Q&A with David Guetta
The F**k Me I'm Famous DJ on House Music and the French Touch
"The World is Mine," "Love Don't Let Me Go," "Just a Little More Love"-how'd a French DJ get so much Warehouse into his house music?
Genre: Garage house/electro
Latest Album: Guetta Blaster (Perfecto/Ultra)
U.S. Tour Dates: Coachella (April 27); San Francisco, Ruby Skye (April 28)
David Guetta is big in Europe. Like, Top-of-the-Pops, Ibiza-residency, more-than-a-million-sold, bend-it-like-Tiesto big.
After mixing at the famed Radio Nova and DJing at Les Bains and Le Queen, the French house music DJ is taking on the States with the Depeche Mode clone, “The World is Mine” and the vs. The Egg mashup, “Love Don’t Let Me Go.” And with the U.S. release of his nowhere-near-new CD, Guetta Blaster, through Paul Oakenfold’s Perfecto label, he just might be bringing old-school house back.
- How did the “F**k Me, I'm Famous” parties come about?It was born in Ibiza. At the time, it was very hard for French DJs to get some interest. [Everything was] run by UK promoters, so it was all American and English DJs, and you really had to find a way to attract attention. So we made some T-shirts and gave them away to all the cool people, and there was a buzz around that. It’s a mix of people who don’t really mix: crazy music people and more glamorous fashion people.
- How’d you meet Oakenfold?I was well-known in Europe. The “Guetta Blaster” album was platinum in Europe but not released in America. I was playing in a Global Gathering fest with Paul, and we had the same driver for the hotel. “The World is Mine” was on the radio; he thought it was Depeche Mode and said, “Oh, I love this track.” I gave him my album, and he contacted me through my agent and asked me to release it in America. [Oakenfold does a downtempo mix of “The World is Mine” on the album.]
- Vinyl, CD or Mp3?CDs. I played vinyl for years, broke my back—it was hell. I totally don’t understand the DJs who refuse to stop playing vinyl; it’s stupid. It’s so heavy; there’s always technical problems with rumble, feedback, needles. CDs are light and there are so many more technical possibilities.
- Where do you see yourself among the other French house DJs?I don’t believe in the “French touch” anymore. I think that might have been true around 1987, but now we all sound very different. If you listen to Bob Sinclar or Daft Punk or Laurent Garnier, it’s totally different, but we’re part of the same family in a way. We grew up together. One particularity that we have is that we come with original songs, and a lot of the DJ culture is about remixing, remaking, redoing, but not a lot of original songs. But if you want to be seen as an artist, you have to come with your own songs.
- 2007 is the supposedly the year Guetta conquers America. Have you found that the U.S. is a difficult market?I was not expecting such a warm welcome. Everywhere I go, the clubs are packed, the atmosphere is incredible, and people are really treating me great. I didn’t tour a lot in America, so I didn’t know that people knew me that much. Because I’ve been in house music since the beginning, I’ve learned it from American DJs. It’s very strange for me, because my masters are still American, but America is now a little late for us. In Europe, we still have an underground scene, minimal techno. “Love Don’t Let Me Go” was number two on the pop charts; apparently this is difficult to reach in America.
- How would you describe your sound, and how did it come about?It’s a mix of 80s and urban house sounds. The first job I got was in a gay club. I played funk and disco, and because it was a gay club, the boss would tell me to play new wave: New Order, Depeche Mode, and all those guys that were the beginning of electronic music. It was the time of the Warehouse and the Paradise Garage, and I started to be curious and discovered house music. I did my first house party in 1988 on Monday nights, probably the first house party in Paris; well, Laurent Garnier [was playing house music], too, to be fair. So my influence basically was kind of disco-funk roots and then all the new wave and gay culture and house music.
- What’s your advice for at-home DJs hoping to break through with a remix?When I began, it was all about DJing, and so you had to be the best DJ. Now, it’s more about being the best producer, and then you have a chance to DJ, which is I think a little bit strange. Now the market’s global and there’s no way you can succeed if you don’t produce. The only advice I can give as a DJ is to do your own party, even if it’s really small, where you can express yourself. I had to organize my own night so I could play music, because people don’t really give you the chance. it’s much easier and more democratic to make music now, but there’s more people so more competition.
- When you need to let off some steam, what’s your favorite of your own songs to dance to?It’s hard for me to dance to my own music [after listening it to it so many times in the studio]. But I’m still being touched by the chords. One of my favorites is still “Just a Little More Love”—I really recognize myself in that song.
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