DMC meets French superstar DJ Agoria, voted Best DJ in France three times already…
Okay so going right back, music was obviously in your blood from an early stage. You are the son of an Opera Singer – she features on your new soundtrack album ‘Go Fast’, what music were you listening to growing up…
“Well when I was around the ages of 10 to 15 it was mainly Classical Music, my mother wanted me to play the piano and go down that route, but hey, it went another way. However in the middle of those years I picked up the sounds of Detroit, Inner City’s ‘Big Fun’ was such a huge hit across Europe, it was on the radio everywhere, blaring out of car stereos, at every bar and club you went to. It was the record that I just felt, wow – this is the way forward. Carl Craig was incredible too. But after that I got into every sort of music, obviously techno but cooler grooves too – like Sly & The Family Stone.”
The French music scene is incredible at the moment, DMC of course host The World DJ Mixing Championships where the French competitors (especially C2C) are grand masters. Daft Punk, Laurent Garnier, Air, David Guetta, Dimitri, Bob Sinclar, Martin Solveig, yourself… the list goes on and on. Why has a country that for a long time been associated with the likes of Sacha Distel as a major player, somehow over the last 15 years – is probably the coolest music country in the world?
“Well I think it all goes in cycles, years ago we produced Daft Punk and Laurent Garnier, and now it’s the turn of the children of the people who were listening to these people back then to start making music. To be honest of the artists you mention, I am so into the school of Laurent, not so into the more distortion/tweaking sound. Maybe because it’s because I am older? These days it’s all about people like DJ Lone coming through who are creating amazing buzzes, the UK is great at the moment obviously and so is Germany. The french are always on the map but sometimes people forget this.”
So 2003 saw your ‘Blossom’ album release with acclaimed tunes ‘La 11eme Marche’ and ‘Spinach Girl’, 2006 brought us the amazing Green Armchair with ‘Code 1026’, ‘Europa and ‘Les Violons Livres’ and now, the new album ‘Go Fast’ is something else. It’s a work of art, breathtaking, sends tingles down your spine… a real journey of the senses. It’s an album that will sit on people’s shelves for years to come. Talk us through it…
“Well as you know it’s a soundtrack to the movie. Some of the tracks on the album have been conjured up by bits of music I made that maybe only saw 15 seconds on the album, but that’s enough for me. A little segment of piano in a scene, well I could see how this could become something bigger. ‘Dust’ is going to be huge, sung by my friend Scalde, a bewitching voice and very elegant.”
So living in Lyon, it’s a bit like living in Birmingham in England… stuck in the middle of a country, they have Manchester booming above and London dazzling below, you have the bright lights of St Tropez down below and the best city in the world of Paris up above. What’s Lyon like, living in and for clubbing?
“Well firstly, we have a great football team, we can’t compete with Man Utd or Chelsea in terms of buying power, but we have very passionate support. As for the clubs, well the festival we have in Lyon every May is just so good, I helped to create it and it’s so good. 50,000 people, eclectic line up’s and basically such an opener for so many people. We have people who have been clubbing three times a week who have hung up their dancing shoes who all of a sudden are back out and going crazy. The DJs we get down there can’t believe it, it’s like ‘where did this come from’.
So dude, let’s get on with the awards you have won – Best DJ with Laurent Garnier in 2004, your Lyon Nuits Sonores prize, something you repeated again for your 7 hour battle with Lauent, that event by the way we heard about in the UK straight away. What has been your proudest moment picking up an award?
“Well okay, it’s nice for the ego I suppose and being respected by people, but I’m not in this business for the awards. My happiness is to have got the city of Lyon moving again, getting the kids into our sounds.”
What are the best records in your box at the moment?
“Now, DJ Sasha Funke – the Koze remix. But you know most of the records on Infine have been brilliant over the last twelve months, check out www.infine-music.com
Best club you have ever played at?
“Well Womb in Japan is just… the thing is about the Japanese, they are so respectful in the day, respective of people and the ways of their country. But when they go out at night, they just go mad. They drink until they fall true, but also when I go there, it’s like, they know me inside out and follow me to the end of the journey I create for them. D-Edge in Brazil is amazing too.”
And what is the best club in the UK?
“You know the answer to this, Fabric hands down.”
