Interview with The Juan MacLean

Former Six Finger Satellite guitarist John MacLean has a reputation for being a dedicated, opinionated, individualistic workhorse. When he started releasing electronic music under the nom de dance The Juan MacLean in the early 2000s, his work reflected that—intricate dance tracks with a a machinist feel. After a few years of DJing, remixing, and production including his first full length Less Than Human in 2005, Juan is leaning towards a more humanistic approach. He brought members of his live touring band into the studio—drummer Jerry Fuchs, and Holy Ghost! duo Nick Millhiser and Alex Frankel—and invited Nancy Whang to contribute vocals to new release The Future Will Come.

Whang, who toured with LCD Soundsystem as their keyboardist and has contributed vocals to past releases from Juan, LCD, and Soulwax, views her involvement in the indie dance world as a sort of happy accident. She speaks of James Murphy’s invitation to LCD like a fan’s dream “like your favorite band asks you to play and you say, ‘Yes!’” Whang has a bright outlook on her own future in music, which could go anywhere- provided that she addresses her main obstacle “my own laziness.”

Fucci: Many songs on The Future Will Come allude to despair, withholding, and love’s demise. Did you have concrete ideas on a theme when you wrote the lyrics?

Juan MacLean: Lyrically, I’ve always stayed in the first person world of the introvert looking out, as opposed to, for example, James’ [Murphy’s] lyrics in LCD Soundsystem, which tend to be …a bit more political …offering commentary pertaining to a certain social scene. So naturally personal, romantic relationships seemed to be the richest source of material. And though I can’t speak for Nancy, [for me] they have tended to be rather disastrous. However, one thing Nancy and I do share is the experience of being in touring bands and the havoc that lifestyle wreaks on relationships. We seem to have a lot of commonality in the way these things have played out, being away for long periods of time and the ways in which that experience breeds suspicion, alienation, and mistrust in relationships.

Nancy Whang: I was finding a place to access material to write about, and often it was about broken relationships. I don’t know that anything dramatic was happening in anyone’s lives, it wasn’t that we had any demons that we needed to purge …[but] we did talk about how relationships always fail and are difficult.

JM: In dance music or electronic music in general, vocals and the attendant lyrics tend to be very throw-away or irony laden, or just overtly sexual and visceral. I wanted to write about things on a personal level without hiding behind insincerity or too much humor or multi-layered irony or post-irony or postmodern malaise or whatever. Nancy and I both wanted to take a more sincere approach, which of course opens you up to a whole world of criticism.

FC: A lot of the netbuzz on The Future Will Come mentions its sonic and structural similarity to Human League’s Dare. Romantic storytelling through male/female counterpoint seems the most obvious comparison. How did a deeper integration of Nancy’s vocals evolve the sound of The Juan MacLean?

JM: I mentioned once that I had revisited Dare and I think too much has been made of it …Working with Nancy from the beginning of the album has made for a much more cohesive and unified aesthetic …rather than having a feel of an album with a guest vocalist. I think it’s made for a much bolder statement and a more listenable experience. Left to my own devices I often end up with a feel that is quite cold.

FC: Nancy’s voice is so fluid, and her lyrics are very pop-oriented; often simple, and sweet. Is this an intentional counterpoint to the moodier intricacies of the work?

JM: It’s not intentional in the sense that we never discussed it, and it was not some sort of preplanned thing. I have always been attracted to male singers with deep, brooding voices …Nick Cave, Johnny Cash, David Sylvian, David Bowie …on a personal level I tend to be a melancholic, brooding, teetering on the verge of destruction type. So the two styles naturally came together in this fashion.

NW: Having another voice and perspective opens it up a little bit. Juan can be a dark figure …I add some lightness to it I hope!.

FC: Beyond Dare, I also heard some other references, like Kevin Saunderson in One Day, Pet Shop Boys in No Time, Bob James in Accusations, and Kano in The Simple Life. How do these artists and their respective genres (Detroit techno, synthpop, smooth jazz, italo disco) factor into your work these days?

JM: The Human League were basically writing very classic pop songs in terms of structure, hooks, and melody. However, I have been more influenced by people operating in the dance music world who made pop songs with dance music production techniques and sounds, …people like Kevin Saunderson with his Inner City releases, Kano with tracks like I’m Ready, or even soft rock of the ‘70’s. Something like the Inner City track Good Life has been an enormous influence, or Steve ‘Silk’ Hurley’s The Word Is Love. These are records that have been mainstays in my DJ sets for years …the most obvious way they have influenced me is on a track like Happy House. It was basically my attempt at something like The Word Is Love.

NW: I don’t have a strong personal connection to dance music. I appreciate it but …there is so much out there to discover! Growing up, I listened to a lot 60s Brit rock …I still listen to an Animals record that I bought when I was 12! And in college lots of punk and indie rock. But when I was a kid the top 40 music was 80s R&B club hits. Janet Jackson’s Control, New Edition …these are all influences when it comes to writing.

FC: Nancy, which of the tracks felt most meaningful to you?

NW: There were a few songs that stuck out. I like Accusations, No Time… Happy House …just felt good to listen to. The vocals that I did went along with how the song already felt; fast and energetic. Even though it is repetitive it has propelling motion, adds bounce to your step.

People ask me about Happy House—is it about someone specific? It’s kind of irrelevant. A song is a snapshot. You remember a time that you felt so broken hearted or so elated …its that instant you remember, that heightened experience. You go through that emotional state, and it passes, and you move on.

Check out tracks from The Future Will Come on Wednesdays as part of the Future Love playlist—songs about romance, deceit, and robots.

The Future Has Arrived