Music takes listeners on a fantastic journey. When we listen to music, we take a little metaphorical vacation. DJ and producer, Digiki is currently sending his listeners on a vacation of electronic beats. A young, French man currently living and working in Tokyo, Japan, Digiki's minimalist electronic music has been praised by artists such as Momus and Toog. Digiki has collaborated with Momus, Toog, Darsh, Eric Ker, Glitch Diddy, Mai Ueda, MC Cat Genius, Carl Stone, Marxy, Pandatone, DJ Chien Loup, DJ Codomo, Kawatory, Dritt Drittel, John Fashion Flesh, Mahjongg, Obelisk, DJ Bobo Fete, Roddy Schrock, The Mittens Brigade, Shugo Tokumaru, Crazy Curl, Kumi Okamoto, and many more. Released on Hattrick Records, "Kitchen" by Digiki featured artists EeL, Eric Ker, Darsh, Toog, Momus, and others. Digiki also teamed up with Eric Ker to form the group, DOS Brothers.
A special chemistry was displayed when he worked with fellow French artist, Toog. The magnificent remix of Toog's "The General Says" by Digiki gave the excellent song an added dimension. Sharing a love for minimalist electronic music, Toog and Digiki collaborated on an album inspired by the tragedies of September 11th. Released on Karaoke Kalk, the "Lou Etendue" EP by Toog was produced by Digiki. Asia Argento contributed vocals on two of the songs.
In 2007, Digiki created and released a solo album in the true sense of the word "solo". Released on Tokyo Fun Party Records, "Beat Vacation" by Digiki consists of 10 tracks filled with electronic bleeps, bloops, snaps, pops, and pings. Futuristically minimalist, "Beat Vacation" is pure Digiki. Every single song was created by Digiki, alone. Instead of having musicians in the studio, Digiki used samples of the musicians. "Pancaked Again" features chopped up vocals by MC Cat Genius. "Cease And Desist" features chopped up vocals taken from MTV and Darsh. Other standout tracks include "Wikifi", "Desktop Music", "Song For Morizo", and "Skip Skap".
Music takes us on a multi-dimensional journey. This art aids us to escape the mundane aspects of reality. We are swept away in a maelstrom of melodies and moved forward by the rhythms. Let Digiki take you on his "Beat Vacation".
MVRemix: What goes on?
Digiki: Hi. What's up?
MVRemix: Tell us about your new album, ‘Beat Vacation', which was just released on Tokyo Fun Party Records.
Digiki: 'Beat Vacation' is my first real solo album, without any guests, and the first album I recorded in Tokyo. So, it's very much a brand new experience for me. When I started working on it, I wanted to do something without beats. I wanted quiet, ambient music for my life in Tokyo. In the end, there are lots of beats and it's not so quiet. So, it's kind of a failure. (Laughs). But the result is a good progression from what I have done before, and without knowing it has a 'Digiki sound', so all is good!
MVRemix: How is this different from your past music? How would you describe the ‘Digiki sound'?
Digiki: From the music I have done before, I would say ‘Beat Vacation' is an evolution. Time will tell, maybe it will be a transition to something different. ‘Beat Vacation' shares a lot of similarities with my past works, such as ‘Kitchen', an album I did in collaboration with Momus, Toog and many others 4 years ago. Also, ‘Lou Etendue', the album I produced with Toog. It has the same approach of working on micro samples found via Google, sounds from contemporary artists rather than vintage sampling of old records.
MVRemix: Favorite song on the ‘Beat Vacation'?
Digiki: I almost never listen to my own music, so it's difficult to say. Maybe, ‘Song For Morizo' because this really corresponds to the moment and the place I recorded.
MVRemix: What is the creative process like?
Digiki: The creative process is very simple, really. First, you got to realize that I barely do music. I record a few songs a year, I don't work every day. I listen to a lot of music, but I don't really do music. It's still difficult for me to call myself a musician. So, for ‘Beat Vacation', I gave myself a limited time, 2 months to record.
MVRemix: You use elements of MC Cat Genius from your song ‘Pancaked' on the song, ‘Pancaked Again'. How did you meet MC Cat Genius? What is his involvement?
Digiki: MC Cat Genius is a really funny guy, with a unique approach to rap and music. I wish we could do more together in the future. I'm sure we'll work together again.
MVRemix: You produced an album for Toog called ‘Lou Etendue'. How did this collaboration come into fruition? What was it like working with him? How is he different from other artists?
Digiki: I met Toog in Paris in 2000. I knew his first album because I knew the music of Momus and Kahimi Karie. We had a really close relationship from the start, because we listened and talked about music a lot. In the summer 2001, Toog asked me and my friend, Eric Ker, who I was doing a band called DOS Brothers, to remix one of his songs. He really liked the result. Then, in September 2001 just as Toog was getting ready to go to New York for the CMJ Music Festival, the terrorist attacks happened. We spent September 11th together. In the following days, he got the idea to do a mini-album about endangered love and Appolinaire, ‘Anna Lou' which was released soon after in Japan. I wasn't involved with this mini-album but later, in 2002/2003, Toog asked me to work on a new song for an extended version of that mini album. The song was ‘Terroriste'. He liked what I did with it and asked me to do more. I ended up working on all the songs on the album, though I didn't produce the tracks featuring Asia Argento. Working with Toog was great and easy. We were in Paris. We met very often and listened to a lot of music and talked a lot. We were trying something different for this album, and I was there to help. It was an interesting experience. I don't think he would do something like that again. So do I. But it was an interesting experience for both of us. I ended up using a somewhat more club version of ‘Terroriste' on my own ‘Kitchen' release.
MVRemix: Tell us more about the album, ‘Kitchen' released on Hattrick Records. On this album, you worked on with Momus, Toog, and others.
Digiki: Nick (Momus) is a really good friend. I owe him a lot. And while we are always in different cities, I enjoy reading his journal. When we meet, it's always inspiring. I happened to be in Tokyo when he was recording his ‘Oskar Tennis Champion' album. We talked about his album, the sounds, and what he was trying to do at the time. It was really interesting to see the way he works and his ideas. I loved it. We discussed the possibility of me doing a remix of one of his tracks. Nothing really concrete was happening. It was just the idea, so I thought this would never happen. But when I was back in Paris, he asked me to remix one track and I did. Surprisingly, he loved it and included it on the Japanese edition of ‘Oskar Tennis Champion'. I would love to do more with Momus in the future. He keeps working with my friends, so I'm sure we'll work again together someday. I have this idea of a song for my next album and I'm sure he would be awesome on it!
