Parisian Poolside Etiquette.
With just about half of Australia doing the hard yards and locking down, we've snagged multi-instrumentalist and producer Jean Tonique to serve up a schmorgesborg of sun-drenched sounds to get our crew through the stay-home shenanigans going on down under.
Since 2010, Parisian producer formally known as Antoine Roux has been composing his very own unique poolside flavour drawn from influences of 70's funk, hip hop and house that has earned him top spot on the Cools mixtape bucket list for as long as we can remember.
Fresh off the release of his latest single I Miss New York from his forthcoming 3-track EP with Warner Case dropping on July 30th, we're joined all the way from the city of love for an hour of luscious poolside grooves.
Stream the full mixtape now via SoundCloud and read our full catch-up where we chat croissants, getting back on the road and what's on the agenda for the remainder of '21.
1) Mr Tonique! Thanks for joining us and blessing us with a mixtape. How has the last year treated you between lockdown and all the rest? We loved the quarantine sessions from your couch!
I recorded a few live sessions from home and started cooking a lot. But then when the second one started in October, we had restrictions (lockdowns, curfews...) that lasted until end of june 2021, I felt less inspired during this whole period and I was eager to go back to work and play shows!
2) You’re back on the road! What are you most looking forward to about playing live shows again (and what’s your favourite Cools piece that you’ll be wearing on stage?)
I played shows in Marseille last week which were great, you could feel people were super excited to hear live music and dance again, it's such a great energy and vibe we've been missing for quite some time now!
I'd say my favourite Cools piece is the B.RELAXED SHORT WHITE CORDUROY, I've been wearing it a lot these past few weeks as the summer finally started here (I also love the caps!).
3) Your latest track I Miss New York is a groovy poolside gem. Can you take us behind the track?
Last year, warner case contacted me to remix his song 'impeccable'. After that he asked me if I was interested in working with him on his new song 'ok', which got released on Potion Records last december. We had a really good time working together so we decided to do a 3-track EP.
I Miss New York is the first single, and the EP will be released on July 30th. Due to the pandemic we never met in person and only worked through the internet. It results in a 10 minute-groove of summer love!
4) We’re self-proclaimed croissant connoisseurs over here at Barney Cools, what’s your favourite French pastry and where can we find it when we finally get back to Paris?
I think I'd say the "croissant aux amandes" which is way heavier than a regular croissant but tastes so good! For all kinds of pastries I would recommend Mamiche, a really cool bakery in the 9th arrondissement.
Also, I started a bakery delivery service during the second lockdown in Paris with my girlfriend. We called it PANDEMIE, we only did Shokupan (which is a japanese sandwich bread). It's not French but it's a must-taste!
5) You’ve remixed for the likes of Outkast, The Kooks and Lana Del Ray to name a few… favourite ever remix you’ve completed to date if you can pick one?
For the earliest remixes I did which were unofficial remixes (The Kooks, Outkast, Jay-Z, Destiny's Child), I had to use the master mp3 or a low quality acapella that I found on the internet if I got lucky. Then I started to have official requests and I got stems which made everything easier!
I'd say from those early ones my favourite would be The Kooks, even if I think it doesn't sound really good today, it was the first time my music had a real exposure. And then from the official remixes, maybe the one I did for my friends Jabberwocky which is also pretty old but I still enjoy listening to it today.
6) Besides getting back on stage, what can we expect from Jean Tonique from the remainder of the year?
Like I mentioned earlier we’ve got a 3-track EP with warner case coming out July 30th. A bunch of new remixes are planned in the next few months (MAX, Donna Summer...)
And I'm also releasing my friend Mi Man's first EP on my label early september. It's the first music from someone else I'm releasing so it's pretty exciting! Lots of new music to come!
7) Last but not least, what’s your dream post-pandemic party line-up and where would it all go down?
We would start the party with some live acts I've never seen like Mac Demarco, Benny Sings, Khruangbin or Nu Genea.
I'm a big fan of Parcels and I know they're amazing live so they would be next. And then we'd jump into some more electronic stuff to keep the party going with Fred again.., Laurent Garnier, Soulwax, why not have Daft Punk reunited for the occasion ahah!
I've never had the chance to come to Australia, and I'd really love to. We were talking about maybe planning some shows there before the pandemic happened, so this is where it would go down!
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