‘l PLAYED A DISCO SET WITH
AL KENT AT THE BUFFI WHICH WAS AMAZING'
Sacre Bleu
Johnny Regan talks to the epitome of cool French house, DIMITRI FROM PARIS, as he gets set to put in sets in both Edinburgh and Glasgow
appy are thoxe inxulatcd againxt the relentlexx
tide ol' mediocrity in dance muxic. and Dimitri
l‘rom I’arix can moxt certainly count himxell' among their munbcr. l-tom hix ecumenical production xtyle. which blendx countlexx dixparate inl‘luencex. to the xayyy artwork adorning hix album coyerx. it'x pl‘elly ob\ ioux lhal Dimitri ix cul lrotu a dillerettl cloth to moxt artixt/produccr/l).lx in the game.
'I'here are potential prohlemx when a gcnredodging producer like Dimitri I'rom I’arix getx behind the tIL‘L‘Ixx. ()nc ol‘ lhcxe ix that. giyen hix one ol~ nuanced multilai'iotixnexx. one would be Iorgiyen l‘or wondering il' hix xophixticatcd xty Ic can lranxlate to a xound that compch people to gel oII their arxex and haye a bloody good time on the danccliloor. It'x a quandary ol' which |)imitri ix well aware: ‘Il ix dillicult to get the Moor going becauxe l atn trying to do xomething dil'l'erenl. xomcthing that I l'eel I can relate to my xcll'. while I haye to rock the people who haye come to the club to haye a good time. It'x what they ha\e paid l‘or. and they dcxeryc that. but I want them to hear xoniclhing inlerexting. too.’
IIix xummation ol' Ihi/a ix 'bullxhit like a market‘. and when axkcd lor the grealext inl'luencex on hix production xl_\ Ic. hix aiichrx indicate a de\olec'x Io\ e lor the great organic xound ol' truc l'unlxy dance inuxic. 'I am more intercxlcd in the older produccrx. like Vince Montana. Burt Iiacharach and the great dixco producer I’alrick .-\damx.' he cxplainx. "I'hcy haye all heayily inl'lucnccd what I do. 'I‘hc line acouxtic produccrx moxlly work in rock maxic now. and I don't really lixten to that. xo in tcrmx ill a
modern dance producer who inxpirex me. it would have to be Danny Wang. IIe’x a yery cultured producer. IIix work ix riddled with yery intet‘exting rel'erencex.‘
I‘rom the popular xmoky (iallic kitxch-hop ol' Sucre
B/r'u in I996 to the I997 mix albutn Monsieur
Dimitri‘x /)('-/.lt.\'(’ Home of" I‘ll/1k and bix yarioux expeditionx into lounge territory. Dimitri‘x back catalogue ix nothing il‘ not yaried. 'I‘ake heed. though. that Dimitri intendx the upcoming ('abaret Voltaire and ('(‘A datex to xhowcaxe hix dixco xenxibility excluxiyely. He explainx that thix ix due in part to a great wext-coaxt experience from Iaxt year. ‘lt‘x eaxy to remember the Scottixh datex that I have done becauxe [We only played there thrice. I remember that my l'irxt yixit wax to the Sub (lab. and I remember that the xound that night wax a bit more techy than I wax expecting. More recently. I played (‘abaret Voltaire and the Bull (lab. and they were both really cool nightx. I played a dixco xel with Al Kent at the Bull. which wax amazing. It wax one ol’ the bext times I haye eyer had in my Me. Al really had a great crowd there. I enjoyed that night xo much that I inyited Al (net to I’arix to play a date thix xummer. lt’x great to meet people like that. people who are ax in love with a xtyle ol‘ muxic ax you are.’
Dimitri From Paris plays the Bacardi BBar parties at Ultragroove, Cabaret Voltaire, Edinburgh, Sat 24 Sep and alongside the Solemusic Soundsystem, CCA, Glasgow, Sun 25 Sep.
IIit ‘
THE BEST DANCEFLOOR ACTION
* Native The highly respected Benji B (BBC 1Xtra) kicks this new night off in style with local funkster DEK (Beatonic) helping out. The Art School, Glasgow, Fri 23 Sep.
>I< Play New night for the Bongo formed around the ten- piece funk, soul, hip hop, Latin and jazz band, fronted by Tom Scott and vocalist Louise Dodds, putting in two sets every night. The Bongo Club, Edinburgh, Fri 23 Sep.
>i< Record Player: Avenue D (pictured) are two Latino booty shakers hell bent on making your mother worry. Expect hits like ‘ZDZF' (short for ‘Too Drunk to Fuck’) and ‘l'm a Slut’ to be belted out at full throttle. The Art School, Glasgow, Thu 29 Sep
>l= The Egg The psychedelic funk experience that is the Egg (the band not the club night) are coming to Edinburgh and they have built a whole night around it with DJ sets from the likes of Brainstorm and Brookes. Wee Red Bar, Edinburgh, Fri 30 Sep. >l< Colours Streetrave 16th Anniversary Party An unruly teenager now. Streetrave is still as popular as all those years ago. Nightmares on Wax are guests of honour. The Arches, Glasgow, Sat 7 Oct.
=i< Unlock the House Huge house night featuring more than 30 of Edinburgh's top DJs spinning all night long, all to be broadcast live on Beat 106. The Edinburgh College of Art, Edinburgh, Sat 7 Oct.
>I< Rise Up An ambitious idea: no DJs just non-stop live music through clubbing hours. The opening night features Jacobs Pillow, Underbelly, the 48. OBE and Sub-Opt. Cabaret Voltaire, Edinburgh, Sun 2 Oct.
1)? Sep (S ()(:l 7005) THE LIST 31