4 years ago you stepped off the plane and arrived in New York. What were the most important things you brought with you?

My midi controller, a soundcard and headphones. I couldn’t bring much equipment. I definitely brought a few records from France to New York.

So Midi controller, records. Any in particular you can remember ?

I know I brought two records from Cobblestone Jazz. It’s EP’s that came out maybe 7 years ago. Also La Funk Mob ‎– 357 Magnum Force, it had this one track remixed by Carl Craig. It has this really special atmosphere. He is one of the my most influential techno artists from Detroit.

Is Detroit a big influence for you ?

In some sense yes. In every genre there’s a spectrum. Something I like and something I don’t. Certain names from Detroit have had a large impact on me.

Anything nonmusical you can think of that you had to pack ? Anything sentimental?

I don’t attach much to material stuff. I’m not sentimental about things in general. I make an effort not to be.

You care more about things that carry meaning?

Yes and music is all of that. It’s not material. It’s something intangible.

Let me ask you this: You’re Parisian born and bred. Are there ways your roots express themselves in your musical choices?

It’s hard to say. I don’t think I’m “Parisian” as a DJ. I’m more influenced by where I am now, New York. The atmosphere, the people you meet. At this moment, I would say my roots are tied not to my native city, but rather my education with music. My father often listened to records and he had a huge collection when I was growing up. It still influences me.

I heard from one landlord that it used to be a place for crackheads and prostitutes before it was a jean’s factory.

Anything specific you can remember? Whether it was something you loved, or something that made you say, “Dad stop playing that!” either way, something that really stands out in your mind?

He had many albums, but always had his classics. For instance, he is a really big fan of the Rolling Stones.

So Classic rock?

Yes. Actually there’s a track: “Within/Without” by Ozark Mountain Daredevils. I’ll play it. It’s a pretty romantic song. It’s the kind of this track that, without knowing it, made me like music too. The thing is as a DJ I’m obviously influenced by what’s around me, but I don’t necessarily want to be.

La Funk Mob

Ravers Suck Our Sound (Carl Craig Remix)

In a way you’re still young enough, both in terms of age and the length of your career, that you’re still malleable. Even though you spent your first 20-something years of your life in Paris, there’s so many influences that impact you in your twenties when you really develop your own taste, you’re no longer a teenager. Plus New York is made up of so many diverse influences.

Yes definitely. The Paris I knew at the time was too polished, not open-minded enough. People weren't as willing to share experiences. In New York people are coming from all over and you can talk to them about the past and what’s happening now. Still, if I had to pick a French influence, Serge Gainsbourg for sure. I think he is one of our most talented artists.

If I asked you to write an autobiography using three tracks. Childhood, Teenage years, present moment…which would you choose? at this present moment?

Right now, DJ Sprinkles made a remix of a “Seashore” by Oh Yoko…very ambient with a lot of character. I don't see myself getting tired of it. It’s what makes a song timeless for me.

When you say “timeless,” you mean something outside of trends, more an atmosphere that it evokes ?

I feel that there are tracks that are functional (in any category) and work at the time but there is not enough depth and history behind them. Ultimately, they are ephemeral. For me a track becomes timeless when the artist doesn’t care about what is “good” or “popular” at the moment. He has his own influences. When people try to make something too trendy, usually they miss the goal of being timeless. With experience you become much more sensitive to this.

When people try to make something too trendy, usually they miss the goal of being timeless. With experience you become much more sensitive to this.

Regardless of genre.

Yes, exactly.

So you don’t have any childhood/teenage tracks that are iconic to who you are?

The thing is, I started with my father's music, which was quality, but I also started with rock music like Radiohead or Nirvana. My first introduction to electronic music was Daft Punk, their album Homework showed me that dance music could be powerful.

Since you’ve arrived would you say the music scene in New York has changed? If so how?

When I first arrived, I went to the Blkmarket or Resolute parties. They were super techno or tech-house, very functional, a sort of club-scene, but I grew tired of it. Now I’m more into things like Mister Saturday/Sunday , because they can mix funk, house, and techno into multiple genres. On a darker note, things happening at Bossa Nova are great too. I feel that these kinds of DJs aren’t necessarily trying to satisfy the current trend of electronic music but they are more concerned about their listeners and taste.

Do you think that the scene has evolved in terms of listeners and the people going out to these events?

The thing is in the US, electronic music becomes more and more popular every year. Take for example, Output which opened: you can see every kind of person there, which in one sense is good, in another you wonder if they’re just going out because it’s just a cool thing to do. But one thing I liked when I arrived in NY is that the people who were going to techno/house parties at that time were people who knew about it. They had knowledge.

Cobblestone Jazz

India In Me

I agree, for instance I remember Blkmarket used to be really different. Every week you would see the same “little family” in a way, you saw the same people, you all more or less knew each other… then it really grew and changed, even something like Marcy Hotel, it was originally a community and private.

Which I liked. But it’s also the discussion between whether to keep electronic music scene small with only people who know about it or should we expand it ?

It seems like you want it to be open for many but to still preserve the integrity.

Yes, because i think it is about educating people. In the beginning they go to clubs, they don’t know about it, they just dance, but after a few years, ideally they start to consider what the music is about.

Moving inward, from NY to your own residence, 143: you live in “Magicland.” It’s a pretty special place. Can you tell us about it and its history? And if your history here has influenced you as a DJ?

This is the first place that I moved to when I arrived and I’m still here. As you said, you feel there is a strong history here. There’s a lot of personality. I heard from one landlord that it used to be a place for crackheads and prostitutes before it was a jean’s factory. Which gives it a strong history, even if it’s sort of a sad one. It’s a place that allowed me to welcome people to hangout and listen to music and it’s been very important for my life here, we have organized many parties and chill-out sessions and the feedback of the people coming was essential for my development as a DJ.

