Born and raised in Paris, Julien Chaptal moved to Amsterdam over a decade ago. There he witnessed the local scene grow to staggering heights, as he himself steadily developed from a local hero to the internationally acclaimed artist he is today.
With his debut release on Defected about to drop, we caught up with the DJ/producer to discuss his former career as an audio engineer, this new EP and building an entire live set around Prince songs and samples…
You were born and raised in Paris – why did you move to Amsterdam? Was it a music related decision? Is there anything you miss about the scene in Paris?
Moving out of Paris is something that just happened naturally as I got a taste for travelling from the moment I moved to the US in 1997. I came back for a little while to study at university but I was itching for a change of scenery constantly at that time. So after a short stint in Montreal I ended up in Amsterdam on what was then supposed to be a stopover on the way to Australia. I never went to Australia… I built up a collection of gear and started making music seriously. That was in the year 2000.
To say that I miss things from the scene in Paris would imply that I was involved in the scene back then but that wasn't really the case. Besides playing for a couple of fashion shows, bars and tiny clubs I never really got the chance to make a name for myself there at the time. I am living in Paris half of the time at the moment and I see that things really have changed a great deal since I left the city. There's a real sense of excitement in parties, tons of good musicians, DJs and a real bubbling underground scene that was almost inexistent when I lived here before.
The scene in Amsterdam has really blown up in recent years, which coincided with your rise to becoming an internationally recognised artist. Why do you think this happened?
I think it's a combination of things coming together at the same time. There's been a real strong electronic music culture here since the beginning of the 90s, and by the time I arrived things were a little scattered over the techno, trance, commercial house scenes. DJs started to be considered in the same way as pop stars and so on the one hand a lot of them were trying to make it big on their own and on the other hand it was the perfect ground for a fresh underground scene to emerge and I just happened to start making with music with friends and touring with my band at the time, Le Clic. It was the perfect situation, clubs like Club 11 or Studio 80 were booking mostly international DJs and acts but our productions started to turn heads so we all started playing a lot more there as well. People started to get interested in our sound outside of Amsterdam because we have a strong underground scene based around a few clubs, labels and DJs that are collaborating a lot as well.
You started off as a professional producer mixing bands and DJs as an audio engineer – how did this influence your own career as an artist?
This is something I often miss doing actually because i got to work with many unbelievably talented musicians coming from all corners of music, it was a constant source of inspiration. Listening to music, other than electronic music is important to me and that is mostly what I was mixing back then. These days I go out and find music to listen to myself which isn't bad at all of course but back then I was often asked to mix a band whose name I had never heard of or come across otherwise and I've been blown away by people making heavy metal, rock or pretty much anything alongside the Afro, funk, soul, disco and jazz stuff I like to go and dig out in record stores.
Why do you think you became successful? Was there any particular moments that helped you on your way to international recognition?
I'm not sure but I suppose the releases were like a spring board to my first international gigs and soon after the gigs started speaking for themselves. The release of my album, Tokens was a real highlight and then the following release, Mamdaye was picked up by a lot of people, I imagine that played a big part in getting me out there.
You’ve played alongside Kabale un Liebe, Quazar, Boris Werner, David labeij and Lauhaus under your collective moniker Amsterdam 661. How important has this collaborative project been in terms of refining your own individual sound? And how does you sound differ from the Amsterdam techno sound?
This is the collaboration that has brought the most inspiration to me at the time we started the project. We were getting in the studio on a weekly basis a few years ago and all of us were showing off our new sounds to each other, so it was a constant push and motivation to bring something fresh to the table. I think we really contributed to defining the Amsterdam sound of now and at the same time we've all managed to keep something individual.
What would you say sets you apart as a producer and DJ?
That's a hard question to answer. I really just make the music I like these days, and so it spans quite wide into various genres of dance music. I admit I have tried to conform a bit to what people were expecting of me in the past and that didn't make me happy. I think anyone appreciates music that is made with passion and for the right reasons, all I want now is to create music which I really stand behind. I recently was asked to play at a venue where classical musicians were playing on Prince themes; being such a big Prince fan I decided to build an entire live set around some of his themes and samples. The crowd who came to this classical gig was absolutely not what I am used to, and even though, I think of it as one of the highlights in my career because they fully understood what I was doing.
