Hungry Music co-founder Joachim Pastor steps into the spotlight this week joining us for the latest edition of the When We Dip Podcast series. In addition to providing a delectable one hour recording the Frenchman has fielded a host of questions, taking us behind the scenes at the label and talking us through the complexities of playing purely live, his favourite Paris hangouts and more…

WWD: Great to have you speaking with us Joachim! You’ve just released a brand new three track EP on Hungry Music. Was this a special delivery just in time for the Summer?

Yes, I wanted to make sure people had something to listen to on their vacations! To be honest we had planned to release these tracks a bit ago, it’s very fortunate that the release is right now, just coming for the summer.

WWD: What can you tell us about the release? Is there a story behind the EP?

I made the Fixi track a few years ago, as well as Laos, but i was saving them for an album. Time passed and we decided to release these as an EP. i’ve got a lot of newer tracks for the album, so i worked on Fixi and Laos and at the last minute we added « The Same ».

WWD: You founded Hungry Music with Worakls and N’to in 2014, it’s developed into an impressive label and community. Have you been surprised at the reception you guys received?

Well i am surprised by the very small amount of time it took. We created Hungry Music in order to have our own place to release the music we really liked, with virtually no artistic limits. Maybe people were waiting for that too…

WWD: How do you hope to develop the label over the coming years?

We are going to sign a few new people on the label. we are very picky because as we have a « family » type relation, we need to really like the music of an artist, but also be confortable and have good relation.

WWD: Can you tell us about some of the other members of the crew and their roles in pushing the label forward?

We have an array of skills involved in the label, for example there is a video guy that is doing most of the movies, SAF, clips etc…
We have a guy that is specialized in logistic and travelling (believe me, moving 20 people + gear to the same place, when they come from all around France, is a challenge). There is also managers, the booker, a social network person, everybody is going in the same direction, to the same goal : quality.

WWD: The live element to your performance is massive. How has it developed over the last year and where do you hope to take it?

We have been trying to give something new and different to our public, the fact that we take actual instrument and play live emphasize with our melodic style. Our fans have been reacting really greatly to these shows.

WWD: Is it something you continually seek to improve?

Of course, the goal is to always move forward. it’s our « duty » to offer something evolving and different, otherwise it would get a bit boring, wouldn’t it haha ?

WWD: The risk in live performance, is that something you look to minimise or do you enjoy living on the edge?

We do our best to work with the good people and wish quality reliable gear in order to avoid technical difficulties, but even with that we are sometimes on the edge. There is a very noticeable step between our first « instrument shows » and what we do now. i remember the first time we tried : technically it wasn’t really good, we couldn’t hear ourselves, but the crowd really reacted so well, it pushed us to go forward in this direction. i think in the end we achieved a good, well oiled, performance.

WWD: The Summer is soon upon us, will it be spent at home in France or is there much touring planned?

At the moment i’m spending a few weeks in the USA, to attend a wedding there, i have some time off. When i come back, i have a lot of studio work planned with other artists, and also touring during the weekend.

WWD: Do you feel as comfortable touring and playing live as you do in the studio?

It really depends on the gig and the studio day. They are both very different things, it’s hard to compare them, but i can tell you one thing : touring is more tiring than the studio days, cause the travelling can be really annoying haha.

WWD: Our guilty pleasure! Your three essential hangouts in Paris?

The banks of the river in the summer, the nuba in the summer, and the zigzag.

WWD: What do you/where do you go when you want to take a break from it all?

i build something. whether it’s crafting something from scratch, or redoing it, i like to do an activity with instant result, that is tangible.

WWD: We’re big fans of the Simple As F**k series. Can you talk us through the concept?

We were looking for a way to present the new releases with a different point of view, and in a original way. We thought it would be cool to separate each elements of the drums and the melodies, making some kind of really quick buildup leading to a final drop, being the results of the sum of these elements.

WWD: Before we let you, you put together a special mix for us. What can you tell us about it?

Well, it’s a live in which all tracks are structured differently than for the releases. I really tried to create something unique, so that people wouldn’t just hear one track after the other, but more of a new experience!

Follow: Joachim Pastor // Hungry Music