Seeing as Frédéric better known as Anoraak visited Kunk’s humble Danube shores for a fun ‘lil shindig recently, we thought it apt to conduct an exit interview to get a little more insight into the current state of affairs with himself and the Valerie crew. We kept it short and sweet bearing in mind the patience of y’all on the internet is about the same as a fruit fly. So without further ado… Kunk présente le petit interview avec Anoraak (or something like that)…

First off, give us the run down for those who haven’t a clue who you are. Who comprises Anoraak? Are you a member of any other bands or projects at the moment? What is your relation with the Valerie crew?

Ok, i’m Anoraak, this projects includes me and no one else, except of my computer ;D

I’m also involved in the rock band Pony Pony Run Run as a drummer/singer, and that’s really enough like this!

I’m one of the members of the Valerie adventure, like my dude College, Maethelvin, The Outrunners, Minitel Rose and Russ Chimes, the only non-french of the crew

Your sound seems to capture a certain essence of West coast Americana, despite the fact that you’ve never been to the US. How do you explain that?… Simply by the amount of exported TV shows and movies, or something more?

I seriously don’t have a serious explanation for this. I guess it comes from my childhood, really tainted of the american 80’s culture, i mean, the one we could see in France, the movies, the tv shows, the clothes, the shoes… Down here we had a lot of cheezy soaps full of sunsets, Ferrari Testarossa, amazing girls, etc. As a kid, all these pictures and ambiances keep stuck in your mind. And sometimes you have special good feelings with things you can’t explain; as an example, i’ve been a huge fan of Boards Of Canada, and when i first listened to it, it was like i was taking a blow of my really childhood in my face in a couple of tracks. It’s all about the sound, when it flows this big emotion wave on your skin and makes your stomach feel weird. That’s what i’m trying to reach with my music -it’s a hard work ;D - and if it feels like the west coast, i think that’s what i have in mind when i compose. Sun, cocktails and peace.

Related to that, if you had to describe the Valerie atmosphere and vibe in a short series of metaphors, what would you say?

The dark and wet night in Miami, the sunset on some californian beach, a kid playing his megadrive in a cosy room.

Yourself and Valerie are starting to get attention and acclaim from outside of France… do you fear, down the road, getting branded as some kind of ‘Ed Banger Part 2′ or are just happy to get the props for now?

Actually, i don’t really care, when you do something that gets a bit of attention, people, and espacially the journalists, naturally needs to find or make associations. I think the only relations between Valerie and Ed Banger are: Electro and France.

What do you think about the situation of pop music in France? France seems to be labeled the country of electro. What about guitars?

Wow… actually yes, France is the country of electro, but so Germany is, in a different way. Pop music in France has always been kind of weird. The perfect exemple is the band Phoenix. They’ve been playing for about 10 years now, and their real success in France is quite new, about 2 years. Before that, they were way more popular outside the borders, and only the french indie people liked it. Now they are a major band, and that’s great, they make amazing music. I mean it’s new in France to have popular local rock or pop bands, except the ones who sings in french, and these ones are really not the most interestings… But it’s now changing, we have great bands, and record companies are just beginning to have a serious interest on them; Kudos to ‘em, but they’ve been waiting sooooo long.

France vs. US and France vs. Australia: Healthy competition, or too much thoughtless copying of one another?

It’s not a competition, haha! US have always had great artists, and the whole world knows it. Australia is really interesting; for me, since Cut Copy’s first release, they are drawing a new scene, and i really think that many french artist (i’m including myself) are getting influenced by it. I don’t think it’s about copying, but influencing.

A bit of the personal stuff. Did you wear band t-shirts in high school? Do you wear any now?

Sure, i had Pearl Jam ones, Nirvana, Hendrix… Now i still have some, but they have to look really awesome, i’m way more picky about my clothes ;D

If you had to choose a song as a ‘perfect background song for the first kiss in my life’ what would it be?

Africa by Toto.

Which one is better: Sonic Youth or Roxette?

Sonic Youth

Is there such a thing as a guilty pleasure?

Karate Kid. I’ve been watching it… million times!

…and finally a bonus question, as you were just here playing with us in Budapest, and the Hungarian foreign ministry insisted that we ask…

What is your favorite Hungarian shot, and why?
a/ Hubertus
b/ Palinka
c/ Unicum
d/ Whatever the barmaid offers me

Unicum, especially when the barmaid drunks me up with!

*******

On the last question, we couldn’t agree more! And, yeah, Phoenix’s time is so overdue, we’re happy to hear France is finally catching on. So, thanks Anoraak for your time, and since it’s an MP3 blog we’ll hit you up with his stellar cover of The Romantics classic, which has just featured on the awesome Buffet Libre collection.

Anoraak - Talking in Your Sleep (The Romantics Cover) (Rewind) [zshare] //  Anoraak - Talking in Your Sleep (The Romantics Cover) (Rewind) [ysi]

This entry was posted on Friday, July 11th, 2008 at 9:55 am and is filed under interview, anoraak, valerie.