First fundamental question: where the Groove Sessions Vol.4?

Sly: The real reason, finally my reason, because there are several, is that there is such a difference between the Groove Sessions Vol.3 and the Grooves Sessions Vol.5, in the way of doing the project, that we jumped on 4.We are in the "Tur-fu", as we say in the jargon!

This Groove Sessions Flight.5 arrives for the 15th anniversary of the Chinese Man Records label.Where does the 15 titles on the album?

High Ku: No, not at all!In addition it is true!We had made 18 titles at the base, and it is true that there are three that we did not keep ... We just arrived at 15, we wondered long if there was too many, but we said to ourselves: "Well, let's be generous!"

If there were already a lot of featurings on the previous groove sessions, there are for the first time co-composed with two other groups...

High Ku: We had the idea at the end of Shikantaza (the latest studio album from Chinese Man, released in 2017, editor's note), knowing that there were 15 years of the label and that it was the opportunity, after a big project on our part, to focus on something that belonged to us a little less, on which we could be really more relaxed.Because these are certainly our groups, but we are not expected either since it is a hybrid project, so somewhere I think that it granted us a lot of freedom.We took great pleasure in learning to work with each other, to discover their way of working, and for once it added the forces.In addition we were quite effective.Afterwards, it asked for a huge job of realization behind and also of creation for the live - because being six is a crazy job.But we are in a hurry to make live, now that the album is released ... It's really designed to complete the album universe.

Why did you specifically choose these two other groups, Baja Frequencia and Scratch Bandits Crew?

High Ku: Because already it is the groups that were closest to us in the label - they had shared a lot of first parts and others on Shikantaza.These are people we knew everyone personally, so we told ourselves that it was rather lucky to succeed.And it is also the fact of having three DJs, it was completed well in the profiles.But I think it is a project that can be brought to grow and include more people.Afterwards, you have to find a good organization so that creativity is expressed, which is a little paradoxical, but for once I think that here we have managed to do it.

How is it going suddenly, the production of a whole disc with as many hands?You say that in the end you were very effective ...

Sly: all the really creation phase was done in a very short time.In 6-10 days, we will say, there were 80% of the album which was posed.We did not know exactly how to start, so we took the principle of the exquisite corpse ... And the basic will was to burst the groups, because there was no interest in ScratchStarts a song for two, or that Baja begins a piece together, which was likely to lead to the same thing.So we decided to mix the groups, everyone started a piece with samples or melodies that we had chosen together before.We worked half a day in pairs on these songs, in the afternoon we went to another pair, and we turned like that.It's a bit like lasagna, everyone added their little layer!It was really very fun as way of doing.Then that's what High Ku said: we didn't have a style constraint or doing a song that sounds exactly as we used to do, so it offered a great palette.

Added to that you also called on a few other featuring artists: ASM, Youthstar, Illaman, Taiwan Mc which still makes a little appearance...How did it go with MCS?

Youthstar: I remember that they asked me, Illaman and Asm, to record four tracks ... it was done very quickly.We arrived in the afternoon, I believe on Wednesday, we had to write the four songs the same day and the next day at 9 am we were in the studio, recording them!We also tried to make the lasagna between rappers, it was ... all hot!And that's it, it was Chan-Mémé.There was a super good atmosphere, between all of us.They were put **** vibes at the studio.So it was done at the feeling, but it worked!

Sly: We wanted the MCS to be a little in the same state, tense, that we were when we had composed.Because the risk on these kinds of projects is to fall into overproduction and to invite lots of people, instrumentalists, etc...Here we wanted it to be something spontaneous, we wanted to keep this freshness.And we chose Youthstar, ASM and Illaman because we knew it would stick to the instruments, we knew that they could work quickly, that we would not have a surprise.And we wanted to capture this energy, so yes, in a day they recorded everything ...

Youthstar: created and recorded!

Sly: No, one day to write, one day to record, it seems perfect!(laughs) Even if there were small imperfections - there were not many - we also kept them.We really wanted this recording to it, yes.Then unfortunately with Taiwan MC it was done at a distance, with CW Jones too, for planning questions.But these are people that we know so well, we were not afraid of not being with them during recording, so it was done so naturally.

And of course, who says new groove sessions, and what's more anniversary of the label, says tour ... What will it give?

High Ku: We tried to really work on being six, because generally in electronic music-and especially with DJs-we rarely go beyond four, so that it still holds the road.So here we really tried to find a way to play six.And it's cool because, even if the Grooves Sessions Vol.5 are a bit of the live canvas and gave us the weft of the live, as it was the 15 years of the label and there were the three groups, we also had fun mixing the songs of the album, also with the label classics and each group.We can't reveal anything for the moment, we will have to wait for the first to see how it goes, but if everything works as expected, normally it should be bad.

After this groove sessions flight.5, can we expect to see a third studio album from Chinese Man appear one day in the bins, to follow up on Racing with the Sun and Shikantanza?

Sly: We can always expect it, yes!For the moment, honestly, there is nothing in the pipes.There it will take us a lot of time these groove sessions, a year or even two years to make this project really exist.Then over the years, we meet, so we also tell ourselves that we can make music in another setting.There is nothing specific yet, but we worked with people who make a circus show, we worked a little bit for cinema ... so maybe the next Chinese Man album will not be a "True "album, but there will be a new project in the years to come, yes.

Find Chinese Man, Scratch Bandits Crew and Baja Frequencia Together on stage on the occasion of the tour of the Groove Sessions Vol.5 which will start in Marseille this Thursday, March 12 and will pass in particular with the Élysée Montmartre in Paris, next April 4.And to wait, the album is available on listening to Napster!