M83’s epic, grandiose music typically transforms and transcends the space where you hear it. Their atmospheric, majestic sound can’t be contained by a living room stereo, a dark club, a grand theater, or even an outdoor festival on a perfect summer night. If you listen closely to M83, their sonic landscapes will take you somewhere else, someplace new, beyond the walls of your home, the music venue, and the limits of your imagination.

On M83’s vibrant new album, Fantasy, Anthony Gonzalez — the creative mastermind and multi-instrumentalist of the French electropop group — brought a fresh optimism to his new songs while also reconnecting with the guitar and synth-fueled sound featured on his early work. We talked with Gonzalez on the day he shared the first six songs from Fantasy with the world, as he readies a live show for M83’s first world tour since 2016, a trek that brings them to St. Paul’s Palace Theatre on May 3.  

ERIK THOMPSON: So, let's start with the origins of Fantasy. Where were you at, creatively and emotionally, when these new songs started to materialize? Where was your headspace when you began writing and thinking about the new album? 

ANTHONY GONZALEZ: It's hard to say. But I think I was in the right place mentally. I felt good about myself and about my life. And I think it shows on the album. Even if it's a dance and with a lot of emotion album, there's a lot of joy as well in it. There's this sense of joy, I would say. So that's the state I was in when I I started to work on that.

Wonderful. I think that sense of joy comes through in the music for sure as well.

Nice.

You've always had an expansive atmospheric quality to your songs — such a grand soundscape, and very theatrical in a way. How do you transform the songs from their initial sonic sketches, the initial inspirations that you have, how do you transform them into something that's grand and swelling and magnificent as “Amnesia” or “Oceans Niagara”?

I think it's very natural for me because I've been doing this for so long now. It's almost like I have my recipe book. And it’s never really changed over the years. I'm not really trying to learn new techniques or anything; I just do what I can, what I know what to do, you know? That said, I don't try to do new things in terms of creating sounds. Obviously, I try to improve on my album skills, and I want to create songs that always go a little further each time. But mixing, I mean, obviously I have a team of people helping me through, going through the recording and the mixing like my producers, my mixer. So, it's teamwork, but it's also an old recipe that's been there for a long time now.

Wonderful. Well, yeah, when you've got a recipe book that good then you don't need to change, right? So you spent all of 2021 in the studio. You mentioned your collaborators, Joe Berry and Justin Meldal-Johnsen. How did the two of them nurture your creative ideas and bring out the best of you as a musician? 

It was very interesting for me to work with two partners in writing for the very first time. It was my first time. I usually like hiding myself in a room on my own, writing my songs, and then I would go to my producers. But this time it was a little different. We wanted to reach that band feel, where you feel like the musicians have been working on it together. And also with the idea of creating an album that will translate really well live, if that makes sense. And this is exactly what Joe and Justin brought to the table. We sat together for a year and jammed on music. Every day, we would jam on something new almost. And with that whole collection of jams and songs, we really tried to create an album that makes sense and tells a story. But always with the idea of sonically having something that translates really well live. But yeah, working with different musicians with different skills was a blessing for me. I learned a lot with my partners. Being in a band is what it's supposed to be, you know? You're supposed to lean on each other and try to get a sense of excitement from the other players so that you can also give the best of yourself in the music.

Wonderful. I'm glad you had those partners in the studio with you, and they really helped bring that album to life. You mentioned that you wanted this record to be very impactful live. What specifically is it about these new songs that you think will translate well to a live setting? 

I think I'm coming back to a sound that's maybe more the sound of the first albums of maybe five years in my career. The style of Before The Dawn Heals Us, the sound of Saturdays=Youth, maybe a little bit of Hurry Up as well. It's with a different state of mind, obviously. I'm a lot older and my experiences in life are so much richer. But yeah, I think it's going to be good live because there's a lot of energy, there's a lot of emotion, and you really feel like the band is the support of all that music, you know? It's not a one-man-band thing. It’s going to require some power and a lot of energy.

Nice. Well, I know all of us in Minnesota are excited to get the opportunity to see you perform live again. We can't wait.

