When it comes to discussing the sources of great electronic music and the places that create it, most conversations can begin and end with France. The country boasts a long line of exceptional creators and curators from across a range of genres from EDM (DJ Snake), house (Daft Punk, Justice), and electro-pop (Air) to name but a few.

As tradition dictates, France’s Kazy Lambist seems to have an innate ability to weave smooth synth lines and pulsing rhythms together. With the upcoming release of his long-awaited sophomore full-length project, Moda, the Frenchman has released a number of increasingly sultry singles, including the mesmerising “Nirvana”, which features California singer Julietta.

Following the release of the single and with the new album set for a June release date (and accompany US tour alongside Kid Francescoli), Lambist spoke to Saint Audio about Moda, Nirvana, Mediterranean inspirations, French electronic music and more.

Congratulations on the release of the new single, what has the reception of it been like?

Good. I’m very happy to release new songs because it’s been a while. Especially songs that are starting to give some hints about the upcoming album. My first album was in 2018, so it’s the first time I’m now back to really like telling a whole story on an album. I can’t wait to tell more because for now, I just released singles that were what people who already knew my music could expect, and I’m hoping it will lead them [to my newer sound].

As you mentioned your first album came out in 2018, why the six years for a follow up and how has the time between helped you?

I think I wanted to take time, because the first [album] came quite quickly in a sense because I was 25 or something, but I hadn’t planned that much. So a lot of things happened, I started to tour and everything. And it’s just happened in a few years, before that I was doing shitty jobs and I didn’t expect anything from music.

So I was happy to have some time between the two albums to just take time to think more about the second one. And because the first one, I like it, but I felt like it was also done in a rush somehow, the rush of the moment.

So this one I took free time to collaborate with artists that were inspiring to me. I went to Turkey, I went to Istanbul to meet a lot of musicians. I liked the process, I wasn’t in a rush to release something else, I wanted to be in the journey of making the new album.

In drawing from a few different locales such as Istanbul, as well as Rome (where Nirvana was recorded), what then can listeners expect from Moda?

When I first started to release music, it was all from my bedroom and only from my bedroom. It was actually difficult for me to go to a studio and to compose things because I was so used to making everything on my own, so it took me the first album to learn how to record with other musicians.

So I recorded violin and recorded some piano, I tried some new things on [Moda]. It was more interesting because I was going out of my bedroom.

I lived two years in Rome in Italy during the process of making this album. I think that’s why I wanted this album to be Mediterranean because I travelled a lot around the Mediterranean Sea, feeling the influence of Turkey and influence of Italy. I guess the influences come from there for this new one that I didn’t have as much, even though I’m from the south of France and we are already Mediterranean to begin with.

Alongside the Mediterranean influences is a thematic throughline to the album?

I wouldn’t say it’s a story. It’s not like a concept album, telling a story from A to Z. I was mainly about the sound. I wanted to deliver different feelings through the album, so I wanted it to [be about the] sound more than about the lyrics. I first start with some kind of easy to listen to [tracks]. And I go more into deeper stuff and slower stuff in the second part because I know that it’s sometimes difficult to get enough people attached like that. It’s as simple as that.

The new single “Nirvana” obviously was a collaborative effort with Julietta. What sort of influence did she have on the song?

I like complementarity. For “Nirvana” I already made the song and then [Julietta] came to Rome and she really added this nirvana vibe. She’s, really into meditation, into yoga, into all sorts of things that I don’t know as well as her. She really gave a meaning to the song.

France has a long history of electronic and electro-pop music. What influence does that have and what sort of stuff are you looking back on as touchpoints?

Just last week I was at a concert from Air, they were playing Moon Safari in Paris. Amazing. They are doing a special tour around Moon Safari and it’s one of my big influences. I love Air. I love all this.

This concert was funny because a lot of people that I really admire were there like Sebastian Tellier, all the French [&] Dutch guys. For sure I feel related to this scene. The guy who mastered [Moda] is Alex Gopher and he was also part of this French/Dutch scene. Julian Delfaud [from] my previous album was also part of that scene.

I think there is some type of continuity somehow. I grew up listening to those bands. It’s a big influence. I really believe there is a French approach to electronic music.

Alongside the upcoming album you also have a massive North American tour coming up with Kid Francescoli. How does it feel to be jetting off globally now?

It’s very exciting. A bit scary, but very exciting. Also, my first tour bus tour. We’ll be in a tour bus the whole time driving from one city to the other, a lot of places I’ve never been to.

It’s going to be amazing to discover, to go through the whole of America like this. I think it’s going to be an amazing experience. And it’s Kid Franciscoli’s, third time doing a tour like this in America, so it’s also great for me to be with someone who already knows how it’s supposed to be.

The music of Kid Francescoli and my music, it’s a good way to introduce people [In the US] to this chill electronic music. I think it’s two for the price of one. We’re in the same genre, both from the south of France. It’s not music that is made that much in America, I think. So in this sense, it’s a good way to have an overview of this type.

Last but not least, what hopes do you have for the release of Moda?

I hope it can open people’s curiosity about some things that they are not used to. Like the Turkish language, I think it’s very beautiful and I hope the two songs I have on the album [in Turkish] can open curiosity about it. There is also this poem at the beginning of the album, It’s a poem of Pasolini read by an Italian actress that I appreciate. So I just hope people can get to good feeling of the vibe that we have in the south of France and in Mediterranean, like some things we share in the Mediterranean world.

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Moda by Kazy Lambist will be released In June.

You can follow Kazy on Instagram here.