I guess some of you may wonder who we're talking about this week, so what ? Aren't we talking about nothing but the good on these pages ??? And judging by the amount of mentions available here and there about our guest, we're obviously far from being his only fans. In fact and although releasing his very first album, Marcus Füreder aka Parov Stelar is already considered as a serious name to watch by some of the finest purveyors of groove, from Rainer Trüby to Dr Bob Jones, Alan 'Cuki' Brown and Shur-I-Khan, to name but a few…

Parov, congrats for this piece of fine art. First surprise, it has a title which may look a bit weird due to the intimacy of the atmospheres it displays. Any comment ?

Thanks. Good to hear that you like it. Well, Rough Cuts describes the way I work fast and sometimes very rough pieces that all together form some kind of patchwork. The title also refers to the approach and not only the content.

The second surprise comes from the fact that it doesn't necessarity reflect the impressions we've felt while listening to your 12" and more precisely what Rainer Trüby amongst others said about you and the fact that you've opened a new path while talking about minimalistic nu jazz. Do you agree ?

That's true, and I deliberately put my long player on another context. I deejay a lot in clubs where the dancefloor is the center. People want to dance and have a good time. I love this kind of atmosphere, but after the week-end always comes Sunday and then back to the daily routine or "normal" life where I prefer to get lost in thoughts. In these moments I find time for completely different moods and thoughts. I don't have the feeling of having created a new style as some others before me (St. Germain, ...) have done this more than geniously.

Looks like your album is more of a cool beats collection whereas you may feel some melancholy ?

I think it's quite true. I'm some sort of melancholic guy, but I have had much worse times behind me. It has then become a little bit easier with the years, but this melancholy is exactly my source of energy and music helps me to understand my world.

Is this related to your personal life ? To be somehow taken as some abstract messages ?

I think every book, every picture and every CD has unevitably autobiographical links.

What is your current environment ?

I live by the countryside. I call my home an oasis. When I come home after a club gig, I enter a different world. I enjoy that very much as it helps to get my feet back on the ground.

Where is this pseudonym coming from ?

Hmm ! Good question. I have no idea, it was just there someday.

How have you come to music ?

I actually come from classic art, painting in my case. Besides that I've always created flyers for different events and got free entry for that. At some point, it just wasn't enough to do the flyers and I began producing music myself. The more I got in touch with this art form, the more I became addicted and one day I realized that this was it. Music makes me happy.

Austrian production has that reputation of being very intimate. In France, we would easily talk about Austrian pastries (les viennoiseries) to translate this feeling of being confronted to intimate/introspective climates. Your opinion ?

I don't see my music in connection to the typical Austrian sound. Our scene is too often reduced to that specific Vienna lounge sound. Sure, it was the big thing some years ago, but there is constant further development happening. Rough Cuts also means rough edges that are very important for me to keep the tension.

Do you relate to this Austrian scene ?

I feel very comfortable in Austria. We at Etage Noir got more than good support from our collegues here. It is a great feeling to get a good feedback from other musicians. Big thanks to all of them !

Who would you feel close to ? In Austria ? Abroad ?

My roots are here in Austria, in my green oasis, but I love travelling and enjoy working as a DJ. The world is too big and exciting to stay at home.

You seem to be quite related to Dublex Inc and Inverse Cinematics. What do they represent for you ?

The whole Pulver crew is pure professional work together with humanity, but also modesty. I haven't met successful people that kept there feet on the ground like them. I feel a lot of respect for their music and their attitude in life.

How was the launch party of your album ?

It was a very nice and intimate party. As always, I shouldn't have drunk the last beer :-)

D'you feel more like a jazzman or an "electronician" ?

Actually I don't make any difference. Leaving live musicians and the hard drive work together makes the whole thing interesting. I don't know any kind of music that lets you that much space as jazz does.

I've noticed that you've studied art & design and already worked on some installations. Has this been something of a help while putting the various shapes to your album ?

Not really as my sound installations always came along with physical work. These works always had to function optically and acoustically when an album, apart from its cover artwork is solely aural work. This meaning that my approach for makin' an album is very different.

Your forthcoming projects ? Your label ?

We've had quite some output this year for a new company. Together with my label partner Raul Irie, we've decided to make a sort of break on our release schedule pause for the next four months. A lot has happened during the last year and now the time has come to resume and sort things, but we will be back at the beginning of February 2005 ... Two already finished 12" are waiting to be mastered. A very deep and soulful house project of Leipzig label Auris Records owners (Smooth Society & Frankman) is coming up, and we're definitely gonna hear a lot from Raul (Irie) in the near future. As for what I'm concerned, beside some remix jobs, I have a new 12" on Sunshine Enterprises to be released this year and two others in 2005 on stir15 and Auris Records.

PAROV STELAR Rough Cuts LP / 'Wanna Get' 12" (Etage Noir Recordings)

More info: etagenoir.com

Vielen Danke an Fernando Pascoal für seiner Hilfe