Alongside her remarkable contribution to the series, we sat down with ZAATAR زَعْتَر who shared her thoughts about her career, last EP, inspirations & aspirations!
- Hello Marie, thank you for accepting to answer our questions. Can you introduce yourself to our readers?
I am a producer and DJ, I currently live in France. I grew up in Morocco, and have three nationalities: Belgian, Swiss and Moroccan. I produce music with a lot of EBM new beat and post punk influences. I bring these up to date with my personal “club” touch and my multicultural background.
- We will start by discussing your background in terms of musical influences. What styles have crossed your path since your childhood and what brought you to electronic music?
I remember going to Belgium from Morocco by car almost every winter in the 90s. We passed by service stations which sold CDs that were a bit “has-been” for the time, in the lot there was a Various CD Italo Disco that I listened to on repeat. The road was long so these sounds stuck well in my head. Much later I discovered the groups Depeche Mode or Joy Division, which were the darker bent of synthwave, it was a revelation. Since then I have never left that scene. I discovered that we could bring these sounds into the club, that a lot of artists were doing it, and that made me want to do it too.
- How could you describe the techno you play? And the one you produce?
The techno that I play incorporates very rock elements, like the snare drum or even synthesizer leads that are reminiscent of guitar riffs. It’s a bit like the principle of the revival of EBM music: it’s rock but it’s club. In my productions I add my personal touch. Samples that I record in Morocco, or sequences of notes that allude to it. It’s not really a conscious desire, it happened quite naturally, and I think that EBM or new beat are styles that are really conducive to this “hybridization”.
You are currently based in Lille. Can you give us a portrait of the current state of the Lille scene: unmissable spots, active collectives, audiences…
The electronic scene in Lille, as in many medium-sized (mid-plus) cities in France, revolves around its main clubs (Slalom), the festivals which take place there regularly (NAME and Jardin Electronique) and above all more evenings. small ones organized by local actors (association). This system allows the public to see the big names that we see everywhere, but also to discover emerging projects via collectives. This is our case with our collective “Laisse Faller les Filles”, we organize evenings where we do a lot of work to promote new gems in France and offer to introduce them to Lille.
- According to your bio on RA you are from Morocco. Do you have any connections with the Moroccan scene?
For the moment, I have no connections with the Moroccan scene, I speak with a few artists who are all quite underground. As for clubs or festivals I don’t know them well. I left Meknes in 2010, it’s been a while now.
Furthermore, my music is deliberately dark and “cold” and I know that there will be a time of adaptation if I had to play in a festival in Morocco. If the public is ready to discover new things, I am always ready to share them!
- If I’m not mistaken, your latest release was released on the “Dischi Autunno” label of Jennifer Cardini & Noura Labbani. What type of setup did you produce this EP on? In what vein are you currently in terms of production?
My EP “No Border” released this year on Dischi Autunno was produced in computer music on Ableton. I recorded a few voices, but for the rest I used a lot of VSTs that emulate vintage synths like the Juno or the SH 101. I used digital VSTs rather than hardware for reasons of time, it had to be produced efficiently, I had a lot of ideas that I wanted to explore in a short period of time.
Also the idea of “No Border” was to create tracks in their own right, I had already proven that I could make “dancefloor” pieces like “Abiad Al Layali”. With this EP I wanted to prove to myself that I could do something deeper that defines the “Zaatar” style. For my second EP I will continue on this track.
- How did you record the podcast for Paradox ?
In this podcast, I tried to put together songs that made sense in terms of their atmosphere, without paying attention to their release date. There is plenty of anachronism, pieces from the late 80s or 90s rub shoulders with new productions. The idea here was to defend a style that hybridizes genres while keeping a common DNA and atmosphere: sometimes chilling and sometimes oozing.
- What should we expect in the coming months regarding your artistic news?
There are many new dates that have been announced recently, like the Fuse in Brussels or the Rex in Paris which will take place in November. I think that my recent appearance on Arte concert will be able to open a few doors for me and make my project visible to people who are interested in this style in Europe or elsewhere!
Beyond the dates, I am preparing a lot of new musical content, an EP is in preparation, some remixes but also I am actively working on a masterclass in music production. It should be released in January 2025.
Thanks a lot Marie, we hope to see you very soon somewhere, keep the good vibe on!
Love and respect