The French electronic scene is one renowned by many, and at the heart of it is Yuksek. The producer has released countless disco and dancefloor hits since 2002, and his latest record ‘NOSSO RITMO’ turns it up a notch. Collaboration is at the core of this record, and we had a great time chatting to Yuksek about how that process shaped the album, including working with Australia’s beloved Confidence Man.
Hey Yuksek, thanks for much for chatting and congrats on the album! How long has this been in the works for?
Since I’ve released my last album 2 years ago, but it wasn’t full time, did many other kinds of stuff in between.
Did you creatively approach ‘NOSSO RITMO’ differently than your past work?
Yes, there are more collaborations, I don’t sing any more except backing vocals and I focused on dance music and not on the songwriting.
Collaboration is at the heart of this album. What is your collaborative process like, do you reach out to the artist? Are you working together in the studio or remotely?
I only work with people I meet in real life, making music together means spending time in the studio together, so we need to appreciate each other. I would never book a name just for a name, especially if it’s not someone great.
The album even features Australia’s very own ‘Confidence Man’. How did this collaboration come about?
I saw them live in a festival in France ( Vie Sauvage ) and I love the music and performance, so we met after the show and a couple of weeks after we sat in my studio!
How does your background in classical piano influence your work? It’s not a trait you see in many producers.
I don’t think it does much, but it influenced my life because I realised very young that my only talent is doing music and I have to put 200% of my effort in doing this.
You often release remixes in between your studio work. What draws you to releasing remixes over making your music?
It’s very easy and fun to do, and I got more tracks to play! I’ve been known for my remixes back in the days and I love doing this, most of the time just playing with vocals and telling another story.
And how do you know you have to remix a certain song?
It’s only requested from label or artists. But I also do edits of older tracks, disco mainly that I release on SoundCloud or sometimes on specialised labels, like Razor n Tape in the US.
What do you make of the current French electronic music scene?
To be honest, I don’t care much, but I like Kiddy Smile for sure who I now for years, Folamour, Myd, and all my friends like Breakbot, Polo&Pan, Zombie Zombie... and everything that releases on my label, Partyfine.
You’re no stranger to touring, what role does travel have when producing music?
It keeps me excited. Travelling the world is the best gift music offered to me and I try to enjoy it as much as I can.
What’s next for you in 2020?
Album, big tour, 2 music scores to do and many other surprises coming :)
Thanks so much, Yuksek!
‘NOSSO RITMO’ is out now, be sure to stream it on your favourite platform here, and follow Yuksek here!