Loo & Placido
Just for the record, why 'Loo & Placido'?
Because Heckel & Jeckel, Tom & Jerry, Boule & Bill, Sly & Robbie, Althea & Donna, Placide & Muso, Stone & Charden, Olive & Tom, Tif & Tondu, Arnold & Willy, Rox & Rouky, Jan & Dean, Ike & Tina, David & Jonathan, Laurel & Hardy, Bob & Bobette, Bonnie & Clyde, Starsky & Hutch, Quick & Flupke, Hugh & Ketner, Apache & Michigan, Black & Deker, Ying & Yang...
So what are you up to these days?
We've been working as producers / remixers here in France for a couple of years now, & at the moment, we are doing some R&B & Ragga / Reggae tunes for some French artistes, a remix for Stanley Beckford (an old Jamaican mento legend), a remix & a mash-up of Brandy's last single for a big French radio + some other stuff...
We also just finished 12 mini mixes for the nominees of the MTV European Music Awards 2004 + some new tracks for MTV MASH, & of course, a lot of new bootlegs, as we are working on our Superchunk for XFM that will be aired on the 28th of November, & another one hour mix that will be aired on French radio OuiFM on November 13th.
What music are you currently listening to?
Placido: My tastes are very eclectic, but here are a few stuff I've been listening to recently: Green Day - American Idiot (I discovered this band in 1990 on a skateboard video, & I've always been a big fan since then + this may be their best album so far)
Easy Star All-Stars - Dub Side Of The Moon (the classic Pink Floyd album totally revisited in a reggae / dub style. Genius!!!)
Steve Miller Band - Best Of (classic!)
Sondre Lerche (A very good songwriter from Norway. I love the production of his albums)
Johnny Cash (a compilation I made with all the covers & duets he made. My favourite one is the cover of Bob Marley "Songs Of Freedom" with Joe Strummer)
N.E.R.D. - Fly Or Die (always have been impressed by their creativity, these guys are amazing)
Fatboy Slim - Palookaville (his 1st album was a shock for me. I was really impressed by the stuff this guy was pulling out with a good record collection & a computer. He really got me into sampling & I still enjoy his new stuff)
Lyrics Born (Latteef is such a great rapper / singer)
Bob Dylan - "Ramona" (this song always makes me cry)
...& the list could go on & on...music is a real drug.
Loo: Stanley Beckford, The Roots' Tripping Point & Snoop Dogg's Drop It Like It's Hot.
What, if push comes to shove, is your all-time favourite album?
Placido: This is a really hard one...so many great albums...I think that the one I listened to the most is The Ramones - It's Alive, 100% pure energy.
Loo: Bob Marley - Talking Blues
Do you still remember what's the first record you ever bought? Where did you buy it?
Placido: As a kid, I used to spend hours recording songs on the radio, & make my own compilations but the 1st album I bought was in a supermarket when I lived in Spain. (It was) Thriller by Michael Jackson.
Loo: Adriano Celentano - Svalutation
Which artist, other than yourself, have you ever wanted to be?
Placido: Joe Strummer is my hero!
Loo: Bob Marley.
What is the most embarrassing & bizarre thing that has ever happened to you while DJing? Tell us some stories please!
Placido:
Embarrassing: It was with my 1st band a couple of years ago, when an old drunk guy wanted to fight me because he didn't like the music we were playing. He almost hit me with a bottle of whisky.
Bizarre: Was to have a friend of mine totally drunk & running naked on the stage for about 15min while I was DJing with Rubin Steiner. We were the only ones who found it funny.
Loo:
Embarrassing: A drunk sound engineer cutting the lights & PA because I was playing too much reggae for his tastes. Almost got into a fight.
Bizarre: Was at the afterparty of a fashion show in Paris, when I saw all these Japanese girls singing all the lyrics when I played Buju Banton or Bounty Killer! I was shocked!
Is it true that when it comes to making music, the French has a different approach compared to its UK or US counterparts?
For a long time, French music didn't have a very good reputation abroad, & we suffered from an inferiority complex, but in the mid 90's, the French electronic scene suddenly caught a lot of attention from the international press. Daft Punk, Air, Cassius, to name a few...were labelled as "French Touch" by the journalists, & it even became a label of quality. We never thought there was a specific French sound that you could easily identify, & those 3 bands mentioned above are all different in our opinion. The good thing about all this, is that we don't have to be ashamed anymore of being French in the music business. More generally, there are good & bad musicians everywhere, whatever country you're coming from, music is universal.
The Last of Loo & Placido:
Last CD you bought (or downloaded) =
Placido: A reggae tribute to the Beatles (was about time I discovered this!)
Loo: The Roots - Tripping Point
Last movie you watched that scared the shit outta you =
Placido: The Ring
Loo: Fahrenheit 911
Last book or mag you read that excited you tremendously =
Placido: Thrasher, one of the oldest & still the best skateboard magazine (My girlfriend keeps on telling me I should read more books...)
Loo: La reine du sud by Arturo Perez-Reverte
Last concert you watched that was awesome =
Placido: The last one that really impressed me was a band called At The Drive-In a few years ago.
Loo: Stanley Beckford
Last bootleg you heard that reminded you of yourself =
When McSleazy posted a track on GYBO using Green Velvet & Eddy Grant, as MTV Mash had just comissioned one of our tracks using the same ingredients two days before. That was a total coincidence & what was funny is that it has happened before with McSleazy, but in the other way, with a boot using Queens Of The Stone Age & Tweet.
In your opinion, what are the TEN bootlegs that you think are the greatest of all time?
