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Jackson And His Computerband Unveil New Live Performance Video

He shows us his G.L.O.W. machine, which stands for "Godless Living Offline Worshippers." Uh huh.

A decade ago, Jackson Fourgeaud dropped a remix of M83's "Run Into Flowers" that lit up indie and electro circles alike. Titled the "Jackson Midnight Fuck Remix," the mangled, hiccuping remix reached meme status three years later when someone working under the moniker Doppelbanger mashed it up with Aphex Twin's "Windowlicker" and Khia's "My Neck, My Back." The result was an iconically postmodern re-remix called "Pussylicker." By this point, Jackson was a few years into what would become a seven-year gap between his debut album Smash and the forthcoming Glow.

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Fast forward to 2013—Jackson's second album is set to drop on Warp Records, he's preparing to go on tour, and he's unveiled the G.L.O.W. machine, a retro-futuristic "custom-made technological sound device" that is at the center of his own weird artistic mythology. Today's video premiere is something between science-fiction and live performance; it captures the G.L.O.W. performing alongside Jackson and his Computerband "in a barn surrounded by a techno Amish-like community." We can only hope that he's taking this thing on tour with him, and that the techo-Amish clique shows up to his gigs in their handmade Hoverwagons™.

The video and the new album both nod to Kraftwerk's technology-obsessed fantasies, but while his German forebearers portrayed a roboticized humanity, Jackson breathes life into his machines. On Glow, he jettisons the glitchy stutters and digital processing in favor of a distinctly live, organic feel. A deft sleight-of-hand is the result—one that Smash fans may not expect, or immediately appreciate. But layer by layer the album reveals itself as one of the most dynamic of 2013.

I had to ask him about the elaborate fiction that he's built around his new album. He talked about his relationship to technology and his decision to play the whole thing live (as much as he possibly could).

THUMP: Let's talk about the video we're premiering.
Jackson:The video shows my Computerband performing in a barn surrounded by a techno Amish-like community. The idea was to put a technologic device at the center of a fictional community that is resistant to technology. The device is the G.L.O.W., aka Godless Living Offline Worshippers. Technology plays a role in how belief systems are articulated, so I wanted to emphasis the fact that this device is hand-made and non-industrial.

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There is certainly that dimension to postmodern culture now, where creative expression is done with lo-fi technology. GIFs are an example of this. Your concept also echoes Terry Gilliam's aesthetic on Brazil and 12 Monkeys—future technology filtered through lo-fi or analogue hardware. The anti-technology Lo Teks in William Gibson's Sprawl trilogy also come to mind.
Totally.But, I also wanted to convey that these people nourish a divine relationship with custom-made technological sound devices such as my Computerband.

Did the idea arrive in some grand vision?
It was in the back of my mind as I was working on the conception of the device.

I would imagine that this is a recurring theme on Glow, no?
Yes, it's connected. It's part of the retro-futuristic dimension of it—stepping back from the high definition fascination culture for a moment.

Apart from this retro-futurist angle, Glow has a rather dark, though not ncessarily menacing, psychedelic vibe, which is quite a departure from Smash's sound.
A lot of people tell me Glow is dark, but actually the first impulse was to make an optimistic record. I guess things happen regardless of your initial aims.

What do you think you created now that you can experience it in its complete form?
To be honest, I have no idea. That's what I like about finishing a record—you sort of look at it from behind the door. It's in the hands of the public now, so I'm just a spectator.

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It takes a lot for an artist to let go, as they tend to want to keep tinkering with their creation. But, moving from creator to spectator is a healthy outlook for an artist.
Yes, it is, but at some point it's vital. I guess it's about admitting your own limitations as well the interactive abilities of your work with the outer world.

And, of course, once you perform an album live, then you're no longer a spectator. In other words, when you mess with the songs and reshape them in a live setting, it's as if you're hearing them anew.
Yes, the live perspective is an absolute thrill! In fact, I did the record mostly by performing it live. This is also why I almost didn't do any cut-ups or digital signal processing on the record. I wanted to record the songs in "real time."

Did you write and record the album in a musical vacuum where you weren't listening to much other music? The reason I ask is because if you're thinking of a retro-futurist, Amish-like community, it sort of implies isolation. Or am I taking things too literally?
No, I listened to other music. I live in Paris, so avoiding music is impossible. But, I do have my immersive, isolated moments. The community of the technologically resistant is just a fantasy.

What were you up to between Smash and the new album?
Nothing too extravagant really. Just living my life and putting all the pieces together.

Were you writing and recording music during this gap?
At some point, yes. Mainly between 2009 and 2011.

Which is presumably when you started recording Glow, right?
Yes.

What was it like working with Planningtorock?
I lived in Berlin for four years, so we worked a lot between Berlin and Paris. We set aside some time in Paris, and sent recordings back and forth via email as well. The collaboration took its time, but I think it's a good feeling to grow a creative process.

Glow is a lot of different things, especially after multiple listens. Are you more interested in exploring the boundaries of sound and song than in crafting music that could be played on a dancefloor, as you seem to have done on Smash? Right now there is a huge market for electronic dance music, but Glow flies in the face of that demand.
The drive of this record was to travel between track producing and songwriting as well as finding a way between harmony and more dissonant sonic processing. The dancefloor is whole other state of mind I think. I've never really made a floor banger, though I have nothing against this format. I've actually been spending a lot of time in clubs. But, the way I like to explore music doesn't necessarily meet the rigorous laws of a DJ-friendly track.