Laurent Garnier

By the time I was ten years old my bedroom looked like a nightclub. There were strobes, multi-coloured flashing lights, a disco ball, a DJ booth and a dance floor. When I switched on my equipment hundreds of tiny white lights would flit across my bedroom ceiling and walls. I switched on my disco ball every night. I only dreamt of one thing: making people dance."
Laurent Garnier in "Electrochoc" by Laurent Garnier and David Brun-Lambert

Laurent Garnier has been making the planet dance for 30 years. One of the pioneering DJs of the dance music scene, he experienced first-hand the euphoria of the acid-house movement in Manchester. He then went on to Wake Up and shake up Paris nightlife, from La Luna to the Palace, not forgetting the Rex Club. As one of the leading lights in French dance music, he spread his message across the planet, from raves to warehouse parties, clubs to festivals. He is a multi-faceted artist whose impact on the music scene is far-reaching. But above all he is a DJ, a true DJ: transformed by music, passionate about the crowd. Bodies move in a trance on the dance floor, minds elsewhere. Yet he is also an explorer of old and new sounds and has an amazingly rich musical culture. He spends most of his spare time sifting through old vinyl in record shops, checking the music blogs, following the most obscure leads on the internet and listening to every single piece of music he is sent.
Music, the pulse of our planet, is his Holy Grail.

Musical eclecticism is also at the heart of Laurent Garnier's contribution to radio. At the beginning of the 90's, Laurent Garnier got behind the microphone, playing records on Radio FG, Maxximum, Fun Radio and Radio Nova, where he remained a vital force for 18 years.
In 2003, he created PBB “Pedro's Broadcasting Basement”, his own webradio. As if that was not enough, in 2009 he launched his monthly radio show “IT IS WHAT IT IS”, now exclusively broadcast in French on Radio Meuh and in English on Worldwide FM.

Laurent Garnier is an artist who never stands still. He is tireless in his enthusiasm and is always bursting with new ideas and projects. As well as the demands of his DJ-ing and his radio shows, Laurent Garnier has also evolved into a well-respected music producer. His first big hits (Acid Eiffel and Wake Up), both soundtracks to the explosion of dance music in France, have paved the way for a series of albums that are both elaborate and multi-layered. In the space of six celebrated albums, Laurent Garnier has embarked upon a remarkable journey. His latest releases are on labels such as Ed Banger, Kompakt, MCDE, 50 weapons, Hypercolour.

His musical journey is described in the book Electrochoc that Laurent Garnier and the journalist-writer David Brun-Lambert wrote together (released in 2003, and then updated in 2013) which sold 25 000 copies in France alone. In this biography, Laurent Garnier tells the epic story of electronic music through his experiences and recollections. Electrochoc was a publishing hit and has subsequently been translated into several other languages including English, Spanish, German, Japanese, Russian, Italian and Croatian.

Aside from his albums and singles, Laurent Garnier is also a composer for the cinema, television and theatre. He wrote the music for the films SDF Go Home and Qu’Allah Bénisse La France, for the documentary Play, for the animated film Globi and the Stolen Shadows and in 2010 made the music for the French television show Groland. For theatre, Laurent Garnier has composed the music for contemporary dance choreographers Angelin Preljocaj (Fire Sketch and Suivront Mille Ans de Calme) and Marie-Claude Pietragalla. In 2015 he also produced the album “Scarifications” for the French rapper Abd Al Malik.

After 30 years devoted to music, Laurent has been made Chévalier de la Légion d´Honneur in 2017.


LAURENT GARNIER IN FIGURES

Laurent Garnier was one of the first trailblazers and still today has wide-scale followers and fans, the following multi-viewed Youtube videos bear witness to this:

The live recording of « The man with the red face » has over 1,5 million Youtube hits :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mgcAMdktubQ

His set at the Dekmantel Festival is nearing 3 million Youtube hits :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bj8425Ma6F8

Acid Eiffel (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gPuA-Zun4rk) and Crispy Bacon
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6SFD7fz8fWc) are close to a million hits.

Key Dates

1991
-First artist to be signed to Fnac Music Dance Division, run by Eric Morand

1996
-Voted “Best International DJ” by Muzik magazine (UK)

1998
-Awarded a ‘Victoire de la Musique’ for Best Album in the Dance / Urban music category.
-First live tour, including the Olympia, Paris.
-DJ at the end of the first ever Techno Parade in Paris

2000
-Third album: Unreasonable Behaviour
-Second live tour including concerts at Reading Festival & Leeds Festival (UK)

2001
-Named Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres by French Minister of Culture
-Rock Werchter concert in front of 80,000 people

2003
-5-CD mix compilation: Excess Luggage
-‘Electrochoc’ biography by Laurent Garnier and David Brun-Lambert published by Flammarion
-Cinemix at Palais de Tokyo, Paris (Albert Kahn Foundation)

2004
-Concert at the Coachella Festival (USA)

2005
-Fourth album: The Cloud Making Machine
-Compilation: Life Styles

2010
-Concert, Salle Pleyel, Paris
-Music for the ballet ‘Suivront Mille Ans De Calme’ by the choreographer Angelin Preljocaj

2011
-LBS tour in Asia, USA, Canada and Europe
-Named Officier des Arts et Des Lettres by French Minister of Culture

2012
-25th anniversary as a DJ (Paris / Manchester)
-Music for the documentary ‘Play’ by Manuel Herrero

2013
- Launch of Yeah! Festival in Lourmarin (Vaucluse)
-“Electrochoc: L’Integrale 1987-2013’” published by Flammarion
- Graphic novel ‘Rêves Syncopés” by Mathilde Ramadier & Laurent Bonneau

2014
-Music for ballet ‘M & Mme Reve’ by Marie-Claude Pietragalla
-Presenter on TV series ‘Summer of 90’s’ on Arte
-Music for film ‘Qu’Allah bénisse la France’ directed by Abd Al Malik

2015
-Electrochoc, the book, published in English by Rocket 88
-Sixth album “Home Box”

2017
-He is made Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur in France
-“Tribute EP” on Kompakt Records