For more info be sure to visit the sites listed after the interview

[WH] Just who are the SPIES anyway?

SPIES is basically a musical project fighting against the segmentation of electronic music, as music is an emotion beyond the styles. Under the name of SPIES, I produce what I call cinematic music, a mixure of wild and wide electronica with an ambient touch. I am about to release a new album that I have produced and arranged on the basis of the discography of VON MAGNET. This album named SPIES UNDER VON MAGNET INFLUENCE should be out early next year (with a miniCD EP before) on my new label CINETIKS.

Talking about collaborations, I have been remixing artists such Anne Clark and many others. I really like to diversify my work to explore as many paths as possible. That's why I have recently launched a new electro-techno project HOLEG SPIES for the label of VITALIC (CITIZEN records). The first EP is out now.

Besides the musical face of our activities, SPIES produces some experimental movies based on mysterious websites and serious investigations, notably related to the Silicon Valley. For this kind of work, I collaborate with an old friend of mine, Thierry Saint-Paul, (photographer, painter, movie maker)... For those pieces SPIES becomes a duo.

I guess the best way to get into our activities is to reach www.spies.tv There are many things to be downloaded for free... the best way to understand the diversity of our work.

[WH] The "Notinism" CD was my first intro to SPIES. I seem to remember a link to Notinism.org on the disc - please tell us more about that.

NOTINISM is my first album and was the soundtrack of the experimental movie I was talking about : NOTINISM.ORG This movie can be downloaded in its full-length version on our website for free. Basically, www.notinism.org is a coded website and the only way to break the code is to watch the musical movie in which we have hidden some keys. This movie and multimedia work has been presented at the POMPIDOU centre, at the French National Library and in many audiovisual and Sci-Fi exhibitions notably in Japan and in Switzerland.

[WH] You work a lot in audio visual realm. Have you always worked in multi-media? Which came first the music or the visual?

As we always try and tend to develop new ways to explore, we have have the movie on the music. I first wrote and composed a musical screenplay. Then, we pictured it out ! It is quite unsual but very interesting as music opens up special emotions that are sometimes difficult to put into images.

[WH] Please tell us more about Mike Takashi's movie « Ichi the Killer » and your involvement in that project.

In December 2002, I was in Japan for a tour and at the same time we were presenting our movie NOTINISM.ORG in a audiovisual exhibition produced by CANON. The godfather of this exhibition was MIIKE TAKASHI and we have been asked to provide a short audio and video remix for his movie that has been awarded at the Rotterdam movie festival "ICHI THE KILLER". That was a new experience to make a remix for a movie. With such a work you can write a new script in the original script, focus on one of the character...to make a movie in the movie...very interesting !

[WH] Besides a few remixes on other releases, I tracked down the double CD release by Holeg and the SPIES. Why was Holeg added to the SPIES for this release? I found a lot of remixes by some of my favorite artists. Please tell us more about that.

The album REALITY DRIFT signed by HOLEG AND THE SPIES was born of collabrations I did with artists coming from different musical scene. TIM SCHULDT (metal, dark-trance), SHAOLIN WOODEN MEN (psychedelic electronics), MIMETIC (IDM, undustrial), VON MAGNET (electro-flamenco), IMPLANT (electro)... and my idea was to create a complete album out of those collaborations. That's why I called it HOLEG AND THE SPIES...

[WH] I've always struggled with giving people an explanation of "Hybrid" music - your work incorporates so many styles - do you think this gives your work a wider audience?

I thought ! but the reality is different for a simple reason: the music market structure (labels, distributors, magazines...) is completely segmented and hermetic. The result is simple : the public is segmented, too, and it is almost impossible (because most of the indie labels have no promo budget) to reach all the audience concerned by the mixure of styles. Actually, I have to admit it is a bit frustrating. That's why I have decided to create my own label, CINETIKS. I will dedicate this label to cinematic music : any genres that can help the audience to develop imagination and fields of vision. But, it is difficult to get good partners for the distribution because my style is difficult to label ! Well, I don't give up !

[WH] What can people expect from Holeg and the SPIES in the future?

The main thing people can expect is that I will follow my way into music exploration... I have this electro-techno-pop project for CITIZEN, this collaboration with VON MAGNET (ambient, rock, electronica, IDM, experimental jazz, ethno, classical...but cinematic), I work on a world-music album with a wonderful Japanese drummer... I don't know what the future holds and I don't think too much about it... I just do what I can like everyone else does.

For those who want to be updated on our activities, send us an e-mail to be added to our mailing list : infos@spies.tv - spies.tv

spiesaudiovisual

NOTINISM.ORG

collaborators ::: mimetic _ von magnet