Jackson and his computer band

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Jackson Fourgeaud

Jackson and His Computer Band is an IDM artist signed to Warp Records consisting of Jackson Fourgeaud, a 26-year-old Parisian composer. His style has been described as "a style orgy, a psychedelic celebration of conflict." Jackson and His Computer Band just released their debut album "Smash".

"I want to make at least four totally amazing albums," Jackson says, "and if I can build myself a harem in Berlin, I will be a happy man!

1 History
2 Style
3 Discography
4 External links

[edit] History

Jackson Fourgeaud began making music at the age of 15, intrigued by some of the pioneers of music and the equipment they used. After his acid house debut on Pumpking records in 1996, Sound Of Barclay released the "Sense Juice" and "Gourmet EPs" under the name Jackson & His Computer Band. These thumping filtered house cuts sounded much different to the prevailing "French Touch" style of Daft Punk and Cassius, leading to articles in NME, I-D, Jockey Slut and the like. Jackson was commissioned to remix an array of artists, sprinkling his magic over Femi Kuti, Air, Vanessa Paradis, Freeform Five and Jean Jacques Perrey and Luke Vibert's forthcoming "Moog Acid". No one has of yet remixed Jackson. In the current year he has DJed at parties in London (everywhere from The Social to Harrod's) and recently terrorised the idyllic Territoires Electroniques festival in Aix-en-Provence. He also performed a DJ set on Radio 1's Breezeblock show in March. Jackson is now working on a live show which will be unveiled around the time of Smash's release in September.

Jackson Fourgeaud rose to prominence in 2003 when his fourth single, album opener "Utopia", tweaked all manner of DJs and tastemakers with its celestial apres-rave shimmer. Featuring vocals by his mother, Paula Moore, a folk and blues singer who's just recorded an album with Nouvelle Vague producer Marc Collin, "Utopia" and its mesmeric sister track "Radio Caca" seduced producers as diverse as Richie Hawtin, Matthew Herbert, Ellen Alien, Ricardo Villalobos, 2 Many DJs, Erol Alkan, Paul Epworth, Gilles Peterson and Trevor Jackson. Then Jackson's radical "Midnight Fuck" remix of M83's "Run Into Flowers", later the stand-out tune on Michael Mayer's Fabric 13 DJ mix, proved this unique artist's mettle and crossover appeal.

Warp picked up on these records, released on French imprint Sound Of Barclay, instantly recognising Jackson as a genuine innovator with his own distinctive sound and personality -- rare qualities in modern electronics -- and signed him.

The Jackson and his Computer Band track Utopia is currently being featured as the music on the new O2 TV advert in the UK - the one with the bubble flying through the city.

[edit] Style

Developing Smash's restless "antique futurist" style was a labour of love for Jackson. He recorded it again and again, adding layer upon layer, at home and in dingy Paris studios. One basement laboratory he shared with his pal Mr Oizo, who mixed two tracks on the record. Jackson's also responsible for some of the artwork, including the deliciously prurient inside painting. As for guests, again, his mother sings on "Fast life"; his four-year-old niece narrates the tale of a mad king on "Oh Boy" which Jackson wrote fuelled on Ricard at his Grandma's while watching telly with his sister; and cavalier New York rapper Mike Ladd dazzles on "TV Dogs" a Harry Potter hip-hop cyber-swirl.

Jackson's musical influences inlude scrunching Aphex Twin into Hendrix, Boards of Canada into Bowie and beyond. Glam romp "Teen Beat Ocean" could be T-Rex spazzing out with Hecker. "The idea is to mix unmatchable elements, to slash boundaries and create tension between opposites," Fourgeaud says. "Challenging aesthetic codes has been an obsession while making this record. The constantly chopped-up audiovisual environment we're exposed to in cities through technology is a source of inspiration for me. It's funny and brutal at the same time. So if I can use this to come out with some emotional shocks, that's cool."