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#18610 |
Benoit Franquet started out his musical career at the age of 5, starting out by learning to play the trumpet and guitar before later learning the art of composition that lead him to perform within a symphony orchestra, also playing in brass ensembles on regular occasion. As Benoit grew, so did his musical diversity and at the age of 15 he discovered rock music, channelling his musical energies into rock bands and by the age of 18 he had formed his first band, ‘Dirty Slip’ where he added song writing and to his fast growing repertoire, further band ventures seeing him play live and tour around his home country of Belgium. Not one to rest on his laurels, Benoit soon became influenced by the thriving techno scene being developed between clubs like Le Bocaccio and La Rocca, becoming influenced by the electronic sounds made famous at these venues, which pushed him into a direction utilising electronic sequencers. Ever curious, Benoit wanted to push this curiosity further and with long time friend Alain Bultot, they set up a professional studio where their group Ragged Life was formed. Several tracks were created, the most notable of which, ‘I’ll Be Right Here’ becoming a massive anthem in the Belgium club scene and grabbing the attention of Sony Records Benelux, who realising the untapped potential that Benoit had, signed not only the track, but Benoit himself to a publishing deal, which quickly developed into a production role for many artists that Sony were dealing with. One of his first production jobs for Sony was in co-operation with an artist called Petra on the track ‘Angel’ which became an underground club anthem once more. Benoit was also in tune with the fast rising global dance scene and after discovering the sounds of DJs Sasha and John Digweed soon moved into a deeper direction under the name of Pole Folder. His first release, Apollo Vibes, was quickly signed to John Digweed’s record label, Bedrock and since then two further singles have been released, in addition to the ‘Moon In A Blue Sky EP’ on Sunkissed Records. John Digweed, researching all of Benoit’s work over the years soon signed Benoit up to an album deal, one of few artists to be offered a deal on the Bedrock imprint, and now the next chapter in the career of Benoit Franquet is about to unfold as he works towards creating an artist album, a venture that within the sometimes restrictive world of dance music looks set to rewrite the rules, and he will also further his career via production work on the debut album of fast rising NYC based artist Shelley Harland, set to be released in the coming months.
In addition to this, 2003 sees Benoit take up residency on the Belgian based net radio station U4EA FM, alongside a position as resident DJ at the ‘Factory’ nightclub in Brussels. With an international dj schedule growing just as much as the demand for his work as a remixer, no doubt this year will be the one that the ‘Apollo Vibes’ are really felt as Benoit’s career soars into orbit.Productions To Date:
Ragged Life – I’ll Be Right Here (Sony Records Benelux)
Petra – Angel (Sony Records Benelux)
Pole Folder & CP – Apollo Vibes (Bedrock Records)
Pole Folder – Enter The Rhythm / Waxxx (Bedrock Records)
Pole Folder & CP – Dust (Bedrock Records)
Pole Folder – Planetary Activity / We Share (Sunkissed Records)Remixes To Date:
Dave Swayze – Goldwave (Pole Folder & CP Remix) (Green Valley Records)
Mona Lisa Overdrive – Born To Synthesize (Pole Folder Remix) (Platipus Records)
Fortunato & Montresor – Imagine (Pole Folder Sense Of Imagination Mix) (Bedrock Records)
Degrees Of Freedom – Intensify (Pole Folder & CP Remix) (Erase Records)
BlueRoomProject – Pacific Flat (Pole Folder & CP Remix) (CP Recordings)
Ozark Henry – Rescue (Pole Folder remix) (Sony Records)
Pole Folder Interview, By DJ Onirika.
Onirika: Hi Pole! Thanks to be with us in Disc-Jockey.It studios!
Pole Folder: Thanks to you!O: Which are your first experiences as dj and as producer?
P: I started as a producer 10 years ago with a few friends. We had to deliver a vocal track for a big Belgian club that unfortunately closed when we were in studio. During the years that followed I worked on a few projects for an independent label until I finally launched my own studio five years ago. As a DJ I had my first gig less than two years ago, as due to the success of my releases on Bedrock I was not prepared for this as I was just focusing on production. I was a radio DJ in the beginning of the 90s and I played in some parties at the same time, but it was completely different. Since I started playing as a DJ again, I’ve had the chance to play in a lot of clubs all around the world and this experience is amazing, not only on the musical dimension but also from a human perspective. It gave me the opportunity to see that good music knows no boundaries and it’s always fantastic to meet real music lovers.