Do you have a specific process for finding your music? Forums, blogs, radio shows ?

It depends on the day and my mood. One day I might direct myself to more dance tracks and another day to rock, African or other genres. It’s always a dilemma for me that I like to listen to mixes by other people, but don’t want to influence myself too much by what other DJs play in general. I want to have my own vision of the music scene. But there are some DJs I really respect and follow. One example is Optimo and their radio show on Rinse FM. The selection is really good. I’m more interested in DJ’s who post mixes that are eclectic. As for blogs and magazines, the bible of electronic music is Resident advisor so i check it often, but guess i look at some blogs, but after time you follow specific records labels and use discogs, a lot because you develop your own taste and knowledge.

Do you do any crate-digging on your own?

Yes, sometimes, but I feel that I have more options on the web than in a record store. Now I check Honest Jon's a lot, it’s a London-based record store, they have a really good selection of many genres, and I know that I can find “golden nuggets.” My friend Greg taught me that expression.

When you play a set who do you want to attract to the dance floor? Do you have a specific listener in mind ?

No, because I think it’s interesting to adapt to the public you are presented with. I obviously prefer when they know a bit about music and it’s not a girl who’s going to ask me to play Beyonce after 10 minutes. I like when the crowd is mixed. In a way, it’s more difficult and challenging to play, but I like that.

You told me recently that you like when you see there’s a track and you see people leave the dance floor because you want to see how you can get them back. Or you try to get the guy in the corner who isn’t moving to start dancing. I thought that was interesting, that you’re not focusing on the people who are really into the set, you’re always looking, not out of insecurity, but curiosity, for a target to take a risk and see what happens. So it’s not stressful, it’s enjoyable for you?

I don’t know why when I see people who are really into a set, I appreciate it, but I feel like that’s already done. There is always work to do when you play a set. I like to watch for the person who is the last one to dance to understand what kind of music makes them move. It’s a good way to fix your sound goals during a set. An empty dance floor can happen a lot. You put a wrong track on, people are disturbed in a way, you went too far into what you wanted to hear.

DJ Sprinkles

Queerifications & Ruins

I think I did that at your party a few weeks ago. Sorry.

Yeah, but it happens, we’re not perfect. Actually when a dance floor is empty it’s kind of a reset of the present moment, a fresh start, in a way it allows you to start a new set with a different direction which is always interesting.

Technical question: The opening and closing of a set can often make or break it. Is there a formula for how you choose a first and last track ?

I feel that every DJ has his own atmosphere so when a DJ plays before me, I cut the mood and start from fresh. Usually I start my set with an atmospheric song. Maybe it’s kind of selfish, but it lets people see someone new is coming. From that I build. For the last song, I want them to understand that it is the end of the session, so I like to play a track that makes people nostalgic after a more intense set.

Back to school. Multiple Choice question: A DJ should ___

a) convey his knowledge
b) express emotion
c) evoke an atmosphere

I would say the three together.

All equally balanced ?

No, not equal. {Option A} “Express knowledge” is a bit selfish. It should not be the goal, but in a way it happens because you're revealing a part of you by showing what you’re listening to. The more important though is the atmosphere.

There’s a difference between the last two options though. One is expressing your emotion, how you personally feel, while the other choice would be creating a certain world or mood, for others.

I feel that’s it’s important to create an overall mood because a DJ set is a way of telling a story. And bringing your own emotion into a set is something I strive to do every time.

Okay so top of your playlist for a broken heart? Which I hope isn’t the case for you right now…

I have a playlist called “Bon Voyage” that has a lot of melancholy tracks.

What are some of the standouts?

That’s a secret….I’m kidding, just hard to pick one. There is one track from a movie by Vincent Gallo, Brown Bunny.

Jackson C Franck

Isn’t that the movie where Chloe Sevigny went down on Vincent Gallo and it was a big controversy?

Yes, its not a great movie, but there’s a track by Jackson C Frank called Milk and Honey that is very beautiful.

Next: playlist for hangover on a Sunday ?

That’s maybe the one time I don’t listen to music. I hide under my blankets instead.

Fair enough. Here’s one that could be on a Sunday, but not for a hangover. Playlist for watching the sunrise with the last men standing?

The remix by DJ Sprinkles I already mentioned or the Thursday Afternoon album from Brian Eno.

Can you name some works of art, film, literature, anything non-music, but creative that has shaped who you are today?

I’m a big movie fan. Oslo 31 August and Reprise are two "recent" Norwegian movies that influenced me. There’s a lot of sadness and silence in those films. They stayed under my skin for a while.

So you wake up—not under your covers, not hungover, I’m not sure if you’re done your morning ritual yet, but you realize you can time travel. When and where do you play your next set?

I don’t know if I would travel in the past. There are a lot of stories about Pulp, a famous lesbian club in Paris--that’s when Ivan Smagghe, Chloe, really good french DJs were playing. In a way I would have liked to play there, but their history is their history. I don’t necessarily want to go to the past. But right now, Panorama bar or Robert Johnson in Germany would be two clubs I would like to play for.

So no time travel but teleportation to Germany. In reality it’s just a plane ticket away…and a few invitations. And one really scary doorman.

I’d like to go live at Berlin at one point. In every place people say, “yes, but it was better in the past!” Even in NY people are saying that and it’s happening in Berlin too. But I don’t think that’s always true. The future is what’s in front of you. You decide what’s going to happen. It’s too pessimistic to compare now to the past. It’s better to look ahead.