The Parisian duo Jaffna, signed under Intuitive Records, Thylacine's label, delivered us Retrogade a second EP last April. After several missed appointments, we finally managed to meet Bravin and Stan. Justfocus is full of exclusives in this interview!
Bravin is originally from Sri Lanka; he was born and raised in Germany before living in London and Paris. Stan is Parisian, he grew up in Montrouge and was destined to become a chef. But that was before his sister introduced him to Bravin and suddenly the desire to make music together was born. Today, their project has become reality and, it is two EPs later that we meet them.
Initially, we made an appointment in June. And then work, the vagaries of life, the approach of summer, festivals… The appointment has been postponed to September. But what an appointment! It is at Mr. Culbutot, in the twentieth arrondissement of Paris, that I meet the two members of Jaffna for an hour of chatting in peace. A tasty and totally relaxed moment!
Jaffna
When did you start to become interested in music?
Bravin: I started early with classical training. When I arrived in Paris, I was interested in all styles of music (pop, hip hop…), but not so much electro. When I met Stan, he was the one who was really in it: he did a lot of parties, he knew the places of the electro scene. One day we did some concerts, he made me listen to music and we wanted to try it ourselves.
Stan: He was starting to produce music for commercials and films. I was interested in what he was doing, but I had no notion of music, except a little guitar when I was younger (2/3 years old) and listening to a lot. But we started creating together. I brought my electro touch, he his classical training and we connected together.
What was the trigger to create your project?
Stan : We wrote 8/10 songs. People told us it was good but we wanted to have a more concrete feedback. I knew a little bit about Thylacine and we just sent him a message: "Hi, this is what we do. Can you give us an opinion? ". He replied that he loved it and wanted to sign us. That's when we understood that we could get started!
What state of mind are you in when you create?
Stan: Since we're still learning new things, we don't set any rules in terms of composition. We set up a home studio at Bravin's. In general, we go to sounds that we like: we try a lot of sounds and when we find one, we start to turn around, to try voices… The songs we released on our EPs didn't sound like that at first and changed by reworking them. We like to work with other people like Dyllan or Anna Majidson. William de Thylacine also gives us big feedback that means a lot to us.
Bravin: We also follow a lot of artists we love, very different and sometimes by listening a little to what they do, we find new avenues to explore. Recently, one who inspired me a lot was Jon Hopkins : he gave me ideas for a new song.
In your project, we feel the influence of Sri Lankan culture starting with the name of the group, Jaffna, which comes from there.I have the impression that it is also felt in your compositions, in the sounds you bring…
Stan: In Eleven especially…
Yes, absolutely!
Stan: It happened by chance, it was really not done on purpose. We wanted to test voice textures, with a plugin we had just discovered. I sang a lot of things, Bravin recorded everything and we did overlays; We added textures and lots of stuff… And we arrived on an ethnic sound.
Bravin: It was really instinctive, we didn't think, we're going to do something a little ethnic.
Stan : In terms of composition, that's what was most interesting for both of us because it was done in a super fluid way.
Bravin: I'm so influenced by that… It could have happened intuitively. I listen to a lot of Indian music, I love Allah Rakha Rahman in particular. But we came across it and it was like obvious!
In what I read, you say that composing together was a new experience at the beginning with a lot of experimentation and research. What has changed since Ripples, your first EP?Do you know where you're going with Retrograde ?
Bravin : I think with Ripples, as it was our first, we were a little more open. Between the two EPs we had new influences, we evolved on the technique and it helped us a lot. We also had an influence of music a little retro, 80s, synth …
Stan : It's true that on the first EP we had no references. That was the beginning…We had about fifteen pieces of music and we had to choose 4. On the second one we really let ourselves be influenced by the retro sounds.
It's surprising, we don't feel the retro 80 side like many bands today.
Bravin: Our sound is not 80's pastiche. We wanted to keep modernity in the compositions, but with a retro sound.
Stan: After that, we don't set a specific style. The advantage is that since no one is really waiting for us, so we can do a little what we want. Maybe on the next Ep it will be different again… It won't be rock but it will be another delusion!
Do you have a clearer idea of where you're going to go when you start composing or do you let the idea slip away?
Bravin: What happened with Eleven is a good example. We stayed on those first 30 seconds and went there. But then it's a piece that we worked on for almost a year. It has changed enormously.
