Premiere: ‘Fragment’ from UF095’s latest Tresor EP & interview
First listen of this speedy, Moroder-meets-Mills groover right here
UFO95 has brought a fresh and distinctive new approach to techno with releases for labels across Europe. His sound is brash, flash and hard as nails but blessed with an irresistible funkiness that balances out the sonic savagery perfectly.
Moroder-meets-Mills, you could call it, although thanks to his cirrent home Tresor you can hear it for yourself and make your own mind up. ‘Fragment’ is just one of five similarly high octane tracks on his ‘Backward Involvement’ EP. It’s not out til March 8 but we’ve got a sneek peek at the track right now.
Hear the track on YouTube:
or Soundcloud
Or preview the whole EP here:
Hello UFO 95, hope you’re well. Where are you as you type this? Had a good day so far? Off anywhere exciting later or been anywhere nice earlier?
Hello Juno ! I’m fine, just landed back home after two weeks off in the Indian Ocean. Batteries are fully charged and I can’t wait to be back to the studio and play live around Europe.
Tell us who you are, where you’re from, where you’re based… and all that.
I am a 28 years old French producer, born and raised in Paris and now based in Brussels with my girlfriend and a little doggy.
Give us a rundown of the releases you’ve had to date
The UFO95 project started on Mama Told ya , where I released two albums which were more IDM and weird electronic music style oriented. Then I released a few tracks on different Various Artist EPs, like Trip, The Third Room, Planet X…
How would you describe your sound? Was it a conscious attempt to go faster than most or was that a natural step once you started making music?
Recently my sound has definitely changed. It used to be faster with idm, trance & early hardcore sounds but I am now really going back to my roots, to my first love : hypnotic, dark and old-school techno.
Tell us about the name UFO95… What does it signify and, please excuse the obvious question, but have you ever seen a UFO?
The idea behind UFO95 name was to focus on weird and unconventional sounds. Now I try to keep the same ideas but in a different direction. Focusing more on the hypnotic and loopy side of sounds. Something inspired from artists like Function, Jeff Mills, Surgeon, Sandwell District, Post Scriptum, to name a few.
What about the name of this EP – Backward Improvement. “An abstract reference to the influence of the classics of the genre…” says your press release, tell us more in slightly less abstract terms.
When I started working on the EP for Tresor, I really wanted to give it the “Tresor ” sound. Which is, to me, old school , straight to the point yet avant-garde music. So ‘Backward Improvement’ had me working on new ideas, new approaches to sound like an old techno record but in a new way. So I read a lot of old studio interviews to learn more about the early techno process and tried to adapt it, in my own way.
I decided to only play live , because this is what I enjoy the most. I love the risk and thinking about it.
I come and present to you my sound, my ideas of what I want you to explore during 90 minutes.
You’ve chosen to play live rather than promote your music as a DJ – why was that and what effect does that decision have on your studio productions?
I have two ways of producing tracks. The first one is just a jam in the studio or during a live that I record and process in Ableton. The second one is more intellectual. I will work on a specific idea in the studio with synthesizers , drum machines into Ableton but with the intention to always add it to the live. So it has to be coherent with the rest and also to have enough space so I can jam on top of it during the performance.
And finally, what’s in the pipeline for the rest of 2024 for UFO95?
2024 is going to be a busy year. My first Tresor Ep is about to be released soon. We worked on a collab EP with Rodhad early January.And finally, I’m finishing my next album which should also come with a solo EP before or after , I don’t know yet !
Thanks a lot Juno for your questions , appreciated it.
Ben Willmott
Pre-order your copy of Backward Improvement on 12″ vinyl here