Product.01 im Interview

Wer noch nichts von dem zur Zeit angesagten Duo "product.01" mitbekommen hat, dem sei an dieser Stelle verziehen. Denn so lange mischen die beiden Täter Rochelle Vincente (Vocals & Words) und Marc Adamo (Beats & Sound) auch noch nicht mit im internationalen Zirkus der elektronischen Tanzmusik.
Ein Grund mehr, sich das folgende Interview mal genauer zu betrachten, denn von diesen Beiden werdet ihr bestimmt in nächster Zeit noch so einiges zu hören bekommen.

Hello Adamo & Rochelle from the wild & powerful electronic act product.01 from England. It is very kind of you that you take your time to answer a few questions for the Nachtagenten (Nightagents). First of all I like to know if you are feeling ok today and what was your first idea this morning?

Marc: My first thought was – wow, it´s a nice sunny winter day, then – ouch my head hurts – last night it was a friends birthday party and it was quite a late night.

Rochelle: Yes I’m in Arezzo, Tuscany writing and recording with Presslaboys for their album. It’s a truly awesome place. And first thing on my mind in a day is normally sex! (Anm. d. Red.: Wem geht das nicht so?!)

Yesterday I visited your website www.product01.co.uk – it´s a cool place to check out what product.01 is all about. It looks very fresh and you have good informations there and a few sound samples. Do you take influence on what is shown there or is it something that someone else will do for you? How important is the internet for your work and creative output?

Rochelle: I do all our website stuff myself including the uploading and monthly band mail outs! I personally feel it’s important that artists remain close with people who are into and supporting their music and that it’s straight from the horses mouth, since it’s a representation of us and all that. I like the “personal touch” aspect of it. I do think it makes a difference. Lets face it, no one is gonna care more than me. And there will always be time to do it no matter where I am as long as I have a laptop, which isn’t an option – I’m there hook line and sinker on that tip!

Internet is very important. It’s a way for us to share what we are up to, and the progress of things, on an immediate level. This really hit home recently when we joined My Space. I’d been avoiding it like the plague, but the opportunities and people contacting us from all corners of the planet on a professional and personal level has been incredible actually.

What´s your opinion on mp3 and all the napsters out there? Do you think it´s a chance for the music industry and the people or is it just horror to know that a lot of people get your sound for free?

Marc: Look at Metallica, they panicked about it, and tried to stop it, but they coudn’t, and their album still went to number 1, their concerts are huge and always sell out.
I don´t think any musician or band has been completely destroyed by the download revolution, but history is full of musicians who have been ruined by record labels, dodgey contracts and ruthless lawyers. I look at the mp3 sharing as the new Radio – but i do think that if people like your music, to say thanks and support artists by buying cd’s and coming to gigs, especially if it brings something special into their lives.

The most imporatant thing about music is that it connects with people, and touches them. I'd love to be rich enough to give my music to everyone without the constraint of finances, but it just isn´t possible, although thanks to the mp3 revolution – there is no longer any worries about the whole expense of ‚packaging’ music, so now it is possible for musicians to give something if they want to.

Rochelle: To be honest it’s not something I think too much about. It doesn’t concern me as it’s not something I can control, I want people to enjoy the music I make and share it around but having said that, I think for things to really change people have to look at it all very differently. If people respect an artist and want them to continue making the music they love to hear, then they should really attempt to buy some of their music. Otherwise the artist won’t be able to keep making it. I have watched a lot of amazing artists give up on music because they couldn’t make ends meet.

Let´s talk about the sound. People always want to know how it sounds like. For me it´s just great electronic music which reminds me sometimes at the early days. How would you describe your sound & what do you listen to when you´re at home?

Marc: Yeah, I like to think that the only way to categorize it is ‚Electronic’, the only boundries we have agreed to limit our music to is no guitars and other instruments and definitely no saxaphone solos. The rest is wide open. I don´t think we will ever settle on one type of sound, we will always keep moving and have fun discovering new areas of creativity. Right now i´m totally into heavy syncopated riffing, pounding drums, and crunchy electronics, in 6 months time, who knows what we will be playing with.

