“Music touches us emotionally, where words alone can’t.”
Johnny Depp is not a musician, he is an actor.
However, I will never forget when as a teenager I read this statement of his.
Music for me represented (and continues to represent today) exactly that.
Reading that my favorite artist thought exactly like me made me run a childish but intense shiver down my back.
Music is a shiver, and today we talk about music here (continuing our journey among emerging artists all over the world).
Dimë is a French DJ, resident at KALT in Strasbourg and already well known in Paris and eastern France.
Versatile selector with smooth and meticulous mixing style, his eclectic sets oscillate organically between House, Techno and Breaks from different eras offering a deep, ecstatic and uplifting journey.
There was no better way to introduce the interview with this young artist than to choose Depp’s words which splendidly open up to Dimë’s world, a world of introspection that changes into shared emotion the moment he starts playing.
Dimë is the placid essence of what Techno music is today: feeling, friendship, future, art.
Dimë is also among the founders of the new intimate and no-photo day party format that will take place in Paris from September, Vesper.
Inspired by ’90s house music, Vesper curates a stellar double header for its first edition at at Fvtvr, hosting a pair of three-hour sets from Kim Ann Foxman and Ryan Elliott.
We met him a few weeks ago and that’s what he told us.
Hi Mehdi!
According to you, what’s music?
Music is a powerful vehicle for expressing emotions, ideas, and narratives. It often serves as a form of communication, transcending barriers, being an universal language that resonates with people across different backgrounds and eras.
It is also a medium of creativity and innovation by experimenting new sounds, ideas and technologies.
Finally, it is also a way to show your tastes and your sense of aesthetic offering a deep connection to beauty.
And what’s Techno?
How do you “talk about” Techno through your consolle?
It’s hard to summarize it in few lines, books can be written about this genre and above all this movement. It is an escape for the mind for some, and a physical release for the body for others. The physicality of techno music—with its rhythms and beats—can indeed create a strong mind-body connection. Above all, it’s mainly a social cultural connection where people can lose themselves in the music, connect with each other, and experience a sense of freedom and unity.
Being an introvert it is a way for me to convey a wide range of emotions, from euphoria to introspection, to get the excitement of improvisation and express myself without words by building a journey. To me it cannot be monotonous or a simple entertainment, I always try to tell something, and the most rewarding compliment is when the message has been understood, even by one person. It is about crafting an experience that is both deeply personal and universally engaging.
How could you describe your style?
Always the toughest question when it’s asked because it’s hard to auto analyse yourself, to keep distance and because it combines a lot of different genres and interests. Music, codes and trends are cyclical and it’s always evolving in a way. The common thing I could highlight since I play in more than 10 years, is what the music I play is for the mind, deep, atmospheric, uplifting. Then I’m trying to be groovy, captivating, and above all timeless.
I got you! We are evolving as a human being. And it would be crazy if we are the same in 10 years.
And do you have your own reference DJ/musician?
I have a lot that have been inspiring throughout the years, but if I have to be spontaneous I would name four female DJs: Shanti Celeste, Aurora Halal, Steffi, Paramida.
Without detailing each style or genre, they all have (almost) a complete different universe, but that you can easily recognize and notice with their sound signature. Otherwise, I really admire their selection/curating skill and their strong artistic direction.
Then, if I have to put an extra-bonus name, it would be Call Super.
These days we can hear that everyone is a DJ or can be a DJ, but what he is doing technically and selection-wise is a totally different form of art that he is bringing on a different level.
But today, how difficult is to have an identity when everything is so flat? And with the Socials, everyone thinks that they can be musicians, DJs or anything…
Honestly, it’s a tough question.
I don’t know if I will have the proper answer.
But, yes at the moment, with the technology and the technique, everyone has something to say, everyone can show something to the world a a piece of art.
I believe that the more original, unique, refreshing you are, the more you get attention. But it’s a complicated and unique recipe for each to be recognized or successful in you art.
Not only with talent you can reach your goals. It’s not only about the music at the moment. It’s also about the image, marketing, opportunities, team behind you. You need to do a lot of different tasks aside, you cannot be only focus on your art.
