Hi folks, welcome to VENTS! How have you been?
Hey! We’re fine! Thanks! So busy preparing the Summer Tour 🙂
Can you talk to us more about your latest single “Boy Bounce”?
“Boy Bounce” is all about dancing and in particular bouncing! It has some trap elements to the production in addition to our really special Future Swing style which inspires this type of movement – mixing electronic housy music, future bass and swing music.
Did any event in particular inspired you to write this song?
Yes, a particular event with a particular Boy that needed to “get lost” or “bounce” from my life! But in general, it isn’t really about just one person but the situation as I have been in many relationships like these where you start to date someone and it’s really exciting and cool, until you suddenly realize that they are trying to control you and that’s what the song is all about: being and loving who you are even when someone tries to tell you that who you are is not good or good enough ! They are the ones that need to change or go, not you !
How was the filming process and experience behind the video?
We were on tour all over the US last year and we had the chance to play at the International Jazz festival of Lafayette. Since I love NOLA and I know many dancers there, especially « Bobby Bonsey » who is a great dancer and roller skating performer, we had this idea to shoot our new clip there in one of the most famous Swing/Jazz cities of all time with some of my talented friends and mix new styles of dances (Hip Hop and Roller Skating..) with old swing dance. It was kinda intense! Everything was shot in one (really hot) day .We were running around trying to find the best and most interesting places to shoot different dance scenes while also maintaining the story line about the « infamous » Boy.
The single comes off your new album One Time – what’s the story behind the title?
“One Time” is the title of the first track of our EP which is our newest track and comes from the lyric “love me now, ohh one time ». We wanted to play with the idea of something ‘ephemeral’… something sweet and strong that you will experience just one time in your lifetime but that you will never forget !
How was the recording and writing process?
The music and productions of the songs are first created by Antoine who is quite talented at making really cool mixes between Future Bass Drop and Housey Swing verses. His newest idea for one of our songs was to mix in a choir of women who are chanting a slogan in order to come off like annoying kids who want to be heard !
What role does France play in your music?
We both live in France most of the year and we work at a studio that is home to all of the electronic French touch artists (some Ed Bangers artists) so I guess we’re influenced by this environment and the sound that is playing all around us as everyone works. But I go back frequently to NYC and New Jersey where I’m coming from so I’m still really connected to US culture and the music there too!
What aspect of Swing did you get to explore on this record?
We really wanted to ‘invent’ a kind of new style, mixing « Swing » and Future House, Deep House & Trap Sounds and not staying in a more classical Electroswing vibe. We call it ‘Future Swing’. The crowd seems to love this new sound and we’re really excited to play it soon for the American public!
Where else did you find the inspiration for the songs and lyrics?
Antoine and I are really eclectic. We’re always listening to many different types of music. On any given day, we are jamming to Jazz music, pop music, blues, Deep House or some really edgy electronic German bands. We’re constantly trying to find new sounds and influences… and as we share it with each other, that constantly gives our work some new direction ! Antoine is currently producing for many International Mainstream Artists so he is always researching the newest sounds. The lyrics in our songs are mostly inspired by my personal life and experiences, both good and bad. I find that when you put your honest emotions into writing, songs tend to come out in the end as a kind of universal experience.
How has the road been treating you so far?
The road is always a fun adventure. You never know what’s gonna happen or who you’re going to meet so it’s really exciting. Ginkgoa is mostly a Tour Band and so far we have a great relationship with the public and with the festivals… Everywhere we go, every type of crowd, or type of festival, it has been a very positive experience for us. We have played in some Edgy German Electronic Festivals, some Traditional Jazz Festivals, and also World Music and Mainstream Festivals… and every time the crowd is gets so crazy and dance with us and gives us so much energy ! The Dance and Good Vibes feeling of our music is really communicative and we have a lot of fun onstage. It’s a real inspiration for us too. Most of the new tracks are inspired from our last tour. Exploring the reaction of the crowd every night is the best school and test! We adapt our set and our production every time we play, taking into account the lessons and ideas from the last concert. It’s really unique and efficient.
Any highlights?
We had the chance to play in some really big well-known festivals such as « Montreal Jazz Fest », « Montreux Jazz Fest» , «Colors of Ostrava»… (opening for Norah Jones) in front of 15.000 -25.000 people. It’s always really really exciting and different. The first big one was Montreal and I think we’ll never forget it. We sold all of our albums in one night. It was crazy. I remember seeing a line of about a hundred people going to the merchandising stand and that moment was pretty emotional 😉 I also loved visiting landmarks in the US on the way to gigs. I got to see beautiful places that I’ve never seen even though I grew up in the States. Although I would have to say that it was a highlight to visit lesser known cities where you find cool dive bars and people riding around in golf carts on the streets instead of cars!
What else is happening next in Ginkgoa’s world?
We’re working on the rest of the album and on 2 new clips which will be released this summer. We’ve also got a great tour lined up for July that will take us all over the US, including Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, Madison, Wisconsin, Boston…and then back to Europe again ! So as you can see, we don’t have time to get bored because there’s so much exciting work to do !