everybody's asking
me what is your vision what is your
strategy and I have none
[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]
it's hard for people today to understand
what the world was before internet
[Music]
the main job of the DJ was just to get
the
records every weekend I would spend uh
my Saturday being in the record shops I
didn't have enough money to buy all the
records that I wish I could buy but you
know um sometimes I would steal
some oh my God what what are you making
me
say there was two types of radios there
was the AM radio that was like
governmental radios and on the FM
started the pirate radios what is today
the commercial radios when I was a kid
this was for Rebels this were DJs that
at night were playing fun in the clubs
and during the day they would come and
play for free just to share the passion
this is how I wanted to be a
Dy they were talking about bat matching
and phasing and and using delays and
stuff like this and I couldn't
understand how they were doing it I had
only one turntable and a mixer so I
would practice mixing between what's
being played on the radio and the one
turntable I had and I remember that one
day they were playing this record um
Oliver she town get down on Saturday
night and I understood how to mix Billy
jein and bat match it and I was like I
got it I got
it and then I got really really into it
and I started a record collection and I
um I got completely
obsessed from from that time I heard of
um a label called Prelude the guy that
was mixing those records with a guy
called France K which is [ __ ] insane
when I think about it because I was a
kid and he was already doing what we're
doing
[Music]
today I came with a whole different
approach of what we were doing and it's
actually coming from Fran Kon that was
doing the master mixes
I had a friend that was working as a
bouncer in a gay
club he hooked me up I played there and
they loved it so the owner was like this
is really dope but there's only one
thing you have to understand this is a
gay club so you have to also play New
Wave I was into black music from day one
but what was trendy in the gay clubs
except from disco was also all the
British New Wave I was playing six
nights a week eight hours set each day I
had to play Punk disco sometimes even
reggae a little bit of everything cuz of
course in eight hours you're not going
to play only one
star what's crazy is that what happened
to me at that time which was combining
the early days of electronic music which
was New Wave with with funky grooves and
urban Melodies is actually what I've
been almost doing my entire life later
as a
producer because I was working in this
gay club I checked out what was
happening in the other gay clubs in the
world and especially in the US cuz I was
so into American music and I heard of
house music that's how I discovered
house music by accident the only other
DJ that was playing house music was Laur
garer it was like sometimes being
invited in Paris to play at Le
[Music]
palas I have opened a club called Queen
in 92 in Paris and I was the main DJ but
also the kind of anr and artistic
director and I was like this is a
massive opportunity for me to understand
how to do it and I sold a crazy CRA
concept to the owner that I was going to
bring American DJs to play every Friday
so I invited David Morales was the first
one and then Frankie Knuckles Denny
taglia Masters At Work DJ Pierre all
those people that created house music
and I was learning and I was asking them
questions what sense do you use how how
are you doing this I was booking those
International DJs because I wanted to
share my passion for house music with
the rest of my country and also I wanted
to understand how they were doing it so
one day in ' 92 I invited Robert Owens
that had this amazing record with David
Morales and his voice was so special and
he was like a hero of house music and I
was already starting to make beats and I
said can I invite you to my studio and
we recorded a record in my studio
that's actually my real first record but
people don't know about
it after that some of the Visa people
started to hear about my work and they
came to my clubs and especially the
owner of space this guy from space he
thought I was good so he invited me I
played my first show at space I think in
uh 95 or '96 a little later I think
probably ' 96 they filmed me playing
there and that's that's pretty
crazy we will keep you updated on our
current steps
[Applause]
I came with an approach that was
completely different and I made this
record in 2001 called just a little more
love just a little more love just a
little more peace it's all it takes to
live the dream walk hand in hand got to
understand from that time in 200 one
that BK became like God Thomas and gim
they were friends like they didn't have
that Superstar status they were already
extremely respected they were like music
Gods but not mainstream yet so one day I
see Thomas at the club and I tell him
like I'm at a record and I'm not totally
sure how to finish it and you know I
would love to play to you he came to my
studio he listened for like 15 minutes
he turned the sound
almost to the minimum I was very
impressed and then he was like come to
the studio I want to listen to it again
and play to my
team in my head the reason why that funk
was so amazing was because they had the
money to have a big studio and I haven't
that's what I thought and then I arrived
and I'm like where is the studio and
he's like what this is it and then oh my
God God I got so depressed because they
were making this music with nothing you
know how you always feel give an excuse
when you when you're a beginner you
always say yeah but that's because those
guys they they have more connections
they have more money they have more ways
to promote but you never want to say I'm
just not as good as
them and then that day it was like a
shock for me because I arrived and I
said
did you do homework here said yes and it
was only two small mackys eight tracks
connected together a ghetto blaster no
real monitors and there was only one
compressor on the master I couldn't
believe it then I played the record and
they called virgin that were the record
company and they were like okay we have
a friend here he has a really good
record the president of Virgin saw me
immediately and signed me immediately
I started to make music from that
day I went from you know playing house
to starting to produce and then from
producing learning what it is not only
to remix and make grooves but also to
write songs and Harmony is cours and you
know if you're producer learning is nice
I don't deny it you know I love making
timeless music but the thing is what
happened to me in the last years is I
became not a DJ anymore it's just an
artist and people go to see a concert I
mean as much as I love doing this it it
it's a different job this is
entertainment entertainment and DJing
they're two different things even if
they're connected sometimes I miss
simple DJing that is starting my show
not knowing what I'm going to play Just
fing the crow I miss the freedom of
sometimes playing something
else it's hard to be everybody at the
same time so that's why I said why not
creating a different brand and at this
stage of my life I don't do this for the
money anymore but now when it comes to
the music I was missing the After
parties that was playing sometimes at
space in iisa or in Miami it was just
like playing some just some grooves for
hours you know and I was missing making
records without thinking it has to be a
hit and I just realized that it was
making me miserable to be stuck in
having to deliver a hit and I I was like
why am I accepting this pressure I don't
have to I forgot the happiness that it
was bringing to my heart art to play
this type of music I've been a DJ for 30
years so of course I love being on stage
but I always need to challenge myself to
stay
excited some DJs they play on autopilot
there's no emotion into this there's no
risk there's no excitement and basically
I was thinking like okay do I need to
work like this no I don't need to work
on autopilot let's just have fun your
and that's why I started Jack
[Music]
back I did my first jaback show in a
club that is like a 300 capacity I was
so nervous it's so funny but this is a
good feeling I want to feel like this
being nervous is good because when you
get on stage and it works and the
anxiety goes away and it's replaced by
happiness and adrenaline it's better
than any
drugs David get out I'm a Warner artist
everything I do I have to ask for
permission like Jag back I'm unsigned
I'm free I'm in nobody but you know
being a
nobody it's so amazing cuz I'm free and
I can put out music every month the fact
that it would be successful or not it
absolutely does not matter there's
absolutely no
expectation when I started to make David
geta records I was not trying to make
hits I was just making what I was
feeling without any expectations and
this is the best creative place to be
and I'm so happy that today I'm doing
jack back and you
know I'm absolutely
[Music]
free I'm not going to give I'm not going
to stop I'm going to work harder I'm a
surv I'm not going to give but I'm not
going to stop I'm going to work
I'm Sur
[Music]