The foundation of my foray into electronic music was being part of a community.
The fervent passion we all shared upon discovering the first vinyl records of techno and house music. The hours spent discussing pioneers in record shops. Some of us became DJs, others label owners, or even party promoters. Most importantly, we became friends.
Jose Lagarellos, the man behind the Unlimited festival along with Rouxie, is one of them. We started hanging out together when we were 25. I was living in social housing in Villeurbanne, and he was my neighbor. He would collect every vinyl record in double or triple copies when he really loved them: one with the plastic unopened that will never be opened, one with the plastic that might be opened once if a record was scratched, and one he would play with. A nerd but, above all, a very smart boy, I was very impressed by his English when he called agents and artist. At that time, I hadn’t started to play in foreign countries, and my practice of English was very limited, let’s say nonexistent 😅
When I founded
@nuits_sonores , I began to travel too much to be in an office daily, so I proposed that Jose Lagarellos lead the curation of the festival, and it lasted for ten years or so. Today, it’s not a surprise that I still play for him. He has always been truly passionate about early Detroit and Chicago music, always fighting to invite the right artists, most of them unknown. He wasn’t looking for fame or for the easy, yearly trendy artists. A purist. He has done a lot for our scene. Nuits Sonores would never have become what it was without his vision, without his values. I will always say yes to any of his requests, no matter the money, no matter the place, just because he is one of a kind.
I will try to honor him and our friendship by playing a good set at the ‘roof of Europe’ next week for
@chamonix_unlimited 🧬
Thursday by day at Aiguille du midi with
@___palomina
Thursday by night with
@agentsoftime ❤️🔥
To the unknown 🪂