Whilst certain dance music today might make it tempting to claim you don’t need talent to be a DJ, those who think that is the case obviously haven’t seen Birdy Nam Nam. The French group won the 2002 DMC World Team championships, and the YouTube video for their early hit ‘Abbesses’ showcases the live skills that mesmerised audiences and judges alike – each of the four records is manipulated by its DJ to create totally new rhythms, and each turntable adds a layer to the overall piece. It’s remarkable to hear as well as watch, and the group’s exploits in the early ‘00s earnt them a core following of scratch-heads.
But times change, and over the years the group have shifted from pure turntablism to a more dancefloor-orientated sound. Their chance meeting with Skrillex in 2012 was a turning point, and the collab single ‘Goin’ In’ naturally has more YouTube views than their early turntablism theatrics. Even if their priorities have shifted toward getting people dancing (nothing to be sneered at), these are still some of the most skilled performers you will see coming through Shanghai this year (and they’re promising plenty of scratching for the purists).
Producer Lil Mike spoke to us ahead of their Wednesday 23 show at MAO Livehouse.
Going back to the very beginning, you met your fellow group members through Scratch Action Hero. How
did you join that group?
Actually, when I was a kid around
18 I was in the scratch game and I
was kind of a newcomer, but one of
the guys from Scratch Action Hero
came from the same hometown (as
me), so that’s how I came into this
crew. And so we started to work, and
we decided to keep
working as Birdy Nam
Nam with only a few
of the members from
Scratch Action Hero.
When you guys
started out you were
exclusively doing
turntablism and
scratching. Did you
see that as a way
to express yourself
perhaps the way a violinist would
use a violin?
Yes, the same idea. We wanted
to prove to ourselves that this
turntable could be an instrument if it
is well used. We wanted to prove it to
ourselves and to the world too, you
know. And so that’s how we started
to make music, and that was the way
for us to touch music and to play it,
really. It’s definitely how I learned
all the rhythmical things that I keep
using now when I am producing
beats or making music by myself
on my computer. They’re the main
roots, I would say.
Was there a point where the
group decided to focus on a more
dancefloor-orientated sound?
Actually after the first album, when
we came to the second album we
were more club-orientated because
we’d been doing a lot of shows and
we took this energy from the live
show, because it’s always been
important for us to
be efficient. To have
some drops, to make
the people dance.
Since the beginning,
from the DMC battle,
we’ve already had
this kind of energy.
After a lot of concerts
it was definitely
the only way for us
to keep doing it.
Originally we were
experimenting, using a lot of black
music, jazz, we were just picking up
these records so that’s why on the
first album there is this kind of fusion
between the genres. But actually in
the fourth album we have the electro
sound, and we are more into the real
Birdy Nam Nam way.
How was Skrillex to work with?
It was amazing. He’s a genius, an
amazing producer, and on top of it
all, he’s a great human. We really
had a lot of fun with those guys. That
was a great pleasure to be able to
work with him.
Did that crossing of paths change
things for the group?
I think it changed something yeah,
because a lot of American people
hadn’t really heard of us, so it
opened the idea of the US. Also a
lot of hip hop people didn’t know
about us, so for this reason I think
it’s been of great value – and for so
many reasons because he gave us
love and great exposure. I can’t say
it changed the band because we are
still doing our thing by ourselves.
What do you think about EDM DJs? Some people might say they aren’t
using as much skill as when you
guys perform.
Ah no, I would say they are talented
to make people talk about them.
Getting people to talk about you is
more powerful than anything else,
so I don’t want to say they are not
talented. There are a lot of great
producers. I’m not hating it, it’s just
happening. There are many ways for
people to express themselves.
You used to have four members, and
now it’s just the three of you. Why
did DJ Pone leave?
For some personal reasons he
wanted to leave the band. So I can’t
really explain, except that when
someone leaves there is always
some emotional effect. We decided
to keep going because we still had
some ideas and some things that
we wanted to do. So quite naturally,
after some rest we decided to keep
going for the fourth album, and we
are pretty happy about that.
See below for full details of the show.