Us too.

You are pre-releasing the album in a series of chapters. Chapter 1, the first six songs, was just shared [on February 9]. It's kind of reminiscent of what Beach House did with their last album. Instead of giving your fans a single, you give them like a six song “mini-suite” so that they can get more of a feeling of what the sonic direction of the album is and what the creative themes of the album are. Was that your intention on sharing the new record in a series of chapters or mini-suites?

I mean, to be honest, that was not my intention at the start. But the music market is extremely competitive. And it's extremely hard to release new music nowadays. So it was some kind of experiment that we wanted to try. And it's also a very, very long album, very ambitious, and it maybe gives more time for the fans to digest the album. It's also a way for us to promote the album twice in a way, you know. Due to the collection of records coming out every day, maybe it's good to divide an ambitious album into two parts because it gives maybe more time for people to hopefully fall in love with it. 

Nice. Yeah, I was blown away by the six songs you shared. Those are wonderful. Absolutely wonderful. You mentioned that you wanted to be more present lyrically and vocally on this album. Is that a reflection of you having more to say through your lyrics, rather than just making a creative statement with your compositions? Or are your vocals just a more personal way to tie you into these songs?

It’s really a very interesting subject because I felt like I started to sing really on Before The Dawn Heals Us, and more and more after each album. And I kind of trapped myself into being the singer of the band, you know? But I'm not a singer. I'm trying to do my best. So now I feel like people are maybe expecting more of my vocals. And to be honest, I feel like the more I'm going to use my vocals and the less I'm going to have guests, the more personal my music is going to be. Because no matter if I like my voice or not — I'm not a big fan of my voice — but the truth is, it's unique, it's mine. And nothing is going to be able to recreate it the way I do, the way I sing. So for me it's using more of myself as a way of trying to be more unique, you know?

Nice. Yeah, I think I think your vocals are a lot better than you're letting on to us Anthony.

Thank you.

With M83, you've always done incredible work incorporating futurism and fantasy into your work. What were the concepts and characters that you had in mind when you developed Fantasy? 

I think it's always the same characters, you know, but, like me, they are just older. But being older doesn't mean that life stops for some reason. You know, I think there's still a lot of youth in my characters and myself. So yeah, these characters are probably the same ones as ever. It's just a whole group of friends, and we're just trying to stay young with the music, you know? That helps. It's probably the best medicine to stay just like a teenager.

Yeah, music definitely keeps us all young. That's for sure. You said that the character featured on your album art will be kind of a recurring, important character thematically to the work. It was reminiscent of Pan's Labyrinth in a way, Guillermo del Toro. Can you speak to the significance of the album art?

We live in a day where you always have to show a piece of yourself. And we ask musicians not only to create great music, but also for them to be present on social media, and almost play the role of influencer, you know? And I hate this world. I think it's one of the many dark sides of our modern world, you know? I do believe that the artist has to show a side of mystery. That was the case in the ‘70s, and the ‘80s, and the ‘90s. And I feel like the music is stronger when you don't know what's happening behind the scenes. Because we have a tendency to show everything, to show every detail; I actually wanted to hide myself from that. That's the reason why I chose to wear a mask on that cover, and maybe to give the listeners the opportunity of using their imagination instead of giving them on a plate what I do every day or who I am. I think the idea is to keep a side of mystery.

Cool. It's such an arresting image, you know, you almost can't look away from the cover art. So you collaborated with your brother, Yann, who directed your music video for “Oceans Niagara.” What did you two set out to create and what was the experience like working so closely with your brother?

It was the first time that we worked together on a music video for M83, so already that was a nice experience for that. But the idea was really to bring back some of our influences that we had when we were kids. Especially in the animation part and the B movie side of things, you know, with the mask, and this monster, and all the animation behind us. We wanted to go back to these years where people were creative with makeup and with animation. I feel like today there's a lot of green screen and 3D, and it probably lacks a little bit of humanism and passion to me. At least for me. But I'm an old dude that doesn't really understand the new world. But yeah, the idea was to really pay tribute to these references of when we were kids.

