Focus on France: Martin Solveig

Focus on France: Martin Solveig

13 September, 2010 | 5.33AM

• Written by: Beatportal
• Filed under: Videos: focus on, france, martin solveig

With the conclusion of the U.S. Open upon us, it’s the perfect time to turn our Focus on France lens upon Martin Solveig, as you’ll understand once you watch the video above, starring Solveig and Bob Sinclar as amateur tennis aficionados, and featuring cameos from actual pros Gael Monfils and Novak Djokovic (who goes up against Rafael Nadal in tonight’s final match, for anyone keeping score).

When he’s not practicing his forehand, of course, Solveig has been a linchpin of the French electronic scene since his work with the Africanism project in the late ‘90s. These days, Solveig runs the Mixture label, and his own productions blur the lines between house, electro, and pop music with ample charm. We spoke to Solveig about his roots in the French scene, the French Touch and La Yellow movements, and the spirited populism that he brings to his music today.

Don’t forget to get our ‘Focus On France’ compilation featuring free downloads from Cassius, dOP, Dan Ghenacia, Solveig, and more.

Which were the most important local clubs, DJs and record labels for you when you were first getting into electronic dance music? What were they like, and how did they influence your own music and career?




The first dream I achieved as a DJ was to play at Le Palace which was the key club in Paris in the late ‘80s and the ‘90s. I got started there in ‘94. At the time, David Guetta was the A&R of the club, Claude Monnet was the resident DJ, and Pedro Winter (aka Busy P) was hosting an indie floor called Le Fumoir where you could hear Dimitri from Paris or Thomas Bangalter (without knowing who he was). There, I got to warm-up for DJs such as Roger Sanchez, Mousse T, Todd Terry, and Louie Vega, who were my heroes. A simple dream come true. My reference labels were Dance Trax, Relief, Strictly Rhythm and AM:PM (I still have my 12” collection but I’m not a nostalgic).




What is it that sets French music apart? Do you think that it’s possible to define the “sound” of Paris or France? Has this changed over time?

When I say I’m French, I sometimes feel an elephant pressure on my shoulders, considering France is the home land of the biggest dance music act of the last two decades—Daft Punk—and that during the late ‘90s, following the leader, a strong movement of artists emerged under the label “French Touch”, which at the time meant something.

This movement could have been called Paris/Versailles Touch. As a matter of fact, all the guys were friends and part of the same crew behind Thomas, Guy-Manuel, Pedro, Boombass, Philippe Zdar etc… I knew/know the guys and have never been part of that crew. I was younger and emerged later in another crew of Parisian guys composed of Bob Sinclar, Dimitri from Paris, DJ Gregory, DJ Yellow, Julien Jabre, et al, under the label La Yellow. I guess we all considered that to exist, we needed to do something radically far from the French Touch sound and spirit. The time had changed and we were all strongly influenced by the “Nuyorican” scene and artists like M.A.W, Joe Claussell, et al… We did Africanism together.

At the time we all wished we were American. Having said that, I reckon the funk influence is something that concerns almost every French artist and in 10 years, I slowly moved back to those whiter, funkier, and rockier influences which are certainly closer to my core style. Today I believe the nationality of an artist is of little influence on his style. Friends, like the Swedes, can of course establish a line and work together as a crew. But Dada Life are Swedish and their style relates more to UK artists like Calvin Harris; the Bloody Beetroots are Italian and they sound close to the noisier French groups, just like Proxy, who’s Russian… Scenes are not geographically organized anymore—and who cares?!

Which artists and labels from your country should people be looking out for, and why?

There are number of talents in France doing very different styles of music, I’m actually proud of such eclectic range. My selection of French artists would be:

Obviously Justice, DJ Mehdi and the Ed Banger crew because they have a strong personality in everything they do.


DJ Gregory, the killer drum programmer, who’s starting a new life in Amsterdam and will be involved in the production of my new album, ‘Smash’.

Popof for his twisted, groovy and quite unique take on club music with underground roots.


Laurent Garnier is and will always be our godfather, he’s a great guy. I saw his concert at Pleyel, which normally hosts the London Philharmonic orchestra. It was sick.

On the club scene, Arno Cost, Norman Doray and friends are talented. Arno has a real sense of harmony, he’s already stronger than most producers to find a cool grid and has a perfect attitude.


David Guetta for mainstream bullets; I’m happy for his success and impressed by what he has achieved and I don’t give a shit if it makes me look uncool to say it.

Martin Solveig

Mixture Classics

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