Stan: We wondered if the beginning was too different from the end… Does it go a little too far? In any case, we both realized that we were starting to be attracted to the darker stuff. It may be by period… If it's in 2 years we'll want to do some very nice stuff, we don't know. But at the moment we are rather in this mood.
Bravin: We have maybe 10 titles in creation. New, new…
Stan: There are some that last a minute, some are still models…
Bravin: But there's one that we've done a good job of.
Stan: We sent him to Thylacine and he recommended that we work him hard.
Bravin: Maybe a new single…
How do you decide that a track can be part of an EP or deserves to be released?
Stan : Thylacine gives us his opinion and he is very good advice, but we decide in the end. Sometimes we hesitate, we wonder if a title is consistent with the rest of the EP for example. But we are really supported. It's a very small label: there is William and two other people, we are all the same age, we talk like friends. We decide together… There is no pressure.
Bravin: It's a small family! That's what's nice.
Retrograde, their second EP
Retrograde is the title of your second EP: Why this title?
Stan: We thought that since we used a lot of retro samples from the 80s, it fit well.
Bravin: We were really inspired by those sounds, that time. And also because as we change our minds, it was a way of naming this moment of our creativity. To be able to leave on something else afterwards, on another delirium.
A way to archive this period in a way…
Bravin: Yes exactly!
How were the voices chosen?
Stan: There were no voices at the beginning.
Bravin: For Beyond we already had the idea, we had created, it was even finished. William suggested we put a voice on this track. He worked with Dyllan and gave us his contact.
Stan: So, we sent her a message, she sent us some first tests. We didn't like it too much, we reworked… There were quite a few exchanges. We ended up finding this: a few vocalizations with a few words and it works great.
Bravin: Anna Majidson, I met him in Paris at a party. We became friends. When we started working on Wish You Knew , we and Stan and I thought it would be nice to blackmail Anna about it. We talked to her about it and she said, "Yes, I'm hot! "
Stan: She had written the lyrics, she arrived, she recorded: Hi, Thank you! She was super inspired and very professional.
Bravin: It was super easy!
You said you have an attraction to dark sounds right now. it shows in this EP. Composing music is putting a little bit of yourself. What feeling did you want to convey? Something you wanted to talk about?
Stan: When I listen to music, I like to feel melancholic, because that's where I feel the most. I think we tried to compose this EP – as Bravin likes to compose music for films or commercials – by imagining images. I don't know if we felt exactly the same things on each sound, but in any case, sometimes we looked at each other and it was loud!
Bravin: For me, with a classical background, that's what I love about music. This kind of nostalgia, melancholy. I love playing Chopin, he is a composer who is in this spirit and who touches me a lot. I like when I compose to imagine a little movies and things like that.
Stan: From time to time, that's what we do: we take images that already exist and see if the music plays well on them; Just to see if it works.
Was the video for Beyond made in this mood?
Stan: Absolutely, yes!
There's a real story in this clip… a little in suspense by the way. It's frustrating…
Stan: What happened was I saw a college buddy that I hadn't seen in a very long time. He got into video and specializes in underwater images. We have always imagined water with the title Beyond curiously. He said, "I love your music, we'd have to make a music video." We needed a music video: it was perfect! He worked with a director who came to ask us if we knew where we wanted to go. We didn't necessarily want a very complicated story, just beautiful images, water. She offered us this short film, with just two shots; water and room. We found this little guy who is too cute to play in and it sticks! I'm really proud of this clip; When I look at it it still leaves me with emotion.
Other clips planned?
Stan: Right now, no. We're in a small label and it's expensive to make a video. We'il see… It would have to work a little more for us to be able to develop this type of project.
You were talking about Jon Hopkins earlier and Allah Rakha Rahman among your influences, were there others for Retrograde ?
Bravin: On the retro side, we listened a lot to John Carpenter and the soundtrack of Stranger Things. I listened to a lot of Kiasmos and Moderat too.
Stan: I listened to a lot of sounds that were very well known, it made me think a lot about the ones I wanted. We especially worked a lot on bass sounds. We discovered a lot of stuff about software. We evolved well between the two EPs technically.
The Ransom of Glory
Have you managed to make your music travel?
Stan: On Spotify it worked really well. We have almost 8 million listens. We are listened to a lot in the United States, Canada and Latin America.
Bravin: In Europe not bad, in Turkey…
Stan: It's never as much as you'd like, but it's already not bad. We would like our music to be listened to in Sri Lanka or India. At the moment we are working with a guy who plays tabla, so we may have a project with him. Live it looks great.
