What makes Monsieur Ghenacia so knowledgeable about leading edge scene developments? “I party a lot,” he replied, via email.
He's the owner of the modern electronic record label FreaK’n’Chic and hero of the French underground resistance, and now Dan has been installed as resident at We Love after impressing promoter Darren Hughes and everybody else who mattered at Space last year.
When did you find out about your new residency at Space?
Dan Ghenacia: Last July, the We Love team called me to replace a cancelled Green Velvet gig at Space. The gig went so well they booked me again three times last summer! Then Darren Hughes offered me the opportunity to be the new resident of the 2005 season.
Where will you be playing?
I'll play at night in the Discoteca.
Tell us how all your recent gigs went: Secret Sundaze in London on NYE?
It was amazing! The Secret Sundaze crew literally turned a pub and its beer garden into a proper nightclub! They're really taking care of the decoration in a party. That's what I called a New Year Eve. They purpose built a roof over the beer garden that reproduced a starry night. Everybody was really excited to be part of this.
All Over My Face?
It's a party run by the Secret Sundaze crew. They were one of the first to invite me in London. Respects to Giles, James and Kristophe for that.
Turnmills on Feb 19?
I was playing in Brighton for the first part of the night so I just went there for the last couple of hours. It was a French party with my mates David Duriez and D'julz, which was nice because with our respective schedule it's getting more and more difficult to play together.
Minimal Hospital in Sardinia?
Wow! I arrived there knackered after 3 gigs in a row. It was on Sunday night of the Sardinia festival. It's actually my Italian friends from Ibiza Town's Noctambula bar that invited me to play, Manu-L is the resident dj. It was kind of Ibiza reunion with a lot of familiar faces, this time on their own island!
Any other ones you really enjoyed?
Actually, the best parties I did this winter were in Paris. I was looking for a new place to throw a party in Paris after I decided to stop the Batofar nights. I finally found the perfect venue in December: an intimate old theater called Le Zebre which fits 400 people and has a proper sound system. I wanted to do a new alternative for Parisian clubber so I decided that the parties will take place on Sunday, in the evening from 7pm till after midnight. It was a challenge because the clubbers in Paris are not used to such a schedule. But it actually went off immediately from the very first edition! For me it was a way to get together again with the Parisian crowd and also a platform to invite djs like Magda, Jamie Jones, Damian Lazarus or Luciano. Music is central here, it's my new lab.
How did you get to know all these people?
I'm a dj and I party a lot. Being invited to dj is one way to meet people but I always meet new people while clubbing. Now with the FreaK’n’Chic label, I've got the opportunity to meet a lot of producers.
Has your mix on audiofamilies(www.audiofamilies.com) helped spread your sound?
Two figures: more than 20000 downloads, more than 40 countries in the world.
What was the track you were playing the last time all the people in front of you went crazy?
David K's 'Free Kit'. I've just signed it for FreaK’n’Chic. A real dancefloor belter.
Is there such a thing as the disco mafia? If there is, does taking their money make you bad too?
One thing is sure - a party reflects the people who promote it so if the vibe is really cool there must be some good souls involved at some point.
How is the production side of things going? What releases have you got coming up?
Since I came back from Ibiza I concentrated a lot on djing and signing new tracks for the label. I have so many cool things to release now that I decided to create a new sub label: Microfibre. FreaK n'Chic will focus on the more peak hour kind of tunes (like the forthcoming tracks by Shonky, System of Survival and Jose de Divina) while Microfibre will focus on new talent and a more intimate mood. The first Microfibre release will probably be out in June.
Apart from yourself, who else is hot in 2005?
Jamie Jones is rocking London right now with crazy parties in a warehouse in Brick Lane, Djs Can Dance. I played with him for the first one. It was amazing.
On the Parisian side the dj of the moment is :terry: He is on very good form at the moment both behind the decks and in
the studio. He will release his next EP "Stop Talking" on freak n' chic in September. Watch out!!!!!