Rochelle: We call it vocal charged electro techno breaks but it’s song based. I dig movement / shape / change. People often say we have our own “product.01” sound, which is what we aspire to reveal. I listen to Tom Waits, David Bowie, Prince, Jeff Buckley, Murcof, Mouse on Mars…many many more.

Where do you both get your inspirations from and which artist do like the most today?

Rochelle: When I write music I don’t tend to listen to other peoples music. I like to go inside myself. I also become fuelled by where I am, what I share with people and what they say and mean to me at the time. What I see other people go thru whether I know them or not, little things…but on another level, another thing takes over also, that feels much bigger than me. It’s like the song is already existing on some other frequency and is revealing itself to me. If I try to do what I “think” is best then the song tells me off! If I don’t take the first warning to back off then the song punishes me. Bastard! It’s very stubborn but so am I. It can get interesting!

I saw that Buckfunk 3000 aka Si Begg did a remix for you. I love this guy – do you know him better?

Marc: Si Begg is a really cool guy, very friendly and totally obsessed with music, with Heart of Glass he was really supportive. He emailed us several times after his gigs, to say how the record was going down, the people are going nuts to your record’ and he was getting lots of people asking “who made this record”?! So he was directing people to us and we met some really cool guys like the Pretension records crew, Volsoc, Bass Kittens, Jean Paul Bondy, Justin Maxwell.

When we had the chance to work with Si Begg on the Bow Wow records Ep’s it was cool because we got to remix each other. He did a mix of “I like it Loud” and we did one for his track “2 much booty” both Ep’s were very well recieved. I hope we can do it again in the future.

Rochelle: Si Begg is one of the first people to support our music and spread the word far and wide. Aside, he’s an awesome guy.

The sound you play is very popular at the moment and I can imagine that you both do a lot of media work? Are you stressed out with that or do say ”it´s all part of the game”?
Marc: Do you mean - like doing interviews? It´s all part of the game and playing games can be fun if you know the rules and like to bend them a little.

Rochelle: It really is part of the game. People want to connect with artists and know about them. I’m the same when I dig an artist. But there’s a line too and there has to be a respect for that. As far as our sound being popular, it’s particularly funny to me as I have been making this kind of music for years and was told it will never be accessible and that I should do obvious girlie music. Nothing wrong with that except that it doesn’t get me excited and if I’m not excited then how on earth is anyone else gonna be? Never believe a person who says something isn’t possible. Everything on earth you can imagine and much more is possible. But it takes self knowledge, instinct and effort.

Often media focuses on the front man/woman? Is there the same problem with you? Does also a so called band leader exist in your group of two individuals?

Rochelle: We work together on all levels and seem to be driven to the same point. My strengths seem to be Adamo’s weaknesses and vice verse. So it works really well even when things are a challenge. Of course people tend to focus on voice as it’s the closest thing to them that they can latch onto and understand, but that’s fine as it’s other people’s focus, not ours. As far as we are concerned “Product.01” is both of us and we have never seen it any other way. But by the same token we do have roles within the band and we know what they are. We don’t cross each others territory but we do help each other and suggest things that will help strengthen us individually and the whole development of something whether it be live or in the studio.

Your latest release ”HEART OV GLASS REMIXES” was coming out on Compost records. It´s a very popular label here in Germany since a lot of years. How started the contact between you and these guys?

Rochelle: Jean Paul Bondy from San Francisco found us thru Si Begg I think? Jean Paul’s signed to Compost (I have also co-written / recorded a track for his debut album coming out in 2006 called ‘Monochrome’) and he played them some of our music. Then Michael Reinboth came to London and met us.

What is your musical background? Do you have a few idols (from the past)? Tell us about your first record in your collection?

