The French techno pioneer takes America by storm
Interview : Dan Prince
Sebastian welcome to DMCWORLD. Where in the world are you right now?
“Hi Dan, I’m currently staying a couple of days in Los Angeles. I m going to meet my friend Peter Utz in charge of celebrities worldwide for Saint Laurent. We are going to have dinner at his place in Laurel Canyon. I am excited to go in that part of town as it is a historical place in terms of music. Just to imagine that led zepplin and all the rock bands used to be concentrated in that area in Los Angeles must be so inspiring. Maybe coming out of that place tonight I will record an electro punk record…”
Like so many of us music lovers, our first introduction to aural pleasure came courtesy of our parents. Your mother was an opera singer, your father was a huge collector of vinyl…what were artists filtering through the rooms of the Devaud family household when you were growing up?
“I was listening to many kind of music at home without knowing what it was. From Magma, Talking Heads to Eric Satie through Donna summer or Edgar Varese. Every Sunday my dad was spinning records. My parents used to organize many parties at home so they were asking me to spin music…I’ve been educated to DJjing really young!”
The first record you bought was Inner City’s ‘Good Life’, it was a track that introduced you to dance music. Gotta ask, what did you make of the 2013 Remixes that were out in the summer?
“Oh yess…Inner City…I still remember the day when Kevin Saunderson asked me to remix “Big Fun”. I was like a kid! Imagine that the artist who made the first record you bought asking you to remix one of his anthems…dream…! I’ve been really influenced by the Detroit scene in my early hours of electronic music, so I feel honored.”
You recently journeyed to Tokyo where you DJ’d with the master Jeff Mills. The first time you saw the Detroit legend spin you were speechless…“he was playing with three turntables, drum machines and effects…he was moving like a tiger and so precise. I was so speechless.” Jeff has become a good friend of yours over the years, how was the show in Japan a few weeks ago and do you think this very humble man has ANY idea just how much of an influence he has been to so many people?
“I’m one of his biggest fans, his last album is very good I think. Let me listen to it now that I’m answering you! Actually last time I met Jeff in Tokyo I was telling him that I was his local support when he used to play in Lyon during the mid nineties. I was always opening for him. Of course he didn’t remember and we start laughing. I also really appreciate Jeff’s wife Yoko who runs the legendary festival Wire In Japan.”
True or false? – You are the only living Frenchman who doesn’t like cheese?
“Indeed Dan! I am most certainly the only French man that doesn’t each cheese. It is funny because I was talking to my friend Peter who is French/English and he doesn’t drink wine. We were talking about how each time we go to dinner we have to explain ourselves about not eating cheese for me and for him not drinking wine…I am sure if you ask a number of French people if they eat frog legs their answer will be no…but I do!”
You have had a massive summer and incredible year, and now you are about to embark on a series of US tour dates. From a purveyor of such quality music, what are your thoughts on North America finally jumping on the dance music train, albeit with their EDM soundtrack? It can only be a good thing to start opening people’s ears over there, right?
“The US has so many talented people in the music industry. The founder of all…Jazz, Blues, R&B, Hip Hop and so on. They cannot have everything (laughs). But as we all know, electronic music is also coming from the US and especially Detroit and Chicago. You’re right, they just discovered EDM, they have never heard about Submerge, Teknotika or so on…and it’s about time they listen to their own legends such as Mike Banks, Model 500, Lil Louis and Jeff Mills. The scene is growing fast, Brooklyn seems to be the most exciting place at moment, I really look forward to discovering the Verboten club for example. I had an amazing time on their stage this summer with Carl Craig and Luciano.”
Your ‘Scala EP’ was one of Ibiza’s biggest soundtracks of the summer, Pete Tong was all over it on Radio 1 and you smashed the No. 1 spot in RA. Were you surprised of the success of the record?
“We never know how a record will work. It was a good surprise of course. I didn’t need to change my hair cut, having a moustache or showing my body so that’s a good news. The fact that we were only a few of the DJs playing it since June alongside Tale of Us, Laurent Garnier…maybe myself and the Innervisions crew might have helped create some desire about it? Loads of people keep just discovering it saying ‘oh I heard it so many times this summer – but I didn’t know it was yours!’.”
Much of your working life these days is taken up by creating film scores, indeed when a piece of music sometimes doesn’t quite work for a film work you keep it in a memory bank for a possible piece of dancefloor action. Was any part of ‘Scala’ from a previous ‘discarded’ piece of film work?
“I just finished a new tune that is really inspired by my work for film scores named “Epic Lover”. I’m not sure yet where and when I’m gonna release it though. ‘Scala’ wasn’t inspired by my work for movies…this tune came by accident. The piano keys were orginally a bassline that came by fortune on the piano channel…when you are looking for a specific sound, it happens so often by accident.”
True or false? You won the préfet in Lyon over by taking him on a bar crawl around the town until he realized that your festival Nuits Sonores was a good idea and much needed?
“Absolutely Dan. It was the Mayor Gerard Collomb. And I can say that politicians are used to celebrate, he was much more sober than us at the end of the “tour” around the town.”
We were in the crowd at the ‘We Love…’ Closing Party at Space in Ibiza, do you still love Ibiza as much as ever – even though the island is changing year by year as investment floods in?
“I do like Ibiza yes. I did enjoy a lot playing at the ‘We Love…Closing Party, especially cause it was the last one with Sarahand Mark. I think with Ibiza you just need to be picky about what you wanna do and I m pretty sure you’re gonna have an amazing time. I don’t mind that Avicii is doing well, I don’t care….”
You now live in Milan, a move you say definitely has helped your studio work due to encountering a new city, new environment, a new studio and meeting new people. As you say, it has been “good food”! So what is coming out next from the mighty Agoria studio…?
“Everything but no cheese! Working on a soundtrack for an hybrid project named ‘Deepself’ with Jan Kounen and Rodolphe Chabrier. Starting sessions for my new album, I did two tracks with my friend Rami Khalife and I’m starting one with Nicolas Becker who did the sound effects for the movie ‘Gravity’…oh and I have to finish a remix for Moby as soon as I get home…cause I dont have ghost producer…!”
An astonishing thing you once said concerning your parents and your music, “they thought my early music was crap and they were right”. Have you won them round yet – and also what about your close friends, you once said they don’t care about your music at all!!?
“My childhood friends still don’t believe how I manage to play in front of 25,000 thousand people at the summer festivals. My mum comes every year to Nuits Sonores to see If I have improved a bit!”
True or false? Most Sunday mornings would see your parents drive to the police station to pick you up after another rave was raided and you were arrested whilst DJing?
“True and False! Yes I ve been arrested a couple of times when it was forbidden to play in rave parties – but I had my driving licence so I was able to drive myself home like a man…(laughs).”
Who are some of the new producers you are giving high fives to in 2013?
“Daniel Avery. Fort Romeau. Paradis. Everydayz.”
And finally, does Cyril Bonin know how much he has helped the world of music? If it wasn’t for this Lyonnaise record store owner, you may have continued to buy crap trance records…?
(Laughs) “Oh my god! How do you know that Dan? Yes, Cyrille has been my mentor and he’s a legend. But don’t you think ‘Scala’ is a bit trancey…?”