How do you see the future?
Stan: First of all, we're going to release the song we're working on. We're going to go back on tour with Thylacine; We're going to open for him in January. We are also working with André Manoukian on an Armenian ethnic music project. He will be at the piano, there is a tabla player and a doudouk player (Armenian flute). We add the electro touch on top of all that.
Bravin: We did a residency with him this summer in Chamonix and a few concerts. If we can work well with him until December, it should lead to an EP and a tour as Jaffna.
So much great news… And exclusively!! I did well to wait until September to meet you!When will there be an album?
Stan: We asked ourselves the question and we thought, "If we release an album that is really waiting for him? ". We don't have a big enough fan base yet. We don't want our work to fall by the wayside, it would be a shame. We'll wait a bit.
You both had professional activities before Jaffna. Can you make a living from it?
Bravin: I'm still a music teacher and we always have extras. It's not easy because I worked 3 days a week, but Stan was a chef almost 6 days a week: there was only one day left to work together. Sometimes we sent each other things, we talked about it, but it's more difficult when we don't see each other. Now we have more time, we work, but to live from that, we kept a job on the side.
Stan: I'm still unemployed from my old job and I do extras in bars. Everything is expensive, the equipment… All of it. The first year, I worked like crazy and when we released the first EP, I decided to stop a little and throw myself into the project to see how it goes. But if it doesn't work I will go back to the kitchen, it's not a drama. There I am soon at the end of my resources, but it is progressing well. We learn a lot of tricks and live concerts, it's exceptional. I never thought I'd make a living from that, especially since I don't come from music at all.
A lot of people are embarking on musical projects today. Do you have some advice?
Stan: Today you can work from home just with a computer and a keyboard. Petit Biscuit did
it Bravin: Madeon, Flume too. With electro music, you can start more easily. But what I find interesting most is that now, if you want to collaborate with other artists, it's much easier. Like us, working with Dyllan who is in Los Angeles and whom we have never met in real life. I think it's really great.
Playlist
What are you listening to right now?
Bravin: Well, there's the last title of A. A. Rahman who just came out… And then Travis Scott and Eminen.
Stan: I listen to a group of two Italians called Hiver. It's a bit of acid techno, I like it.
There's the last piece by Lil Silva that we like.The cover of You're High by Agar Agar.
Bravin: I listened to the last track of The Blaze – Queens. The music is not bad – I expected more – but the clip is beautiful.
Here ends our interview which lasted a good thirty minutes and which continued in a more informal way over a drink.
These two guys, quiet and easy to access really have the niaque and we have no doubt that they will manage to give their music the dimension and the place it deserves in the landscape of French electro.
Retrograde
When we listen to their music, we understand that it may have pleased William de Thylacine.
In this EP, we feel a progression. We start from something very high, we go up, we walk on different rhythms. We really feel the influence of Kiasmos that Jaffna sites regularly.
Beyond is the first single from this EP. Dyllan's voice is completely captivating. The rhythm is slow and the music haunting. The sound seems to be an echo from the depths.
Nightfall allows you to continue the journey. Slow, too, this title is in the same spirit: a little more mysterious and dark, as if we were running away from something. A female voice haunts in the background and it rises in intensity.
Euphoria is perhaps the most agreed piece. The rhythm is more sustained, the electro construction is more traditional. It is perhaps the least interesting even if it remains very successful.
In another register, Wish You Knew is more Hip-Hop / RnB. Anna Majidson's voice is ideal: vibrant and soulful. We feel a disillusioned side and annoyance. The melody flows, the jerky rhythm creates urgency. Stan and Bravin explain: "This song wasn't supposed to be in the EP at first. We added it at the very end, William told us that in fact it was good and it would be nice to put it on. When we added the voice, we immediately thought of Anna. For us it was her. We were sure it would work. "
Eleven is the desired apotheosis of this EP. It's a bit reminiscent of Goa and trance. We feel an intuitive Sri Lankan inspiration given by the duo. The piano brings softness and depth where everything else evaporates. The slow pace makes you want to land. Without a doubt the most accomplished piece (their favorite and William's too). We feel indeed the cohesion in the composition, the communion between the two friends and their desire to create together.It's a great way to end the EP.
Retrograde is the affirmation of a beautiful musical identity in the making.
