Interview: Guena LG releases its first EP

July 16 2014
by Marc Dedonder

Guéna LG has been remixing the greatest for more than ten years. After having worked with the greatest artists of the international pop scene, he now plays in the big league and releases his first EP. We found collaborations with Susana, Bryan Rice but also Sophie Ellis Bextor for the track "Back 2 Paradise". We went to meet this artist between light and shadow, who knew how to make us dance and dream with a unique sound and recognizable among all.

You are known to have remixed the greatest, Lady Gaga, the Black Eyed Peas, Kylie Minogue, Mylène Farmer. Can you tell us a little more about you and your background and what led you to work with such artists?
GuénaLG: I started remixing in 2001, with Sophie Ellis Bextor. it happened completely by chance. I was given the a cappella and they said "do a remix and if it's approved by the management we'll release it". It was a gamble, I did my remix, it was approved and sent to clubs. And then the remix came second. So not bad for a first shot. From there, other remixes followed. I remixed Murder on the dancefloor in the back which became a huge hit. And then word started to spread, so I got more requests from artists, including Kylie, Britney, and then since then there have been fifty more. So a lot of people and a lot of recurring artists. It's often the same ones who come back, because I'm a loyal person and they are too.

Mylène Farmer for example?
GLG: Exactly! The first remix I did for her was for Lonely Lisa. It went well so her team asked me what I could do for Bleu Noir, which was a good thing because it was a track I liked a lot. There was a third and a fourth, the last one being A l'ombre.

Knowing the level of demand of some fans, wasn't it a bit scary to remix big artists?
GLG: These artists all have their own fan base, more or less pushy. If I take Lady Gaga, there are a lot of fans who are very hardcore. The exercise as such, didn't make me more anxious than that. It was more the return. Am I going to be able to take her into a world that is a little bit mine, but without taking her completely out of her own? And I think the mistake when you remix certain artists is to put them in a universe where they don't belong anymore. That's where it goes wrong. When an artist has a universe as strong as Mylène Farmer's, you have to respect a certain number of things. But the exercise was very interesting. I wasn't worried about asking myself : "will the fans like it or not? You have the right to screw up, but in this case I think they liked it.

You released your first remix in 2001, your first EP Momentum was released on June 30, 2014. Why did you wait so long? And how do you feel now that it's finally out?
GLG: First of all there is a big difference between remixing and producing. They are two completely different exercises. In a remix everything is already there: the artist's voice, the melody, the universe, the lyrics. So it's as if you already have a model to dress up, to which you just have to change the shirt and the pants. So you say to yourself "we'll put more colors here, we'll dress it a little bit blacker there". But when you make a title, you have nothing. In front of you, you have a base, and they tell you: "put the model, put the dressing". It's more complicated and it takes longer. And above all, it's less serious if you screw up on a remix than on a creation. If the remix doesn't work, it's not really your fault. But on a track, you're directly in the spotlight and you're the one who carries it, so you're the one to blame if it doesn't work.

But that's not why I waited so long. It's because I wasn't ready. I made a lot of demos, I had a lot of ideas but it didn't sound the way I wanted. I didn't have the sound expertise to make something I could be proud of. Then there is a whole complicated process, to find people who can sing properly and who already exist in the field and who agree to collaborate.

And then one day it all falls into place, you have a few songs that go well, and people who say yes. For me it started two years ago.

Are there any voices you prefer to others on your EP?
GLG: I can't say I have any favorite voices because I chose them all as I went along and they were always deliberate choices. We didn't get stuck with a person at the last minute just because they could sing. For example, for Brighter I wanted a guy's voice that was husky and had the ability to convey emotion in the song. For Stay Awake I needed to find someone who could go very high but still be powerful. I wrote Sun on Earth with Susana in mind and I wouldn't have released the song if she hadn't wanted to sing on it, and I did the same for Back to Paradise which I created with Sophie Ellis Bextor in mind.

You have collaborated again with Sophie Ellis Bextor, for the track Back 2 Paradise, after so many years, how was the reunion?
GLG: Thanks to the remixes I wrote for her, we became friends and we are still in touch. When she comes to Paris we see each other, and it's the same when I come to England. There is not six months without a text or a message. When she did Strictly come dancing (the British version of Dance with the Stars NDLR) I watched it on replay and I sent her messages of encouragement. I thought at first she wasn't a great dancer and honestly she blew me away. I thought she looked fabulous and radiant. She made it to the semi-finals and she did really well. And when the Back to Paradise instrumental was ready, I told her that I would like to work together again but not on a remix. On one of my tracks. I sent her the demo and told her that it had been thought for her. Two hours later I received an e-mail to tell me "OK I love it, let's do it!

