A biography for Thomas Bangalterhasn’t been written yet.
“The only secret to being in control is to have it in the beginning. Retaining control is still hard, but obtaining control is virtually impossible.”
“I remember when I was a kid, I would watch 'Superman', and I was super into the feeling of knowing that Clark Kent is Superman and no one knows.”
“There have been movies like 'Paranormal Activity' or 'Blair Witch Project' in Hollywood that showed you could do movies with little or no money. It doesn't prevent them from creating larger than life spectacles as well.”
“A cello was there 400 years ago and will still be here in 400 years.”
“There was a naive quality in 1982 around technology and the start of video games. And that's like the start of electronic music - there was this statement and, ideologically, these things to fight for.”
“Everyone making electronic music has the same tool kits and templates. You listen, and you feel like it can be done on an iPad. If everybody knows all the tricks, it's no more magic.”
“The spirit of house music, electronic music, in the beginning was to break the rules, to do things in many different ways.”
“Skrillex has been successful because he has a recognizable sound: You hear a dubstep song: even if it's not him, you think it's him.”
“Technology has made music accessible in a philosophically interesting way, which is great. But on the other hand, when everybody has the ability to make magic, it's like there's no more magic - if the audience can just do it themselves, why are they going to bother?”
“Music was a vector that we wanted to build a universe around.”
“Initially, electronic music was anti-establishment, as punk rock and rock n' roll were. The music was shut down; the police were against the parties.”
“There's a confusion sometimes with the laptop being the current tools and where electronic music initially comes from.”
“Technology is an interesting subject, people thinking: how much good, and how much bad, does it inherently carry?”
“Technology is fascinating.”