Stunning new album celebrating 20 years on the dancefloor and getting ready for the future
Interview by Dan Prince
The enthralling “20 Years Compilation” sees Sébastien Léger mark the conclusion of his year-long celebration of his past two decades in the music business. The retrospective on his own established Mistakes Music label is formed of a selection of Sébastien’s favourite tracks – ones that he thinks deserve to be known, discovered and revisited at this landmark point in his career. This isn’t about greatest hits, the selection reflects all his tastes over the years as a producer, providing a unique opportunity to hear his music in the context of when it was originally released and join the dots through the years right up to his sounds of today…
Sébastien welcome back to DMCWORLD…where in the world are you right now?
“Hey Dan, right now in my studio in Amsterdam.”
The first piece of music you heard this morning after rolling out of bed?
“My remix for Laurent Garnier that I’m polishing off before it goes to mastering.”
A very exciting few weeks for you coming up with the release of your ’20 Years’ compilation long player coming out on your very own Mistakes Music label. This long player is obviously not all about greatest hits – this was a real opportunity for you to provide us with an opportunity to see the real diversity of your musical mind right?
“That’s right, I have not chosen the tracks that were the most successful, but the ones I personally prefer from my discography. So this is not a real “best of”, and even though some of my biggest hits appear, there are also other tracks I thought deserved to be included. This is not really to show if I’m a real musician or not, but more like a little reminder of what I did in the past to what I’ve been into more recently. There are some older unreleased bits I never had the chance to release, and also some newer stuff I finished at the end of the 2014. It’s a little showcase of 20 years of music from me.”
Let’s kick off with ‘Octopussy’, a tune that appeared on the ‘First Beats’ EP on your now defunct Bits Music label – and a nod to the early days of what was termed the “French Touch” scene – a real no brainer to get the album grooving?
“This track has never been released in a digital way, and I thought the mastering of the vinyl was pretty bad (it has nearly no bass!). As I liked the original track, I thought it was a good way to present it again but with a much better sound, with bass this time!”
A real treat for many is the inclusion of ‘Never Ever’, a tune that could sit happily in many a DJ’s set today with it’s Detroit inspired, funky techno mood. But it never saw the light of day
“Yep, I made this track back in 2005, it originally had no piano in it, the BPM was 130 and again, as I always loved the track, it was the perfect timing to release it finally. I just re-edited it to a DJ length format (the original I did was only 3 minutes long!), slowed down the BPM a little and mastered it again.”
Moving onto three new creations that you have used here for the first time. Please give us a few words on each…
‘The Dark Forest’
“That track is absolutely epic. The melody is very complex with changes of tones and chords all the time (it’s a 32 bars loop!) but it also has that drive that doesn’t stop, it keeps rolling on and on until the main break which towards the end of the track.”
‘Silvery Sounds’
“So this one is actually a cover of one of my all time favourite tunes made by a mysterious artist called “Sound of K” (released back in 1998 if I remember correctly). I wanted to make my own reinterpretation of it, slower keeping the original vibe within the groove.”
‘Swinging Me Off’
“You know, one of those happy DJ tools.”
What do you find easier – making a new record or thinking of the title?!?!?!!
“Sometimes, I have not even started the track yet, but I already named the project in the computer! And as weird as it could sound, sometimes just the name helps me find the vibe I will go into. But, I guess, thinking of a title after doing a track is getting complicated.”
We were discussing in the office today that it would be difficult to name another producer that could match you for your versatility and consistency. Techno, peak time house, electro, minimal, sensual vocals and even progressive/trance have all received the magic Léger touch over the years. Where has this musical diversity come from? For instance do you hail from a musical family? What are your earliest memories of music growing up?
“Being versatile can be a quality, but it can also confuse people. People who like techno might not be into those melodic house tracks, whilst some who like jacking house might not be into the more progressive songs etc. I can’t help changing my style depending on my mood. I’d be bored to death if I had to keep doing the same genre over the years. I come from the “real DJ school”, the one where you had to please everybody, play as many genres as possible, so therefore I’m very open and I like a lot of different music. The main link through all of it is that I like to keep my music funky and groovy. As far as I remember, apart from the classical music that my parents (both professional musicians) listened to, I was into Michael Jackson’s music very early, and all funk and disco music. So it was very natural to go into dance music at the end of the 80’s with my first touch with the genre such as Lil Louis “French Kiss” or Technotronic “Pump Up The Jam”…”
As someone so young, what was your immediate reaction to tracks such as Lil Louis and Technotronic…did you know this was a different sound?
“There you go, just finished the question above and you talk exactly about my first experiences listening to those tracks! This was a shock to me when I first heard them on TV. It immediately talked to me – the energy and the futuristic sound, yet super happy music. That was instant. That was it!”
How much of a problem growing up was the ban in the French media of real house and techno music…did it make you more determined to seek it out?
