MP3.com: MP3.com Interview – Riviera June 2002
Riviera's Uber-Lovely Sounds
by jianda johnson
MP3.com: How did you get involved in music, most especially w/working
together?
ROLAND: Our parents have a lot to do with music. Our dad is a music teacher,
he's the director of master of two church choirs, plays the organ every Sunday.
Our mom has a wonderful voice, she always used to sing on special occacions.
We got to listen to a lot of good pop records when we were young: Beatles,
Stones, Beach Boys and Pink Floyd. But also chansons... spiritual music like
Mahalia Jackson, Udo Juergens or Herman van Veen. Music was all around us.
We sang and played a lot together, especially on longer trips in the car Julia and
me, we used to sing our favourite Top 40 songs together, fooling around with
harmonies and so on...
JULIA: Yes... so we actually were used to making music together in one way or
the other. we did write songs apart though, when we were kids, and I got more
seriously involved around the age of 16 and 17 when I joined Roland's band as a
background singer. We formed our first band together a few years later and at
that time I also contributed my own songs and played keyboards. When that
band split up about four years ago, it was clear that Roland and I would carry on
together.
MP3.com: Do you both produce/have your own studio?
ROLAND: Mmmmhh, you can't call it a real studio. Its a 24 track soundcraft desk
with an 8 track ADAT in a dirty cellar. It's packed with tons of old instruments
and a computer. It's mainly up to me to produce the songs. I work with
headphones because there's really no money for a set of good monitor speakers.
It's like "fighting with the elements..." There's a humming here, some noise
there. Sometimes I'd mix for 14 hours in a row and then I'd hear strange voices
in my head...makes me kinda paranoid! (LOL)
JULIA: Roland was so kind, so humble not to mention that he actually records
and produces everything alone. I'm a living female cliché (which means i usually
avoid technical equipment and concentrate on the vocal arrangements). I did do
some recordings on my own though, e.g. „2 am" (apart from the guitars of
course!), and I produced "Zwilling" alone, which I'm very proud of.
MP3.com: Your graphic presentation, from your stations and artist pages, to your
emails, is so smooth and sensual. Do you have graphic artists/Web people, or do
you handle all of that yourselves?
ROLAND: Hey, thank you. That is also my job. I love to get influenced by all
kinds of styles and graphics. When I hear music, I see pictures, colors -- I also
associate it with food, (don't laugh!)... It's all one "trip of the senses..." Hahaha!
I remember when I first heard Prince's "Lovesexy" album. I felt like eating a very
tasty caramel cake with lots of cream. When we started our MP3.com adventure,
we knew nothing about HTML or graphic programming. That came little by little.
When you don't know about things, there's always a way to learn it.
MP3.com: How have you perfected that crisp, nostalgic, sophisticated "Lounge"
sound? What kind(s) of equipment/setup do you use?
ROLAND: We use only real instruments. Well, except of most of the drums which
were done with the help of the PC and a crappy soundcard. I love the look of
analogue synths and its a great feeling to sit right in the middle of it, like a
synthesizer wizard - Rick Wakeman style:) and everything...all is bleeping and
blinking around you. It's that warm analogue sound we are going for.
MP3.com: Who are some of your favorite artists?
ROLAND: I totally dig the Beach Boys. Not only that Pet Sounds/Smile stuff, but
the overall feel and vibe. It's simply perfect music to me. I like music that shows
a sense of history. Music that is aware of its roots. Spiritual music. Right now I
dig the new Radiohead, french bands like Phoenix or Air, the playfulness of
Japanese artists' music that was made with love and passion. The production
skills of Richard Carpenter blow me away... that's just amazing. I have always
been very much influenced by the German singers Manfred Krug and Stefan
Sulke when it comes to lyrics. God, there is so much great stuff out there, I
could go on for hours...
JULIA: I used to listen to a lot of soul stuff in my youth like: Jackson 5, Donna
Summer, early Michael Jackson, George Benson, etc. You still can catch me with
groovy stuff. I like to listen to jazz from time to time, too - so I definitely dig
Manfred Krug a lot! I love the Beatles because of their easy, playful songwriting.
Like Roland, I admire the Beach Boys for their enormous harmonies and vocal
arrangements, and The Carpenters for their wonderful sound. I'm a big fan of AHa. Paul Waaktaar-Savoy is a great songwriter, and Morten Harket is one of the
best singers I've ever heard. Speaking of singers and songwriters, I definitely
should mention Jeff Buckley! At the moment, I also totally dig Scritti Politti, and I
dream of getting Green Gartside to work with us as a producer one day...
MP3.com: Who are some of your fave MP3.com artists?
ROLAND: Well, looks like I have to name a long list now...MP3.com is packed
with great music: Chukimai, the Fur Ones, Palomino, Mr.Calico, Easyflow,
jetsetmusic, Fluffy Starr, Andrea Perry, Graham Elvis, Monaural Voice,
Lengersdorf, Pretty Pop, Dean Prescott, to name just a few. You gotta check out
our stations/links section to see which artists we love!
