Ce duo électronique s’est surtout fait connaître grâce à ses remix (Klaxons, Twisted Charm, Big Black et dernièrement Prodigy) ne rendant pas un hasard leur deuxième invitation au festival rennais des TransMusicales. Côté disques, Owl Of Minerva est dans les bacs. Rencontre nocturne avec Robert durant l’évènement.
Brighton serie 3 : South Central, interview
Le Bar Cult. : How you do feel about coming here and play in Transmusicales?
South Central : It’s a very big honour for us to be coming here for the second time cause we’ve heard that every band that come to Transmusicales never played for a second time. You’re only allowed to play once apparently. So it was a very big honour for us to hear that we’re the only band that are playing for the second time. That’s it.
LBC : It’s a very good chance for you to…
South Central : Yeah, obviously we played as a band the first time and this time we’re playing as DJs so we can show what we can do both time, different ways.
LBC : Why did you choose to be named South Central?
South Central : Ok I’ll explain how it happened. Basically we were doing a dance record to found the other band and what happened is that we did a bootleg of a band called The Klaxons and they had this record The Bouncer. And we did a bootleg of that record (like an electro remix). In the UK it was doing very well and by that time the Klaxons got signed to Parlophone which is quite a big label in the UK and they heard about the remix, the Klaxons, and they got really angry about it. And they messaged us on Myspace and they were like unhappy about the Bootleg.
LBC : Why?
South Central : Cause It’s a bootleg it’s just like an illegal kind of release and … I mean it’s good promotion for them, we did it cause we liked the record and anyway they called us cunts on their message on Myspace. We wanted to called ourselves cunts but we couldn’t do that so we called ourselves South Central [he shows his low belly].
[laughters]
LBC : I thought it was something about, I don’t know geography?
South Central : Finally you can say that. Every big building like a temple or a church or like any big place or important building in the world you find out that at the South and the center of the building there’s always the main door. The main door is always on the South and the center of the building. And that used to be built like it, started like that cause it’s representative of the female genetelia; which in those days was like a sacred kind of thing, and that is south center of the building so that’s another meaning of how South Central started. In a way it’s geographical as well, yeah.
LBC : Have you seen any band playing tonight or the other time?
South Central : Last time I saw the Whip playing, they were quite good. Then we ended up touring with them for a few months in the UK. That was kind of fun. Tonight, I haven’t really seen any bands. I’ve seen DJ Switch and I’ve seen Hifana. Is that from Japan?
LBC : Yes, it is.
South Central : They were quite good I thought technically. They were quite good. Hum. That’s it really, I haven’t really seen anything else.
LBC : Do you prefer like not hearing people before you do your show or has it nothing to do with it?
South Central : I don’t know I feel like, cause I’ve… we’ve been touring in the UK with Pendulum. They are quite tired and sometimes you want to be quiet. It’s like when you’re working when your job is in sound sometimes it feels like being quiet.
LBC : What’s your favorite song? The one you got always in the head….
South Central : Favorite song? Well at the moment I’m listening to… actually there’s an album called Leftism. Have you heard of it? Hum it’s the first album of Left Field. I’m listening to that and I can’t remember any names of the album though [laughters]. I’m listening to a lot of Pixies at the moment. Hum I’m terrible with names [laughter] so at the moment I’m so nacked, and I can’t sort things but there is [strange noise].
LBC : They are destroying everything.
South Central : Yes I know there’s someone who wants to come in I think. They’re crazy they just came in from the wall [laughters].
LBC : Scary.
South Central : Yep. So that’s the albums I’m listening to. And there’s another one an other album called … the band is called A Place To Bury Strangers. I like them.
LBC : Are you going to release an album or something?
South Central : Yes, we’ve just released a compilation of singles. It’s like an EP of above nine tracks. And there are all the records that we released in the last three years, we’ve just put them on cd. And the compilation is called The Owl of Minerva. We’re releasing an album next year probably in August or September [NDLR: 2009]. I think. We’re writing it at the moment. I’m looking forward to that.
LBC : Are you touring until then or…?
South Central : No no. As soon as we finished this tour with Pendulum on the 15th of December, we’ve got some gigs in London. And I think the last gig is the 20th and then we’re stopping for a few months to finish the album. Then we’re gonna start touring in the UK and in April we’re starting touring in France, we’re doing a lot of festivals in France. Don’t ask me the names [laughter]. Our agent just told me so I don’t really know the names but apparently they’re really good ones.
LBC : No idea what place it is? Or just part of the name?
South Central : Hum. There are some in the south of france like Bordeaux [NDLR : Garorock] and a lot of south of France ones and then it keep coming up.
LBC : Are you coming back in the city? or around?
South Central : In Rennes? I don’t know, probably [NDLR: dj à Rock’n’solex]. It’s the second time we’re coming here.
LBC : Do you like it?
South Central : Yeah I mean that’s a nice town. I went around for a bit. It’s not like I have a lot of time to visit the place you know, but I love France you know, I like the food. [laughter] My favorite food is French and Japanese.
LBC : Thank you. Lots of people tell that.
South Central : Yeah I love it. I love cooking, I like to cook french food.
LBC : What do you cook?
South Central : I like frog.
LBC : Oh!!
