Duke Shin

With a love for electro/acid bangers and robot-party grooves, Christophe "Daze" Dasen, aka Plastique De Rêve, has put out solid releases for labels like Turbo and Gigolo Records. A skilled producer, DJ, remixer and sound artist, Dasen took some time out to chat briefly with us about his upcoming Chicago dates and remix project for Chicago's very own Future Forward (John Simmons & Matt Nee) on Kompute Musik.

Can you tell us a little bit about the "welcome2chicago" remix for Future Forward (Kompute Musik), and how that came about?

I met Marlon (Montez) the first time I came to Chicago. He put me in contact with Matt [Nee] of Kompute Musik. I liked the spirit and the track to remix, and it came out really well, a very "housey" number for me. It's going to be a very cool EP.

You're returning to play a couple dates in Chicago--what are you especially looking forward to in your return to the Windy City?

Meeting people, checking places [out], going to Gramaphone [Records] for the Hot Mix 5 back stock, bringing in some sound from the European side...

Switzerland seems like a very clean place, yet your productions often contain dirty sounds and a penchant for dangerous-sounding female vocals. Care to explain?

I never felt very Swiss, [since I] actually spent my whole childhood in Africa, Canada and Australia, where I was born. And now I've been living in Berlin for the last three years. But basically, my surroundings don't influence my music [too] much. I have [the music] all in my head and can work anywhere with little gear. I also think there is no clear Swiss identity apart from clichés... watches, money, chocolate, cleanliness, etc. As for the sound, I come from punk rock and then industrial and electronic body music [from] the likes of D.A.F., Skinny Puppy, Front 242... that's what I was doing as a teenager and [in my] early twenties, so I like things with an edge, with a feel for "the dark side."

As far as side projects, your bio says you also do installations--what type of art?

I did more of that in the second half of the nineties--sound installations with sensors, random generative music and stuff, soundtracks for other artist's installations, street performances and the like--but now I've focused more on production and DJing.

Do you favor performing live over DJing, or producing, or vice versa? Why?

I like DJ sets best because you can really adapt to the people and the moment, but live acts can be cool since I do something different every time; [like remixing] my tracks differently and bringing electronic drums in, or old beatboxes or toys. Producing in my home studio is also a favorite activity. I've been doing that for twenty years now and I'm still not bored, so...

Your recent "Freaks of Love" and "Amor" collaborations seem to reflect a newer, subdued quality. Is this reflective of a new direction, or more due to the collaborative effort?

[The sound] was more a result of the collaboration with my friends, the French couple Luluxpo, [and] not at all a new direction. I myself am into very different sounds at the moment: acid, baile funk, cosmic disco...

What can we expect from Plastique De Rêve in the near future?

Mayhem. More seriously, it's been a "remix year" for me, so several remixes should come out in the forthcoming months: Future Forward on Kompute, Dancepig on David Carretta's Space Factory label, Goat Explosion from NYC, my friend Capri from Argentina, other freaks from Geneva and I'm finishing some of my own tracks to release early next year. On which labels? I'm not sure yet.

And what's in a name (Plastique De Rêve)?

In French it means "the plastic of your dreams," plastic being the plastic matter as well as an abstract notion for aesthetics, as in plastic art. So I guess [Plastique De Rêve] means "my dream plastic music," or "my idea of beautiful electronic music." Vinyl is also plastic, so are all the boxes with which we generate all those crazy sounds...

Anything else you'd like to add?

Time to jack.

Plastique De Rêve performs, with Matt Nee and resident John BID Simmons, at Tsuki, 1443 West Fullerton, (773)883-8722, on October 26 at 9 pm. No cover. Also, October 27 at Kompute HQ. Visit komputemusik.com for more info.

(2006-10-24)

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