Mr Oizo is one of those artists who has a certain ‘je ne sais quoi’. His no-nonsense attitude, his thick French accent, and his – dare I say it – ‘egoiste’ attitude, all add to the mystique that surrounds him. Ahead of his Australian tour this October, ITM’s Belinda Healy caught up for a chat.

Mr Oizo, whose real name is Quentin Dupieux (even that sounds glamorous!), is part DJ, part producer and part filmmaker. Perhaps best known for his song ‘Flat Beat’, which shot to fame when it was used on a Levi’s commercial (for the record, it also sold two and a half million copies), he says he has to spread his time amongst many artistic pursuits because of a short attention span. “To me it’s really boring to do just one thing. I’m also drawing stuff. When I only do music I’m bored quite quick.” The different tasks require varying levels of dedication, though. “Making a movie, it’s much more work. It’s two years – writing a script, editing, making music. It’s more complicated. Making music is a solo activity, making a movie you work with fifty people.“

It’s nothing the Frenchman can’t handle, however. Even being signed to ‘so-hot-right-now’ French label Ed Banger (home to Justice, Uffie and DJ Mehdi) is not a big deal. “It’s not so important – it was obvious that I’m related to them. It’s something common, but I’ve always been the black sheep. It’s really interesting at this time, being different from all the other artists. But we are doing music in a family. We all play the same stuff.” He thinks that short attention may, eventually, get the better of him. “Maybe in two years I will be bored.”

Two men that Dupieux finds he work very closely with are “the Sebastiens”; SebastiAn and Sebastien Tellier . “First, they are good friends. He (SebastiAn) acted in my first movie and I’ve been mixing his first album.” It is, however, also more of a business relationship rather than strictly friendship. “We don’t see each other [outside of work]. It’s always about music, art, you know. We don’t [ever] talk about life.”

It’s no surprise, though, as music is life for Dupieux. Just strictly not dance music. “I’ve been connected to the dance scene and I don’t know why. I [only] went five times in a club.” Maybe his earlier work with Laurent Garnier was an introduction to club scene? “Yeah, I think so. I did two videos for him, and he invited me to clubs.” Playing in clubs, though, is a different story. “I enjoy playing in clubs a lot. I try different stuff. It’s quite good to play your music loud. It gives you power. It’s quite exciting. I’m not what you call a good DJ – I don’t have any technique. I can do anything. I’m like… protected by my name. Even if I just meet ten fans, I’m just expecting them to scream and dance.”

Dupieux has been working hard with the Sebastians on a new film, ‘Steak’ . His first feature, it has an intriguing storyline centred around facelifts. Its themes are elaborated on by Dupieux, and it seems for this film at least, there are some wider meanings. “I wanted to make fun of the younger generation,” muses Dupieux. “A lot of men are taking care of themselves. I think it’s funny. It’s not the plot of the film, the film is not talking about that, but the idea came from this.” I explain that, in Australia, these men are often referred to as ‘metrosexuals’. He laughs, and says, “we are not in LA [in Paris]. We don’t see it that much.”

There are also links to this fascination with plastic surgery in his 12” version of ‘Transexual’. “There’s nothing to say about it. I just did it for fun. There’s nothing behind it… except that there is a funny concept. I put a voice behind each track saying I’m a reincarnation of Michael Jackson.” Why Michael Jackson? “There is something disturbing about this man, but he is also the biggest genius in music. We can say that he is a genius, but also a monster.”

Mr Oizo fans can catch him at one of his Aussie shows this month. The tour kicks off this weekend, and it’s his first time here down under. “It’s quite exciting. It’s a far [away] country, I never came on vacation. I have three or four days [spare]. I might be able to hang around.” That is, of course, if he doesn’t get bored.

Don’t miss Mr Oizo on his first ever Australian tour:

Check the film clip for Mr Oizo’s classic track ‘Flat Beat’ here on YouTube: