Glamour scammers

>> The digital deadpan of Miss Kittin & the Hacker

by RUPERT BOTTENBERG

Between Miss Kittin’s deadpan patter about nasty sex, expensive drugs and chic-freak excess, and the Hacker’s loving recalibration of the early-’80s mecha-disko sound, the French duo have carved a nice niche for themselves in the electro revival sweeping the globe. Between being signed to DJ Hell’s Munich-based International DJ Gigolo label (yes, of course Germany is ground zero for all this), Miss Kittin’s contributions to the latest from Chicago’s Felix da Housecat and tracks on the American Gigolo comp from our own Turbo label (who arranged their Montreal debut this weekend), Miss Kittin & the Hacker are properly poised for pinnacle position in the movement. The Mirror hassled the Hacker (Michel Amato) at home in Grenoble for details.

Mirror: You two join the likes of Fischerspooner and Felix da Housecat in serving as a sort of missing link between upscale club music, which has become increasingly refined and posh in the last decade, and new electro-punk sound, which is raw and funny, if sloppy. One important thing you’re bringing back in is personality.
TH: That’s what we wanted to do since I started working with Miss Kittin—give techno a human side. There’s too many people who’ve made techno too cold, too much music for computer programmers—nerd music. We wanted to put a face and a voice to techno, with a hard, aggressive side to it.

M: It’s ironic that the personality is presented in such a cold, austere, androgynous way. But that seems to be the whole point of the joke—and humour is essential to what you do.
TH: We wanted to inject some humour and irony into this genre that takes itself too seriously. It’s a tradition that’s always been there in electro and new wave, going right back to Kraftwerk. There’s a French expression, “pince sans rire.” It means that something is amusing without causing laughter, even though we know it’s funny. That’s exactly what Kraftwerk were about—cold, detached irony.

M: The empty, superficial glamour of the nightlife is your specific target.
TH: That’s a good description of the nightlife, clubbing, all those hypey, jetset things—very superficial. That’s what we’re making fun of. Particularly in Miss Kittin’s lyrics—she observes what goes on around us, and draws on that for humour. We’re very much a part of that scene, but sometimes you have to be able to step back and laugh at it.

M: The electro scene has always been strong in continental Europe, but it’s now poised to blow up everywhere as the next big thing. Which means you’ll be jetsetting superstars yourselves soon enough. Are you comfortable about that, or do you have reservations?
TH: Both at the same time. We try not to analyze it too much. Since the beginning, we’ve just been amusing ourselves, having fun. We’re the most surprised by everything that’s happening. We love our music, that’s not the question. But, in England for example, all the mainstream press are freaking out over our record. It wasn’t calculated, though. We just do what we like. I’m curious how it will all turn out though—it’s interesting and intriguing. :

With Tiga, Dylan Adair and Thomas the Lord of the Marionette at SAT on Saturday, Jan. 26, 10pm, $20