Interview Diva DJs

Location: Paris
Genre of music you spin: Techno – Hard Techno - Hardcore
Any residencies: In the “Insomniacs” and in the “Overclock” parties
Name of first pet + name of first street you lived on: Crosby + don’t remember
Favorite food: French!
Favorite records: Al Ferox, “Daddy is…” on Bloc46 #011
Worst job you ever had: Waitress

1. How and when did you get your start as a DJ?

It was in 1996, I had a good experience with techno parties and I wanted to be more implicated in the French techno culture.

2. What’s it like DJing in France? How’s the club scene out there?

DJing has become quite difficult since the last presidential election. Sarkosy instaured a repression system concerning parties in general and techno parties in particular.

3. Can you tell us more about the INSOMNIACS association that you created with your friends to host rave parties throughout France?

Along with several friends, we created the Insomniacs association in order to promote electronic music in France. The association was constituted with 3 (male) DJs and myself: Schmigoz, Markassin and Francesco Pignon. We all played at our own parties and from time to time we invited a local or international DJ. The music was mainly techno and hard techno, sometimes I used to play hardcore at the end of the night. We have been organising several parties since 1999 (one or two per year) but it became quite difficult to organise parties since Sarkosy is the french minister of the interior…

4. You play mainly Techno and Hardcore. So, how would you say your style of music reflects who you are as an individual?

I don’t look like the music I play, actually I enjoy being smartly dressed when I’m on stage. I guess I need violent kicks as an outlet for my aggressiveness…

5. You have produced several records under the pseudonym “Mandragore” in collaboration with A.Kahn (Alex K.). Can you tell us more about this collaboration and about the releases?

Well, we’ve been living together for several years and naturally we began to make music together… Alex has a great experience of producing, we started a collaboration because I wanted to produce my own music. The releases reflect the music I like to play.

6. What kind of difficulties do you confront as a woman in the music industry (any horror stories)?

Not a single horror story… Actually I had a pleasant experience in the music industry.

7. What kind of things do you do to avoid sexist stereotypes in this industry?

I spin Hardcore with high heels!!!! ;o)

8. Do you think men and women spin differently?

How could I know how men spin? Several people told me that women have a better sensitivity to spin than men... I guess it must be true!

9. Electronic music has moved out from the underground and gotten rather commercialized over the past few years. Do you see this as a good thing or a bad thing for the scene? Why?

I think this is a good thing. As soon as people will know better about electronic music, they will not be afraid anymore. In France the issue is that people don’t know nothing about techno and rave parties. I think that it’s the ignorance of something that makes you feel afraid about it.

10. As a DJ, you are constantly in a scene surrounding by the increasing use of club drugs like Ecstasy. What is your stance on drug use in general? And what is your stance on drug use at clubs?

Electronic music should not be systematically associated with drugs! I’m tired of the people in the mass media who exaggerate the facts. There always have been drugs in musical events… in the 70’s, you could find LSD in Rock’n Roll events, now you can find ecstasy in rave parties, but you can find ecstasy in lots of other places!! I am not saying that using drugs is good or bad, I just want to say that a lot of people from the electronic music scene do not use any drugs and that the mass media should stop associating techno with drugs.

11. What kind of equipment do you use? Do you think the equipment a DJ uses can make or break her career?

I use Tekmics desks, mixing desk and vinyls… I also work with “final scratch”. I don’t think the equipment a DJ uses can make or break her career.

12. Who are your favorite DJs and why?

Actually I don't have "favorite" DJs but there are some DJs that I respect a lot, such as Miss Kittin for her lively cuts, Electric Indigo for her classy touch, Manu le Malin…because it’s Manu le Malin!

13. Can you remember your very first gig? Were you nervous? How did you do?

Of course I remember! I was extremely nervous, the monitors were so loud I couldn’t recognise my own records… but the public enjoyed what I did.

14. From your professional experience as a DJ, what is the most important thing you've learned about the business - something you never could have known as a beginner but that you definitely need to know to stay in the business?

You need to act “tactfully”.

15. When you are not DJing, what else do you like to do?

Producing! and reading, squash playing, internet surfing...

16. What is the next step in your career?

Non stop producing… and of course going on with my international career.