You first received widespread critical acclaim with the release of your debut album ‘Tokens’ back in 2008. Why do you think it was so well received?
I think the album came out at the time that the new Amsterdam techno sound just started to get widespread recognition so I suppose a lot of people had a listen to it, and i really put a lot of myself into it. I still like it today and even play some of the tracks in my sets, which makes me think it's about time I finish the next one!
What has been your proudest moment in your musical career so far and why?
Wow that's another really hard one to answer! I think it's been filled with little proud moments, luckily. I think every step is important: i was super happy when I bought my first MPC, and decks in 1997, then when i got my first DJ gig, then my first live gig, then my first record out, then the first time i played in Space in Ibiza, then my album etc… Since you are asking me right now though, I think the proudest thing for me at the moment is to be releasing an EP on Defected, and also soon on Classic. Both house labels whose records have been in my record cases for a long time. I really like the direction Defected has been going into recently so the timing is perfect!
Describe the creative process that goes into the production of your tracks. For instance, are you quite methodical in your approach or would you say it is more organic?
I don't like routine when i work on music so I try to switch things around in the way I record. I mostly record everything live, but at times i prefer to build a track with blocks in the same way you would build a Lego castle, but on the screen. I like to record things in the proper way but that's not always the case; on my next release on Defected I sing on the track The Look On Your Face, but the vocal track was recorded in my living room on the built in mic from my laptop, and then I went in the studio and recorded hardware synths and drums. I tried re-recording the vocal on a good mic but i just couldn't get the same vibe out of it, probably because I’m not a very good singer. I sold most of my hardware gear a few years ago swearing that the digital world had more to offer, and mostly that it was a lot less hassle to work with because you can recall everything so quickly and mostly, it usually just works. I regret this now so i am buying a lot of hardware gear again the last year.
I realised that what i disliked about some machines being such wild beasts to tame is precisely what makes them so much fun to work with. I generally like boxes with one function per knob though so naturally I often find myself buying old stuff. The endless argument that vintage gear sounds better than the new gear or plugins doesn't interest me at all, I honestly often wouldn't hear the difference myself, but I can definitely hear when things are made with machines, it's the fun factor.
Your latest EP is out in a few week’s time on Defected. You’ve worked with more underground labels such as 20/20 Vision and Intacto Records. Why did you decide to sign with Defected and how do you anticipate working with Defected to be different?
Defected is a big label, so obviously things are very well organised, it also reaches further than most of the other labels I have worked with but I don't think that things are so very different in the way we work together. The people at Defected are underground music lovers at heart and that's obviously why they asked me to produce tracks for the label. As a matter of fact one of the tracks that will be released on the EP, Call Me, had been picked up by a well-known, but very underground label at first. Simon Dunmore heard it and told me right away, that's my favourite. He, and the other cats in the office are real soul heads and it's not about releasing hit records one after another so I feel right at home.
What inspired the production of ‘The Look On Your face?’
My girlfriend, of course!
What have you been working on recently? Have you got any new projects in the pipeline?
A lot actually! Luke Solomon asked me to remix one of the tracks from his upcoming album and I liked the original so much that I made 3 different remixes. We picked 2 to release and the first one comes out next week. Besides that I am working on the next release for the vinyl label, MFD, which I started with David Labeij last year, we made so much music we're happy with the past months and we want to release a couple of EP's before the end of the summer. I also made a track for a release on Supernature which should be out next month, and I just finished a remix for Pablo Cahn and Felipe Venegas, and another one for Mauro Picotto. There is also an EP coming out on Supplement Facts very soon which I produced together with Lauhaus. Next I want to focus on the EP I started working on for Classic, and putting a fresh new live show on the road.
The Look On Your Face is out 22nd April on Defected Records
