AOU are the latest addition to the roster of artists on Seth Troxler’s indie Soft Touch label. Brought together by a love for skateboard culture, the three cross-Channel band members sculpt music that perfectly sits among the label’s previous output while being completely fresh and original. The Gordo Laika EP places the band’s sound somewhere between Air and Joy Division, while this remix from Futureboogie’s Christophe takes things to the Adriatic, creating a hypnotic house interpretation that has become synonymous with the Bristol-led festival exploits in Tisno. Here we exchange a few words with the band and Christophe to give you a some context while you take a first listen to his remix in full.
Gordo Laika EP is out now on Soft Touch. Buy the EP from iTunes and download Christophe’s remix from our Soundcloud below.
Can you introduce us a little to the members of the band and how you guys formed?
Yeah sure. We’ve got Will who sort of steers the ship, controls the samples, plays guitar, percussion and sings. Then there’s Guy on vocals, synths and percussion and Quentin on bass and drum samples. We’re all from different places – England, France and Switzerland – but we met in London on the music scene really. We did a couple of years together in London before dispersing. Now we’re like long distance lovers, writing to each other from across the channel.
What’s the story behind the EP and what’s the meaning behind its name?
So the name comes from Gordo, who was an American monkey and Laika, a Soviet dog. They were the first animals sent into space as part of the Cold War space race. In some ways this is our tribute to them, two forgotten explorers. We had this set of tunes that touched on space travel and past lives and things and we put their names together as a way of encapsulating that.
How did you guys meet Seth and why did you feel his label was the right home for you?
Well, we haven’t met him in the flesh yet actually! It’s a purely cyber relationship at this stage. We like his style and he’s got a cool moustache, hasn’t he? Dali would be proud! Seth and Ben at Soft Touch were put onto our music by Christophe, who we hung out with when we played in Bristol last year. Our vision was always to combine electronic soundscapes with the energy of a live band so Seth Troxler venturing into indie felt like a good fit.
What’s next for the band, release-wise and live dates? Can we expect to be seeing you guys touring in the near future?
We’re working on the next EP right now and we’re really excited about the different directions we’re heading in. We’re based in different places so each member ends up spending lots of time alone developing tracks which means we end up with a crazy mix of influences and moods that we have to fuse together when we’re back in one place. Plan is to get out on the road next year. Got a new live setup to trial so we can’t wait to be on stage again.
Christophe, how did you approach your remix for this EP?
I really like AOUs sound, it draws from a lot of bands/music I like and always feels authentic… so my approach to the remix was to do the same thing but more from sounds of dance music of the same era. So I reinterpreted the hook using TB303, Juno 106, DX7, TR707 and Six-Trak with minimum processing to retain that original feel of that time.
Your remix is titled ‘Bristol Nu Beat Remix’ – would you say that this is fast becoming its own little subgenre? We’re gonna go for ‘Brisno’ (Bristol in Tisno) and hope it sticks!
The Bristol Nu Beat title was a bit tongue in cheek, a reference to Belgium New Beat, which I think the remix has a vibe of. The Nu being reference to the Nu Disco thing. Bit silly really, just a nod to the inspiration behind it, I dunno maybe it could spawn a micro genre that could take Avon by storm!
