autoKratz

autoKratz Interview

autoKratz have swiftly established a reputation for releasing distinctly different electronic music with depth and have consistently created records which harbour infectious bass hooks, addictive vocals and compulsive beats & beeps, a mix that has come to epitomize the bands sound. 2008 has seen them responsible for some of the freshest and most exciting records around, as they have developed into an act heralded by IDJ as ''devastating. I can see these two going all the way.''

youtube : Reaktor

David and Russell autoKratz have found themselves very much at home in the stable of pioneering Parisian label Kitsune and have so far received immense support from across the board, finding spots on the playlists of Pete Tong, Annie Mac, Rob da Bank and Eddy Temple Morris, whilst receiving club support from the likes of Tiga, Alex Gopher and Brodinski, and also featuring regularly on the pages of NME, Mix Mag and IDJ.

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Their first 9 track mini-album "Down & Out in Paris & London" is out now, including the recent infectious summer anthem “Stay The Same” and the massive dance-floor smash "Pardon Garcon" from pioneering Parisian label Kitsune.

- Give us a breakdown of who you are and what you do.

D: We are two people who make indie electro / electronica with rock’n’roll attitude to it. We use machines, guitars and synths and my voice.

- You are David, but your band partner Russell is not here today. Could you introduce him to us? How would you describe him?

D: Russell is a bit bigger than me like my brother.

- How did you two meet in the first place?

D: Originally, we were just stumbling out of a nightclub. There’s an altercation between us and we became friends ever since. It’s been a few years.

- How did you come up with the name autoKratz, which sounds very unique?

D: AutoKratz is… well I love George Orwell and its significance of the autocracy in which we are living with every government around the world. I thought it’s a very modern twist on a whole autoKratz, with instead of having just one autocrat, which is traditional thought every dictator including Tony Blair to Sarkozy. You have autoKratz, two people in charge, two people in control of one destiny.

- It appears that the title of your new mini album pays homage to one of George Orwell’s novels and also the impression you gives us includes a great deal of Orwellian values. Could you tell us which work of his you like most? and why?

D: The work sticks in my mind most is… well these two, either Animal Farm or 1984. For the similar reasons because they cover the same territory they deal with dictatorships, autocracies and controlling the public, people with their own nefarious goals and agenda.

- Choose one word best describes your sound.

D: LOUD.

youtube : Club NME @ KOKO pt1

- What kind of equipment do you use to create your music?

D: We both play guitars. We use computer based machines. Machines, guitars and vocals are three main bits. We are both Mac people.

- What would you like to achieve from the activity as autoKrtaz?

D: Making some of the best music in the entire history of electronic music. Making one of the greatest albums that stands along side the classics of electronic music.

youtube : Club NME @ KOKO pt2

I don’t know whether we will actually achieve that, but you have to set your sights high. Unless you set yourself certain bar to reach, you might as well just not bother. We won’t stop until we get where we need to go and above anything else, we truly believe in what we do, we truly love what we do. We feel energized by the music we make and we hope that other people feel the energy.

- Do you think musicians can change people’s mind-set through music at all? What influence would you like to give your audience?

youtube : Club NME @ KOKO pt3

D: We don’t actually set out as a political agenda. We are not The Clash. I’ve always enjoyed music where it has depth that lets you “choose your own adventure” as Hearts Revolution sing.

- Then, what kind of stuff including music has inspired you so far?

D: Literature, music, films... film-wise, “Withnail and I”, “Syriana”, “1984”, “Brighton Rock” and “La Jetee” which inspired “12 Monkeys”.

youtube : Club NME @ KOKO pt4

- All of your artwork, fashion etc have a consistent visual style and show distinctive characteristics. Where do you usually get your clothes from? Any recommendation for shops? What’s your favourite item of clothing?

D: We both particularly fond of B Store in Savile Row. Also Kitsune, our record label also has a fashion label. My favourite item of clothing is probably my Macintosh, which I’m wearing now from Kitsune. It’s a birthday gift from Kitsune. It’s very very lovely of Gildas and Masaya to do that.

- Do you think people can ever be happy without economic or material affluence?

D: Not in a modern world. Unfortunately without the means to do what you wanna do financially, it’s pretty much impossible unfortunately.

- You have built a reputation for your exciting live sets. Have you got any good tales from shows you have done? And what your dream gig would be like in the future?

D: So far, we’ve played in the Glastonbury main dance stage, which was very very special. More recently we played to 7000 people in Dour Festival in Belgium and that was first really huge gig we did.

People were singing along, that was pretty special. We also played at Lowlands festival in Holland two weeks ago. That would probably be the greatest gig we played because every single person in a tent was singing. The first few rows of people were actually screaming the lyrics back at me, which was the first time I’ve ever been embarrassed on the stage. Not embarrassed, but just a little… taken aback. It’s difficult to sing whilst smiling. Almost brought a tear to both of our eyes.

youtube : live @ Lowlands 2008

- It seems you’ve been currently playing loads in Europe, but have you got a plan to play anywhere else? Are you coming to Japan?

D: We are coming to Japan later on the year. We were supposed to play in September but unfortunately we couldn’t. That’s very disappointing because we can’t wait to play there. We’ll be doing a Japanese tour towards the end of the year. To say we are ‘excited’ would be an understatement.

Website : kitsune.fr/~petter/autokratz

myspace : www.myspace.com/autokratz

Written by Chika Aoki

Photos by Toshimi Takaishi