"Gonzalez is currently on tour with his fifth studio album "Saturday=Youth," playing at the Triple Rock Social Club tonight. His sound is similar to Sigur Rós: its slow builds use instrumental and electric guitar, with live drums backed by spacious synth pads.
To make his new album, "Saturdays = Youth," he went to Ken Thomas, the producer known for his work with Sigur Rós, Depeche Mode and the Cocteau Twins. Thomas' repertoire fits Gonzalez perfectly and gives the LP a lush, finely polished feel similar to the Scottish dream-pop duo Cocteau Twins' early '90s work.
A&E chatted with Gonzalez over the phone about his first album (the self-titled "M83"), stolen gear, the new tour and cinema.
A&E: What is it about the '80s films that drew you to that?
AG: One of the biggest influences for the album was cinema. Cinema is even more important than music for me. Also, I've always been fascinated by teenagers, because my teenage years was one of the most beautiful periods of my life so far. This album is kind of a tribute to my teenage years and also to the teen movies from the '80s like John Hughes. They are a big influence on me for this record - movies like "Breakfast Club," "Pretty in Pink" or "Sixteen Candles"
A&E: When you were younger, what was the first instrument you purchased or got really excited about?
AG: I first learned guitar when I was 10 or 11. I remember it was a Fender Squire, not a real Fender, but I didn't have enough money to buy a real one. I bought this electric guitar and I was listening a lot to heavy metal like Iron Maiden. When I was 14, I started to listen to German electronic music like Tangerine Dream. Because of that I started to buy keyboards. The first keyboard I bought was a Groovebox by Roland. Actually I didn't buy it; I stole it from a music shop, and I was really proud. It's kind of big, so it wasn't so easy to do it.
Listen to M83 here.