{"id":34906,"date":"2016-08-11T14:16:15","date_gmt":"2016-08-11T12:16:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.deephouseamsterdam.com\/london\/?p=34906"},"modified":"2016-08-11T14:16:15","modified_gmt":"2016-08-11T12:16:15","slug":"interview-dimitri-paris","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.deephouseamsterdam.com\/london\/interview-dimitri-paris\/","title":{"rendered":"Interview: Dimitri From Paris"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dimitri From Paris has dedicated the last thirty years to honing his skills and sharing his love of all kinds of music.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Preferring the connectivity offered by an intimate club gig to the large, festival-style show where visuals and production overpower the musical aspect of a performance, Dimitri represents the true roots of DJing; the selection and sharing of music for the enjoyment and education of his captive audiences, placing love of the music ahead of anything else. As a radio presenter, remixer, a producer, Dimitri bridges the gaps between genres, blurring the lines between mainstream and underground and never allying himself one side in particular because that’s just the way he is. There really aren’t many DJs who can happily play at the Playboy Mansion<\/a> one week and at a tiny 200-capacity venue the next while maintaining their integrity and without their fanbase questioning their motives.<\/p>\n

As Defected<\/strong> brings a special Day\/Night version of Glitterbox<\/strong> to Ministry of Sound<\/strong> of the Bank Holiday Weekend of 28 August, we caught up with Dimitri From Paris to discuss his prolific career. At the event, Dimitri will be joined by the likes of Joey Negro, Simon Dunmore, Severino, Purple Disco Machine, Eli Escobar<\/strong>, and many more, so get those tickets soon!.<\/p>\n

“Today more than ever, there are so many things about DJing I can pass on to the people.”<\/span><\/em><\/h3>\n

On August 28 you will play \u201cGlitterbox\u201d at London\u2019s Ministry of Sound. As you have graced those decks many times, can you give us your impressions of Ministry of Sound as a venue? Can you describe a typical MoS vibe when you play? What about the sound system?<\/strong>
\nMOS has always been a staple of London’s club scene. As a matter of fact, it’s the first club I ever played in London! It has had a consistently eclectic programming from emerging names to very established ones. I particularly like how the sound system and all the tech side is lovingly maintained, and constantly aims at finding ways to upgrade, like with the Atmos surround sound performances. That absolutely enhances the way DJs can perform by providing flawless tools to creatively work with. I also very much appreciate that the main room “The Box” is a no-frills, human sized space strictly dedicated to dancing.<\/p>\n

How about the \u201cGlitterbox\u201d event, what are your impressions of them? How did your relationship with \u201cGlitterbox\u201d form?<\/strong>
\nGlitterbox is now only 3 years old with yet an established name. I’m very proud to have been involved in the short list or residents from day one. It is still growing organically with a very strong music ethos that seems to have vanished from most of today’s clubland. Rather than following whatever the last trend is, and relentlessly copying the media charts, Glitterbox focuses on giving people of all walks a good time. It’s based on quality, with a strong music policy, which main point is to send every guest home with a smile.<\/p>\n

Speaking of London, when was the first time you played London? What event was it? Over the years, what have been some standout London experiences for you?<\/strong>
\nMy first London gig was, I think, in 1997, on Valentine’s Day at MOS – it was a French themed event, and I remember playing with my friends St Germain and DJ Deep. I’ve since played countless times in London, I have very fond memories of my early days at the Smithfield’s basement and at Basement Jaxx Brixton parties at Mass. Scaramanga parties at the Dogstar were also highlights. Lately I’ve found homes at XoYo, and with the Slide outdoor events that gather that unique London mix of eclectic, music loving, crowds.<\/p>\n

What about the difference between the London and Paris nightlife scenes, what would you say is the primary one?<\/strong>
\nThe Paris club scene is a little younger than the London one. It started with raves in the second quarter of the 90s. At the time, club owners were very reluctant to work with outside DJs, and promoters, and so we didn’t use to have such a large variety of guest DJs as London would have. So I always felt the scene was less eclectic here for a while. Things have been changing in the last 10 years or so with former Parisian DJs and promoters gathering together to become club owners, with a different, more open mindset, than their traditional predecessors. Now musical variety is finally taking over, and that’s definitely for the better.<\/p>\n

What is the best place to find quality records in Paris these days? What was the last vinyl that you purchased?<\/strong>
\nEveryone has their favorite spot, be it flea markets, street sales or shops. My favorite place is Heartbeat Records<\/a> a 2 year old very small shop in the 11th Arrondissement. Melik, the owner and sole attendant, is super passionate, and constantly traveling the world to renew his stock. The lovely little store is becoming a great spot for socializing around music. My last purchased vinyl is a 12″ of Sax Pustuls (no typos) a French, funky new-wave band from the early 80s.<\/p>\n

