Paul Nazca

Paul Nazca is an unusual character. A DJ who deliberately lives in a rural area of Southern France, in a mill surrounded by olive trees. An artist who produces olive oil with his brother but whose techno productions are clearly urban. Since he produced his first LP in 2000 (Mouvement), Paul has made it clear he couldn’t care less about fashion. On the contrary, he has developed a personal touch – dancefloor oriented tracks with hint of rave and melancholy. His releases are always successful and he is regularly playlisted by the greatest – Laurent Garnier or Ellen Allien for example.

It started off with acid house The story begins towards the end of the 80s. The boy was young, but already fond of the acid sounds he then discovered on the radio. He had never set foot in a club – being underage he was unable to do so. Not to worry – alone in his room, in Fontvieille (a tiny village near Arles where he still lives), Paul relentlessly gathered information about this new type of music. He read specialised magazines, bought some gear and decks… and learnt on his own, little by little.

Scandium By the beginning of the 90s, the young man regularly attended rave parties. He still didn’t dance, but was getting more and more interested in producing electronic music. He met André from Virtual Age, a famous band in Southern France and with him, he learnt even more. In 1999, the two boys went one step further by founding Scandium Records. It didn’t take much time for the new label to be supported by Laurent Garnier, Funk D’Void, The Hacker, Technasia, Angel Molina… With artists like Paul Nazca, Ultracolor (André), Southsoniks or Bastien Grine, Scandium displays fresh and dynamic tones. Along with labels like Ozone (Kiko) and Goodlife (The Hacker, Oxia), it embodies the rebirth of French techno.

Les musiques de mon moulin In 2003, techno was having a hard time. Those who produced electroclash were still doing well and the minimal wave was about to become big. But yet again, Paul didn’t really care: his first album, Les Musiques de mon moulin, reflects his debut – a blend of old school techno and pure electro, of ravey, dark and dreamlike tunes. The number of records sold has not been disclosed, but the media and artists of the electronic scene clearly showed an interest in all this. Paul’s career had just gone one step further and the number of bookings skyrocketed. Behind the decks, ‘Paul Nazca’ means ‘eclectic’: Detroit, hysteric break beats, tunes from the 90s and contemporary productions.

Pictures of now In 2004 and 2005, Paul slowed down on production. Too much in fact… But he came back in 2006. First through Scandium: with André, he launched the Picture of Now mixed CD series. The first releases were put together by Delon & Dalcan (André’s new project, on Boxer Recordings), Oxia and Marc Romboy, pioneer of the Belgian techno scene. The same year, Paul Nazca released three killer records in a row. Ranran on FU !...Fcom, Scandale on Boxer and Nice to be here on BPitch Control. And things aren’t looking any different today: Giant Wheel, home to John Dahlback, H-Man and Christopher Just) has fallen for the Frenchie and will shortly be releasing Legend. Whatever the label or the release, Paul sticks to his own style, with exquisite, hypnotic and spot on melodies. He only uses hardware to produce which explains the delicious analogue sound you will find in all his releases. Discreet, tenacious and honest…in the past few years and thanks to his productions, Paul has proved he is one of the names you should keep an eye on in terms of electronic and indie music.