SIP - SoundLAB Interview Project

Giraudeau, Matthew de Kersaint


Matthew Giraudau
is a UK based soundartist.

  • artist biography
  • —>

    Interview: 10 Questions

    1.
    Question:
    When did you start making music, what is/was your motivation to do
    it?

    Answer:
    I picked up my Dad’s out of tune guitar when I was 13 and played the same
    three notes for two hours. My motivation has always been to make sounds that please me and confuse me.

    2.
    Question:
    Tell me something about your living environment and the musical
    education.

    Answer:
    I played the drumkit for 5 years, that is the only formal musical
    education I have had. Everything from then has been self taught, my
    orchestra mainly consists of shitty keyboards and toy-instruments for
    children.

    3.
    Question:
    Is making music your profession? What is the context in which you
    practice music nowadays?

    Answer:I would love to make music for money, unfortunately I make no money from anything I do creatively. I am also a video/performance artist and a writer.
    Not big money spinners really! I just make music because I am borderline
    Obsessive-Compulsive, it stops me having to clean things and shout at
    people. It is a form of control I can excercise over my life.

    4.
    Question:
    How do you compose or create music or sound? Have you certain
    principles, use certain styles etc?

    Answer:
    I flit from style to style. It depends how I begin a piece. I am
    concerned with melody, the slipping between abstraction and the formation of structure.

    5.
    Question:
    Tell me something about the instruments, technical equipment or tools
    you use?

    Answer:
    The hard logic of computers mixed with the fetishisation of musical
    instruments. I use software which allows me the quicckest way of producing
    sound. I am not a techie, but I know what I need, what my limitations are,
    and how these can be turned to my advantage.

    6.
    Question:
    What are the chances of New Media for the music production in general
    and you personally?

    Answer:
    I think just the simple act of making sound work avaliable for people to
    hear is imporatant. I am just happy to beinvolved with any projects that
    bring my work to a wider audience.

    7.
    Question:
    How about producing and financing your musical productions?

    Answer:
    Finance, thats the dream isn’t it? I would be extremely excited to meet
    people to work with through this project. Everything is funded and produced by me, which is limiting to a certain extent.

    8.
    Question:
    Do you work individually as a musician/soundartist or in a group or
    collaborative?
    If you have experience in both, what is the difference, what do you
    prefer?

    Answer:
    I would be extremely excited to meet people to work with through this
    project. I love creating music/sound for other people. The restrictions can be so inspiring. I had to make an entire song with just the sound of a
    scanner for a friends film. It is one of the best pieces I’ve made. I like
    to work on my own when writing music but playiung music is always best with people to help and support you. You can blame them when it all falls on its arse.

    9.
    Question:
    Is there any group, composer, style or movement which has a lasting
    influence on making music?

    Answer:
    A group of musicians from Anticon records including fog, why? and
    clouddead. These guys are the most inventive musicians and lyricists I have heard for a long time. People who don’t try and make their music universal.
    People with no pretensions, a local musician from Newcastle called Neville
    Clay. Also, people with incredible pretensions, those who make music because they hate music, the breakcore movement, Venetian Snares etc. Also, Alva Noto and Ryuichi Sakamoto for moving electronica forward infinitely.

    10.
    Question:
    What are your future plans or dreams as a soundartist or musician?

    Answer:
    To live in a tiny house with too many books and have a ramshackle studio
    that records tiny musical thoughts as I dream them. To own a acoustically
    tuned banana. Just to that makes people think or smile or laugh. Also to be fantastically rich and employ people to read my mind and tell me what I’m thinking so I don’t have to have that level of self-consciousness.

  • Some new music by his pop-loving alter ego ‘Dogtanion’ is avaliable online
  • http://www.myspace.com/dogtanion