Dimitri From Paris - Smooth Operator
As disco legend Dimitri From Paris prepares to return to Sydney, 3D’s Rezo discovers more about the man who after years in the game still ranks as one of the coolest cats in the business.
So what’s been happening in your world recently-
Well I’m always travelling – most weekends; and during the week I spend time in the studio preparing the edits for my sets. That’s the usual way of life for me! I’ve been working on a couple of remixes for Tortured Soul and a couple of things on Motown, but a few things I can’t speak about because they’re not completely confirmed!
Do you feel the pressure to stay on top of your game after so long-
Not really, I don’t try to stay current. I’m not trying to follow any trends; it’s hard to follow trends and for people not to kick you out once that trend is finished. I really just like music and I have found sometimes I have done music that isn’t part of a trend. So I go in and out of trends, but I always work in the disco spectrum. It’s the same with fashion, because I always liked ‘50s fashion; recently that’s okay, but in the last few years I found myself at the flea markets!
With such an established career, how do you continue to challenge yourself-
As a DJ, being there for 25 years makes you confident that you can continue – and I’m still here. I don’t feel any pressure as I said. I love to DJ and I love production and I’m always in between the two. I love getting thrown in front of people and having to make it work. It’s always a challenge – even after years and years of doing it; you never quite know what you’ll get. Everywhere I go, the challenge is to make it work. That keeps me striving for perfection.
What’s up in the studio-
There is a new CD that is coming out in the next few weeks called Night Dubbin'. And this focuses more on 1980s music. There was no real compilation that focused on that so I wanted to give it a historical point of view and focus on the people making those sounds; I also wanted to reflect on the technology that was available at that time. It focuses on how DJs appropriated the first digital technologies and there are some really cool tracks on there.
WHO: Dimitri From Paris
WHAT: Plays SHE at Trademark
WHEN: Friday 26 June
MORE: myspace.com/djdimitrifromparis / shesydney.com