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LAURENT GARNIER
www.myspace.com/laurentgarnier
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Performance:
[ LIVE / DJ SET ]
Label:
F COM
Links:
RA Voted No.8 LIVE ACT 2009
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Since his debut at Manchester’s Hacienda in 1987,
the beginning of the Acid House explosion, Laurent Garnier has played a
key role in the development of the electronic music scene. Over the
last ten years he has built up his international reputation by playing
at all the major clubs and festivals worldwide. During this time he has
been voted best international DJ by the music press and has built up a
very special relationship with his public. Laurent Garnier is very
different from your average DJ. You only have to witness the queues of
enthousiasts in front of the Rex Club in Paris or L’Anfer in Dijon
where he held long-term residencies.
Laurent Garnier is respected by both the godfathers of techno in
Detroit, with whom he has built close links, as well as by the younger
generation of producers and DJs to whom he has given a taste for
electronic music through his DJ sets and radio shows...
Aside from his successful DJ career, Laurent Garnier has always
produced his own music. In 1991, he released a series of Eps on the
Fnac Dance Division label. This work continued with the creation of his
own record label F Communications in 1994, with Eric Morand. The
release of tracks such as ‘Acid Eiffel’ and ‘Wake Up’ on FNAC Dance
Division served as a springboard for a new French electronic scene.
Rarely before had French music been so easy to export.
In effect, Laurent Garnier became the first ambassador for French house
and techno abroad. In October 1994, he released his first album ‘Shot
in the Dark’ and subsequently became one of the first French artists to
be invited to perform on the prestigious ‘Peel Sessions’, broadcast on
BBC Radio 1.
The release of his second album ‘30’ was another turning point in
Laurent Garnier’s career. From here on, Garnier decided to slow down
his hectic DJ schedule in order to concentrate on producing more of his
own music. However, this did not prevent him Djing on the main stage at
the first Techno Parade in Paris in September 1998, in front of an
audience of 100,000 people. That same year he won the ‘Victoire De La
Musique’ award for his album ‘30’ ;a great honour as this was the first
year that there was a category for Dance music. During the award
ceremony at the Olympia in Paris, he performed ‘Acid Eiffel’ live,
accompanied by violin and percussion. As a result of this performance
being broadcast live on French national prime-time TV techno, which had
previously been misunderstood finally began to gain recognition from a
wider French public.
He fine-tuned his live show whilst performing at several of the major
European festivals (Sonar, Borealis, T in The Park, Creamfields…)
before returning that same year to the stage of the Olympia accompanied
by 14 musicians and dancers. The experience of this performance and the
full European tour that followed , including the Montreux Jazz
Festival, proved to be a very important influence for what was to
follow.
With the release of “Unreasonable Behaviour” in 2000 Laurent Garnier
produced his most accomplished and personal album to date. This
surprising record does not shy away from exploring more diverse and
tormented sounds than we have previously been accustomed to in his
work, resulting in praise from the press as well as the public with
over 250,000 copies sold and one undeniable hit “The Man With The Red
Face”
This album also enabled Laurent to continue to explore his fascination
with the visual element and young directors. Following the succes of
videos such as “Flashback” directed by Quentin Dupieux, Laurent called
on Vito Rocco, Siraj Jhaveri and César Vayssié to create videos for
several tracks on the album keeping true to the same off beat humour
and mixed up emotions.
When “Unreasonable Behaviour” had been completed Laurent Garnier
embarked on a tour of over 60 dates across Europe and USA. Whether
playing sold out gigs at the Elysée Montmartre in Paris or headlining
at the Werchter festival in Belgium in front of over 70,000 people,
Laurent’s charisma and the generosity of his music seduced a large
public. |
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