How was 2018 for you?
Christophe Monier: 2018 has been so special to me! My eldest daughter had her 20th birthday, a symbolically important age. She is taller and way more level-headed than me! She makes me proud. Then I finally released my third album as The Micronauts, a multi-year project that implied great sustained concentration and many sacrifices. It was totally worth it and reception is outstanding. Its first single, “Acid Party,” released before the summer got this steamroller [moving at] full speed. The original version, the one from the album, was Mixmag’s Tune of the Month in August. It had a remix by one of my favorite band at the moment, Red Axes. It also had a top of the notch acid techno remix by Luca Agnelli, which became a true hit on Beatport, and has been hammered ever since in festivals and clubs by the biggest DJs, including Adam Beyer, Amelie Lens and Carl Cox.
I also found a team of great artists and professionals who helped me to run and develop my Micronautics label. We put out great music, great videos, and great artworks. The techno song in French “Érosion” by Dew Town Mayor had amazing remixes including one by John Tejada, a producer I admire and follow since its beginning. With hindsight, it was flawless and I can’t wait for 2019 to continue this trend and build on the momentum!
Highlights?
Apart from everything I have just said, which concerns me directly, I don’t think 2018 has been a great year, unfortunately. Movies I was eagerly waiting for have been disappointing (Spike Lee’s BlacKkKlansman, Gaspar Noé’s Climax, Claire Denis’s High Life even if some were nice (Spielberg’s Ready Player One, Wanuri Kahiu’s Rafiki). I’m an avid buyer of lossless files on DJ-oriented online stores such as Beatport, Juno, Traxsource, Bleep, WhatPeoplePlay, etc. As of today (23 November), my 2018 harvest amounts to 120 tracks, significantly less than harvests from the previous years (between 250 and 300 tracks). There’s been a little hope politically though. The US midterm elections showed a large anti-Trump vote and a large young voters turn-out. I read that people are deleting en mass the Facebook app from their smartphone. In France, polls show that the destruction of the environment has become the number one concern, in front of employment, purchasing power or crime. Hopefully, people are waking up!
Lowlights?
I do not know where to start… Violent illiberal autocrats of the world. Gruesome murders of journalists. Wars that deliberately target civilians. Climate change induced natural disasters. The sustained sociopathic behavior of GAFA…
Song of the year?
Damn, I hate to rank music and art! I’ll cheat:
Danny Scrilla “Can Of Worms” [Perfect]
Manoid Ft. Josephine Philip “Take Me” [Hafendisko]
Brynjolfur “Fluxx” [Natura Sonoris]
Armonica Feat. Toshi “Ngeke (Andhim Remix)” [Moblack]
Anna “Hidden Beauties” [Kompakt]
Pan-Pot “Funke” [Second State]
The all Día Y Noche EP by Sauco on Phantasm
What’s your New Year’s resolution?
To get back to music creation as soon as possible!