You mentioned that the new album has some sonic ties to your early work. There's definitely a little bit more guitar layered sound, a more prominent shoegaze sound to the new record, as well as a definite ‘80s vibe. Was it your intention to kind of reconnect with the style and soundscapes from your early records on this album?

Yeah, definitely. When I released Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming, it was such an impactful record for a lot of people and that was also like such a boost in my career, you know? And all of a sudden, I had some of the spotlight on me, and it felt really good. But after that, I mean, what do you do when you have a successful album? I tried to do different albums, and I tried to take the people into different directions. It didn't really work that much. But maybe today I'm not looking for success anymore. And I'm actually really OK with my life right now. And I feel like if this album is a disaster, then so be it. I’ll move on. And it's not going to be a big deal for me. So maybe this idea of not expecting anything from an album is the best way to communicate my music, you know? And right now, I'm not looking for success, I'm not looking to have a hit single. I'm just making the music that I want to make, you know? And that's fantastic for an artist to be able to do that. I feel extremely lucky. So yeah, the idea is not only to come back to the world of maybe older albums, but just to be true to myself. That's my sound, and it's never going to change and that's a part of myself.

That's wonderful. And I'm sure that creative freedom for you — not having to adhere to expectations or to try and make another hit — that's got to really free you up to experiment and kind of follow your own muse in a way, right?

Completely. I see young musicians, extremely talented young musicians, struggling with the music market nowadays. And being in that position where I can make the record that I want is … I mean, it's fantastic. I'm not going to deny it. I'm in a really, really good position. So yeah, being able to do what I want is a blessing. Really. 

This year, Dead Cities is celebrating its 20th anniversary. And Hurry Up, We're Dreaming was just recently reissued on vinyl for its 10th anniversary. Do you allow yourself the luxury of looking back and kind of admiring or being proud of your past work? And how does Dead Cities being in the world for 20 years sit with you as an artist? 

I don't really think about that. I mean, otherwise, I'm going to cry. I started with my first album when I was 20. You know, it's a long time. But yeah, it's been a roller coaster, with peaks and valleys, and good and bad moments. But I think I can be proud of what I achieved. The world is hard, you know? It's a tough system. What does it mean to have success? It's very vague. Just the idea of being able to play music for a living is, I mean, how good can that be?! It's amazing. It's a dream come true to be able — after 20 years of a career — to be able to continue on my path. Yeah, it's special. But I don't want to think too much, because I am really eager to create more and more, and I’m extremely still ambitious with the music that I want to provide to people. I want to create an amazing live show for the people to come see for the Fantasy record. And yeah, I want to feel alive. And music is the best thing for that.

Wonderful, wonderful. So like I said earlier, we're all excited to have you return and play in Minnesota again. I've been fortunate to see you play some incredible shows here. You played a couple of shows at the Triple Rock Social Club back in the early days that were very intimate. So incredible.

I remember that.

And your show at First Avenue in 2011 was legitimately one of the best sounding concerts I've ever witnessed. I just can't wait to see what you've got planned for this upcoming tour. How excited are you to hit the road again?

I'm not gonna lie to you: I'm extremely nervous. Because it's been a long time. But I'm also very excited. I have an amazing band behind me, and I think I'm more excited for the people to discover the band than to see my face once again onstage. We're thrilled, and I think it's going to be a great tour. And we're gonna work really hard for the next two months to make it up and to create something very special for the people. Yeah, really excited.

Based on your memorable shows here in the past, I'm sure it will be a really special night and we're all looking forward to that.

What was the venue with all the arcades and stuff? It was small, like a super small venue.

That was the Triple Rock. They had some video games. Yep, some video games and it was just a real tiny, tiny club.

I remember this venue a lot. 

Yeah, the small little club barely could contain your music that night, that was so massive and expansive and was a wonderful performance. Well, Anthony, that's all I've got for you today. Thank you so much for making time for me and congratulations on the new album. It's brilliant. I love it. I can't wait to hear more. 

Thank you so much for your time, Erik. And I'll see you soon then.

Yes, Thank you. Safe travels.

Bye bye. Take care.

External Link

M83 - official site