South Central : I know it’s a bit…but I like it. I tempt not to do it a lot. And so cause it’s too much, it’s like three times a year [laughters]. That’s my rule.
LBC : It’s just to do with your last date in france like there’s a band called Naïve New Beaters and they’re playing here or they played yesterday. Have you met them again or not?
South Central : No. I’ve heard of them so our agent just told me. Are they good?
LBC : I think so, they’re a bit fun in fact like crazy people just with names and everything.
South Central : Right. They’re a new band. Are they French?
LBC : They’re French and they’re playing like they were Americans talking french.
South Central : Right. What kind of music is it?
LBC : It’s a bit electro, between rock and electro.
South Central : Oh cool. That’s cool actually.
LBC : With a rap singing.
South Central : So they have a rapper as well?
LBC : Yes.
South Central : I’ll check them out. I’ve heard of them twice tonight but I didn’t know about them before. [laughters]
LBC : It’s because you played with them in Halloween.
South Central [desperate tone] : Yeah I know but…
LBC : How did South Central form ?
South Central : Me and Keith have like known each other for 12 years and we’ve worked with each other for 7-8 years. And Keith decided to move to the UK 4 years ago to start with that band that did happened to be called South Central and we started doing electro records to prom the other band this is how South Central started.
LBC : Are you used to see the daylight or do you live only durig the night because you’re playing at like 4 in the morning…
South Central : I love darkness. I do like black. I don’t like the sun a lot especially when I’m working cause the feeling of the sun makes one feel happy and when I’m happy I don’t write.
LBC : When you’re at night, you’re like by yourself?
South Central : Especially when I write lyrics I like to be alone. It’s like it makes me think deeper when I’m alone and especially at night as well.
LBC : So you write the music before and then the lyrics?
South Central : I wrote them all the time but yeah I have the melody of the vocals then I write the lyrics.
LBC : Ok i’ve got one silly question . For or against snail races?
South Central : Oh I’m quite for them. It’s quite funny to see how they struggle to the end like a life relief.
LBC : Is there an event in your life that made you decide to be a musician or maybe your family?
South Central : I started to play the piano whan I was 5 years old and I hated it but my mother made me…and I hated it cause I had to learn others people music but eventually it changed.
LBC : And what about school?
South Central : I love school actually. In Malta, I don’t know in France but in Malta it was like very innocent, like everyone was happy at school.
LBC : That’s good for you.
South Central : There was no bullying there was nothing you know. Everyone was happy… Teachers were nice, really dedicated. I mean it’s different a bit now in Malta. I’ve got some small cousins, they tell me that there is bully. It’s such a shame, when I was younger Malta was very innocent. I haven’t moved to England when I was very young anyway but I finished school when I moved to the UK but I moved to the UK because of the music. I couldn’t do music in Malta because in Malta there is no music industry and the mentality of people. There is really not a lot of musical culture, it’s all about going to the sea, it’s a small island.
LBC : Would you like to come back and maybe create like a movement, because yesterday there were like two or three bands from Malta [NDLR: Mathematikal]
South Central [excited] : Yeah, yeah ! This is the thing, there are bands… They just need to move out of the island because it’s impossible, there is no music industry there… They need to just move out and to suffer for a bit you know because in Malta it’s very easy, so you need to suffer. It’s good to suffer… because it makes you work hard. I think in Malta it’s so easy if I had lived in Malta now I wouldn’t do any music. I’ll be like going out with my friends, go to the beach, even in Christmas it’s sunny you know. [laughter] Which is really nice you know but… Don’t get me wrong, I mean I love going to the beach sometimes. That’s how I’m having a holiday which I don’t know when I’m gonna have it so I love it, so … A lot of people in the music industry have their holiday in January but I don’t have time at the moment. Hopefully next year I will be able to have some.
LBC : And did you find any support in the choice of being a musician or not?
South Central : Hum I was the first person in my family who moved out of the country to do something like this. So it was… I used to lie that I was doing well for them not to worry but they never said “no don’t go”. They were supporting but I know that if they knew I was suffering they would be like “come back” so I’ve always told that I was doing okay but I really wasn’t at all [laughter] but now they are a bit happier. They’re happier.
LBC : Did they already see you playing?
South Central : Actually funny thing. My dad saw me play for the first time in Brixton Academy two days ago. There was like 4000 people which is quite big.
LBC : And how did he find it?
South Central : He really was like impressed he didn’t expect all those people and everyone going crazy and stuff. I was proud and he was proud. It was good.
LBC : Any problems with your friend I mean like when you’re on tour?
South Central : No never. That ’s why we’re a good team, because he’s very … I’m very ……. very patient people, both of us. We don’t have any ego conflict I mean I think I have a big ego [laughters] but I’m not like “oh I want cold water”. I’m nothing of that kind of person and we’re very patient, obviously there is no tension. We never never actually have an argument…. I’m quite happy to say that. It’s really hard to meet people like that sometimes so we’re very good friends and very good colleagues. I mean we’re singles as well [laughters] so I think we’re gonna be single for a long time as well. But I think i’m … we’ve got to be…I think we don’t have time for a girl. That’s why you write good lyrics [laughters] they’re never about love so… [laughters]. What else?