Yeah, it’s crazy. What’s your background instead?
I did long studies and worked for numerous companies as a legal counsel and privacy consultant.
Regarding music, I cannot say like a lot of musicians that I was surrounded since my early childhood by records, music, etc. I discovered electronic music by myself during my teenage years, and made an education by myself by the music I was digging online and playing with friends, then in records shops and clubs, mainly.
So I’m a self-taught on many aspects.
I asked you to select four tracks for our audience to listen to and tell us why.
I want to select personal classics, pieces of music that tell a story, not a club tool that could destroy a dance floor, but has to provide a lot of emotions, and mixed feelings, that can still be listened, and that bring a lot of memories (because associated or connected to a certain period of time).
Reload- Peschi (1992)
I spent countless hours on a dance floor, I attended a lot of beautiful moments of human communion, I consider myself as a sensitive guy, but I have never cried on it. But first time I heard this one in a club (a infamous one in Berlin) I had tears in my eyes. It combines softness and power, nostalgia and hope at the same time.
Air Liquide – Liquid Men With Liquid Hearts (1992)
Come from the past but sounds very futuristic and combine a lot of genre I’m into. A soulful track to play towards the end of a set.
Soofle – How Do You Plead (1993)
The first side of this record is really famous and one of the most beautiful and reference of the genre, but I wanted to highlight the other side that is less known and combine a lot of elements I like in a track : intro, nice pad, vocals, piano, in-between different genres.
Andrés – New For U (2012)
I can’t say how famous this track is to younger people today, but for me, this track is a huge classic and marks an important milestone in my musical education and personal history. I discovered it when it came out in 2012, the first summer I went to Berlin. Since then, everything has changed for me and I listen to music every day and devote a lot of my time to it. In addition to the brilliant simplicity of the few elements, once again, a timeless piece that’s hard to predict when it was produced.
Do you have any favorite record from the series? And in general what is your favorite one (and why)?
Picking a favorite means I have enough distance to still enjoy after few years so it’s is necessarily not a recent release (though I could be obsessed and play on repeat track I discover recently or that just went out).
Tons of Tones – The Meaning of Life (1994)
This is a less-known alias of super prolific Dutch producer Steve Rachmad.
Besides the powerful title track, I would have dream to compose it, because the boundaries between genres I’m into (House, Techno, Detroit) are seamless. It reminds me the dance floor I cherish the most : Panorama Bar.
Besides being my most valuable record, it is how I define a « timeless » track, that is still relevant at every era, whether when it was produced, 10 years ago or even nowadays. Some might find the organ corny or old-fashioned, I still cannot get enough of it.
“Once you free your mind about the concept of harmony and of music being correct, you can do whatever you want. So nobody told me what to do, and there was no preconception of what to do”, Giorgio Moroder said one day.
Is techno-music a way to free your spirit? Is it a gamble to say that techno-music is a form of contemporary art?
This music emphasizes personal expression, both for the creators and the listeners. It allows listeners to lose themselves in the music and achieve a state of flow, where the mind and body are in harmony.
The immersive and hypnotic qualities of techno can induce altered states of consciousness, helping listeners to experience a sense of transcendence and emotional release. This escapism can be therapeutic, offering a form of catharsis that helps to clear the mind and refresh the spirit.
To me, it will always been a contemporary form of art, being connected with sci-fi and innovation of new technologies, it’s a forward-looking research into the future that involves a high degree of creativity with new techniques, digital instruments, and softwares.
Techno has a significant cultural impact, influencing and reflecting contemporary society. The rave culture associated with techno music also creates a communal experience that is a form of social art.
It also often intersects with other art forms, such as visual arts, dance, and digital media. Many techno events feature visual art installations, lighting design, and performance art, creating a multimedia experience.
A letter to your future self.
I have excitement, curiosity, and a bit of apprehension about what the future holds.
I don’t want to sound like a personal growth book but in a nutshell : do not forget to enjoy the present, be grateful for what you already achieved and what you have now. But continue to learn, stay open minded and embrace change if it is required.
Cherish healthy relationships, and people that support you, and if you still have dreams, trust yourself and do not give up.