We chat with French super producer and DJ Yuksek before he returns to Le Bain on Friday, March 9th, and celebrates his new release "Icare", alongside NY fave Lloydski.
LE BAIN: Last time you played at Le Bain, you had just collaborated with French astronaut Thomas Pesquet. This time we'll be celebrating the release of your new record Icare, a collaboration with a singular figure in the French music scene: Bertrand Burgalat. How would you introduce Bertrand?
YUKSEK: Bertrand has a very '60s and '70s approach to music, somewhere between French pop à la Gainsbourg, easy listening and pre-disco. He is a super good bass player, he can write amazing string parts, and he runs a very important label called Tricatel, which another good friend Chassol is on.
Bertrand Burgalat's "Etranges Nuages" (Yuksek Remix)
It’s not the first time you and Bertrand work together. You had done a remix of his track “Etranges Nuages" last November. How did you two meet?
I produced a remix for Chassol a couple of years ago and Bertrand, who runs the label, wrote me a long email saying why he loved the remix I did, referencing specific harmony and sound details. It’s so rare to see musicians or label managers who are still passionate for music! I was really blessed and honored, so I jumped on the opportunity to say that I love his work and we should spend time in studio one day. It happened like two years later.
Tell us about the choice of the word "Icare” as a title. The legend of Icare is actually a beautiful metaphor for disco...
Tell us about the choice of the word "Icare” as a title. The legend of Icare is actually a beautiful metaphor for disco...
Yes, kind of. It’s like going too far, too high, too close to the sun even if everyone tells you you’re not ready to. It’s a metaphor for many things in life I guess—success, career, excess, passion... and disco!
Yuksek & Fatnotronic's "Bateu" (Edit)
What’s up with your label Partyfine?
We’ve just released an album from « Weeken Affair » and I’ve released my collaboration with Fatnotronic a bit before. This year I’m gonna release more music on other labels, some disco edits on a famous label from New York in June, and 2 original EPs in May and September, so Partyfine is always ready to release good music as soon as we have it. No schedule.
How do you envision the Summer of '18? Is '70s French disco the way to go?
I can say that I’m really into disco at the moment, but also into percussive, tribal, weird techno and African sounds, so my summer will be a mix of it all!
On Friday, March 9th, Le Bain presents Yuksek & Lloydski
10pm | The Standard, High Line
Icare by Yuksek is out March 9th on Partyfine
