Eclectic salon vibes: Alex Gopher

by Cyclone Wehner

The French house revolution shows no signs of dissipating. Paris-based producer Alex Gopher (whose alias comes from the creepy character in the "Love Boat") is among the latest to capture the collective imagination of the international dance media. One listen to his debut album, "You, My Baby And I", reveals some mellow and eclectic salon vibes for the pre-Millennial era. Indeed, the first single from the album, "The Child", toys with the listener's sense of deja vu by placing the voice of jazz great Billie Holiday in a new 90s setting of downtempo beats.

Gopher was conscious not to make an album that resembled anything like his French neo-house peers. So he returned to his own roots for fresh inspiration. Gopher digs indie-rock, funk, jazz, house and techno. As it happened, Gopher's early days as a musician were spent playing bass in an indie band called Orange with the two guys who would later go on to form Air. (He continues to collaborate with them from time to time.) Gopher himself didn't discover techno and house until relatively late -- some six years ago, in fact. This personal enlightenment took him into yet other directions. At one point he even set up the cult label Solid with friends Etienne de Crecy (Motorbass) and Pierre Michel Levallois. Solid put out Alex's first EP, Gopher, and Etienne's much lauded "Super Discount" compilation, which spotlighted Alex's flashy house tune, "Super Disco". As such, Gopher's long-awaited album covers a spectrum of musical styles, from ol' skool funk ("Party People", featuring Parliament's Clip Payne) to Continental 90s house ("The Child"). He also specifically set out to adapt the LP to the lounge room rather than the dancefloor.

Gopher tends to feel that the chilled neo-blues "The Child" best encapsulates the album's sensibilities, tapping into the latent familial theme hinted at by the title. "The Child" is a song, and so there is a distinctive pop angle. But the track is also carried along by its techno bass line and housey beats. 'I knew that for this track I needed a song and a voice, and so I was thinking about finding a voice. And my wife was pregnant when I began the song, so I wanted to make something about that. I listened to this song of Billie Holiday's, "God Bless The Child". I think Billie has got the most beautiful voice for a female jazz singer, so for me it was obvious to make something with her. I wanted to make a 90s Billie Holiday song. And to make a real song with Billie was an honour and a challenge.'

So how does Gopher see himself in relation to the French scene? Does he feel a part of it or does he prefer to remain an outsider? 'Well, I can't say that I'm not involved in this scene because I'm very good friends with the guys from Air and we were in the same band when we were teenagers, and so we are in the same scene and from the same generation, too. But, as for the French scene, there is a cliche in house music with the disco loops, the filters and big compression, and I didn't want to make the cliched French album. I think that the Daft Punk album and the Air album are very representative of the diversity of French electronic production and I think this generation of producers have continued to make records that are different and original each time. If we start to use cliches we will lose the sense of creativity.'

Gopher does worry that all the hype surrounding the flourishing French house movement will inevitably lead to a monumental backlash that could seriously stall many otherwise promising careers. So, while Alex is flattered to hear that Paris has been romanticised as Europe's very own Chicago, he tends to stress that his own nationality is purely coincidental. 'I'm just a producer and a musician and the fact that I'm French is a very small part.'

"You, My Baby And I" took two or three years to complete because until recently Gopher was working full-time as a mastering sound engineer at the Paris Translab. Now he just works part-time hours. Why not give it up and make records all day? 'I want to keep the job for the moment because it is like going to producer's school to work on the music of others. You meet a lot of producers and musicians and you understand how they create their own stuff, and I think it gives you the keys to produce your own music. So now I don't want to lose this, because I make my music alone, so if I just make music I will be alone in my studio and I won't hear anybody else. I think it could be dangerous for the music. I want to continue to meet people and work on music with other guys.'

"You My, Baby And I" is out through V2.