So, five years ago, a party like the one we're having tonight just would've been bizarre.
Yes well, not bizarre, but I'm happy. Thanks to bands like the Rapture, Bloc Party, who are making girls boogie with their guitars and drums, and also thanks to DFA and James Murphy.

Well, I think you're being modest, because i'd attribute it to Ed Banger.
Yeah but rather than the indie thing, we bring a more heavy metal thing. We add that to this big salad bowl. James brings the indie thing, the, uh...

...the cowbell?
Yes. And maybe we bring something more like Slayer and Metallica to it. And the kids seem to like it. They like to jump around, you know. But it's moving, this is the good thing about this movement. I can't say that I'm fed up with this banging thing, because I like it, but it's nice to play more than stuff that's banging and noisy.

That movement's a big part of Ed Banger this year. Oizo's album [Lamb's Anger] came out, and you've got stuff by Uffie, SebastiAn, DSL, Feadz...
Krazy Baldhead!

I read, maybe back in 2007, that you were going to try and get a record out this year...
Yeah, but me, I'm a lazybone. Look at where I am! Shooting pictures in New York, I have to do my laundry, instead of being in the studio. I take my time, you know? I was talking about this last night; I'm not in a rush, doing it slowly and slowly. I've got pressure, you know. I'm surrounded by good people around me, so mine has to be good. So far, with the two 12"s I've put out, Rainbow Man and Pedrophilia, I was kind of confident and happy with the result, you know?. I hope I managed to do something different, you know? A bit more downtempo than a big club thing. I'm thinking of a new way to do it.

While we're on the subject of pressure, let's talk about those albums. You can play fast and loose when you're releasing singles and EPs, but albums are a bigger investment, creatively and financially. Did you become more controlling once this new task started to come up?
Not really, I'm controlling everything. I don't really like the word "control," but I'm more involved of course! I'm involved in all their production and stuff, I want to be a part of this, you know? Because this is the good side of being a label manager, getting to know the artist and giving them advice, and I really, really like it. But again, in a free way, I can't release something if I'm not 100% sure. I'm trusting the artist, and most of the time, the artist is following me so it's good.

When's all this stuff coming out, anyway? Uffie in the summer..?
Uhhh, no, I think we're going to be a bit late on it because we're still working on it. So I will say more like September.

And SebastiAn's is done, right...?
No, SebastiAn's is not done. Let's say half of it is. So his will come out after hers.

Well, with all those albums on the way, it's pretty indisputable that Ed Banger's grown up a lot in the last couple years. Do you prefer being in charge of something that's big and subject to expectations to something that's up and coming?
Oh yeah! What makes me happy in this business, and in all of my life, is being able to be part of an adventure. We've always said that; with Daft Punk, when I started working with them, we were 20 years old, so we didn't know nothing! And it's good to be part of something that slowly and slowly grew up, and the same is true of Ed Banger.

In other interviews, you've mentioned that managing Daft Punk taught you the importance of knowing what you don't want. Not to put you on the spot, but give me three things you don't want for Ed Banger.
Hmmm. I don't want to be in a rush. I don't want to be under pressure, aaaaand...what don't I want. I don't know, those two things to start, and, going off the first one, I don't want to be impatient. And this is like - I'm not old, I'm 33 - but I'm always telling this to kids, to be patient. Everything is going fast nowadays, and everybody wants it right away. But I'm telling them, "Keep cool, your turn is gonna come," you know?

Speaking of the kids today, the last time we had you, with Xavier from Justice, was just outrageous: totally crowded, crazy, pandemonium. Is it like this everywhere you go, or are Americans just crazy?
Hahaha, no. You know, it's a really good question, but instead of talking about American or French or German or Japanese or whatever, it's just the kids of today, and this is what I like to be around, this is why I'm doing this at the moment. Maybe one day I'll be fed up but for now I like it. And I think the kids of today, going from 16 to 25 years old, they're getting crazy in a good way. They want to have fun. With people talking about what's going on today, with the crisis and everything else, entertainment is the only window they can jump out of to escape. So when they're going out, they're going out for real, and I think it's a good thing.

So the reaction's more a universal thing?
Completely! But when I'm saying universal, I don't mean just because of us. I see this universal thing when I look at you guys, when I'm watching you. I met some guys like you in Melbourne, in Australia, being active. Writing, mixing the clothes. Like, look at you, what are you? You're an indie boy, you're a hip hop boy, that's what we're all doing. We're mixing. Mixing the clothes, mixing the music, and this is what makes it fun.

