EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: The Many Faces Of IDAHO

His name is Jean, do you know him?
If I write the name IDAHO ... everything changes right?!

HOLIDAY SHARE presents an exclusive interview with one of the most known Madonna remixers: IDAHO.

... now you know who´s Jean!

THE MANY FACES OF IDAHO

Where do you live? How old are you? What do you do for life?
I live in France (South of France), I'm 44 years old and i'm a grephic designer

Who is your “lucky star”?
My lucky star is my sister

Why Idaho?
Because of the movie "My own private idaho"

Idaho in one word?
An old fan who loves to take Madonna's songs into diferent directions

What´s music in your life?
Music brings me joy everywhere and I need music as I need to eat.

And why Madonna?
I love her because she's a cameleon, she changes her music and her look all the time,
she can wear everything.
She's very inspiring for my remixes and artworks.

When did you start listening to Madonna? What is Madonna´s influence in your life?
I discovered Madonna in 1983 with Holiday, first time I saw her on TV was so fantastic,
I bought the album "Madonna" and then "Like A Virgin" and couldn't stop listening to the songs...
There are moments I really don't listen to Madonna's songs because I need to listenother artists

I like,
and then I cannot stop listing to her music all the time.

What Madonna era do you prefer?
My fav era is Erotica, she looked like a whore and it fits her so well !!!

Tell us what´s the best / worst of Madonna:
best album : ray of light, couldn't find a worst album lol
best video : bedtime story, the references to Dali and other painters are fantastic !!!
best movie : desperately seeking susan and evita
best tour : blonde ambition tour
oficial remix : bedtime story orbital mix (puts me in a trance)

What Madonna song you can say “it´s me”? Explain please.
mmm I don't really feel it...

What do you expect of the next Madonna album?
I expect electro/dance tracks because she's the best in dance music

What Madonna song you wouldn´t want to remix (in other words, what song you hate?).
I'm just not too found of the song "Incredible" but I think I could remix it anyway.

What was the most hard remix to produce?
the most hard remixes to produce were the Evita's Diary tracks.
I spent a lot of time on it, didn't know if I could finish it one day...

Is there any released remix that you think it wasn´t good enought to release? Which one would you re- produce?
I cannot answer to this question, all is a mater of taste !

How do you feel remixing Madonna?
I feel good and very glad when the version fits what I expected
but sometimes the final result doesn't look like I wished to.

How does it feel to be one of the most well knows Madonna remixers?
Nothing special, maybe it's because I remix since a long time that I'm known.

Have you ever thought about producing a remix with another Madonna remixer?
Yes but I did it with Mike Danavan years ago, he's a friend of mine I appreciate a lot
and he taught me to get my remixes better.

Idaho´s best / worst remix
My fav remix (maybe it's not the best lol) the Evita's Diary
the worst ? a lot of early remixes when I started to remix.

Madonna in one word.
A never ending inspiration !!!

Besides Madonna, what singers/groups do you listen to?
I love Sarah McLachlan, Goldfrapp, electro music, George Michael and a lot of other !!!
French singers too (Vive la France lol)

When did you start remixing?
I started remixing in 2001 and I had no idea how to remix tracks.

Do you remix other singers?
Sure I have remixed Goldfrapp and mylène Farmer as well.

What was your first remix? How did you feel when you released it?
Mmmm I don't remember my first remix, but I wasn't very satisfied with it.

How your life has changed since you started DJ'ing?
Nothing changed in my life, I'm just a fan who likes to remix and share it with fans.

What pattern do you use to remix a song?

What do you have in mind when you choose a song to remix?
I use samples or instrumentals, it depends of the track, it's not always very clear on how to remix it,

I let the music guide me.

Who and what are your influences?
My influences are the 80's and 90's music, but electro and dance too.

What images and emotions do you want your music to invoke in the listener?
I love taking Madonna's tracks into different music and moods, sometimes very far from

the original version.
I'm not only into dance thing, I love the acoustic or rock tracks too, that's whyI made remixes in this way.

I love your acustic remixes like This Used To Be My Playground (it makes me cry)... do you intend to produce another acustic remixes or even an acustic album?
I will surely make some other acoustic remixes
but I don't know yet when :-)

What do you think is the best thing in Madonna´s fans? And what´s the worst thing?
The best thing in Madonna's fans is the faith they never stop to express and the love that lasts since more than 25 years now. The worst is an hysteric fan who's never objective with the work of Madonna.

Have you ever been dancing in a party and suddenly one of your remixes start playing?

How did you feel?
I have been in a bar some years ago and listened to my remixes, I felt very glad and was staring at the people's face to read their reaction. It was a very positive experience.

Tell us about your upcoming projects.
After "Medusa" and the "Step to the beat" EP, nothing special for the moment, I may be working on Mylene Farmer remixes.

Medusa is your new remix album, why did you chose this title? What did you want to show Madonna fans with this album?
I had this title in my mind before start working on the tracks. So I created the front cover and then began to work on the tracks. Medusa, because Madonna is a multi-talented woman, and I wanted to lead Madonna's songs into different directions like pop, jazz, rock, etc... Very different compared to the original album versions.

What do you do when you´re not making music?
I see my friends, I read, listen to music and create cd artworks because I love it.

Do you have any tips you’d like to share with young remixers like me (lol)?
I don't think if my advices would be so good, just do it with your heart, no matter if the reactions are not always very positive, you can learn from it.

Have you ever been in Brazil?
No I never been to Brazil but I'd love to!

Do you have a message to your fans?
Yes : a big thank you to all of you who follow me throught the years and still like my remixes !!!
THANK YOU INCO !!!

Idaho! Merci Beaucoup