all music lovers would love!
You have been playing at Brancaleone for several years. How do you feel when you play here? What do you think about this place?
First of all, I feel connected to this place because it is very alternative, punk, I like its history… For me it’s important to play in places like this. I also play in regular clubs all the time, but here it’s more alternative and this is very important because this techno music started in places like this.
On internet we can read everywhere that your music culture is particularly vast. How did the skip to electronic happen? How did you decide to do what you do?
I never decided to do that! I discovered techno music going to partys and than I was so in love with all the way of partying: going somewhere, sometimes you didn’t know where, dancing all night long, listening to music I’ve never heard before. All these aspects gave me a feeling of freedom like “Here everything is possible!”. I didn’t want to work in a office; going to partys made me feel that I could be whatever I wanted. I was with my group of friends, like The Hacker, we always were going to partys, dancing all nights. So my boyfriend pushed me to Djing because I knew all the tracks, I knew all the labels and I was very interested. I did it really for fun, but I never stopped dancing, I never stopped going out… Than it worked, I was asked to play more and more so I started to earn a little bit of money and I realised that it was a job and I focused on that.
Reviewing your productions, we notice a very deep change in many aspects of your music. What is there behind your music? How would you describe your sound?
There are two things: my sound as DJ and my sound as songwriter. They are different, and it is hard for people to separate these two aspects. As a Dj I am inspired by all good music that comes out so it can be very minimal, with industrial sounds, experimental or very pop. As a songwriter, it’s important to say “songwriter”, I’m traying to write songs with electronic sound. I need to write songs with the music I’ve been dancing for the past 20 years.
In 2004 you founded the label “Nobody’s Bizzness”. Can you tell us anything about its birth?
It’s very simple: I created my label to be free! I created my label so I wouldn’t have to sell the rights of my songs. I don’t have time to release music of other people because I know how it is when an artist has a label: you have to take care of other artists. I don’t want to release music and have artists that I’m not taking care enough of. So, I will do that when I’m less busy.
“The Hacker” is one of the artists you worked more with. How did the collaboration start?
By accident. Somebody asked me for a track for a compilation and I didn’t know how to make music so I called the only boy in town I knew at machines, and he was The Hacker. Than I met Dj Hell and he asked me for more music. All the collaborations I made were really accidental. I met Felix da Housecat in a festival. At first, he didn’t know who I was, but when he heard the name “Kittin” he realised, it was like “Miss Kittin from Frank Sinatra? Oh my god, cool!”. So, the day after, we were in the studio making music!
In your life as well as the electronics you followed many forms of art. You played piano for some years, you danced for many years, you studyed contemporary art, graphic design and more. How do you think all this forms of art influenced your music? Where is the connection?
I think when you are an artist deep inside, everything is art! You can write books, you can paint… I suppose, I was born in this way, but also my grandfather was an artist and I grew up watching him drawing. My parents felt I was a big dreamer, I had lot of imagination so, they let me be what I was. My childhood was chaotic so art was the way to escape from reality. I was building my own world. I realised that if I wanted to be free, to do what I want and express myself, I had to work very hard, as I did. Anything can be an expression of art: coocking, drawing, writing… whatever you want!
In recent years, many positvie and negative experiences marked you. As a result of this storm, how do you think you changed the way you are and your personality?
That’s a good question! I think you learn all the time. All the problems you can have always teach you how to be better: if you had no problem you wouldn’t never learn, you’ld just relax… So in my job what I learned is to listen to what you feel and not to listen to fame, glory etcetera. You have to listen to your body: I know I can’t Djing every week-end like crazy, because I get to tired, and if I am tired I can’t make music, I can’t Dj at my best! So I learned to take distance from night life and make some space in my life for beeing lazy, for meeting my friends, for walking in the streets, listening to music, in this way I am more productive. I’m better at my work if I’m not working too much… I work less, but I work better! I adapted my life to what I am. I don’t want to be a slave of Djing, I want to go bed at 10 o’clock if I want. You have to learn how to be happy, only for you; nobody can know what you need, only you. You have to seat in front of the mirror and say “What’s wrong in my life? How can I be happier?”. In this way I just have a better life. Everytime something is wrong I ask myself “Why? How can I change it?”, and this is very exciting, it is very creative. It’s totally artistic to do that. To be happy is creative! Happiness is not coming, you have to work for it. It’s like playing chess.
It’s really interesting, I am totally according with you.
Now let’s talk about one of your best known track. I love the way you say “You know Frank Sinatra? He’s dead! dead!” and than you laugh. It is sensual, fantastic! Do you remember how the track was born?
Yeah, I do! We did the track in a record store of a friend, on the mezzanine there was a studio. So we made the track, but it missed lyrics so, I went home and I wrote this very spontaneously. While I was writing it, I was thinking “This is a joke, Michel will never let me sing that!” but, on the contrary, it works!
I chose“Frank Sinatra” because I wrote “ the V.I.P. area” and than I needed a name of an artist ending in “a”. For example if I would say “Sniffing in the VIP area,
we talk about Madonna” it wouldn’t sound good, you know?! So than I wrote “Sniffing in the VIP area, we talk about Frank Sinatra”… It is so rhythmic. But I didn’t write “he’s dead ahahaha”, I said it while we were recording, and he was not dead yet at that time. Later, about 10 years ago, I red his biography, and I realized he was not a very nice person. He was actually an asshole, he was horrible with women, he was horrible with Mia Farrow, Marilyn Monroe, he was very egoistic, dealing with Maffia… So, I didn’t feel bad saying he was dead after all. (loughing)
Why did you choose “Rob Roger” for the cover design of “BatBox”?
Because I met him in a show in Paris, he presented a collection of t-shirts and the company asked my to take a picture wearing the clothes, so than we met. We naturally talked about working together. He is an old punk, skater so we talked a lot about punk and rock ’n’ roll. Than I said “I’m doing my new album!” and he was like “oh I would love to do the cover!”.
What are you gonna do this night?
I don’t know! I have a new track… I love to not know. I love to see how people in front of me react to what I do. I’ll see directly live!
