Focus on France: Okain

Focus on France: Okain

28 September, 2010 | 4.42AM

• Written by: Beatportal
• Filed under: Music News: focus on, france, okain

For the final installment of our Focus on France, we turn to Paris’ Okain (Samuel Thalmann). Since he first started releasing music, back in 2007, Okain has turned out a steady stream of records and remixes for labels like Tsuba, MBF, and Four:Twenty Recordings, as well as the French labels Jetaime Records and Paul Ritch’s Quartz Rec. (Speaking of Paul Ritch, he and Okain collaborate in the duo Handycraft.)

Okain’s productions typically explore the deeper side of tech house, with classic grooves and modern sound design that stands out from the pack. Trusting his ears, we asked him to recommend more French artists we should be paying attention to. Read on for his picks and Beatport Top 10. And don’t forget to grab your free copy of the Focus on France compilation featuring Arandel, Handycraft, dOP, Cassius, Dan Ghenacia, and Martin Solveig—the offer expires September 30.

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

When I first got into electronic dance music the Rex Club, L’Elysee Montmartre and L’enfer were the most important clubs in Paris. It was around 10 years ago. The local DJ scene was really strong back then, and it was not only about international guests like it is right now. You had big parties on the weekends with only French DJs like Laurent Garnier, Jerome Pacman, D’Julz, Ivan Smagghe, Dan Ghenacia, David Duriez, Chris Carrier and many more… I was also a regular clubber at the Cheers party, too, for the garage and deep house stuff. I was really diggin’ the records they were all spinning on the weekends at a local shop named Da Groove, and this is how I discovered a lot of stuff!

At that time I was really diggin’ the sound from local labels like Adult Only, Brique Rouge, KIF SA, F Communications, Crack and Speed, Robsoul Recordings, Freak N Chic, Versatile Records… All these labels and DJs have influenced my music for sure.

What is it that sets French or Parisian music apart? Do you think it’s possible to define a French or Parisian sound?

French dance music was really famous for the “French touch” sound back in the days, but in the more underground scene I don’t think we have a specific style right now. It really goes from deep house to techno, and if you look at producers like Paul Ritch, David K, D’Julz or dOP, I don’t think you can find a strong common point. We don’t copy each others’ style; everybody is doing his thing. Maybe that is what set us apart from other cities.

Which French artists and labels should people be looking out for, and why?

There are so many good artists from France that people should be looking for that I can’t list them all here. So I will speak about the people that are closer to me like Paul Ritch, Alex Dee, Yakine, Varoslav, Timid Boy, Molly, D’Julz and David K. They are great DJs and have some amazing stuff to be released in the next months.

I also strongly advise anyone to check some hand-stamped vinyl bootlegs from Rootz, Lezar, Mofo, and Le Borgne, which are all coming from our town. And be sure to keep updated with the next releases from Quartz Rec, Jetaime, and [[Bass Culture]. All from Paris, all with a different style, and all very nice!

Okain September Top 10

Okain on Beatport

Free compilation: Focus on France

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