Name: Jeremy Guindo aka Bambounou
Occupation: Producer, remixer
Nationality: French-Malian-Polish
Current release: Bambounou's remix of Moby's "Porcelain" is out via Deutsche Grammophon. It is part of a larger remix collection, further including Felsmann + Tiley, Ansifa Letyago, Topic, Efdemin, Max Cooper, and Peter Gregson, among others.

[Read our Moby interview]
[Read our Topic interview]
[Read our Max Cooper interview]
[Read our Peter Gregson interview]
[Read our Felsmann + Tiley interview]

If you enjoyed this interview with Bambounou and would like to know more about his work, visit him on Instagram, Facebook, twitter, and Soundcloud.



Many people, even artists, consider remixes a waste of time. From your perspective, what does remix culture add?

I love remixes! It’s your own touch on an existing project.

It’s all about the way you approach it: «Do I want to do something different or stick with the original spirit of the track?»

I just love doing it - it’s great exercise.

This particular project by Moby highlights the liquid borders between different approaches: Re-Interpretation, cover version, remix, and others. For you personally, how do you differentiate between a collaboration done through filesharing and a remix?

It is the same for me, especially in these modern days where you can send any files anywhere in the world through the Internet.

I mean, come on, it’s time we all share something we have done creatively and re-create. It’s not a competition and that’s what I like about collabs. (laughs)

Funkstörung once famously did a remix in which all sounds were created from the bass drum of the original. Other than that, these pieces had nothing in common. What's your own take on the relationship between the original and the remix – are there limits to how far one should go?

There are absolutely no limits. You can create a whole new track from just one second of an original - unconsciously it will have influenced the remix.

What is a successful remix from your point of view? Tell me about some of your favourite remixes, please.  

(Laughs) A successful remix has to be a good track in its own right! No matter how close of far it is from the original it has to be good enough to meet your own standards.

For example I like this Bruce remix of "Kefi" from Das Spezial. The original is a beautiful ambient dronish industrial peace and the remix is a completely funky and out of this world groove track! You never know!!



When it comes to accepting and taking on a remix assignment, do you need to like the original? What did you appreciate about the original in this particular case?

In this particular case, I liked both the artist and the original.

I can’t do something if I don’t particularly like the artist (artistically speaking). But sometimes I'll have an idea of what I can do with particular sounds in an original for a remix. That’s how I roll

Will you usually get a description of which direction your remix should take? Is such a request something you'd object to - or which you'd actually appreciate?

I usually never follow those. (Laughs)

I don’t even know myself what I’m doing. If I like the result then there it is. It may sound a bit pretentious, but that’s how I work. :/

How did you approach this particular remix? 

The problem I had with this remix was «Do I use the main melody» which is so recognizable and amazing. I was trying to play around with it, sample it and redo something but it wasn’t working at all.

In the end, I just rearranged the main melody a bit and there it was: An IDM-like beat, weird percussions and BOOM I had a remix.

Then I spent some time on the details because I like surprises. (Laughs). And voilà.

What makes this project slightly different is that acoustic instruments were involved. How do you see this concept of combining the worlds of “classical music” and techno in general - and what additional challenges or possibilities does this present in terms of working with the material?

Much more possibilities in my opinion. Because it will always sound great, the quality of sound is perfect.

If you need to stretch it or put on some effects that will destroy the sound. It just sounds good.

Will you sometimes contact the producer/composer of the original to discuss ideas? What does the process look like after you've submitted your piece? How do you deal with requests for changes or rejection?

I’m okay with rejection and I actually prefer someone saying no to a requested piece - it show honesty and that’s something I respect. I don’t often do changes but I’ll try. (Laughs)

I’d definitely like to talk about the remix with Moby. But unfortunately I don’t have his number. (Laughs)

Do you think a remix can reveal something about the original that maybe even the producer/composer did not realise?

Yes definitely. It depends of the approach but in the remix I did it can reveal a potential track club which I think and neither me nor anyone else expected

Vice versa, has a remix ever given you inspiration and creative sparks that influenced your own work?

Yes but I think it’s not especially a remix but more of a vibe.

If a track is good and interest me enough I will try to understand how the producer did it. That's something I love about my job

With an album remix project, you typically won't know what the other remixers will contribute. In this case, how do you feel about the finished remix album as a whole?

I see it more like a compilation than an album since we all use the same material.

In this case it will be very interesting because all the other artists are really good and I can’t wait to listen to it all!!