And now that this title, your "baby", is out how do you feel?
GLG: (Laughs) The birth went well! I feel good and I'm very happy with the title. Honestly I think it's one of the best dance tracks she's done since Not giving up on love, which she did with Armin Van Buuren. Her voice fits the track and the summer spirit.

I've recently listened to several dance albums and I think you can tell when there's a real collaborative effort. Whereas on some tracks you can tell they put someone in just for the name. You can see that the voice doesn't fit the track and that it sounds like a remix and there is no magic! Whereas I think, at least I hope, that on Back to Paradise you feel that it fits well.

And is it for this reason that you decided to release an EP and not an album? So that you don't have tracks that you won't like in the end?
GLG: For that reason among others. But also because I think that nowadays, in Dance Music, you have to be a big name, like David Guetta, to afford to release an album. Or you're not as big, like me, and then I think it's better to release tracks regularly because that's the way people consume nowadays. People don't care if they go out and buy ten tracks. Clearly I think that people consume two or three tracks not more.

I could have released an album, I could have done ten tracks, I only needed four. But I didn't want to just do four pieces of shit, just to release an album. I either do it right or I don't do it. And so the six tracks that I like are on my EP. There was no need to add other tracks. it also allows me not to be stuck in the studio all the time on an album and miss great opportunities.

What are your inspirations for the tracks on this EP?
GLG: Actually each track has its own story. I wrote Brighter while shopping in Istanbul (Laughs) so not really in studio mode. For stay awake I wanted a pop rock and 80's sound, I composed it in the U.S. For Back 2 Paradise the inspiration was Ibiza. I wanted something very Balearic. In my head I wanted something colorful and summery. I work with colors and I wanted something green, turquoise and blue.

For Sun on Earth I wanted something very dramatic and a bit post-apocalyptic. I try to put my emotions into my music. For this EP the inspiration is really something light and dark that reflects both drama and joy. For all the tracks I start from something very dark to something warmer and brighter. I never write as well as when I'm down.

For the music, I was inspired by certain periods more than others. I was born in '79 so I was immersed in the whole 90's eurodance period. It's a period that still inspires me today.

For the artists I'm very inspired by Armin Van Buuren, ATB, who is someone I like a lot, Offer Nissim who has a sound that you recognize right away. I also listen to a lot of lounge music and trance. I love everything that is vocal, you will never find an instrumental in my house.

And you never tried to sing on your tracks?
GLG: That would be catastrophic! (Laughs) It's good for recording ideas but it doesn't sell. It sounds like a crow singing!

You recently mixed on the misterb&b float at the gay pride in Madrid, the biggest European gay pride, with a million people. What were your impressions?
GLG: It was a great time! Clearly I wait for it every year. First of all because I am gay, so for me it is natural and even obligatory that I am there. As a person and as an artist. And this year it was particularly crazy! What is interesting in Madrid is that it's not just gay pride anymore, it's a party. There is no claim side. Everyone is together: gays, straights, families with strollers, grandpas in wheelchairs. And that's what's interesting, everyone comes out to celebrate and send a message of tolerance. I go every year. i've been going to Paris for two years now and I'm thinking of doing it again next year. I also did the gay pride in Marseille two years ago, and in Lille this year. It's a public with which I am totally in adequacy.

Is there another gay pride where you would like to mix?
GLG: The first gay pride I did was in San Francisco, when I was 20 years old. I decided to come out right after. And at that time it was already the gay mecca, with a million people. So mixing there would be really cool! But I think all gay prides are good to do for different reasons. I would also love to mix for the XLSIOR festival in Mykonos.

What is the best place to mix ?
GLG: I think of Ibiza. It's really a crazy spot for clubbing. There is everything from an intimate party to a 15,000 person club.

What city do you feel most at home in?
GLG: I would say San Francisco. I lived there for two months and clearly I could go back and live there

The perfect place to party?
GLG: Ibiza! (Laughs) Again, I'm sorry, but that's my vacation spot.

the perfect place to fall in love?
GLG: Rome

The ideal place to get married?
GLG: I would say the Maldives or the Seychelles. that sounds pretty good to me. More of a nature thing than an urban thing. Close to the sea sounds good to me.

The sexiest destination?
GLG: Barcelona!

The most gay friendly city?
GLG: Tel Aviv! Ultra gay friendly!

What object do you always have with you when you travel?
GLG: My computer with my music. I often work when I travel. Besides, when you're stuck in a plane, that's all you have to do. I compose a lot when I'm on vacation. Most of the melodies of my songs come to me when I'm walking on a beach, riding a pedal boat or drinking sangria. I have my phone and I record my ideas on it.

Your next trip?
GLG: (Laughs) Ibiza! Again!

A destination you've never been to that appeals to you?
GLG: I would love to go to India! I've never been there and I'm very attracted to it.