MP3.com: What's the music scene like, in your estimation, in Germany? Do you
have many artist friends you're in touch on "your side of the globe?"
ROLAND: The German music market is one of the biggest in the world - therefore
it is very, very tough here. We have loads of talented artists, we have the same
bad mainstream music that is so present all over the world at the moment.
Germany also has a very vital underground Hip-Hop scene with some great
artists. Still, our country is best known in the world for its electronic artists such
as Kreidler, Whirlpool productions, Boris Dlugosch or Westbam. There are some
cool independent labels like Marina, Apricot, Bungalow...just to name a few. They
release some great music...maybe you have heard of Stereo Total, Dauerfisch or
Paula? Well, we are in contact with Louis Oberlander who is one half of the new
MP3.com band, Palomino. (He once played in a German band we loved very
much, the "Jeremy Days"). It's not easy for us to actually have friends in the
business. We don't tour, and we don't even have a record deal in our own
country. Through (Swiss producer) René Tinner, the guy who produced some of
our early tracks, we got to know artists like the Whirlpool productions, Andreas
Dorau and Jim Capaldi. Its good to see that the bigger these guys are, the more
normal they behave:) But I feel that our "gang," really, is Chukimai, Chris
Lappalainen (Mr.Calico) and Jon Huck of the Fur Ones. We kinda "grew up
together" here on MP3.com.
JULIA: Just as an addition: the bigger German labels hardly sign anything big
mainstream artists like Phil Collins or Tina Turner. It seems like the German
music business is so shaken and anxious that nobody dares to take any kind of
risks. Like, an A&R Rep who successfully worked for Polydor has to look for a
new job today, because he signed ONE flop.
MP3.com: Tell us a bit about "Lovestories."
ROLAND: The director Yen Tan browsed through MP3.com pages in search of
artists similar to Fantastic Plastic Machine. He already used Tanaka's music as a
score in his short movie, but found out that it might be too expensive to use.
Then he found our site, liked what he heard and wrote us a very nice e-mail. We
exchanged thoughts and opinions about films and found out that we have sort of
the same taste in movies. I feel that he is going to do a good job and I still feel
very good about that movie!! Its so funny:) Yen Tan is now about to shoot a
video clip for "Veruschka."Werecorded some footage on a digital camera and sent
it to Texas - so, let's see how that one turns out! Maybe we will offer it as a free
mpeg-download from our site...?
MP3.com: How did you hook up with Tomoyuki Tanaka/FANTASTIC PLASTIC
MACHINE?
ROLAND: It was the idea of our Japanese record company to release a CD series
called "Space Programm" and ask great DJs to compile each a CD. So Shuya
Okino (Mondo Grosso, Kyoto Jazz Massive) compiled one and remixed our song
"Never Stay Long," and DJ Halfby did a remix of "Veruschka." One night I was
just about to go to bed, and I received an e-mail from Kaori (from Philter
Records). She told me that Tanaka wanted to remix "Playmate'74" for his "Space
Programm" CD. We totally flipped because it was his track "Bachelor Pad" that
inspired us to do our song "Playmate 74!!" It's a wondrous world sometimes....
MP3.com: You're some of the most high-profile artists on our site. When did you
join us, and also, how did you connect with all of these artists you're working
with right now?
ROLAND: MP3.com was our last chance... this was our feeling after we had been
refused by major labels in the summer of 1999. They told us that there is no
audience for our kind of music. Our producer dropped us, but we had one last
meeting and I remember we were talking a lot about the Internet back then. So
we thought, "Well, lets get online and see if there is really 'no audience...'"
JULIA: Yes. We really felt like we couldn't fall any deeper at that time. I
remember that discovering MP3.com gave me some new hope again, and new
opportunities. We had the chance now to create a complete new identity for
Riviera with images, graphics etc., and nobody told us what to do and how to
sound. this felt like a big relief after the two or three years in which we tried to
please the big companies to get a deal.
ROLAND: About the artists we met: We just let it flow. It was mostly pure
chance. I found out about Mr.Calico's music while compiling tracks for a
"Playmate" station. I simply entered the keyword "Playmate" and browsed
though the pages. I remember that I liked his track very much, and I dropped
him a line. Almost half a year later he replied, and we've been friends ever since.
He did a great deep house remix of "Veruschka," and we covered his "Playmate
of the Year" song.
JULIA: It's quite easy to get into contact with musicians at MP3.com. You write
an email when you find something interesting, and the other way 'round. I really
love the Internet.
MP3.com: Hee! Tasty stuff, kids. Lastly, thanks for your time and interest! And
best of luck to you.
ROLAND & Julia: Thanks for the interview!