Maelstrom - A Dark Electronic Whirlpool

Following the release of “Her Empty Eyes“, we caught up exclusively with the French producer Maelstrom, moniker of Joan-Mael Péneau, amid a pile of books and vintage synthesizers. A wild, visionary electronic manipulator, Péneau has a strong calling for electro, techno and the darkest, most feline strains of minimal wave, which makes him one of the most intriguing electronic craftsmen around right now…  

You've produced music for Michael Amato's Zone and Alexander Ridha's BNR Trax, while more recently you've set up your own label, RAAR, with Louisa Pillot. Could you describe the different experiences you've had with these three labels? How and when did RAAR come about?

Alex Ridha was one of the first people to give my music wider exposure, and I'm always grateful to him for that. He's a fantastic DJ with a deep knowledge of club and rave music, so working with him has definitely been a great experience. With Zone, it was a matter of both music and friendship, since we had mutual friends and working together came almost naturally. Michel, Mike and David understand my work really well and we share similar tastes and influences; they've inspired me a lot and pushed me to release my best work over the years.

RAAR, on the other hand, came about at a time when Louisa and I were touring a lot together and recording in the studio. The music started evolving in new directions that weren't necessarily a fit for Zone or Bromance, the labels we were both working with at the time. So we decided it would be better for us to have full control over this work, especially given how specific it was, and we set up a new label to put out even bolder, more authentic music, as well as to explore new territory.

“Her Empty Eyes” is the soundtrack to an imaginary novel in which the turbulent story of Marina unfolds — a young war photojournalist who crosses paths with John Dos Passos and Ernest Hemingway, George Orwell and Buenaventura Durruti, all set between 1936 and 1939 amid war, Soviet spies, bombs and destruction. Each track describes a specific moment. How did this narrative fusion come about? What does the figure of Marina represent for you?

The process happened in a completely natural way; I always read a lot, and while recording the album I was immersed in novels set during the Spanish Civil War: Hemingway, Orwell, Cercas, Dos Passos and so on. Slowly, the music became the soundtrack to the novel I was reading, with each track referencing a specific moment described in a different book. When I started realizing that I was actually linking the tracks to moments found in the books, I also began gathering images and photographs from the same period. It all came together in a way, without me being fully aware of the process taking place. Some tracks made me think of a photograph by Gerda Taro, or of a hotel room where Hemingway used to stay in Madrid during the war, and so I followed my instinct. Marina is the narrating voice, the eye through which the unfolding story can be seen. I used her to connect all the dots between the tracks and the different settings.

Berghain and Rex Club: what's it like playing in such important clubs? Is there one club in particular you prefer, one you've built a special relationship with?

Both of these clubs mean a lot to me. Rex Club is an institution and the longest-running techno club in France; it also has my favorite sound system in Paris, and it's always a pleasure to play there. I love playing the closing set: there's something very special about the last hours of the night, where I can push things a bit further and explore new territory. I've only played Berghain once, but I remember that first kick turning out to be the most incredible experience ever, as if I'd never played a record in a club before. The room and the sound system are tuned so well that they make you rethink everything you know about your own music.

Speaking of which, your music often conveys a sense of loss and cruelty, but also a subtle sense of hope. Would you agree? Where does that come from?

I guess darkness and light, loss and hope come together, they're always connected. There's no way to feel joy if you haven't first gone through real sadness. I try to be as sincere and true as possible with my music, which also takes in the influences of what surrounds me and the literature I happen to be immersed in at any given time. All of that becomes part of the music I record; there's no way to separate what comes after from where it comes from, and I never have a precise direction before I start recording. So, to answer your question, I don't have a detailed idea of where it comes from. It just happens.

Tracks like “A Victory At Teruel” and “The Elimination Of Dissidents” highlight your skill at getting the most out of so-called machines. What specific gear did you use to produce this record?

I recorded mostly live, with some tweaks made afterwards, so the heart of my studio is my Midas F16 mixer, which lets me record multichannel and process things back and forth between the computer and the mixer. I'm a big fan of Elektron gear; the Rytm and the AN4 were machines I used a lot. Another device I used is an old Yamaha A4000 sampler that sounds very rough but has a kind of strange digital echo that I like. The converters are basically "dead", so every time I touch it I end up with unpredictable results.

Who has influenced your music the most? Is there any name in particular? What did you listen to as a kid?

As a teenager I listened to the early electronic producers from Sheffield, Autechre, AFX, as well as German and Dutch hardcore techno, not the really fast kind, but stuff like Marc Acardipane's Cold Rush project. I got involved in the illegal rave scene in France, and above all, the music you heard at those raves was really extreme: noise, hardcore, hard-techno, IDM. That's the kind of music I grew up with.

What should we expect from your upcoming live sets?

I'm still working out the technical side of things, but the goal is to bring the album to the next level and make live versions of all the tracks. I'd say the album is something to listen to mainly on your own, on headphones or in the car during a long night drive. The live versions should be able to connect those atmospheres with the sense of community that goes wild.

What do you think of current techno and electronic music in general today? What do you listen to and what would you recommend?

Today is the best time for electronic music in general. Anything is possible, there are no styles or genres left, and I think that's really great. Every week I discover new and surprising music, and honestly, I've never been as excited about music as I am right now. Recently I've been listening a lot to Dedekind Cut, and Umwelt, who does some electro out of France, and also Defekt in Dublin. I'm very interested in the work Veronica Vasicka does with her labels Minimal Wave and Cititrax — the latest Marie Davidson LP is one of my recent favorites.

It's been seven years since your first EP. How much have you changed, and in what way?

I think I'm more spontaneous with my music now, I overthink less and trust my instinct more.

Plans for the future?

We're working on the next releases on RAAR, we've got a big project coming out this winter that we're really excited about. I've also recorded new, more functional, club-oriented tracks. One EP is just finished and will come out in early 2018, the other one is still in the works.

Ride the wave of great music

Add OndaRock to your favorite sources on Google Discover. Don't miss our reviews, milestones and latest news straight in your feed.

Follow on Google