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Sonar 2006 Prologues : Miss Kittin
Starting RA's Sonar 2006 Prologues is one of the Spanish festival's iconic pioneers Miss Kittin.
"Here kitty kitty..." begins Disc One of Miss Kittin's latest CD for 'Bugged Out'. But don't be fooled, Miss Kittin (real name Caroline Herve) is no pussycat. Slightly camp and incredibly kitsch, her live shows with The Hacker have made her the feisty queen of electro. Add to that elements of underground techno and old skool rave plus those deadpan improvised vocals and crowd interaction and it's easy to see why Miss Kittin has become a crowd favourite and festival regular at Sonar. Her capacity crowd pulling set at Sonar by Day last year was so impressive, Sonar Music released it as a digital download.
Miss Kittin talks to RA about being caught acting silly on stage by Laurent Garnier, her performance at last year's Sonar and her recent 'Bugged Out' mix.
"At Sonar, it's all upside down. The afternoon is normally when everybody emerges from the night before. When Spanish people have a siesta, we say "Good morning" with a big hangover."
How many times have you been to Sonar?
I don’t know! Six times I think...
Do you have a favourite festival memory?
Yes, at Sonar in 2000 live with The Hacker on the Gigolo floor. First, soundcheck was a nightmare. We'd been partying for three days with no sleep, no food - we were hopeless. But everything turned out to be magical. Even the night before, I replaced Abe Duque on the Disko B floor because he was having passport trouble and was stuck in London! At that time he was still using his passport from Equador, I think.
Anyway, I started the night with a DJ set. When my last record was spinning I ran behind a tower of speakers to put on a nurse dress I'd just bought for 20€ at a friend’s shop in Geneva the day before. Michel stepped on stage and started playing the keyboards alone and then I came on. There was a bodybuilder on stage, I posed next to him, made jokes, I wasn’t myself at all! Then I realised Laurent Garnier was behind us watching for the first time like a Godfather. I couldn’t believe what we had just done.
For many Europeans Sonar is the start of summer, does the warmer weather affect your sound at all?
Good question! Sun affects our minds for sure. But who knows what it does to our sound? We're all so excited, so happy to meet everybody again. We're all in a crazy good mood, we all want to have fun, we are all looking for those magical moments only Sonar can create.
For people not used to a Spanish lifestyle, a siesta is not part of their usual day. How do you approach the afternoon break?.
At Sonar, it’s all upside down. Afternoon is normally when everybody emerges from the night before. When Spanish people have siesta, we say "good morning" with a big hangover... Siesta can happen later before dinner, let’s say between 8 and 10 before dinner, if you’re lucky...
Sonar is very interested in new frontiers, not just technology but art, music and social trends as well. What do you think have been some of the biggest developments of the last year?
It’s hard for me to follow technological steps. I'm a girl, not a nerd. I feel guilty about it a lot. You'll have to ask Richie Hawtin.
Is their a particular tune you are looking forward to playing at Sonar?
Yes! The St-Plomb with TTC and Paris the Black Fu on Mental Groove. There are many other tracks I’d love to play, but they will be played live by their author live on the same stage! It’s great...
The Sonar programme is always quite diverse and innovative. Who are you looking forward to seeing?
Modeselektor and The MFA and at Sonar Day the Schematic showcase with Otto Von Schirach.
At last years festival your set at Sonar by Day was even more live, incorporating your own vocals with tracks and interaction with the audience. The set was later released as a Sonar CD. How did you feel the set went, and do you have plans to do something similar again?
It was a very painful experience, cos I wanted to be so good. I am more relaxed when I just improvise and when nothing is planned so I had more fun playing at night on the main floor. It was strange as I usually prefer to play at Sonar by Day but last year it was the opposite! This year I am playing again at Sonar by Night, and I'm so looking forward to it because I'm going to share the stage with musicians I admire a lot. It’s gonna be a lot of fun!
This year you released a mix compilation for Bugged Out! I particularly love Disc Two (Perfect Day) which has a broad mix of artists and styles but all holding a distinct groove, which works both as a listening and dancing album. Do you have a favourite track from the album, and are any of the tracks featuring in your DJ sets?
I agree with you. I love the St Etienne remix from Two Lone Swordsmen. It’s one of these rarities I was so happy to find in my record collection. I love the Bus feat. Soom T track too. That’s the two I that spring to mind at the moment.
Finally, do you have anything planned for the rest of summer?
Oh yes! A lot of festivals.
Miss Kittin plays the SonarClub at Sonar by Night on Saturday June 17 at 2:30am.
Sonar 2006 Prologues
Sonar 2006 Prologues with Miss Kittin
Sonar 2006 Prologues with Isolee
Sonar 2006 Prologues with Jimmy Edgar
Sonar 2006 Prologues with Diplo
Sonar 2006 Prologues with CHIC
Sonar 2006 Prologues with Hot Chip
Sonar 2006 Prologues with Ryan Elliott
Sonar 2006 Prologues with Modeselektor
Sonar 2006 Prologues with The MFA
Sonar 2006 Prologues with Uffie
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Published / Monday, 05 June 2006
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