Parisian legend, DJ Deep, has been present on the scene for more than two decades. His vast knowledge of electronic music made Dj Deep one of most respected artists and he earned a reputation for being able to move seamlessly between house and techno.
We got the opportunity to speak with Deeply Rooted boss himself right before his set at Serbia’s Lovefest.
Hello, hope you are doing well and thanks for your time, we really appreciate it.
Thank you for the invitation!
As someone known to be pushing boundaries in House and Techno, how do you perceive the music you are playing at the moment? And as an artist whose work can’t be categorized by one genre what would you advise to the ones who are putting out their work within one genre only?
Well it’s a mix of Techno and House. As always, I follow what I hear coming out and what sounds good to my ear. I think July was the month where I bought the most records this year; the amount of releases and re-issues was absolutely unbelievable! It’s insane and almost impossible to follow, there is so much good music around at the moment across so many genres.
I can’t really advise anything to anyone. My feeling is House and Techno are two members of the same family. Those two musical styles are so rich in various influences, and I personally enjoy exploring many of them. As a DJ I hope I manage to offer a little journey through time and sounds, which allows one to feel the variety and richness of our music whilst still staying true to it’s own essence.
In today’s scene, especially the Techno scene where music may appear too generic, do you think more attention should be given to the origins of sound and the scene?
Well my first feeling is to answer YES! How could one pretend to be a Techno DJ and not know all of Derrick May, Carl Craig, Juan Atkins and Kevin Saunderson’s productions? Right?
But on the other hand we have experienced many „cycles“ after the birth of Techno, and therefore everyone enters into Techno through their own „doors”, and with their own feelings and backgrounds, which is cool too. It gives different lectures and different approaches to the culture, and I like that. But in any case, I think it is easy and fun to learn the roots of this Music today, and hopefully people enjoy doing so.
In your two decades long career how do you see the changes on the scene in Paris and in global? What was better before and what’s better now?
Well to cut a long story short, I was lucky enough to witness the birth and explosion of a movement. When I was young I thought I had to fight for it but now things are more established, so I guess today’s challenge is to help (on a humble and smaller scale in my case of course) things to remain interesting and to ensure that it keeps evolving.
Paris was really strong in the early days of House and Techno, and it was great to see it really come back to the forefront of the scene maybe 5 years ago or so after a ‘quieter’ moment. It’s still such an inspiring city and scene.
We recently saw ‘Cuts Remixes Vol.1’ released on Deeply Rooted. What can we expect next from your label?
There will be a Vol.2, coming soon. I want to keep the names a surprise, but the remixes are as exciting as the Steve Rachmad, Mr G, Ben Sims and Roman Poncet versions!
Also, September will see the release of Ben Sims’ ‘Gamma Ray Subway’ EP which I am also very excited about!
You also released you Parisian Kid EP on Rekids, what more can you say about the release that we haven’t had the chance to read in the press release and features. How were you satisfied with the feedback and are you currently working on new music?
I was really honoured to release a record on Radio Slave’s label following on from my ‘LaValle La B’ EP with Roman Poncet as I really admire both Matt and Rekids.
I’m also really pleased with the feedback on my remix of DJ Honesty’s ‘Loitering’ on Sebo K’s label Scenario, and I never thought I would ever release music on one of my Mentor’s and music brother’s labels, Kerri Chandler, but I will release my ‘For The Love of Kaoz EP’ on Kaoz Theory later this month.
Roman Poncet and I have also done a remix of Carl Craig’s remix of Borderland ‘Transport’ that we feel strongly about and we can’t wait for it to come out on Tresor. I will also start a new label with Traumer called Les Comptines, which will be focused on deeper House, and finally we will start a second label, Sergie Rezza Records, dedicated to our Sergie Rezza project.
What goals are you setting yourself when you’re making music and in your opinion what are the essentials that make a track great?
I think it’s important to stay open, to see what comes out of a first idea and help it grow. This is really how I see things today. Try to listen to your first idea, the initial inspiration and not to lose this. If you try and force things too much in one direction or another you can end up with a pretty un-personal result, well, at least that’s my opinion!
With your vast knowledge I must ask you do you have any vision or personal predictions about music evolving in the future?
I keep being surprised week in, week out whilst I’m in record stores, and this is exactly why I keep doing what I do!
Are there any tracks that you played in your sets at the beginning of your career that you are still playing now?
Many! Today’s pick is an edit I did of Dark Comedy „Without A Sound“!
We will have the opportunity to hear you at Lovefest, and then in Belgrade in October, what are your expectations?
I’m really looking forward to it! I hope I’ll manage to play all of the new music I want to play for you! 🙂
