Boston Bun Is Neither From Boston Nor Is He a Bun

Photo by Yulia Shadrinsky.

Club Cheval is essentially my favorite boy band. With Canblaster's DDR-inspired hyperactivity, Myd's pummeling Tumblrstep, Panteros666's fascist rave marches and Sam Tiba's R&B variations, the Parisian collective can scratch all of my many hard-to-reach itchy spots. It was through one of the Club Cheval mixtapes that I began encountering the music of Boston Bun, who is apparently named after both an Australian pastry and a quirky sex act. Any friend of Cheval is a friend of mine, and his recent collaboration with Myd was a chunky, clasically French muscle house anthem called "Same Old Brand New You" that nearly broke my neck from spinning around so fast to check the tracklist. The 26-year-old Parisian just released a self-directed music video for his single, "Flasher," out now on Ed Banger Records; it's an homage to the creepazoids who show people their penises in public, and the women who will chop the thing off if you even think about it. I hollered at him to learn more about life in the Île-de-France, his video directing career, and his favorite pastries.

THUMP: So tell us about yourself. Where are you from? How old are you? Where do you currently live?
Boston Bun: My name is Thibaud, I'm 26. I've lived in Paris for four years now. I grew up in a very small village in the South of France before leaving for Lille (in the north) where I started studying cinema and making electronic music as well.

Where are you right now Boston Bun?
In my bed. I was supposed to go to this sick party with a sick line up, but I found this very rare Italian ham on my way home from the studio and it totally changed my plans.

Got any plans for the weekend?
I'm heading to the UK—playing in London Saturday afternoon then flying to Edinburgh for another party.

So this new video of yours stars a creepy guy with a camera and he's recording video of girls' butts. The song is about a guy who shows his dick in public. What's up with that? Are French people just creepy like that?
Actually it's not really creepy. The guy is recording girls' butts, true, but he's also very interested by ducks and sculptures. It's more about a weirdo with a camera. Sometimes I personally feel like a weirdo with a camera. The track is also an homage to Green Velvet's "Stalker" (that one really is creepy though). I was wondering why flashers didn't have their own music anthems. I think it's more fun than creepy.

In "Flasher," a woman threatens to "rip you off, until your balls fall down your nose." Did you write this beautiful prose? Who did you get to perform the lines?
The first lines that I wrote were really polite. Then I asked Piu Piu to swing by my studio to give it a try and she laughed at me when she read my lines. She said, "Dude, if someone shows me his cock in the street, he's literally dead." That's why she went so hard.

Who have you been rolling with recently? What kind of projects are you working on?
I did a track with my friend Myd on his last EP from Marble and we did a remix for Surkin as well. I also share a studio with Busy P and we experiment a lot in there. But I don't really like to talk about things until they're done.

How did you get linked up with Club Cheval?
We were in the same city (Lille) at the same time. One day I uploaded a Gwen Stefani remix on my Myspace and Myd asked me for the acapella I ripped from the vinyl. A few weeks later we were playing together in a cafeteria.

Does Club Cheval basically run shit in Paris right now?
Yes they do, but Paris is very inspired and inspiring at the moment. You should definitely look out for the Marble boys, Sound Pellegrino, ClekClekBoom, Ed Banger is coming out with fresh stuff too and the last Zone releases are dope. I have probably forgotten a few of them but you can find them easily.

Speaking of which, I feel like French electronic music is experiencing a resurgence. Is that true from your perspective too? What does it feel like on the ground?
To me, French electronic music has always been around and there are certain constants in which you can trust. People like Joakim, Oizo and Para One have never stopped doing their thing. When Cassius play somewhere in Paris, the club is always packed and they kill it. All the time. I just think French producers didn't follow the over-produced Internet rhythms that some of the international DJs established in the last few years. And this is also completely how I feel. It's really a French thing to maintain something rare and exclusive. Releasing an EP every two months is anti-sex for me. It's anonymous and kills all the magic around an artist. And I love to see that fresh minds are emerging in the scene with exactly the same mentality. Maybe today's audience is more conscious of that, that's why France—and I say France, not only Paris—is on the map again.

You directed Canblaster and Riton's "One Night Stand" video, yes? What other videos have you directed?
Yes, it's true. I used to work as a music video director and producer before dedicating my time to making music. I directed my first music video, "Housecall"; I collaborated with Panteros and Myd for Aikiu's "Pieces of Gold" video, and there are a few others locked in the "PAST" folder of my laptop [laughs].

What is a Boston Bun?
Everyone who Googles it asks me about the pastry. So yes, it's a pastry. But it's also a sexual thing.

Is Boston Bun your favorite pastry? Or do you have another favorite pastry?
I've actually never tasted it. I need to correct that. But my favorite pastry is the éclair au chocolat with choux pastry and ganache-like chocolate glaze.

What's your favorite party in the whole world to DJ?
I don't know but it's probably a wedding.

Are you gonna come visit us in the US soon?
I hope so. Nothing is set in stone yet but I'll definitely make it for 2014

Any news or shout-outs you want to provide?
Of course! To all of my so-special goons.