Pheek - Kalimari och Archipel

Med anledning av de båda fina släppen från Archipel kör jag en repris på en intervju med kanadensaren Jean-Patrice Remillard. Han är labelboss för Archipel och Kalimari och gör egen musik under namnet Pheek. Intervjun har legat ute på nätet länge, men jag antar att många inte hittat den tidigare...

det handlar om musik, bläckfisk och maneter. Bara bra grejor helt enkelt.

Q: Please, tell me something about the background of the labels. How do Archipel and Kalimari differ from each other?

Pheek: The story is pretty simple. Archipel was started mainly to release my music and to be totally creative regarding what I had in mind. I really have my own view of music and had a lot of problems dealing my demos to labels, it's hard to fit anywhere. So basically, Archipel is a bit more melodic, dancefloor with a very emotional backgroud. Somfay once described it as a musical art gallery and I love that description.

As I started to o 12" releases on Archipel, I started to get a lot of demos from friends and contacts. Lee Curtiss was signed to be on Audion's Fabric Mix CD and needed a quick release. I thought I would start a label.. for him and his underwater sound. Kalimari is basically about that, underwater raves, bubbly and slow techno.

Q: What is it you seek in a track, what kind of things do you like to release on Kalimari in the future?

Pheek: I want to be amused! I want to have this big grin on my face when the track stops. It's not really more complicated than that but everyone who worked with me will tell you I'm super picky and unfortunatly, some people get pissed off at me. For Kalimari, I don't really take demos anymore (at least, for the moment) but I do listen to everything. I really would like to work with a core of friends and build our own little bubble of weirdness. That is one important word... weirdness,
originality.

Q: Why did You choose the names Archipel and Kalimari?

Pheek: No idea. Archipel is a french name that means '"archipellago" in english. It's about island, isolation but exoticism too. When I thought of a sub-label, it meant something "under" so I thought about our island's water dwellers. My designer and partner thought of weird creatures and made a logo of a squid.

Q: Why do kalimaris, squids and octopuses work so good with techno? Is it the arms? The what?

Pheek: I don't know about other people but for me, I love water and have been fascinated by Captain Nemo and 20,000 leagues under the sea. I love the Kraken and anything that you see come out of no where that engulfs a huge boat... its trippy, scary, risky. It's about music too. I never adopt a view or a motto without totally embrace it and this is where kalimari is at.

Q: What´s your favourite way of cooking kalimari? Could you give me a recipe?

Pheek: Nothing beats fried calimari or any japanese style - RAW!

Q: About Ditch you write "We’re pretty sure this guy from Japan dances with squids from times to times. His druggy beats are like udon noodles that tie themselves around your legs, pulling you beneath the sea. Yum" – Do you like to be beneath the surface? Snorkel? Dive? Or just float around?

Pheek: I'm actually a very bad swimmer and don't like to snorkel. But as I say, I love the whole underwater exploration. I also have been a very hardcore gamer of Dungeons and Dragons, where there would always be a serie of adventures under the sea.



Q: The covers for Uli Künkel and Ditch show calimari eating at it´s best. Why did you go for the jellyfish on the Miss Fitz-12"?

Pheek: We wanted to do a generic jacket that would be used on a serie and then alternate with various fish. This is a bit expensive and am not sure if we'll do it that way. We have plans. There's not very much explanations, we have visions when we sleep and we try to put it in our art. It's quite exhilarating to be able to do that!