O: Are there some particular influences to which you would like to make reference?
P: As a musician and composer I’m of course influenced by my background and the people who gave me the love for what I’m doing. In no particular order and this is just a few examples, I’m thinking about Depeche Mode, Radiohead, Sting, Peter Gabriel, Talk Talk, Tears for Fears, Pink Floyd, Massive Attack, but I was also a classic musician when I was young, listening to Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Ravel, and Wagner. I’m not locked into one style of music. I was in a rock band when I was younger and before I was playing in a symphonic orchestra. If I’m working now in electronic music it’s because I LOVE this music and not because rock&roll is dead. I think that nothing in music is dead… In my production I’m trying to mix all my influences and it’s also one of the goals of my Bedrock album.
O: Which is your preferred track at the moment and the preferred of every time?
P: Well this is a difficult question as it depends on my mood, but a lot of people knows I love ‘High Hopes’ by Pink Floyd, ‘Dreaming’ by BT, and I’m still feeling something special when I listen to ‘Hounds of Winter’ from Sting. It changes with the weather, the day and time, but I can say that one of my favourite electronic albums of all the time is Depeche Mode’s ‘Violator’. At the moment I play Adon Oliver – Casa-Bulga on Morning Records in most of my sets. It’s an excellent track.
O: Which is your preferred artist at the moment that you often propose during your dj sets?
P. I play almost everything from Infusion. They have a really original style with their own sound. But I love also Noel Sanger, Quivver, and I’m also playing a lot of tracks from Tim Fretwell.
O: News for the future? Talk us about you new artist album that’s going to be released on Bedrock Rec.
P: This is the biggest project I ever had in my life so I’m putting a lot of pressure on myself. I have the freedom to propose not only club tracks but also a real album that you can listen to everywhere. I wrote instrumental tracks but also vocals as I had the chance to work with some pure talents like Shelley Harland. John Digweed is the A&R of this project. He seems very happy with the result and he is sure that the album will be released this year.
O: You are going to be released, for the first time in Italy, with Protected, a track remixed by M.A.S. Collective. What do you think about it? Are you happy?
P: The release of Protected is a great thing. I did this track almost 2 years ago with Sandra Ferretti, a great Belgian singer who is also on my album for Bedrock. As I was so focused on my Bedrock projects I didn’t try to find a label for this track, but over the last two years this track became a hit in some Belgian clubs as it was played by Marko, a very famous DJ in the no less famous club La Rocca every weekend. Simon Jones from Progressive-Sounds.Com also thought that this track had to be released, and it was during one of my gigs in Italy when I gave a CD with a few tracks to Sandro from Mas Collective that the things sped up. Sandro proposed to release it on his label Mo-Do and I accepted directly as I have also a great relationship with him. With the precious help of Simon Jones we commissioned the remixes by Madoka and Fretwell, with Mas Collective doing their own mix as you mentioned, and now everything is ready for release, which is scheduled this month.
O: Shall we have the possibility to listen also at your work as a dj, maybe on a mixed compilation?
P: I will do my first mix CD this year. It will be called ‘Club Revolution Volume’. This is a fantastic project for me. I will use some ideas I’ve had in my head for a long time and try everything to do something original but also perfect to listen to before a great party … or after..
O: Would you like to make a greet or to send a message to all house progressive lovers in Italy and to Disc-Jockey.It?
P: Keep the spirit of quality music as you are always doing. I hope you will appreciate all my projects this year and you can count on me to keep you updated with everything. Don’t hesitate to come to see me if I’m playing next to your place so we can drink a beer together. Thanks a lot!!!!
#29047 |dotdj wrote:
Grazie DotDJ !
p.s.
Se dividi il primo post, lo mettiamo in prima pagina !Ciao.
p.s.2.
hai visto la mia mail sul PeterPan ?
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