Martin Solveig serves “Hello” + free Bassjackers remix

Martin Solveig serves “Hello” + free Bassjackers remix

4 October, 2010 | 5.16AM

• Written by: Alex Hughes
• Filed under: Videos: dragonette, free download, interview, martin solveig

Astute readers may note that we already ran the video for Martin Solveig’s ”Hello," featuring Dragonette. We couldn’t resist re-running it, and not only because we can’t stop watching it ourselves. Today, Solveig’s Mixture label finally releases the single, backed with remixes from Dada Life, Sidney Samson, and Michael Woods, who turns in both a vocal mix and a dub.

As a special bonus, Solveig and Mixture are giving away a free Bassjackers remix over at SoundCloud. Just go here to download the track.

In honor of the occasion, and with our curiosity about his forthcoming album Smash growing, we lobbed a few questions Solveig’s way. Read on to find out who his unlikely musical heroes are—and why he’d like to be the Woody Allen of electronic music.

So I have to ask you about the video for “Hello"—how on earth did you manage to get Djokovic and Montfils to take part? And did you really fill up that whole stadium with extras? That must have been a monumental undertaking. (Also, has anyone ever told you that you look a little bit like Michael Cera? Maybe you could have a career as a comic actor if you ever get tired of music…)


Indeed, we got extremely lucky to be able to shoot the “Hello” video on the centre court of the Roland Garros French Tennis Open in front of 12,000 people—they were real spectators, not extras!—the day before the beginning of the competition, exhibition day, thanks to the exceptional kindness of the Roland Garros’ management. We were very lucky as well to get Novak Djokovic and Gael Monfils as deluxe special guests! I’ve known Gael for a long time and he helped us getting in touch with Novak, who is a real comedian.

Thanks for the Michael Cera mention but I really believe my acting skills are limited.


The video ends with a “To be continued"… Have you begun working on the followup yet? Can you give us any hints?
 


Actually I’m just back from Asia where I was with my manager Lafaille and a small video team to shoot the second episode of my “Smash” web series. We’re planning on six to eight episodes before the release of the album planned for May—I definitely did not just come to say “Hello,” as you’ll see soon enough… 


“Hello" comes from your forthcoming album, Smash. What can you tell us about the album? What should we expect? 


It’s a very different approach from my previous albums. With “Smash” I’ll try to tell a whole story that would be a distortion of my reality with a mix of real characters, situations, and absurd elements and figures. Base line: nothing has to be very serious, especially in our privileged DJ world. Music-wise, I want to try new things, new collaborations, stick a bit more to the music I play in my DJ sets, enjoy myself, and try to obtain something entertaining. Like “Hello” and its remixes—by the way, don’t miss the Bassjacker remix which you can download for free here on Beatportal as a special thanks!

 


You’ve worked with Dragonette before, on “Boys & Girls.” How did you originally hook up with them, and do they appear on any other album tracks?

To me, Martina, the lead singer of Dragonette, is a baby Gwen Stefani: she really has a special and personal edge. Collaborating with her confirms my feelings every day. When working on the “Boys & Girls” track for Jean Paul Gaultier, I knew that I wanted it to be a duet and I was glad she accepted. Then we stayed in touch and when I asked her to try her voice on the “Hello” song, the result made the decision easy to make. 


Your roots are in house, but the last few years have seen you moving in a much more explicitly electro-pop direction. What accounts for the shift? Do you ever get the urge to revisit the style of your Africanism days, or is that behind you now?

Ten years ago I was very much into the Afro vibe, hence the Africanism project with Bob Sinclar and DJ Gregory. After that, I just continued following my own path without thinking about where I was going. The key to my personality, as an artist, relies on the fact that I never take things too seriously—I never forget that we make music for fun, for ourselves and for the people. I don’t have the attributes of a rock star so I play a lot with second-degree humour… That’s how the whole idea of “Smash” was born.


Your pop persona is an interesting one, because there’s something slightly ironic or self-deprecating about it—you’re less David Guetta than Woody Allen, perhaps. Which pop stars would you consider inspirations or role models?
 


Ha, that’s a good one, I’d love to be the Woody Allen of electronic music, I admire him a lot! A lot of people influence my work. Musically I’d say Soulwax, Lykke Li, The Bloody Beetroots, M.I.A., Afrojack… My musical heroes have always been Prince, the Beatles, Lenny Kravitz, the Strokes, Fela Kuti, Serge Gainsbourg, and Björk, among others. Then speaking about Woody Allen, I get other sources of inspiration in cinema: Wes Anderson, the Cohen Brothers, Sergio Leone, Bertrand Blier and Henri Verneuil; and in sports: Roger Federer. 


Clearly, you’re a multi-talented guy. Once Smash is out and you’re done promoting it, what major projects would you like to tackle next?
 


I might work on my tennis skills with my manager Lafaille or score a movie soundtrack, maybe even both, we’ll see!


Martin Solveig, “Hello” [Mixture

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