Tell me about the coolcats blog. Whose idea was that?
Oh, it was all of us! I've been doing blogs for a long time, in Japan, for Arkitip - i don't know if you know this one? they're in California? - so I've been blogging for quite a long time, and it was just the time to have our own. I was giving all those funny little stories to someone else, but we wanted to have our own. So we created this brand first, but to really make it alive [we decided to attach it to the blog]... because selling t-shirts is one thing, but that's not the fun part.

Plus, it makes it easier for you to stay at the fronts of everybody's brains.
Exactly!

Does it ever strike you as odd that blogging is part of your job now? Like answering e-mails or going to an office?
Ah! Really good question, again, because...is my life my job, or my job my life? It's all in. Playing records at night: is it a job, or is it a passion? This is the thin line that is sometimes confusing for a man like me. Because sometimes I'm here in New York and I think to myself, "Oh shit! I should be at the office in Paris, working!" but at the same time, I am working. Talking about my label, meeting some people. Yesterday night I met some bands that I may do something with someday. This is the thin line, and you have to be surrounded, and have your feet on earth, not lose too much control, because it can easily become a crazy life of always traveling and not going to the office.

Being out and about as much as you are, do you ever wish you could turn the volume down, just a little?
Oh yeah of course! Every day I say, "Okay, next year will be more relaxed." Like, this year was supposed to be a bit more calmed down, but already I am planning into october.

Wow.
Yeah, I'm booked solid til October. This is the hard thing, you know. Mostly because of the passion, and the will: I want to do this, you know, I'm excited when I get crazy proposals.

Is there a particular goal or level you're hoping to take Ed Banger to?
To be honest, no. And again, maybe, I'm not trying to give advice or anything, but this is also something I'm telling kids: take life every day, as it comes. Of course you can have goals, but me, I don't want to have just another music label, I want to take this thing and make it strong. We still have a lot to prove. The label is only six years old, and when you look at DFA - 10 years - stuff like that. So, I take my time, but I don't want to be king of the world or king of pop, because someone will always take your place. Firstly, it's a selfish thing, and I'm not afraid of saying that, the first goal of all this is to please myself and entertain myself. And luckily, it seems like when I have fun other people get some too.

Final questions now. You used to skateboard a lot when you were a teenager.
Yes!

What was the craziest thing you could do on a board?
I started skateboarding in 1989, and I spent, I don't know, like eight years on a board. I was good enough to go wherever I want and ride on whatever I want, but I was a street skater. I didn't do half-pipes or mini-ramps or any stuff like that. I can't really show off about how I used to jump cars or anything like that. But as I said, I could get around and not get molested by the good ones. I was part of them, so it was a funny thing.

Finally, I was doing some research into what you've been up to, getting ready for this interview, when I found out that you threw a party with Stones Throw out in Paris. Please tell me about that, it sounds awesome!
I'd been a big fan of Stones Throw for quite a while, and we'd bump into each other, me and Peanut Butter Wolf. And when they were touring Europe, one of the promoters who was doing all their shows contacted me and said, "Do you want to welcome them in Paris?" and I said "Hell yeah!" And the other thing I love in this business is to surprise people, and to teach the kids who maybe didn't know about Stones Throw. And I think it's good to use our power, the fact that people are looking to us and following us, to turn around and say, "You like Ed Banger? I'm going to show you something else maybe you didn't know about, a side that's completely different from what you know about us." And we had a sold out show, like 1000 people, who stayed all night. and the music was going hip-hop, funk, electro, hip-hop, funk, electro, like a wave. I played the last set, til like 6[AM].

That sounds a lot like what we were talking about earlier, with mixing.
I don't want to make a big speech, because I'm not a politician, but earlier I was telling you about the crisis and how kids want to escape, and I think what we are doing, with you guys mixing everything together is kind of showing that we can all live together, different people: black, white, chinese, whatever. And this is the thing. I want our crowd, the Ed Banger crowd, to be like that: everybody. I don't care about the new hipster thing. I want to have the kids, and I want a crowd that will have open ears, that will listen to the new Noriega, the new James Pants, the new....i don't know, Fleet Foxes! I want to mix it all. Tonight, I'm gonna play Animal Collective, I'm gonna play Metallica, all kinds of things, and it's going to keep the crowd banging.


Busy P is currently on tour in Europe. He is scheduled to perform on Sunday, April 19 at Coachella. His blog is updated regularly.