>> Black Strobe
bio: The dark side of disco, frozen-balearic, gay biker-house, boogie-trance, heavy-electronica and soft-goth. No, these aren't compilations from a record shop on Mars but some of the mutant genres Black Strobe have written on the wall of their studio, musical monsters they hope to bring to life. "Electronic music that is not afraid to scare people", Parisians Arnaud Rebotini and Ivan Smagghe have declared is their intent. They have many talents but when it comes to dark disco this deviant duo are peerless. Smagghe a wire-thin, wired DJ and Rebotini a tall metal goth? producer can't quite remember exactly where they met but both swear it was in the 'Front Row'. This was the name of a collective of similarly spirited, evangelical music fans who would spot each other down the front of gigs from the mid-eighties onwards. Smagghe remembers they would go and see anything remotely indie from Cabaret Voltaire, The Swans, My Bloody Valentine, Sonic Youth to goth and baggy bands, three or four times a week. They became firm friends when they both worked in the dance section of Rough Trade in the mid-nineties. It was at the height of the French house boom that they formed Black Strobe to make a record for the Sourcelab 3 (1996) album. Their contribution was a reaction to the bright filtered disco sound the city had become reknowned for. ?Paris Acid City? was dance but infused with the spirit of the bands they would watch with the Front Row, it?s title is ironic, a sly dig at their cities once listless club scene. "It was a reaction to everyone saying they were into disco for years too", says Smagghe. All the Black Strobe elements were there at the time. The name and sound reflected their passion for disco-noir and flip-side Funk Is Not Always Where You Think? was infused with ebm. Initially conceived as a one-off release Black Strobe was left dormant for several years as the duo busied themselves with other projects.
Rebotini was raised on funk and disco by his father. though he rebelled and formed death metal and noise grunge bands. A student in computer science, he was soon seduced by technology, bought a 303 and began crafting skewed electronica and techno. In 2000 he released an album Organique? under the moniker Zend Avesta, an experimental pop project, which mixed acoustics and electronics and featured singers like Hafdis Huld of Gus Gus and FC Kahuna. A classical buff he also works for the GRM (Groupe De Recherch? Musical - Musical Research Group) a state institution created by veteran innovators Pierre Henry and Pierre Schaeffer devoted to contemporary music. As a DJ Rebotini indulges his gothic tendencies at his regular night, the aptly named, Funky People Even Wear Black. Smagghe, the son of hippie parents, hated nightclubs as a teen. The ardent gig-goer viewed them with suspicion and malice. "I wouldn?t be seen dead in a club, I thought they were evil." he recalls. Ironic that he is now one of the cities most acclaimed DJs a nocturnal animal and resident at the capital?s most cutting edge club ?Kill The DJ?, a monthly electro house riot in lesbian club Le Pulp. Smagghe also hosted influential daily show The Test on Radio Nova in the late nineties conducting over 400 interviews with leftfield musicians from Andrew Weatherall to Coldcut and releasing several compilations. He has also recently compiled ?Kill The DJ? for Tiger Sushi (2003) ?Death Disco? for Eskimo and ?Suck My Deck? for Bugged Out (2004) and was Jockey Slut magazine?s DJ of 2003. As they put it, "If more people heard Ivan Smagghe play less clubs would close".
In 2000 Smagghe and Rebotini revived Black Strobe harnessing lightning to its neck bolts. ?Innerstrings? was the result which they released on their Funky People Even Wear Black seven inch label. It was heard by Trevor Jackson who rescued it from obscurity by promptly signing it to his Output label. It garnered heavyweight support from Andrew Weatherall, Laurent Garnier and DJ Hell and predated the neo-electro scene from which the duo would find a like-minded band of friends like James Murphy of The DFA, Berlin-based producer Ewan Pearson, Canadian dandy Tiga and Belgian siblings Soulwax.
In 2002 Black Strobe released a double a-side on Output: ?Me and Madonna? which featured Parisien DJ Jennifer on vocals and Rebotini lowering his bass to his thigh like Peter Hook, and ?Fitting Together? a sinister electro-beast revealing their fascination with bleep-house and early rave-friendly Warp releases like Sweet Exorcist?s ?Test One? and LFO ?LFO?. They have since remixed, for the darker dancefloors, Dave Clarke, Royksopp, Tiefschwarz, Output label-mates The Rapture, and Trevor Jackson?s own Playgroup amongst others. Their next single for Output, ?Chemical Sweet Girl? features Rebotini on vocals who describes it as "rougher but more complex" than their previous work. Smagghe calls it "raw techno rock". They are currently working on their debut album, Rebotini describes their chemistry in the studio thus, "We sometimes fight over very little things but from the tension comes the result". Smagghe sums their recordings up as "rock?n?roll with synths" though it seems we will have to expect the unexpected from their debut as he is more elusive about their plans, "Maybe we will go more minimal, or maybe go more disco or maybe go for more maximum big noise". Whether making minimal acid or a maximum noise Black Strobe?s debut album is the most anticipated French release since Daft Punk?s ?Homework?. They are also planning an unusual incendiary live show to support its release that, after spending most of their lives looking up from the mosh pit, should be very special indeed. It?s time for Black Strobe to leave the front row and take centre stage.
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