IHOS Chats with Bolivard
Coming at you from the beautifully vibrant city of Paris we have rising producer, musician and DJ Bolivard. This young talent is quickly building a reputation for himself with his special blend of electronic, tropical and instantly infectious sun-kissed grooves. You can find traces of disco, house and killer basslines in his ‘Aloha’ EP that dropped early last year. But it was his stellar remix for Tegan and Sara’s “I Was A Fool” from last year that garnered him some well deserved attention. And more recently his take on Sam Padrul’s “Why Do I Do” has been igniting plenty of dance floors. Below you can catch our interview with this promising producer, as well as some of our favorite tracks from him!
You already know the drill! Catch the interview after the jump!
IHOS: How did the name Bolivard come about?
BOLIVARD: I wanted to find a name that would be multicultural, because my music is made of worldwide influences. It sounds kind of French and Latino-American, and it’s easily readable by most of the languages. But there are other explanations that I’ll keep for myself to keep some mystery.
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IHOS: Here at IHOS we’re huge fans of the French Touch sound. How would you say this sound manifests in your music, if at all? And would you feel the tropical sound you’ve developed relates?
B: I’ve been growing up listening guys from the French touch’s first and second waves, from Laurent Garnier and Daft Punk to Ed Banger Records. I think what has built the french touch sound is the influence of disco, and how it was included in house music by French artists. And you can definitely find that in my tracks.
The tropical sound comes from totally different influences. I think I fell in love with the texture of marimbas and steel drums by listening to Moondog and Steve Reich.
IHOS: Was there a remix or specific dance track that tipped the scale for you and made you decide to pursue music as a career?
B: Yes, my remix for Tegan and Sara’s track “I Was A Fool” got a lot of attention and helped me to get noticed. When it happened, I started to believe that I could make a living from my music.
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IHOS: What is the music scene like for you back home?
B: I come from a little city where there is basically no scene at all.
Now I live in Paris, where the clubs are full of “Berlin techno” and deep-house. And people are becoming kind of snobbish with this fashion of the so-called “dance music roots”.
The rest of the famous artists tend to make this kind of music or things we heard millions of times. There is something new to do in France right now…
IHOS: If you could open for any artist, who would it be?
B: If I wanted to play a dance set, I would say Daft Punk, because they are the experts when it’s about making people dance.
And for a more experimental set, definitely Jackson & His Computer Band, who has been developing very interesting live shows during the past years.
IHOS: What has been your favorite show to spin to date?
B: Recently I played in San Diego. They were used to very commercial stuffs like Katy Perry, so I was freaking out a little. But then I got more and more confident. I dropped some techno, finished on trap and future bass and the crowd went totally nuts, shouting and dancing like crazy. Good time.
IHOS: What is your favorite love song?
B: In France we have shitloads of great love songs, I would say the very depressing Ne Me Quitte Pas by Jacques Brel, La Ballade de Jim by Alain Souchon or pretty much the whole discography of Michel Polnareff.
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IHOS: What has been your favorite track to remix to date?
B: I had a lot of fun making a remix of “American Boy” by Estelle and Kanye West. I love that track because it makes me think of my high school, and when I released it some of my old friends sent me messages saying “so much memories dude”. This is the kind of thing that touches you when you’re a musician.
IHOS: If there were one record that was the last you’d ever hear, what would it be?
B: That’s a heavy choice man… I guess if I’m about to die, Thriller by Michael Jackson would be very appropriate. Or if I’m just about to go deaf, I would listen to some One Direction crap to be happy to lose my hearing.
IHOS: Are there any specific labels you fancy as a whole?
B: I think my favorite label is Warp Records. They make everybody remember that electronic music is not and has never been made only for clubs. I think they have influenced a lot of the new generation of producers like me, and helped them to go further in their creation process.
IHOS: Are there any up and coming artists you think should be on the IHOS radar?
B: I’m not really updated concerning the hype stuffs. I listen more old artists than recent ones. I recently liked Tame Impala’s new stuff. And I would recommend listening to Aufgang, they’ve been doing great things these last years. Right now, I’m listening a lot The Stone Roses, an old famous british band from the 90’s, that I recently discovered, but I’m twenty-five years late.
IHOS: Where can we catch you next in LA?
B: I just played across California and two times in LA and I loved it. So I’m working right now on coming back in a few months, hopefully also in other states.
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IHOS: Can we expect any big moves from you before the end of the year?
B: I will release a new remix for the band Televisor, and I’ve been playing it in my last DJ sets. Each time, people’s reactions about it have been very enthusiastic.
I’ve also been working on a lot of original tracks, developing a new sound that I can’t wait to share.
My ambition is to make big moves all the time.