There are many good ones, but here are 10 in no particumar order:
Freelance Hellraiser - "A Stroke Of Genie-us"
Soundhog - "I Feel You Really Caught Me On The Edge"
McSleazy - "Franzie Boys"
Ultra396 - "Woops, There Goes My Remedy"
DJ Zebra - "Killing Boombastic"
Smash@Mash - "Bootystition"
2Many DJ's - "Dreadlock Women"
DJ Skillmaster - "Breathe, Don't Stop"
Go Home Productions - "Ray Of Gob"
Loo & Placido - "Kids Rock"
You seemed to have not made any shit boots so far. How do you do it? Tell us the secret ingredient behind the Loo & Placido magic!
We just spend a lot of time on our tracks, takes a lot of patience to search for some good combinations, but when you find a good one, it's definitely something magic & really exciting, & that's what we love about doing mash-ups. First person to be surprised has to be you.
What are the influences behind your bootlegs?
Making bootlegs is a chance to play with all our favourite tracks from our record collection in no particular style. There are no barriers & no restrictions, it's like "ultimate sampling". So the influences are really diverse, depends if it's a chilled track or something for the dancefloor, but the melodies are surely something really important to us. We like it when the final result sounds like a track that could have been recorded in the studio by the artistes involved.
Will Mash-ups be the new pop? Discuss...
We prefer to quote an article written by Soundhog & Manriki as it sums it up perfectly:
"Many of the people in the scene are kind of hoping that the genre will get more recognition from record labels & artistes, as well as from the people who listen / dance to music. People downloading music from the Internet is not the only reason for the bad situation that most record companies are in today - a lack of creativity & guts is an important factor as well! If they care to open their eyes for a change, maybe the day that artistes & record companies will see the almost unlimited possibilities of working with mash-up producers may come. And if it happens, then from that day onwards music will never be the same again. Here's hoping..."
Let's play word association. We mention a name & you give us your thoughts...
Audio Sault = Very nice & efficient person, she gave us the opportunity to finally have our own website!
Irreversible = Bizarre
Boot 106 = Great site, been very active in the past years.
Freddie Mercury = Placido: My best friend's hero & I must say one of the biggest performers of all time.
Jean-Yves Prieur = Placido: Never trust a guy who after having been a punk, is now playing electro. Loo: He produced an album of my 1st band (Les Satellites) back in 1987, his name was not Kid Loco, but Kid Bravo at that time.
Serge Gainsbourg = Incredibly talented!!! The No.1 French artiste we are very proud of. He was a genius & still has a big influence on the French scene, but nobody has never beaten him.
The Strokes = First album was damn great, but maybe a bit overated...
Monica Bellucci = Vincent Cassel is a lucky boy.
Wim Wenders = Multi-talented person with a unique & amazing style.
OUI 102.3FM = The only French radio to host a show dedicated to bootlegs. DJ Zebra is the man!!!
Which decade do you consider the 'golden era' of music?
The 60's seemed to be very exciting. So much bands were sounding totally new, & there was a big enthusiasm by the public, radios, etc...
What do you remember about the following years:
1988 =
Placido: My 1st skateboard
Loo: 1st tour as a drummer with my band (Les Satellites)
1995 =
Placido: First European tour with my band Portobello Bones. Did 22 gigs in 26 days in 10 different countries! I'll never forget this unique experience.
Loo: Travelled a lot with my band.
1999 =
Placido: At the end of 1998, I was asked to replace the bass player of a famous French band called No One Is Innocent & did a big tour, & got my first sampler AKAI S2000. I also start doing bootlegs with my friend Rubin Steiner, & DJ in what we called "The Dancing Music Show". We did about 15 dates in some French clubs & festivals & even shared the stage with artistes like Gonzales, Monk & Canatella, Blink 182...
Loo: I would have preferred 1998 when I met my wife.
2002 = Finally got a broadband connection, & discovered the joys of the Internet.
2004 =
Placido: Great summer holiday on the Crete island with my girlfriend.
Loo: Very prolific year for us.
What's your favourite Saturday night record?
Placido: There are so many...but 2Many DJ's did the perfect Saturday night record with As Heard On Radio Soulwax Part 2.
Loo: Saturday Night Fever OST (I couldn't resist).
And your Sunday morning one?
Placido: Manu Chao - Clandestino
Loo: Johnny Osbourne - Truths & Rights
What's it like being a day in the life of Loo & Placido?
Placido: Get up around 8-9 am / Shower / Make some music / Phone calls / E-mails / Eat / Make some music / Spend some time with my girlfriend in the evening / Make some more music / Go to bed around 1am
Loo: Get up around 7 am / Shower / Bring the kids to school / Make some music / Phone calls / E-mails / Meetings / Make some music / Spend some time with my girlfriend & kids in the evening / Make some more music / Go to bed around 11 - 12pm
What are your plans for the future?
We have the chance to make a living of music since our early 20's, & we hope it will continue as long as possible. We would also like to find some time to work on our proper album one of these days...
Do you still see yourself doing bootlegs in, let's say, ten years time?
Yes, possibly...as long as it will keep us excited...
What do you think the future for bootlegs / mash-ups / remixes would be like, given that being a home musician is so easy these days?
There may be more & more official releases in the next months / years. Let's see what happens.
On the artistic side, a band playing mash-ups live, with the original singers performing at the same time, but as holograms, you know, like the things R2D2 was projecting in Star Wars when Obi-One or Yoda had a message for Luke.That would be something we'd surely like to see or do.
*Two Exclusive Loo & Placido Boots*
1. Rigby Reggae (The Beatles vs Seeed)
2. It Wasn't Blur (Blur vs Shaggy)
Some other classic Loo & Placido boots:
1. Kids Rock (Queen vs Althea & Donna vs Kids Will Rock You)
2. Safari Love (The Beatles vs The Pixies vs Aretha Franklin vs Elton John)
3. Horny As A Dandy (Dandy Warhols vs Mousse T)
You can also check out their website here.
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