[gallery_bank type=”images” format=”filmstrip” title=”false” desc=”false” img_in_row=”2″ display=”all” sort_by=”random” animation_effect=”bounce” image_width=”600″ album_title=”false” album_id=”303″]<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Have you been working with any fashion houses recently? I know that you have recorded soundtracks to various haute couture campaigns, which have you worked with recently? Regarding your past musical work in fashion, do you have a favorite campaign that you were a part of?<\/strong>
\nIn haven’t done that in 15 years. It was fun working with designer Hedi Slimane<\/a> when he first started with YSL, and even got me on the catwalk at his first Tokyo show. However, when I saw the video I realized I was definitely more at ease in a DJ booth that on a catwalk, and decided to focus on the former \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n

After about 30 years as a DJ, how do you keep everything \u201cfresh\u201d? Do you still consider the music to be your primary drive? Or has it turned into something else?<\/strong>
\nI started DJing because I wanted to share the music I loved. Today more than ever, there are so many things about DJing I can pass on to the people. I am still passionate about music and all the technology around it, wether to produce it, play it, distribute it. So there are always things for me to discover and learn. I’m getting older when people in the audience stay the same younger age. It’s an exciting, everyday challenge to use my experience to bring them something they can enjoy, regardless of any age difference.<\/p>\n

We are also in the midst of the summer season; do you have any specific techniques to maintain wellness and mindfulness during such a busy travel season? What about after the summer, do you have a way of winding down?<\/strong>
\nIt’s a good question and I wish I had a formula! It can be a lot of travel, not much sleep, but I take it as is comes honestly, and also by keeping a relatively healthy diet. I comfort myself by thinking that I’m still blessed to be able to make a living with what initially started as a hobby. As per winding down, that’s one of the things I’m not very good at. Still working on it \ud83d\ude09<\/p>\n

A big part of the summer season is Ibiza. How have you seen Ibiza evolve over the years? Would you say it has evolved for the better or worse? What are your impressions on the upswing in luxury patrons?<\/strong>
\nIbiza has indeed been going from an affordable popular destination to a much pricier jet setter one, in the footstep of Las Vegas, Monte Carlo and the like. As a result the market for clubbing has shifted towards a crowd of “premium” customers. There may be not enough big spenders to fill the big clubs, but they are certainly providing a major share of the venues’ income. As such the music policy is geared to please them first and foremost. Since most of the “VIP” crowd are not music heads, a lot of the club events in Ibiza go for a very safe, tried and tested music policy, when not purely mainstream. The positive side of this is that when everyone is following a same direction, it leaves room for others to try something a little different. That’s how Glitterbox started, and is certainly why it has been successful in Ibiza: there is simply nothing like it. The copycats are however coming in, and it will be next seasons’ challenge to make Glitterbox even more special and unique.<\/p>\n

Finally, what are you most looking forward to through the rest of 2016?<\/strong>
\nMy remix of Paradise Garage classic “Stand On The Word” by The Joubert Singers is finally on vinyl and digital. Also, I have quite a few releases lined up as my collab project Erodiscotique with Italo DJ Rocca: A 12″ EP on Gomma, as well as a full album scheduled for next autumn in Japan. Finally a remix for Soul Clap’s first single off their new forthcoming album which I’m very proud of, is coming out on a limited vinyl 45 as well as downloads.<\/p>\n

Soundcloud <\/a><\/span> Artist Page <\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

\"Dimitri-from-paris-at-ministry-of-sound\"<\/p>\n

28 August | Defected Pres. Glitterbox Day & Night<\/a> | Tickets<\/a> | Ministry of Sound<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dimitri From Paris has dedicated the last thirty years to honing his skills and sharing his love of all kinds of music. Preferring the connectivity offered by an intimate club gig to the large, festival-style show where visuals and production overpower the musical aspect of a performance, Dimitri represents the true roots of DJing; the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":34,"featured_media":34907,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"audio","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3971],"tags":[3210,5512,10551,10980,5510,10978,10979,10976,4551,3202,10977,4980,4609],"class_list":["post-34906","post","type-post","status-publish","format-audio","has-post-thumbnail","category-interviews-london","tag-defected-records","tag-dimitri-from-paris","tag-eli-escobar","tag-erodiscotique","tag-glitterbox","tag-heartbeat-records","tag-hedi-slimane","tag-joey-negro","tag-ministry-of-sound-london","tag-purple-disco-machine","tag-severino","tag-simon-dunmore-london","tag-soul-clap-london","post_format-post-format-audio"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.deephouseamsterdam.com\/london\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34906","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.deephouseamsterdam.com\/london\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.deephouseamsterdam.com\/london\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.deephouseamsterdam.com\/london\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/34"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.deephouseamsterdam.com\/london\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34906"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.deephouseamsterdam.com\/london\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34906\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.deephouseamsterdam.com\/london\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/34907"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.deephouseamsterdam.com\/london\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34906"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.deephouseamsterdam.com\/london\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34906"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.deephouseamsterdam.com\/london\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34906"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}