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The DJ’s
DJ, the producer’s DJ, the people’s DJ. Dimitri From Paris
is something to everyone but try to put him in a pigeonhole and
you’ll only conclude by marking it up with his own name. Some
DJ’s are defined by the genre they champion, some are praised
for their technical skills
and others are known for their persona, but few people in dance
music have managed to carve out such a unique style as Dimitri,
DJ, producer, remixer, disco re-edits supremo, vinyl junkie, collector
of Japanese toy robots and vanguardist of legendary compilation
‘A Night At The Playboy Mansion’.
Dimitri is
from Paris, of course (born in Istanbul of Greek heritage, he arrived
in Paris as a child) but he could be from anywhere. Citing the lack
of any real scene in Paris during his impressionable years, the
budding DJ found himself seduced instead by a diverse selection
of film
soundtracks, classic Philly and disco and the first rap records.
Unable to find a clubland outlet to express his individual taste,
Dimitri turned his attention to radio.
Starting out
on Radio 7, he went on to land in 1987 a Saturday night spot on
key French station NRJ just as the first house music boom was starting
to get under way. As the records from Chicago and New York began
to flood in, Dimitri found inspiration from the likes of key US
DJs like Tony Humphries, who were becoming known for their seamless
mixing styles.
In 1994 his
first major recording break came with a remix of Bjork’s ‘Human
Behaviour’. ‘I used to have a lot of guests on the show’
recalls Dim, ‘and when David Morales came on I gave him a copy
of the remix.’ I didn’t hear anything for months and then
all of a sudden I was getting calls from people like Louie Vega
looking for the record because they had heard Morales playing it.
These people were my heroes and it was a great feeling to know that
they were appreciating
what I was doing’.
Needless to say, more remixes followed and his early production
career included several releases for Bob Sinclar’s nascent
Yellow imprint. But when he turned his hand to an artist album it
wasn’t the usual DJ/producer collection of uptempo club tunes.
Instead, ‘Sacre Bleu’
(1996) showcased an eclectic melange of film soundtrack-inspired
lounge moods and jazzy vibes alongside the more expected house rhythms
– and it was a huge success.
‘It was out of the DJ world, it wasn’t what I was playing
as a DJ at the time, it was a collection of songs I had put together
for fashion shows. Then I started to get bookings from people who
expected what was on the album! But the house and disco I was playing
made the people on the dancefloor happy and that’s how I made
my name as a DJ.’
But the really
big break was still to come.
Now established as a club DJ, Dimitri inevitably wound up playing
at a Winter Music Conference party in Miami, organised by Paris
party crew Respect is Burning and sponsored by Playboy, which was
looking to rejuvenate its brand image.
One thing led to another and Dimitri was given an open offer to
DJ at the infamous Playboy Mansion.
‘The Respect Is Burning guys had the idea to do a compilation
with me mixing it. I thought it was a great fit. I loved the 60’s
and 70’s Playboy artwork. This was around the time (the film)
Boogie Nights came out and I imagined the Playboy Mansion as like
the party around the pool in the film, the soundtrack to which was
all boogie and disco. It all made sense to me. The Playboy people
were great, they let me have control over the artwork – I didn’t
want it to be like the Playboy of today – and they said we
don’t want any money, just give us something if it sells over
100,000. We were like yeah right, sure, thinking this is free! It
ended up selling 350,000!
Look at the tracklisting and it’s hard to see the quantum leap
– encompassing Dim’s favourite jazzy, soulful, disco and
rap gems by the likes of Bah Samba, Sunburst Band, Ashford &
Simpson and Stetsasonic, ‘A Night At The Playboy Mansion’
(2000) is hardly a mix of all the latest mainstream floorfillers.
But clearly, something in the image, the presentation and the selection
connected to a wider audience.
Dimitri laughs about how people at his gigs ask him to play tracks
from the album, imagining him to be the artist, but he understands
that his music somehow gets beyond the typical club music purist.
‘Their expectations are different from pure dance music fans
and that’s when you have the opportunity to push the boundaries.
I’m not in a niche – I’m a music nerd, I’ve
been there reading all of the label, seeing who the producer is
and what studio it was recorded in, but you have to do music thinking
that they’ll be somebody there who’ll listen to it innocently,
if it’s only for people who know as much as you, you’re
doomed.’
Now established as one of the biggest names in dance compilations
as well as a hugely respected international DJ, recent projects
have included ‘Dimitri From Paris In The House’ for Defected
(2004) and a disc on ‘Southport Weekender 3’ (SuSu, 2005),
Dimitri is hoping to spend more time in the studio in the future
to follow up his most recent artist album ‘Cruising Altitude’
(2004).
‘I play the music I want, it may not always be the most upfront,
but it's music that touches me, and I believe touches other people
too.’
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