Norman Doray Interview: returning to his French Touch roots, playing b2b with Axwell in Ibiza, and his love of the House scene in India
As his new mix series, My House Your Disco, launches on Keakie, the Parisian DJ and producer speaks to the platform’s Electronic Curator, Annie Beckett, about his career to date and plans for the future.
Annie Beckett: Your career so far has been quite the journey. You’ve released music on legendary labels like Defected, Atlantic and Avicii’s LE7ELS. You’ve shared the booth with greats such as David Guetta and Swedish House Mafia. You’ve played Tomorrowland, Creamfields and ULTRA on multiple occasions. But what I hear in this début mix for Keakie is something fresh, a more classic homage to House but with that trademark seal of uplifting energy you're renowned for. Can you tell us a bit more about what seems to be a change in style?
Norman Doray: It’s not really a change, it’s more like going back to my roots. I started DJing around 2002, but I really started to produce music around 2005 and my first records were Disco House, Funky House, French Touch. I have been inspired a lot by Daft Punk, Bob Sinclair, the Cassius guys, a lot of House from Detroit as well. I will always remember the moment when Discovery - the Daft Punk album - was released. That was in 2000, and that was really the moment where I said “Yes, this is what I want to do”. This is what gives me goosebumps, shivers, feelings when I produce and make music. I think that is really important. The last couple of years I was not feeling it anymore, and I was a bit trapped in a sound, or in a bubble that was not mine. So I needed to take some time off and come back with what I really wanted to do.
AB: You’ve been very busy in the studio recently; where do you feel you most want to dedicate your energy - studio time or touring?
ND: I started out as a DJ. As a teenager I was playing in really small bars where nobody was dancing to make a bit of money, but I learned a lot from that. From there I started to play in small clubs, started playing for more people, and learned how to read a crowd and play music for them.
Then in 2005 I realised that if I wanted to play and DJ around the world, or even in towns other than the one I was born in, I had to produce music because DJs were not having successful careers at that time. I started to learn how to produce music on my own and it took three, four, five years. Now, fifteen years have passed and I would say I am happier and more dedicated in the studio than ever.
I’ve toured the planet and it’s been amazing; I have met so many people and I still love doing it but I feel the groove in the studio and it’s where I feel comfortable at the moment. I want to experiment with different sounds, different tracks, different ideas and especially with that sound I’m coming back to; this French Touch and Disco. I also want to be here for my family and not travel so much. So at the moment I’m preparing so many tracks that I’m even thinking about making an album.
““The last couple of years I was not feeling it anymore, and I was a bit trapped in a sound, or in a bubble that was not mine. So I needed to take some time off and come back with what I really wanted to do””
AB: The Norman Doray in the studio - is he the same Norman Doray who plays to tens of thousands of fans on stage?
ND: They are quite different people I would say. The Norman Doray on stage is quite a lot more fearless, more easy-going, because I have been doing this for years and years. I’m confident about being up on the stage and sharing my music with the crowd.
In the studio I’m a bit different, I feel I can take directions that I have never taken before and there is a bit of risk there. I’m always trying to push the limits and find new techniques, new ways to do things, so I would say the Norman Doray in the studio is a bit more experimental, a bit more scared in a way. That’s what makes the whole thing exciting.
“I want to experiment with different sounds, different tracks, different ideas and especially with that sound I’m coming back to; this French Touch and Disco…at the moment I’m preparing so many tracks that I’m even thinking about making an album”
AB: Back to that stage persona, you mentioned to me previously that one of your favourite places to tour was India. What is it about the country and the energy you love so much?
ND: India is a crazy, crazy country. I was booked there for the first time in 2008 thanks to one of my good friends, Nikhil, who’s an MTV presenter in India. He is actually really famous there, and has also been a DJ for more than 20 years. He told me stories about how in the early 2000s he was already partying in Ibiza and listening to all the House music legends. He decided to bring House music for the first time to India and in 2008 he created a small festival in Goa, where Carl Cox and some Defected acts were playing, Simon Dunmore for instance. That was an amazing experience! I discovered a country that was completely virgin to House music. Goa trance was huge there, and had been for years, but House music was not something big, and I felt like I was starting from scratch and it was an amazing moment to witness.
Since then, I have been travelling to India two to three times a year, playing a mix of big festivals and clubs in all the major cities around the country, and at the same time discovering the culture, the people, the food. If you DJ and you travel to the UK, that is still an amazing opportunity, but a lot of DJs are doing that. But if you travel to India, you have a story to tell and an experience to share. And it makes it more than just a business trip. It’s a human trip in a way. You are more involved as a person. You take more time to talk with the people, to have dinner with the people organising the festival, and you want to share your stories and also hear about the country. And for that reason India is really a special country to me, and it always will be.
“India is crazy... DJing there is more than just a business trip, It’s a human trip. It’s a really special country to me, and it always will be”
AB: Is there one event that really stands out in your mind as a career highlight? You have played some pretty wild gigs; four appearances at Tomorrowland, residencies in Las Vegas, playing the iconic Place de la Bastille in central Paris, supporting Swedish House Mafia on tour. It must be hard to choose…
ND: There have been so many crazy moments and places and meetings, the one in Place de la Bastille I would say is in my top three because it’s where I started and I was playing to 100,000 people. But the one that really stands out is a special night at Pacha in Ibiza.
Pacha will always have a special place in my heart because it has something. That place has a soul, that place has a history of House music on the island and having a chance to play there is special…especially the old Pacha. It’s changed a bit now, it is a bit more ‘formatted’ at the moment and more of a VIP club. But back in the days, when I started to play there in 2006 with David Guetta it was a crazy experience. Then I got invited by Roger Sanchez to play there, and with Swedish House Mafia (Sebastian Ingrosso, Axwell and Steve Angello).
One night I will always remember was when I was invited by Steve Angello and Axwell to open for them. After I’d finished, they started playing, but for some reason Steve suddenly had to leave and then Axwell asked me “Do you want to go back-to-back with me?”. We were already friends but we had never played together. So we went two or three hours b2b and that sensation was unique; the vibe in the crowd, I felt like I was right where I wanted to be, playing some classic House records, some more uptempo records, Swedish House Mafia tracks, Axwell tracks… Axwell is really an amazing talent, an amazing producer and DJ. It’s a moment I’ll remember forever.
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