Speaking to Montreal-based Dresden Dresses AKA Antoine Lahaie, was strangely uplifting. Being young and broke doesn’t seem so bad when you’re on tour and hanging in the south of France, on your own, without a label. If you’re not already up on this dude, his music is an eclectic mix of pop-electro with dark experimental twists.Besides our exclusive premiere of his brand new video for C.L.V., I hit up Antoine to talk about the time he got stuck in an elevator and his best friend. Look out for Dresden Dresses’ album to drop this fall.Noisey: Hey Antoine, I hear you’re in Europe right now?
Antoine: Yeah I’m in the south of France…there are palm trees here.Lucky you.
Yeah, it’s nice.Who are you touring with?
I’m with my friend Pascale (Mathematique); we collaborated on a few songs. We were friends before anything. It’s nice not to be alone on tour. It’s cool cause we’re also opening for bands that we like on tour, which is gratifying in a sense.Nice. How would you describe your sound?
I’m kind of lazy so I would say dance music. At the same time there are a lot of influences, like Brian Eno and Nina Hagen. I’m also really into mainstream pop music like Rihanna. Different inspirations from different backgrounds helped make it an original product.What crazy things have you been doing lately?
Yesterday we got stuck in an elevator. It was in a really small three-person elevator. We had to call the firemen. We also hadn’t slept in like 35 hours, so we were like, what the fuck is happening?[Laughs, LOL]
It’s not funny. But I hope there will be more things like that happening. We haven’t being partying like crazy yet because we were tired. It will come.How long were you stuck in the elevator for?
Probably 20 minutes…but it seemed like forever. It was like 5 in the morning.That sucks! Do you do any weird things when you perform?
Um yeah! But I mean the weirdness comes naturally. I’m into performance art so I try and give a good performance. I find it boring to see solo projects with people only looking at their laptops. I like to jump in the crowd and get involved with them.Yeah. It sucks to pay to see a guy staring at his laptop. What does C.L.V. mean?
It means C’est La Vie. I wrote the lyrics for that song when I was really poor. I didn’t know if I was going to be able to pay my rent or eat. I was pissed about that because I was working really hard on music and stuff. I’m still poor, but now it’s fine. I was thinking about money a lot and I hate money.Fuck money.
Yeah fuck money! But yeah in the video I don’t really do a lot of things… I go tanning and get my nails done.What made you choose the nail salon and the tanning bed?
I’m interested in how machines get involved in our every day life. Like how we use machines and plastic to make ourselves look more beautiful. That’s why I choose to use the fake nails and temporary tattoos. You often see in rap music videos people showing their money and their bling, I just don’t want to go in that direction.Cool. So after your Europe tour, what’s next for Dresden Dresses?
I want to do some gigs with Solar Year; I’m really into their music right now. I'm planning to go on tour in Canada and the US. Also, probably an album next fall. I’m trying not to restrain myself. I want to put out music first then figure out a way to make money. I know I’ll have to work hard.Who cares though? I feel good right now. There’s a palm tree out my window and it’s beautiful.Damn, I’m jealous. Well thanks for talking with me Antoine!
[Laughs] Thanks so much for being interested!
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Antoine: Yeah I’m in the south of France…there are palm trees here.Lucky you.
Yeah, it’s nice.Who are you touring with?
I’m with my friend Pascale (Mathematique); we collaborated on a few songs. We were friends before anything. It’s nice not to be alone on tour. It’s cool cause we’re also opening for bands that we like on tour, which is gratifying in a sense.Nice. How would you describe your sound?
I’m kind of lazy so I would say dance music. At the same time there are a lot of influences, like Brian Eno and Nina Hagen. I’m also really into mainstream pop music like Rihanna. Different inspirations from different backgrounds helped make it an original product.What crazy things have you been doing lately?
Yesterday we got stuck in an elevator. It was in a really small three-person elevator. We had to call the firemen. We also hadn’t slept in like 35 hours, so we were like, what the fuck is happening?[Laughs, LOL]
It’s not funny. But I hope there will be more things like that happening. We haven’t being partying like crazy yet because we were tired. It will come.How long were you stuck in the elevator for?
Probably 20 minutes…but it seemed like forever. It was like 5 in the morning.That sucks! Do you do any weird things when you perform?
Um yeah! But I mean the weirdness comes naturally. I’m into performance art so I try and give a good performance. I find it boring to see solo projects with people only looking at their laptops. I like to jump in the crowd and get involved with them.
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It means C’est La Vie. I wrote the lyrics for that song when I was really poor. I didn’t know if I was going to be able to pay my rent or eat. I was pissed about that because I was working really hard on music and stuff. I’m still poor, but now it’s fine. I was thinking about money a lot and I hate money.Fuck money.
Yeah fuck money! But yeah in the video I don’t really do a lot of things… I go tanning and get my nails done.What made you choose the nail salon and the tanning bed?
I’m interested in how machines get involved in our every day life. Like how we use machines and plastic to make ourselves look more beautiful. That’s why I choose to use the fake nails and temporary tattoos. You often see in rap music videos people showing their money and their bling, I just don’t want to go in that direction.Cool. So after your Europe tour, what’s next for Dresden Dresses?
I want to do some gigs with Solar Year; I’m really into their music right now. I'm planning to go on tour in Canada and the US. Also, probably an album next fall. I’m trying not to restrain myself. I want to put out music first then figure out a way to make money. I know I’ll have to work hard.Who cares though? I feel good right now. There’s a palm tree out my window and it’s beautiful.Damn, I’m jealous. Well thanks for talking with me Antoine!
[Laughs] Thanks so much for being interested!