Interview: MLFR

Opening the month of December, Polyptych welcomes MLFR back to the label for a new single. The French artist made his debut on the Russian imprint in November of last year with 'From Inside'. The two track offering has remained the most popular release of MLFR's career, with the lead track still sitting a top his Beatport best sellers chart. Now as he returns to the label for a follow-up single we catch up with him for an exclusive interview. Enjoy!

Hello, thanks for joining us. What is your current mood and what was the last piece of music you listened to?

Hello, It's a pleasure to join you! I'm in a very good mood and the last music I listened to is: - Lane 8 & Massane - And We Knew It Was Our Time

What are your plans for the coming week?

For the coming week, I'm planning a road trip to the south of Australia, as I'm currently on the east coast of Australia

Talk to us about growing up and living in France, how has it affected your musical taste and the music you make?

I was born in Lyon, with parents who really love all kinds of music. So I grew up loving all styles, and I started with rock music by learning the guitar, then I moved gradually to electronic music by learning piano with my grandfather 12 years ago.

Can you name five tracks that were important in your musical development and why they are so significant for you?

Paul Kalkbrenner – Aaron (1st electronic music that really transcended me)

Ben Böhmer – Promise you (I had the chance to play just before him 2 years ago in France, it's the best live I've seen in my life. He created my new inspiration and that's why I bought an APC 40 mk2 controller and started playing live)

MLFR – Lost (My first pride in terms of creation, to which I put all my emotions in the melody)

Stephan Bodzin – Singularity (For me one of the greatest artist of the electronic scene who inspired a lot my creations)

Lane8 & Massane – And We Knew It Was Our Time (Latest discovery that represents my current mood)

What does your artist name mean? Is it an acronym for something?

Simply my surname MALFROY contracted: MLFR

You have a new single out this week on Polyptych, tell us a bit about the track and how it showcases your individualities. The violins are quite dramatic yet emotive. Was there anything that inspired this particular piece?

Yes it's true it's a bit dramatic, but I've always liked to put a lot of emotion in my music and mainly by using violins. At this moment of creation I wanted to put all my sadness and energy while creating something dynamic.

Where does your inspiration come from generally?

My current mood, and the music I listen to. I listen to all kinds of music so sometimes my style evolves differently, but I always stayed in something emotional.

There also so excellent remixes from Eric Rose and Alex Moumouris, what made them great choices to remix ‘A Journey To The End Of Time’?

Thanks to the director of Polyptych who always knew how to do a great promotion

Was it a collaborative effort between yourself and the label in choosing the remixers?

No effort, it is always done simply

You’ve been on Polyptych once before, almost exactly a year ago in fact. What made them a great choice to do another project with?

It's always been a pleasure to work with Polyptych, it's a label that's just getting stronger. So it was a great choice for my project.

How much road testing or friend feedback is done before you’re ready to say a track is finished? And who is someone you share your new music with first for feedback?

My friends shared their opinion first and asked me when it was going to be released

What does your set-up like? Do you favor physical gear over digital? And what studio tools featured heavily in the writing of this EP?

My installation includes a pro macbook, an Akai APC 40 MK2, an Alesis midi keyboard & an AKAI XR 20 machine. I have always preferred physics but it's true that with digital we can do great things. My keyboard and my inspiration played an important role in the production. Of the fifty I would say, I composed the piece almost 2 years ago, I ask for a lot of feedback from my friends and also from some producers.

How have you been dealing with COVID-19? How has it affected your daily life, music production and overall inspiration to write new music?

I must confess that I am not touched by covid 19, because I had the chance to go on a trip to Asia & Australia a year ago. And the situation is very well controlled here. So it hasn't affected my daily life in terms of creating music.

What is the current situation with the pandemic in France? Are clubs or events happening yet?

The current situation in France is really complicated, there is a confinement of new so no club open...

What have been some of your favourite tracks over the quarantine period?

I listen a lot to the label anjunadeep, odd one out & this never happened which is for me a great inspiration.

What does 2021 hold for you? Anything you can share with us?

For 2021, I have a lot of projects so an EP that I'm almost finished which is for me my greatest pride. I'm also releasing an EP in January with the Argentine producer Ramz Demar whom I met in Australia, with whom the collaboration was very easy because we have a similar genre.

'A Journey To The End Of Time' is out now via Polyptych: https://bit.ly/2JrAYuk