ROX-TV speaks with an amazing artist from Dijon, France. The one and only Vitalic stops by to discuss his history, music, and what it all means. Don’t miss it!

Thank you so much for joining us on the ROX-TV website for this interview. I am thrilled to bring the readers from Detroit City and the country at large such an amazing artist to talk to. For those that don’t know or are just getting turned onto Vitalic’s incredible music, can you let the readers know a little bit about your hometown of Dijon, France? Perhaps a little about the music scene that was in place when you were coming up in your city?

Dijon it’s a medium sized city but had a very large techno / electro scene in the 90s. We had a club called An-Fer and we used to host big international names like Laurent Garnier, Claudio Cocolutto, Jennifer Cardini, and all the big names from Detroit or England. It also created a local scene of musicians, which I was part of. Moreover, there were parties and raves in the city or in the country side – so I had a very busy going out every week end time back then.

I enjoy talking to artists about their relationship with the music. I feel that connecting with the sounds and vibration can be akin to a spiritual experience so to speak. If you could take us back in time to when you first “discovered” music that really moved you, when did this happen? The day that music truly entered your life, developing into a passion. Perhaps it was a certain song, artists, or situation?

I have memories of those moments at the age of 6 or 7. My mother as well as my aunt would listen to Italian stuff, disco or Pink Floyd. I remember that Jean Michel Jarre had a very strong effect on me because it was frightening me but I couldn’t stop listening to the record. Also the music of Moroder in the 80s is the basement of what I composed later on as a musician. Soon emerged techno with the trance hits we all know and in the mid 90s I decided to not only listen to music but also write my own stuff after a live of Daft Punk at the club An-fer that really changed my life.

How long did it take before you went from being a fan of music, to really wanting to create your own material? Can you talk a little about those early creations and what that looked like? Perhaps your first experience in recording?

It took some time before i got the courage to start producing because I didn’t know where to start, what machine to buy and how to use it. At that time the Internet was very new and it was not easy to find information like it is nowadays. And you couldn’t make music with just a computer or an iPad – it required several pieces of equipment. So after I finished high school I worked during the summer to buy a Korg MS20 and an Ensoniq Mirage – that were cheap at that time. And I built a studio very little by little during my university years. I was starting to tour as a live act as Dima, and i released 2 EPs a on a local label called Choice. After I got graduated, I took 6 months off before looking for a job and to release an EP. This EP was Poney EP on Gigolo.

You released your first singles in 1996 and 1997 respectively. The singles at that time were reportedly “confined” to the underground electronic scene. How did your relationship with Techno Producer Hacker help you and your career in moving forward?

The first single was very confined at 1K copies. The second one was around 5K and i got some attention from bigger DJs in France and abroad; including Germany where DJ Hell played it. Hell and his Gigolo records were very hype at that time and I was dreaming to be part of the team with The Hacker and Kittin and the other French musicians signed on the label.

For our readers in America who may not be familiar with the “Le Rex Club”, could you talk a little bit about why this place was so important? What was the scene like there? I understand it has been likened to a “Techno Temple”.

Le Rex club is in the basement of Le Grand Rex which is a movie theatre on Grands Boulevards in the center of Paris. It’s one of the first techno – house clubs of Paris with Le Boy and Le Pulp and the only one still in business. It is an important place because it was this place in the 90s where you could hear Laurent Garnier on Thursdays all night long and see Daft Punk having a drink at the table. It was the emergence of a new genre of music and Le Rex was it’s house. This is still true now. The Club is also known for its great sound system. You can go even on Sundays without checking Resident Advisor – it’s cool.

With the help of DJ Hell, the 2001 EP release of “Poney”. I love this EP, and it takes me back to the days of Detroit parties around the 90’s and early 2000’s. The selections on this EP are beautiful. My favorites from the release are “La Rock 01”, “Poney Part 2”, and “You Prefer Cocaine”. Can you talk about how life changed for you after this release? Did you expect it to resonate with listeners like it did or was it a nice surprise?

When I sent the demo I was happy with my work. It took 6 months to make the 3 tracks and I put all my heart in them. I understood something could happen when Dj Hell plaid it at Love Parade at the huge round about with hundreds of thousand of people and the crowd went mad. After this things grew up slowly and DJs started to play the record and I started to travel the world. The second step was having La Rock on the compilation of 2 Many DJs, that made a bridge between underground techno parties with a wider pop audience.

You released your debut album in 2005 and it was called “OK Cowboy”. From the jump, the first track “Polkamatic” is intoxicating and really sets the course for a great listen. “Newman” is an orgasm for my ears. One of my favorite songs from this release was called “My Friend Dario”. When I hear this track, I am inclined to ingest and party at a high rate of speed. The first time I heard the song I was absolutely hooked. The video is even more brilliant which I understand is directed by Marco Laguna. Do you have a friend named Dario? How did you come up with the video concepts? What was the process like for shooting the video? (anything that happened or may have stood out during the filming) It looked like a fun shoot.