Bambounou, the alias of Jéremy Guindo-Zegiestowski, has long been recognized as one of Europe’s most singular and innovative DJ-producers, a man known for distilling his love for astrophysics and dystopian sci-fi into futuristic interpretations of UK techno, IDM, and tribal. Away from the now-defunct 50Weapons, where he released two albums and five EPs between 2012 and 2015, he’s a staple of AD93 (f.k.a Whities), having in 2019 delivered a collection of tracks he’d made for an appearance at Freerotation festival. He returned to Nic Tasker’s esteemed London label last year with 033, underlining his flair for minimalistic bass rhythms and impeccable groove. During lockdown, he’s also launched his own Bambe label with four mesmerizing rhythmic cuts and delivered a collaborative EP with Bruce.

Raised by his Polish mother in one of Paris’ less affluent south-eastern suburbs, Guindo-Zegiesto’s relationship with music began with French rap, punk, and metal, but techno gripped him as he began sneaking into local parties during his rebellious teenage years. As he listened to DJs spin each weekend, he became curious about producing this type of music himself so he started messing around on a cracked version of Fruity Loops, learning through friends like Teki Latex and Valentino Canzani Mora (a.k.a French Fries) before surfacing in 2010 with records on local labels like YounGunZ and ClekClekBoom. His sound was instantly recognizable because of its inventive drum patterns, which he imports from his Malian heritage on his father’s side, and within two years Modeselektor had asked him to prepare an EP for their 50Weapons label.

Recorded in a library—yes, you read that correctly—Bambounou’s XLR8R podcast is a little different from the mixes he’s put out before. With more than a year away from touring, and having just become a father, he used this opportunity to reconnect with the electronic music that he loves, digging into the tracks that he enjoys listening to—not necessarily the ones he feels he should play for a DJ set. You can expect just under an hour of intricate, bass-heavy rhythms and loopy house and techno from the likes of Lurka, Soreab, and Konduku.

01. What have you been up to recently?

Hey all, recently I’ve been finally finding a good balance between family, music, and sports. I have a routine that I love and gigs are slowly coming back; I couldn’t be happier to be honest!

02. What have you been listening to during the pandemic?

To be totally honest I haven’t been listening to a lot of music. I’ve had to take care of my one-year-old so I’ve mainly been listening to a lot of child’s music, like “Baby Shark” and stuff like that.

03. How have you adapted to life away from touring?

Well, now that I am a father I’ve focused myself on the kids which has kind of saved me from any form of depression for not having my ego flattered by a crowd every weekend.

04. Where and when did you record this mix?

I don’t have a studio anymore and I didn’t have space to work from home so I actually went to a library next to my place to do it. I did it on very low volume which is paradoxical but it made me focus on each transition and the way I wanted the mix to go; there’s a contrast between the people working around you and you blasting music in your head!

05. What setup did you use?

My laptop and Rekordbox’s in-house mixing desk. I’ve never focused on having a proper mixing setup because I’m normally mixing every weekend.

06. Tell us about it: what can the listener expect?

A nice journey through the music I love but that I play when I feel like the crowd will understand it. That’s not to sound pretentious or anything, but sometimes you’ve just got to play 140bpm techno and everyone is happy.

07. How did you go about choosing the tracks that you’ve included?

Not too obvious 4×4 and intricate rhythms were on my keywords list.

08. How does it compare to what we might hear you play in a club?

This is the stuff, but it really depends on the night and the people: there are so many parameters that you need to take into account while playing but if I were to see a DJ play this kind of music I would be delighted!

09. What’s next on your agenda?

More music, releasing more music on my label, focusing on my friends, and trying to be the best person I can be for my family and everyone around me.

XLR8R has now joined Mixcloud Select, meaning that to hear the podcast offline you will need to subscribe to our Select channel to listen offline, or subscribe to XLR8R+ to download the file. The move to Mixcloud Select will ensure that all the producers with music featured in our mixes get paid. You can read more about it here.

Full XLR8R+ Members can download the podcast below. If you’re not an XLR8R+ member, you can read more about it and subscribe here.

Tracklisting

01. Dealdrugger “Tfineal Horu” (Self-released)
02. Strapontin “Sasnal Park” (A Strange Wedding remix) (Abstrack Records)
03. Konduku “Extrakt” (Nous’klaer Audio)
04. Agrippa “Ziplash” (Brotherhodd Sound System Records)
05. Matou “Blind” (Somatic Rituals)
06. Lurka “Machine” (Self-released)
07. Bambounou x Bruce “Crash” (Bambe)
08. Keplrr “Convection” (Control Freak Recordings)
09. Plebeian “Enzymes” (Eternal Ocean)
10. Soreab “Jyraghie” (Baroque Sunburst)
11. Otik “Falling Forward” (Shall Not Fade)
12. Freeform “Polyclonque” (Bedroom Research)
13. Eve Defy “Clathrus” (Illegal Afters Tracks)
14. XRA “Doink!” (XRA)