Electronicat’s Fred Bigot is a strange animal
indeed. Hailing from Laval in the heart of France, Bigot
has been an active member of the French alternative
scene for some years. From playing guitars for a arty
psycho-pop band to experimenting with electro-acoustic
on a project linking him with choreographers, Bigot
seems like he’s done it all, got the t-shirt and
run away with the money too! His new album, his fourth,
is yet another blow of electro-punk-disco-glam rocktronica.
Fred Bigot got his first guitar aged ten, and soon started
playing covers of Neil Young songs, before joining a
psycho-pop band a few years later. Just before the band
was due to sign a record deal with Polygram France,
he left, moved to Paris and began working with choreographers,
while playing guitar for Sleaze Art, an experimental
band, sharpening his musical tools by toying with sounds
and instrumentation. He eventually started his own solo
project, Electronicat, in 1997. Combining processed
guitars, vocals and old skool electronic instruments,
he released his first self-titled album in 1999 on Noise
Museum. Four years and a plethora of releases, on Oni.Tor,
Kompakt, Angelika Koehlermann, Noise Museum and Alice
In Wonder, later, Electronicat, who also co-runs the
Pig, Rat and Co.w project, returns with a brand spanking
new collection of erratic trash punk-pop. 21st Century
Toy tickles about everything from Mark Bolan (Tonight)
to Sigue Sigue Sputnik (Baby You), laughing
at the idea that rock’n’roll is considered
by many a hallowed ground. References come thick and
fast, yet if the shadow of the Cramps, Generation X
or Led Zeppelin hovers over the work of this twisted
maniac, it is his Electronicat incarnation that leads
the show as Bigot usurps rock identities faster than
a Popstars winner drops out of the charts. Slowing down
the pace from time to time to develop touching melodies
(Whenever You Want, Birds Just Want To
Have Fun), Bigot occasionally exposes a strangely
delicate and fragile side to his music, yet it is with
his more upbeat compositions that he seems most at ease.
Tonight, 21st Century Toy or Amour
Salé are all catchy and trashy in equal
measure, but it is with Frisco Bay, definitely
the highlight of this album, that he reaches his peak,
as he subjects his electroclash attitude to far more
than healthily advisable.
21st Century Toy is a playful and twisted piece
of work, as Bigot’s cat compulsively changes focus
at every opportunity, dragging his compositions in rock’n’roll
dirt and grease with obvious pleasure.
3.6/5 |
