“Excitement, passion or relief” with Marie Davidson
Marie Davidson, photographed by Katja Ruge for Electric Lights – Women in Electronic Music
Over the past ten years, Marie Davidson has established herself in the electronic music scene worldwide with breathtaking productivity. The list of labels on which she has released solo and with Essaie Pas (the joint band with her husband Pierre Guerineau) reads like a tasty who’s who of the indie scene: Constellation, HoloDeck, Cititrax, DFA, Ninja Tune – and now Deewee, the label of the brothers David Dewaele & Stephen Dewaele aka 2 Many DJ’s aka Soulwax. At the same time, her music, which is characterized by numerous genre influences (there are traces of techno, Italohouse, electro, disco, ambient, wave, rock and industrial, among others), has always had a dark glamour to it, which has pointed far beyond the boundaries of subcultural contexts. It was obvious early on that a musician was maturing here who would soon find her niche too narrow. In other words: Marie Davidson is truly a kaput superstar just the way we like it. Just listen to her new track “Sexy Clown”.
Big thank you to the team of Kampnagel, Hamburg for helping set up the shooting.
Marie, which music was the first to touch/inspire/move you? What made it so special and standing to you?
Marie Davidson: The first song I recall really getting into is “I Like To Move It” by Reel 2 Real feat. The Mad Stuntman. I was 6 years old and some older kids were playing it on a tape at school, I think it was a dance mix compilation. The sounds were incredibly exciting to me.
Have there been people whose contribution to the development of your musical identity was of special importance? (regardless if inspiring or challenging)
Electronic pioneer and sound designer David Kristian changed my life back in Montreal when he put a sequencer in my hands and told me to bring it home.
Are you able to share the process of evolving your identity with us?
I’m too self-aware to witness the whole evolution process of my own identity. I have to wake up and live with myself everyday, which makes it hard to analyse or deconstruct.
What do you hope to find in music?
Excitement, passion or relief.
What do you prefer, the seclusive working process in a studio or the live presentation of your music in front of the audience?
I haven’t a preference. In my case one is interdependent of the other. There is no live presentation possible without having studio sessions and rehearsals, without anyone else witnessing. I rehearse in my studio and I often work on tracks while rehearsing.
What is your ideal space/place to listen to music?
In my headphones at the gym.
Please name female artists without whose music you wouldn’t be producing music?
There is no specific artist that without their music I wouldn’t be producing. It’s a mixture of many different influences that shaped my own music production.
What do you think sets your “voice” or creative expression apart from other’s?
My French Canadian accent and the way I use language.
What empowers you or helps you to overcome obstacles and challenges in your work?
Humour.
Your most beautiful experience focused on your music?
When I feel the sounds and forget myself.
Which music did you buy most recently that carries a lot of value/meaning for you?
An album called “Wings Of Desire” by Not Waving & Romance
Where did you buy it and what makes it special to you?
I bought it on Bandcamp. I like what those two persons have been putting out together in the last years. Something special about it is that nobody knows who Romance is.
What’s a secret guilty pleasure, an idiosyncrasy of yours or something that would surprise people about you?
I don’t feel guilty about it, but I like to talk with strangers. I sometimes sit down in public spaces and wait for it to happen.
What would be a fantasy venue or event to dj or play live at?
Hell.
Do you see a connection between your femininity and your work? And if so what is it?
I think that one is indissociable from the other. Being a woman, I cannot escape my femininity and it has an impact on how I navigate the world. I try not to think about it too much. What is important for me is to be myself. Being a woman is part of who I am.
What is your favorite app/technology/instrument to create sounds with?
I’m really into filters these days.
This interview with Marie Davidson is part of the ongoing photo-project “Electric Lights – Women in Electronic Music” by Hamburg based photographer Katja Ruge and Kaput co-publisher Thomas Venker focused on the role of women in electronic music. Each photoshoot is accompanied by a short interview, based on a personalised questionnaire. The interviews will be published on the kaput website on a monthly basis, before finding their way into a book.
More Marie Davidson on Kaput
