Cassius in the House!

Students.ch: This isn’t your first time in Zürich, is it?

Boombass: No, we played here in 2001 with Together…I think it was the Couleur 3 Party or something…

Zdar: I played here at the Streetparade, a long time ago…a really long time ago, 25 or 30 years ago…

Students.ch: What?

Zdar: Ahh just kidding, but a real long time ago…maybe around 95 or 96? I played as Motorbass.

Students.ch: And what do you think of the city?

Zdar: Looks like a very good city to live in…looks a lot like the place I come from originally in France, a place actually close to Geneva. With the lake and all…all cities for the rich people. (smiles) We actually went out with the Pedalo today!

Boombass: There’s also a big mix of people here, like Paris….I think the cities with a big mix of people are the most interesting.

Students.ch: So, for the show tonight, what can people expect to hear? Are you going to play tracks from all the albums or only 15 Again?

Zdar: From all the albums…

Boombass: …and it will be all live. We are seven people in the band currently. We don’t actually DJ anymore. As of the new album, Cassius is a live band…

Students.ch: Oh, I didn’t know that…

Zdar: Yeah, we have to improve the communication..just imagine..people coming and expecting us to DJ and then it’s like “What? Drums, Guitars? Cassius is a live band? Noooo!” (smiles)

Boombass: With a live band, it’s a totally new experience for us. We still have as much fun as we had before, but we feel more free.

Students.ch: I read in the press that after Au Reve you split up…

Boombass: No, we never split up. We just took a break for a while and did our own thing. Philippe did some tracks for his own album…I did some tracks aswell…it was during a time when we were changing record companies, things were changing, so kind of a good time to do your own stuff.

Zdar: Another reason is that I feel after working on an album like Au Reve for two years, you need a break for a while.

Students.ch: The two years of working on Au Reve also influenced your decision to drastically reduce the time you spent on 15 Again?

Zdar: Yes. After two years on Au Reve, we wanted to try the opposite as a new experience. It was really cool. We were in Ibiza for three weeks in a very old farmhouse and after that another four weeks in Paris. It was basically just Hubert and me down there, with the occasional visit of friends, like Sebastian Tellier for the bass.

Students.ch: On the track Eye Water you worked together with Pharell…how was that?

Zdar: Very easy. Very fast. We had one day and he had one day to do it. It was his desire to work with us on that track. He’s a little genius, that guy. I mean, it just flows – even if he has no lyrics, no melody beforehand. He’s very good.

Students.ch: And how did you meet?

Zdar: Our friend Pedro Winter from Ed Banger Records introduced him to us. He apparently played some of our stuff to Pharell, who was blown away and wanted to meet us. So actually the whole us getting to know him was all based on our common love for music.

Students.ch: I’ve seen you worked with other French artists on the album 15 Again, like Le Knight Club or Sebastian Tellier. Is this a professional relationship or more the kind of “hanging out with friends” thing?

Zdar: Well most of them are friends – like Daft Punk, Etienne De Crecy, Sebastian Tellier. But of course, you can’t know everybody. Like with Phoenix we are also friends, based again on music, since we got to know each other when I mixed their first album United. It’s always based on music. With Daft Punk for example: we started talking about Romanthony, like “Romanthony, I love!!” and “Yeah, me too!!!”, “Which track??”, “This one!!”, “Ahh, my favourite track too!!”. And then met like the next week and with time you become friends.

Students.ch: I see you have Gladys for some vocals on the album again…

Boombass: Yes, her voice is fantastic. She’ s mygirlfriend…

Zdar: me too, she’s my girlfriend too… (looks at Boombass and smiles)…she’s my “friendgirl”, actually one of my one “friendgirls”.

Students.ch: Do you have a favourite song on 15 Again, some track you like a bit more than the others?

Boombass: Well, for me, not really. Each track has it’s own story and depending on the day and my current emotional state, there’s a different track I favour.

Zdar: My favourite are Toop Toop and La Notte, which is crazy, because they are the exact opposite.

Students.ch: My personal favourite is La Notte aswell…it’s got this longing feeling, kind of melancholic…

Zdar: Yes exactly. But I really like all of the tracks. We didn’t want to make an album with like 15 or 16 tracks and have two or three which we thought were not as good as the others.

Students.ch: And how has the response been to the new Album at your concerts so far?

Zdar: Crazy! It’s been really incredible everywhere so far! It’s kind of building up momentum, because a lot of people are not sure what to expect when they arrive…I mean, we look like a rock band now. And then bam!, we hit them. What I love is when there are people from the age of 15 up to 45, like we experienced in Germany and France. So you have the kids who maybe like Toop Toop that discover something else when they hear us play the older stuff and then you have the others, the old school Cassius fans, who rediscover Cassius through the live music. It reminds me of when I was a kid and played the board games by MB…the also had an age limit of like 7 to 77…so Cassius is something for all ages.

Students.ch: And the name for the album, 15 Again, also has something to do with being a kid again?

Zdar: Yes, I mean, when you’re a kid, you just don’t care. When you’re 18 you want to be Punk or Rock or Funk or whatever, but with 15 you don’t give a damn, you just want to have blast. So you’re open to much more styles of music. When I was 15, I listened to Heavy Metal, Rock, Rap and other stuff. And then your friends say “Noo, how can you listen to that!” or “This is black music, you must go there!”

