Focus on France: Sety/Circus Company

Focus on France: Sety/Circus Company

17 September, 2010 | 8.26AM

• Written by: Beatportal
• Filed under: Music News: circus company, focus on, france, sety

Circus Company started out in the early ‘00s as a home for the rough-cut funk and lopsided minimal techno of artists like Ark, Isolee, Krikor, and a then-unknown group called Noze, and over the years they’ve evolved into one of Paris’ most exciting labels, reaching far beyond the city’s borders to bring us artists like Samim, MyMy, Dave Aju, and Guillaume & The Coutu Dumonts.

2010 has found the label on a serious roll, ranging from Seth Troxler & Deetron to the up-and-coming Nicolas Jaar to GATCDs’ boundary-pushing Breaking the Fourth Wall. The label will soon release dOP‘s debut album, Greatest Hits, which is likely to turn up on many a best-of-2010 list.

For our latest installment of the Focus on France series, we checked in with Circus Company head Mathias Duchemin, aka DJ/producer Sety. Read on for the interview, and don’t forget to get your free copy of our Focus on France compilation featuring dOP, Cassius, Handycraft, Dan Ghenacia, Arandel, and Martin Solveig remixed by the Bloody Beetroots.

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?

There were different major locations in town depending on the time periods. The mid-’90s was the time of Queen with the Respect parties. Later on Batofar opened the door to a whole new range of artists, labels, and music genres who didn’t have much place to present their vision until then. Nouveau Casino also hosted some pretty good nights in the early ‘00s, as did Pulp, which for me was the most special place for quality music until their closing in 2007.

One club that definitely stands out through time is the Rex Club. It was the first club fully dedicate to electronic music in town and they are still making some of the best parties.

What do you think sets French music apart? Is it possible to define the sound of Paris or France?

It’s hard to say, since France has lots of talented artists in various kinds of styles. From the Circus Company, Eklo, Freak N Chic crews, to Ivan Smagghe and Chloé’s Kill The DJ, D’Julz’s Bass Culture Records, there’s also a big wave “electro-ish” crews with the Institubes and Ed Banger people. I think the richness of the French sound is in its diversity and personality.

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

I strongly recommend Eklo, which is one of my favorite house music labels in France in 2010. Versatile Records is sure value through time. They travel across years with an interesting artistic direction. Dyed Soundorom, Oleg Poliakov and DJ Deep are my top DJs from Paris. Then the most exciting artist is still Pepe Bradock, for me. I’m quite facinated by his incredible work. He is our best “grand cru classé” in terms of production. I just can’t wait for his album to be released. I also need to pay a tribute to my buddies of dOP who make incredible live performance and just finished a beautiful first album called Greatest Hits.

Circus Company

Focus on France

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