DJs ont the move

The Globetrotting Ambassadors of French Electro

Paris 

26/01/2005 - 

Like Charles Schillings, who takes to the turntables tonight for the finale of the 39thedition of Midem (the international record industry fair held in Cannes), Francophone DJs are still at the forefront of the electro scene. Their sets are enjoyed by clubbers around the world and, as our article reveals, their popularity shows no sign of waning.

Is the "French Touch" dead and buried? This is a question much bandied about on the electro scene right now, with many claiming that the French electro movement has run out of creative steam. But French DJs, who make up the backbone of the movement, are still enjoying dancefloor success abroad. "All this stuff about the end of the 'French Touch,' it's just journalistic jargon," declares leading Parisian DJ and producer Bob Sinclar, "The reason everyone started talking about the demise of the 'French Touch' is because you had all these records flooding onto the market at the same time – including a hell of a lot of copies! And the fact that the French sound got plagiarised meant the initial enthusiasm for the movement began to wane." Bob Sinclar points out that whatever may or may not be happening with the "French Touch" right now, the international popularity of French DJs shows no sign of fading. "Far from it!" he insists. And as proof of his assertion, the Parisian nightowl runs through his recent schedule: an extensive tour which finished up in Canada and South America at the end of last year, over 100 gigs in 2004 and a stack of dates already lined up in South Africa at the start of 2005!

Another turntable activist whose work schedule shows no sign of letting up is DJ Grégory. The 30-something mixmaster is rarely to be found in the French capital at weekends - and Grégory looks set to pursue his globetrotting lifestyle well into 2005. In fact, he already had numerous club appearances lined up in January, playing sets all the way from Dubai and Bahrain to Hong Kong and Sydney. "I think people are kind of fascinated by French DJs," he says, "People are always coming up and asking how we get our particular sound and how we go about producing the records we do."

The particularity of the French sound is only one of the factors behind export success. There's no secret about it, if you want to become a globetrotting DJ, you need to have a public profile – and a strong one, at that! "A DJ can't get out there on tour unless he produces as well as mixes," affirms Bob Sinclar, who can pride himself on having produced countless hits and having amassed impressive record sales which have now topped the million mark. At a time when music fans are increasingly turning to downloading music from the Internet (through both legal and illegal means), tracks are circulating much more rapidly and travelling much further afield. At a recent set in Bogota, Bob Sinclar says he was amazed to find clubbers singing along to the chorus of his hit The Beat Goes On – despite the fact the track has failed to generate significant sales in Colombia and maxi vinyls do not exist there at all!

Creating an image

Meanwhile, DJ Grégory has concentrated on slowly building up a reputation for himself in France, playing regular sets at club nights and presenting his own radio show. But the spark that rocketed him onto the international scene came in 1997 when he remixed DJ Gilb’R's Sunshine People. Within a few weeks of its release on vinyl, 10,000 copies of Sunshine People had been sold, confirming DJ Grégory as a hot new club name. Grégory followed his club smash with a string of maxi singles including Elle and Tourment d’Amour. And, like Bob Sinclar, he was soon approached by a number of Anglo-Saxon DJs and producers. Representatives from Defected also came knocking on his door – and this was a sure sign of success as the cutting-edge British label assures distribution beyond French frontiers, promoting its acts worldwide.

As for Belgian DJ Charles Schillings - who will be spinning his turntables tonight (together with other artists from the Pschent label) at the closing ceremony of Midem – he carved out a reputation for himself on the international scene, performing on the club circuit and devising soundtracks for fashion shows. He then went on to confirm his reputation, producing his own records. "I've never really been tagged with the French touch label," Schillings says, "In fact, I've tended to be a bit cut off from the general network of agents and DJs." Schillings established a network of contacts under his own steam, striking up useful acquaintances all the way from London to New York via Rome (cities where he has actually spent part of his life living). And this personal network has certainly come in handy, for the best publicity in the club world often comes from other DJs spinning your records rather than clever marketing coups.

Despite persistent rumours about the death of the "French Touch", French productions are still finding their way onto club turntables worldwide. And Bob Sinclar is optimistic about the future. "It's trendy to fly in French DJs to play guest sets," he says, "because we've got this sort of fashionable, glamorous aura about us… Unlike a lot of our American counterparts, who’ve been busy bringing out a whole lot of tracks under different pseudonyms, we've concentrated on developing our artistic image."

And the practice has certainly paid off. French DJs have never been in as great demand as they have over the past three years and a fee for a one-off appearance now starts at 1,500 euros. Negotiations between the clubs and the DJs pass through agents (or “bookers”) who each deal with their own specific geographical sector. Countries at the top of the league table demanding French DJs right now include South Africa which has already given an enthusiastic welcome to DJ Grégory. Charles Schillings claims he enjoys the crazy off-the-wall dancing there and as for Bob Sinclar, with his new project Africanism, it comes as little surprise to learn that he feels completely at home there. Russia, the United Arab Emirates, China, and most importantly Hong Kong, have also proved receptive to the Francophone DJ sound. Looks like the electro ambassadors are determined to push back geographical as well as musical frontiers!

Bob Sinclar Enjoy (Yellow Prod/Warner) 2004
Charles Schillings Not Correct (Pschent/Wagram) 2004
DJ Grégory In the House (Defected/Pias) 2004

Nicolas  Dambre

Translation : Julie  Street