Boombass: I used to work for my father in the studio when I was young and he always had different styles. In this sense, we wanted to keep ourselves open as well on the new album, with a mix of different styles.

Zdar: And I mean, in Ibiza, you are 15 pretty much of the time as well….(laughs) At night you are 15 and in the morning then 80 years old…(laughs)

Students.ch: So then, is Cassius going to be a pure live band from now on or will you still DJ?

Zdar: Well I myself still DJ, but as “Zdar” and not Cassius. No no, Cassius is a live band now…I mean the live show is like a drug. I was DJing a couple of weeks ago in Ireland, and I love DJing, really….but when I was there, it was like “where are my friends, where is the rush???” The energy of the live show is incredible.

Students.ch: If you look back on your music career, are there any special moments which kind of stand out?

Zdar: Well, there have been a lot of moments, but to be honest with you, my best time is now, with the band. I mean, if you make an album and promote it with DJing, than maybe you will play 4 or 5 tracks, that’s say 20 minutes…so only 20 minutes of Cassius music and the rest is music you like, but from somebody else, so not your own stuff. Additionally, you are playing recorded material, you’re not actually “making” the music. With the band, the music is ONLY Cassius stuff, you’re actually making it right there and then and you can really put your heart into it for the people who came to see you and hear your music. The whole experience is much more overwhelming.

Boombass: For me, there are lots of different stories which are like steps on the Cassius road. So from when we were working at my father’s studio, the times working on MC Solaar’s album, the time as Le Funk Mob and so on. But I think we are very lucky to have discovered something new, the live band, and continue to do what we love at our age. So we never thing like “Ahh, it all used to be better” because with the live band, we have something new to look forward to in the future.

Students.ch: What do you think of the electronic music scene at the moment? I don’t really know what to call it anymore, since it’s a big mixup of styles…

Zdar: Yeah, that’s exactly the good thing! It was too specialised before, I think. When I was young, I went to raves, which were incredible, but it was like a secret underground thing. After that it just became overrun and shitty. I think it’s great now, you have groups like Justice playing this mash of rock and electronic beats.

Boombass: I think it also has to do with the steps you go through in your life…kind of a generation thing. For me it was first hiphop, then rave, now this…you should always try and go a step further, discover something new. And the best thing is to take ideas from the past and make something new out of it.

Students.ch: So this summer you will perform in Ibiza as a Live Band?

Zdar: No, I don’t thing we’ll be there this year…We already did a break last year. I was there and played a bit but I think it’s shit now. I like two places in Ibiza, Physical and Underground. So this year, I will play at Underground, which is a club with free entry, and I won’t be paid. I just do it for fun. I could do Pacha for crazy amounts of money and for people who sit in the VIP bar…but I hate it now, I want to go to places more like the Underground. It’s free, so there are all sorts of people there, rich and poor, waiters from the other clubs, travellers – all mixed together, no VIP, and you dance. More old school. The club scene in Ibiza now is pathetic, it makes me want to cry, really.

Students.ch: Cool, so now I can afford to rent Cassius for my birthday party and say “Cassius is playing at my house, my house!”?

Zdar: (laughs) Ahh, but you have to pay a big amount of money, because we are seven in the band plus we have this gigantic tour bus…

Students.ch: So just serving you pizza and coke won’t do?

Zdar: What kind of coke? (smiles) It depends on the country of where the coke came from…(laughs)…and the amount! Three kilos, and I come! (laughs) No, just joking…

Students.ch: So how is life on tour? Is there any tension sometimes?

Zdar: Aucune! No tension…

Boombass: Everybody in the band is very easygoing. We’re on a very good vibe. I don’t believe in working with tension. There are some bands who need this to be good, but for us it is not the thing.

Students.ch: Are there any artists you would like to work together with?

Zdar: Prince, for example….

Boombass: I would like to work with the Eagles…

Students.ch: What about Britney Spears? She’s trying a comeback…

Zdar: (smiles) Ahh, why not? I wouldn’t have a problem with that…I mean, she need good music.

Boombass: Ah no, I couldn’t, she sings really bad, I think…

Zdar: That’s why I would work with her in the bathroom, you know…

Boombass: Yah..sure…I’ll let you work with her in the bathroom and will take some pictures… (laughs)…the other one…hmmm..Aguillera..yes, she has a much better voice, I think.

Zdar: Yes she’s a great singer, that’s true.

Students.ch: So you been around the world, played at all sorts of places…

Zdar: (sings) Around the world, around the woooorld, around the world…..in a day!

Students.ch: …is there any place which was really good?

Boombass: Everywhere has been good…I mean if you play good music the people generally feel good.

Zdar: Yes. And you know, if the place is a bit lame, you always have the kids to make it go wild….(smiles) and the girls.

Students.ch: So you make the girls dance first?

Zdar: This is very classic…everybody says that, but I was the first (smiles). In 1957. Yes, you can look that up. I think I patented it then…before I was born (laughs).

Students.ch: Ok guys, that’s a wrap…thanks for your time and have a good one on stage this evening.

Zdar: Thank you verrrrrry much.

Boombass: Yeah thanks.

Links

• www.cassius.fm