“My first parties were illegal raves, most of DJs were playing hardcore or super-fast and heavy techno, I was the only one playing some pumping jacking Chicago House or French Touch. I wasn’t really thinking of the fact that it was not accepted in the media or life in general, I was beyond that, I was just playing and buying house and techno records because I loved it. I never tried to prove something or fight against a system. I just naturally did it.”
A bit of an emotional gig for you on Tuesday night, returning to Flex in Vienna after 10 years! How was it?
“The club has not changed at all! And it still opens every Tuesday night. The people who frequented it on that specific night knew why they where there, they come for the music, so the crowd was good!”
What are the 5 big records in your box this weekend…
Sébastien Léger – Funkalaga (Mistakes Music)
“Recently released, it went really well and has been played and supported a lot! It has that typical Léger funky / wobbly bassline with a very funky beat, a simple track that works perfectly!
Simon Baker – Plastik (Todd Terje remix)
I’ve been playing this for while now but it always works, the original is super slow (115bpm) but I pitch it up on purpose, a long electrodisco journey with a sort of epic electric guitar solo in the break.
Sergio Fernandez – Into the deep
If you’re looking for a simple pumping and groovy DJ tool that will kill the dancefloor, look no further.
Sébastien Léger – Zonika (Temple of Lions 03)
I made this track a few months ago and it will be released this month, when people hear it at first they are a bit surprised, then they always get into it after couple loops then they go crazy in the break. It’s a masterpiece.
Sébastien Léger – Penéloop (Temple of Lions 03)
This is the other track of the next EP, it has a very elegant melody but also an almost sad, melancholic feel to it. But it is so fresh in the set, that people always love it. You have to take risks in a DJ set to make it special, this is the kind of track you have to play in the middle to surprise your audience.
So yeah, I realise that there is a lot of my own stuff here, it’s not really to promote it, but it means that recently I’ve not found enough interesting music but also that I’ve been very productive in the studio and quite happy to play my own music again.”
A festival date you cannot wait for this summer?
“To be honest Dan, I actually don’t know yet what my summer will look like!”
A festival story you would rather forget?
“I was booked for a 3 days festival in Oslo, the line up was pretty big, I was supposed to play on the second day. It was on an island. I arrived at the location, it was EMPTY. But the funny part was that on the boat to get there, one guy told me that he loved my remix of Rage Against The Machine – the thing is, I never did a remix for RATM… He thought I was Sebastian from Ed Banger!”
Love it. What can you tell us about the plans for Temple of Lions this year?
“The plan is to release once a month. This label is really dedicated to my more musical, elegant, subtle music. I don’t care about the sales, I just want to release beautiful music without any pressure. Musical techno is at its peak right now, so it’s perfect timing too.”
And also the next releases in the pipeline for Mistakes Music?
“Apart of the “20 Years” retrospective, there is nothing planned. I’ve released a lot, if not too much the past 2 years, because I also wanted to help younger artists, but I guess it did not work in my favour. So now I’m taking it easy, I will release music on Mistakes when I think I have something ready or good enough. There are enough labels and music out there, I don’t think the market needs me right now, it’s over saturated anyway. Releasing to release is not in my head anymore.”
I love this quote from you. “I do not like dark shit.” Discuss…
“Well, as much as I like techno, I simply hate it when it comes to just bang bang bang boom boom boom! It doesn’t do much for me, I do not take any drugs, neither drink alcohol, so I guess the dark thing is not for me. I like the happy vibe, the energy without crushing people’s ears with just straight beats, I also need some kind of melody, not just kick drums with druggy sound design in the background to cover poor musicality. To resume… “I like happy shit”.”
3 bucket-list adventures you would like to do in your lifetime…
“To live in Tokyo.
Teleportation (a.k.a no more planes please)
…and…I don’t know, yet!”
A person from history you would like to have a beer with?
“I’d rather have a milkshake with Michael Jackson – he’s dead, so it’s history, right?”
And finally, from a man with 20 years of experience at the top…a piece of wisdom if you will, offering advice to the thousands of aspiring producers and DJs wishing to follow in your footsteps…
“Take your time, don’t rush things, be yourself, get inspired but do not copy. Get lucky. Don’t act like a dickhead to people. Use social media to your advantage and to showcase your talent, not to create an online personality like some of big “DJs” I see right now. I really hate Facebook…”
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Sébastien Léger – 20 Years Compilation (Mistakes Music) is released 16th March 2015 http://www.beatport.com/label/mistakes-music/5246
Sébastien Léger “20 Years” Video Interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VkfW-LvFJRE
Sébastien Léger – Penéloop / Zonica (Temple Of Lions) TOL03 is released 30th March 2015 http://www.beatport.com/label/temple-of-lions/45473
Further Information:
https://www.facebook.com/sebastienleger
