Inspired by the French Wave of the 1990s, Nomdecode Spartacus are Parisien Duo Simon Beaudoux and Martin Chourrout (of Exsonvaldes and Ravages) both on a mission to bring filtered basslines and hypnotic grooves back to both the dance floor and the street alike.
THE INTERVIEW
CR: Hello Simon and Martin, Glad to have you on Canadianravers how are you doing?
NS: Very great actually! We just released our second single “Hum Hum” and it is really satisfying to bring this project to life, as it has been on our minds for quite some time now. We are also very happy to release a track that pays tribute to our French Touch and French House roots.
CR: Tell us a little bit about yourselves, what is the story behind the name ‘Nomdecode Spartacus’?
NS: Nomdecode Spartacus is a project we created to fulfill our need to create more electronic music (we already write French pop music together under the name Ravages). The name is a reference to the Stanley Kubrick movie starring Kirk Douglas. At first we wanted to call ourselves “I Am Spartacus” but we then decided that we needed to have some French words in our name too, so that’s were “Nom de code” (Codename, in French) comes from.
CR: Growing up were there any artists who inspired you into becoming a Producer/DJ?
NS: The whole French Touch wave that hit when we were in Middle school and High school: Daft Punk of course, Air, Cassius, Etienne de Crecy and then a bit later Soulwax (who like us came from an indie-rock background) and Alan Braxe or Digitalism. Also, some classic House, and maybe some New Order or OMD. More recently maybe Caribou, Marek Hemann or Christian Loffler. We listen to a lot of music and electronic music has always been a big influence for us, even if we couldn’t express it as much as we wanted in our previous project.
Also, I think we need to confess an unconditional love for Miami Sound Machine’s “Dr. Beat”.
CR: Your recent track ‘Hum Hum’ got a little funk to the beat, tell us a little bit about the producing process, as well where did the inspiration come from?
NS: We recently got a new studio in Paris and we were experimenting with it. From what I remember the song almost wrote itself! We tried to put ourselves in the mindset of those artists from the 90s who didn't work with computers and were digging for loops as songstarters. We found a funk sample that we tweaked and built the track from there. We ended up replaying it after a whole because it wasn’t giving us everything we needed, but the spirit from the 90s was there :)
CR: For your tracks is there a method you follow or just create based on playing around with the instruments to get that right sound?
NS: With Spartacus it can start with a beat, a sample, a word. There’s no rule really, we just need it to be fun. If it’s not, we start over! Also, we like to listen to a lot of old tracks and find ideas for directions to follow.
CR: Who has been your biggest supporter since your guys started your producing career?
NS: Definitely our Record Label and publishers from London, DRRT Records and North Note.
We had some tracks for years on our hard drives and didn’t know what to do with them. We needed someone to give us the motivation to push these ideas further and they were the ones to do it. Also, they always have great input and we really trust their opinion. We’ve been handling most of our projects ourselves for years and it’s fun for once to have someone to give us feedback and help us think about the next steps, the image of the band, etc.
CR: If you had the chance to play an opening set for any artist around the world, who would it be and where would it be?
NS: Soulwax. Or Daft Punk if they ever play again!
CR: What has been your biggest accomplishment of 2021 personally and professionally?
NS: Releasing Nomdecode Spartacus’ first single “Work Out”, of course. Also being able to play live, after 2 years without any live show.
CR: You guys are busy as it is, what do you like to do during your downtime?
Simon: I like to bike around Paris, cook, go to the movies, but most of my free time is dedicated to taking care of my two sons (1 and 6).
Martin: Cook, listen to the radio, go swimming, hang out with my girlfriend or some friends… That question is harder than the other ones :)
CR: What are some of your goals for 2022, anything our followers should know about?
NS: 2022 will see more music from Spartacus, for sure. Even an album, maybe. And a live show.
LIGHTNING ROUND
Texting or talking?
Simon: Talking
Martin: depends on the people on the other end
Coffee or tea?
Simon: Coffee
Martin: Tea, no milk no sugar
Hard liquor or Wine?
Simon: French wine!
Martin: Wine. Liquor makes me sick.
Cake or pie?
Simon : Pie
Martin : I’m not sure about the difference
Hot dogs or hamburgers?
Simon : Hamburgers
Martin : Depends on the context. For instance : in Germany: Hot Dog. In the US: Burger.
Xbox or PlayStation?
Simon : Game Boy
Martin : Super Nintendo
Movie theatre or arcade?
Simon : Movie
Martin: Young me: Arcade, Now Me: Movie Theater
Guitar or piano?
Simon : Guitar
Martin : Piano
Marvel or DC Comics?
Simon : DC
Martin : not sure about the difference…
Dog or cat?
Simon : Cat
Martin : not sure about the… Cat
Hot weather or cold weather?
Simon : Hot
Martin : Definitely hot weather
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