Surkin‘s always been a favorite of mine. Although his sounds borrow from producers of the past, his music has always been finely tuned to his own style which would be impossible to replicate without sounding like a cheap imitation.

USA is the exception.

D’abord, merci pour l’entretien! J’ai été grand admirateur depuis que j’ai d’abord entendu “Next of Kin.”

Your press statement says you like bullet hell games, what are some of your favorites?

I’m a big fan of a small japanese company called Cave. They are maybe 20 people and make only very extreme manic shooters. My favorite is named DoDodonPachi. It’s one of the hardest games ever made. Another game developer I like is Treasure, especially the classic Radiant Silvergun (it’s not really a manic shooter, but maybe the best shooter ever).

For fans not lucky enough to have caught you live yet, what’s your set like?

Music from the past and the future. A lot of FX. I’m a bit hyperactive and rarely play the tracks for more than 2 minutes.

It’s always hard to come up with a name for a new brand. With something as big as your own music label, how’d you come up with “Marble” ?

I was texting a lot of different names to Para One one night, a bit drunk. We decided Marble was perfect and Bobmo loved it too. I love the fact that it suggest something very classy and cold and something fun and playful at the same time.

When I first saw the album was named USA I thought it might be a sarcastic album title (sometimes the french don’t always like the US and vice versa) but then I learned it’s a concept album based around your imaginary memories of a 1980′s US. Could you describe some visuals from this universe?

No, it’s not sarcastic at all. In the 80s and 90s the US were, for the french kid I was, something very futuristic and crazy. It kind of changed now with the internet and everything, but at the time all the movies, the music, the video games were available some time a full year before france. People that were going to the US where bringing back some crazy candies at school and talking about how everything was better and bigger in the US. Also, a lot of the music that influenced me now and when I was young is american : Chicago House, Miami Bass, Detroit techno so there is a lot of America in this record.

What’s your favorite track on the album?

Strangely, I think my favorite track is one of the interludes, Gold Island.

I don’t know much about Bobmo, other than he’s your friend and label mate who’s produced a lot of songs released on institutes and Marble. What’s he like? How’d you guys meet?

Bobmo and I are the same age and share a lot of the same influences. We both grew up listening to rap music and discovered dance music in our late teens. We have the same obsession with old school house and ghetto music. It’s very easy to make music with him because we understand each other very well and both know where we want to go when we start a track. We’ve been sharing a studio together for a year now.

What’s your studio look like and what type of equipment did you use to make the album?

The album was made entirely on a Mac with Propellerhead Reason. I didn’t use any hardware. I recently bought some synths but it’s not really because I need it to achieve a specific sound, more because I love to manipulate them and to experiment new things. I love my ARP 2600 and the patch cables, it makes me feel like i’m in Giorgio Moroder’s studio.

Was fireworks fm an actual station at one point? Or is the album based off a similar one that existed?

Actually, it was a web radio at some point, but I didn’t have the time to update it and deal with all the technical problems so I had to stop it. I might launch it back one day.

Describe your favorite show you’ve ever played (based off venue/crowd/other djs etc)

That’s a tuff one. I played so many good gigs in the past years. Recently I would say that the best one was the first Marble night in Paris, at Social Club. All our friends where there, all the Marble artists played together and we made this huge Marble neon for the stage. It was crazy.

What advice would you give to young producers trying to find their sound?

Listen to a lot of music! It’s ok to steal ideas but preferably from other genres than the one you’re into.

Who were your musical heroes growing up?

Michael Jackson! I wanted the jacket he was wearing on the cover of Bad when I was 8 (that’s the first tape I owned) but my parents weren’t so much into the idea of me wearing a leather jacket at school.

Best food spots in Paris?

Les Deux Amis, Al Taglio, Robert et Louise, Osteria Del Anima, Le Chateaubriand… go there, you won’t regret it.

What non-dance music do you like to listen to when you need a break from house sounds?

Wendy Carlos – Switched On Bach, the only classical music album I really love.

Any emerging artists we should keep an eye out for?

Male, Canblaster, Myd, Sam Tiba and Panteros from Club Cheval, Jam City, Hudson Mohawke

Surkin – USA out Nov 7. preorder at amazon // itunes. released on Marble Recs.