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Wobbly Beats & Neuroscience – Get to Know Good Neighbor!

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DJing on CDJs

ZZISCO here–I had the pleasure of sitting down with Vivien aka Good Neighbor, and folks let me tell you–he’s a man who has some major depth to him. Find out below.

Can Neuroscientists DJ?

What’s the story behind your name, Good Neighbor?

When I started DJing I was looking around for names but I didn’t want something that would necessarily display the music I’m making or be tied to a specific type of music in general, so I can have total freedom in the evolution of my music. Back in the days, I would always be the guy who’s having people over and who’s turning up the music, annoying all my neighbors. I thought about “Bad Neighbor” as a name first but you would expect something aggressive or negative. So, I simply went with Good Neighbor because I like it and it’s not tied to anything. Not Monday was a thing too, but my friends gave me such a hard time for this one…

How long have you been producing music?

About a year and a half. I started right after Covid first hit because I’ve always wanted to pull the trigger. It was always very intimidating to look at a DAW, and thinking “What do I do? Where do I start here?” But I’ve always listened to music and had some ideas, so yeah, it just flowed after putting some energy into learning.

How long have you been a DJ?

I always loved vinyl records and listened to music. My first encounter with a pair of turntables must have been 15 years ago. It turned out short-lived because back then I was dedicating most of my time to finish up my studies. After I graduated I got my first job here in the U.S. and everything eventually settled down, and I can now put more energy and time into producing my music.

What did you study?

In France (that’s where I am from), I got my Master’s degree and Ph.D. in Neurosciences. I studied neural circuits of pain and addiction (respectively). Right now, I work as a researcher to develop new compounds to help people living with severe neuropsychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia, depression, and bipolar disorders.

How would you describe your brand?

Fun, welcoming, experimental… Something very positive, not exclusive and that doesn’t take itself too seriously.

Working with some groovy record labels

You’ve released on Weird Recs, Spoon Fed, and Artichokes are Yellow, are there any other labels that you enjoy working with?

I really like working with Artichokes Are Yellow, which is a new label created by Two Tails and Contribe. They were super supportive, communicated well and gave me valuable feedback on my submissions on what they’re looking for. In an era where the name of the game with many labels is to never hear back after a submission this was an absolute bliss for me. I originally won their demo contest with the track Can You Hear Them? Winning this demo contest also opened the door to play a set for their label launch party on Dirtybird TV on Twitch. And then it snowballed: the owner of Weird Records, Oldbass, caught my set and asked if I had some demos to send him. That’s how I finished Afterglow, which he liked instantly, and it ended up on their yearly compilation.

Good Neighbor Live @ Dirtybird x A.A.Y. Label Launch Festival

I think I have been very lucky so far. I wasn’t like grinding and sending demos all over the place cumulating rejections, I just went with the flow. It was kind of similar with Spoon Fed Records. I sent them Wobbly Abduction through their demo portal, without knowing anyone there and obviously no one knew me back then. I couldn’t picture Wobbly Abduction on too many labels to be honest, and I knew Spoon Fed was very open given their previous releases that cover such a wide variety of Tech House and Bass House! So Seek One got back to me, and told me he loved the track.  He asked me to work on a B-side to wrap an EP. It’s crazy when you think about it, so far everything could have been beginner’s luck! (laughs)

Who would win in a kickball tournament between Night Bass and Dirtybird?

My heart goes to Dirtybird because of their music, but Night Bass can be sooooo nasty… So yeah, sorry Dirtybird!  

How do you keep control of your own ego in the creative process?

Well, I’m very early in my journey and I have everything to learn, so the place of the ego is very minimal, if present at all… The main thing is that I’m not producing music for a living right now, I just do it because I like it, because I have an idea to develop, and sometimes just to enjoy the creative process without an end in mind. I like to get feedback; I think it’s also very important and can quickly tame your ego as well… When I don’t bother my friends (that are insanely supportive), I like to hang out on E.R.E.S.T.O’s Twitch channel for feedback for example. He’s awesome! Basically, he breaks down tracks people submit for feedback on the technical side, without judging the type of music which is great!

So yeah, I’m just doing what I like to be honest and try to grow with new perspectives and feedback. But of course if you get the stamp of approval from a label, it helps a lot, but that’s not something that will completely shape my creative process. Perhaps if I needed to live off my music, I would think differently: trying to make music closer to what sells the most etc… I’m very lucky in that way because I don’t approach it as a profession, and with this goes total freedom.

Life outside of the music studio

12 Monkeys, Viv’s fave Sci-fi Movie

What’s your favorite genre for movies?

Sci-fi

How would you describe the universe in 3 words?

Out of reach

Favorite meal/dinner?

Raclette (go check it out)

What do you do outside of music, for fun?

I love running, hiking and traveling. I’m very social so I like hanging out with friends and drinking a couple beers at dive bars, nothing fancy. You know just talking about life and the work week.

What’s your favorite kind of beer and brewery?

Pale Ales; the best beer in San Diego is Modern Times. They have the best sour beer, IPAs, and pale ales. Everything they have is stellar.

What’s your astrological sign?

Taurus

What’s the most fun for you when you’re making music?

The personal reward, the simple ability to create something new. I find it super rewarding to just create. Having something that makes you groove like a 4-bar loop and then building something that you like around that is a great feeling. It just keeps me doing it over and over! That and imagining playing your finished tracks at a venue or for your friends and anticipating people’s reaction haha!

Club bangers & schizophrenia

What’s the story behind Where Am I?

This track is funny and bright. I tried to have a track that confuses people. Where am I? is about that guy who was way too lit at the party and doesn’t know where he is (duh!). He doesn’t know if he’s back home or at the club: totally lost. That’s why the track combines fast paced and very slow drums and I tried to blend them together with slow and weird detuned vocals. The first drop is plain silly and the second drop is supposed to represent the horrible snooze sound of the alarm clock, essentially that guy is totally lost but he’s at home in his bed, awaken by the alarm clock but thinking he’s still at the club. The choice of FX also helps to make this track even more unsettling.

What’s the story behind Can You Hear Them?

This track is very special because I tried to approach the topic of schizophrenia, which is one of the diseases I work on within the scope of my job. It’s sooo challenging to tackle a profound topic with a dance track honestly, and very few artists (that I’m aware of managed to do that). That’s why the track is so dark and there are these voices that are slowly coming throughout the track that I try to make kind of oppressive. Schizophrenia is obviously so much more complicated than hearing voices, but it is one of the more known symptoms so I tried to push it in that direction.

Here, these voices make less and less sense and become more and more present, hence the overall dark ambiance. Basically, there’s something in this mental condition that you fear but realize that you must accept, and deal with. That kind of monster voice behind you, that you can hear sometimes: this one fades away at the end of the track, you essentially beat the part of yourself that is afraid of the unknown by understanding your own condition. I try to tell a story with almost all my tracks.

What about Wobbly Abduction, what’s the story behind the EP?

This one is very gimmicky and straightforward. essentially you’re hearing lasers and weird alien vocals and flying saucers noises like they’re flying around you. You can hear weird laser-type cannons loading and blasting huge charges. Even some hats are chosen to sound like sword fight noises, accentuating the fight that takes place. I didn’t tell the story to Seek-One but he absolutely nailed it with the cover art.

Wobbly Abduction EP [Spoon Fed Records]

Are there any artists you’d love to collaborate with?

Cour.T from Brazil is my favorite producer right now, he’s so unconventional.

Be sure to check out Good Neighbor’s links and his new EP, Where Am I? Out now on Artichokes Are Yellow!

Good Neighbor x ZZISCO Interview