Marc: I think the first 7“ I bought myself might have been Pop Musik by M, but years before I inherited a box of records from a friend of my dad who left them round our house and never collected them. It was a great selection of 70’s stuff, everything from Captain Beefheart “Safe as Milk” Rolling Stones; “Let It Bleed”, Chuck Berry. Little Richard, I listened to all of the records and found my favourites. These records are deeply ingrained in my musical psyche. I learned to play piano and electric guitar, but by the time I was 18. I couldn´t be bothered with being an “instrumentalist” and got more into composing and production. Some of my favourite albums – there are way too many to chose but here are some: FSOL “ISDN”, Two Lone Swordsman “Tiny Reminders”, Tom Waits “Bone Machine”.

Rochelle: Music has always been in my life on certain levels but I never expected to become a professional singer. I think that chose me! In Australia growing up, I started with drums because I was in love with Jon Moss (Culture Club) and Philip Campbell (Electric Panders – Ozzie band!) and then I learnt a bit of violin, cello, clarinet, trombone, trumpet, saxophone, percussion. I tried many but didn’t dig the wind instruments so much because the spit situation was pretty grose. I.e. you are supposed to be getting into a track and you look down and your instrument is dripping your saliva all over the floor. Made me retch. My favourite was cello, something big between my legs and it sounded like bass! As for singing, it was a bit like beginners lucky enough to hook me and then the real challenges began.

My idols are some of the ones I mentioned before. I’m interested in people looking to express their core out of a need to release themselves from themselves, and a need to explore deeper levels of who they and we are, not just remaining on the surface. But that can be done in many ways too and not just the most obvious ways – it all counts!
As far as my very first vinyl record goes, I’m not gonna try to be cool here and come up with some of the cooler later ones!! Truth of the matter is it was “Heidi in The Mountains” in Deutsch which my Oma bought for me in her village Hainfeld. Ha! Top that for daggy!

In a few days you´ll play here in Stuttgart@the M1 together with a few german and international heroes of the electronic dance scene. Do you have any relationships with one of those girls and boys like monika kruse, moonbootica, kid alex, john acquaviva etc.?

Marc: I have not met any of them before. I have lots of the early releases on Plus8. There was a period in time where minimal techno was my biggest musical interest. Acquaviva did a seminal X-Mix for K7 that I´ve listened to tonnes of times. Monika Kruse has always had her fingers on some amazing techno sounds. I´m really looking forward to all the “Family sets”. It will be a suprise to hear what they all do.

Rochelle: I’ve never met them but we have the same booking agent "Family Affairs". I’m hyped to meet our new family, as we’re the babies of the gang! It’ll be awesome to be in Stuttgart also. And pick up some “Spunk” from Lido, which you can’t get in UK! U know the one!? (Anm. D Red.: Never heard about that stuff – sounds spunky.)

Do you prefer playing in front of a huge crowd or do you (still) like those little basement places? And where do you see your "project.01" in 5 years? What are your plans for the future?

Marc: We’ll play no matter how many people are in the room, but i think the more people, the better.

Rochelle: I love the chance of any gig any place really. The opportunity to share with people. Make them forget and be in this moment for a moment. But you can never really tell what will happen. You can think it’s going to be a great night and somehow the vibe isn’t electric and then ones where you least expect it totally rock. But there does become a point where venues are too big and you don’t really feel like u can connect with people intimately. It becomes more like a factory!

Recently we did this gig and apparently it was the first night all week where people actually danced at this particular venue, then the sound engineer / staff, etc were all dancing manically while they were packing up, the promoter was like “this never happens!” Then friends and people I hardly know but somehow acquired my number were texting me 3am, 5am, 7am “haven’t gone home yet – still dancing!” to me that’s what it’s about. These are such strange times we live in and to be a part of people enjoying themselves on even a small level is important to me.

I would like to think we’ll have had a few albums out in the next 5 years, have done some kick ass live shows, music videos, etc, and had a lot of adventures along the way.
In the short term we have 2 EPs coming out in the next 4 months. ‘Access’ and ‘The Hot EP’. To keep up-to-date on when, how, where and why www.product01.co.uk!
Merry X’mas and an awesome 2006.

Thank you very much for taking your time for this interview! Hope you both doin´ fine in Germany and especially in Stuttgart! And last bot not least: Merry christmas & a great new year 2006!!!!