Sun, 23 Jan 2011 / Post a commentIf you like the deep and made-to-be-explored artist Philippe Quenum is definitely for you! DJ/producer active since the early ’80, in these thirty years he released over than 60 productions on the most prestigious labels in Europe like Cadenza, Soma and Cocoon. A complete artist, that didn’t spend all his life inside the studio or behind the deck, but he tryed to leave his mark in many fields of the music.
If you like the deep and made-to-be-explored artist Philippe Quenum is definitely for you! DJ/producer active since the early ’80, in these thirty years he released over than 60 productions on the most prestigious labels in Europe like Cadenza, Soma and Cocoon. A complete artist, that didn’t spend all his life inside the studio or behind the deck, but he tryed to leave his mark in many fields of the music. In collaboration with his freind Luciano founded the famous Swiss label Cadenza, also contributing to the first release of the label: “Orange Mistake”. These are only a few features of the Quenum’s career, situations that would deserve better attention. But, what’s important for us is to discover something more about Philippe Quenum, something that comes right from his words and his mind.
Hi Philippe, welcome on Soundwall
Thirty years in the music world and you still have the same passion, how is it possible?
I love what I do and I can’t live without music, I was brought up with music, it’s my drug. Not just to make music but also to listen and play music.
Your experiences allow you to do everything, is there something that you have not yet done and you would like to experiement?
There’s a lot I still want to do, people in the business I really like and haven’t worked with yet. I would love to make music for electronic games, that would be really fun.
In such a long time, behind thousand decks and in touch with so many people you lived the changes in the electronic music world. What is different from the time you started? What is improved and what is worse in your opinion?
I will tell you exactly how I feel, I don’t think there’s a bad or better thing, it’s just that technology has evolved and it’s up to each of us to take what is best at every moment. Maybe what is worse, or just different, is that things change very fast, people want things very quickly and then another day something else. Before you could play the same tracks for a long time, now you need to buy new stuff all the time. I receive and I listen to a lot of new stuff, and I play a lot of it. But I still play some tracks from fifteen years ago because I find they have a specific sound and energy.
In your career you gave the life to many labels, and one of these is Cadenza, a label that is giving an important mark in the today’s clubbing. Can you talk about this?
I’m very proud about what I did with Cadenza. I think the biggest success the label ever had was “Orange Mistake”, my first release together with Luciano. But I don’t live in the past. Right now I’m busy with my new label, Clapper, and that’s where I’m putting my energy.
Talking about your work in studio comes to my mind your infinite discography. Over than 60 release on the most prestigious labels, is there a record that you are specially linked? Also a record of other people, can you tell us?
It’s so hard to choose, because for each track I’ve worked on I had a special emotion at the time. They are not all the same, but my effort for each of them is the same. I have a few favorites, but it’s more than one! For the records of other people it’s even worse. I have a lot of friends in this business, a lot people I like and admire so much and who have made great tracks. So I can’t say that one is better than the rest. Each have their own vibe, their own emotion, sometimes it depends on how I feel when I’m listening to it, my own emotion at the time.
Speaking about your music i think about the clear tribal touch, is this the leit motive of your sound? Somthing that recalls your origins?
It’s not really my leitmotive, it’s more like for an Italian eating pasta! It comes naturally, even when I don’t want to. It’s rooted in me. Sometimes I even have to fight against myself to resist this, and some of my productions are different. But you’re right, it’s part of my touch. Of course, I think it has to do with my origin. But I’m open to all kinds of music, to anything that touches my emotions.
You are an artist that like to experiment and give a new life to your sound. You like also unusual situations, in fact you worked also on soundtrack and played at the Natural History Museum of London, in the fashon week. How do you relate with these experence?
These experiences have brought a lot to me. I’ve loved those challenges, and I would like to continue working on such projects. It allows me to stay within electronic music but to express different ideas, to touch different people, not in the clubbing world and that’s also great. It has enabled me to meet people I would not have met in clubs, and to learn about different things.
Do you think that is important for an artist to try to go out of the usual patterns and try to have new challneges, maybe different to the classic dj set or prdocution?
Of course! I don’t like doing the same thing all the time, I like to diversify. When I meet new people and have new experiences, it gives me new energy. Artists are doing this a lot. Now there’s a lot of demand for electronic music in different fields, films, games, TV, so you need to be open. And that means also more competition. If you do only music for clubs every day, maybe at the end you feel like you are in a tunnel and maybe your creativity level goes down.
Tipical final question, we talked about your past, about what did you do for the music, but in the future? Can you reveal us something?
Sure! My plan for this year is to boost my label, Clapper, and keep it going strong. I’m working on a project with Grand Pubah, releasing an EP on Crosstown Rebels, and one on Dame Music. I’ve done a remix for Systematic recordings. I’m working on a different project with my mate Goo here in Geneva. That’s just for the beginning of the year, there’s plans for more later.
Thanks for the time that you spent with us. Good luck.
Thank you and all the best for you too, Quenum.
