When the Coronavirus shut us down, clubs and festivals ceased, and everyone was essentially forced inside with no definitive end in sight, DJ Times wondered: How is our tribe coping? How are DJs getting by? So, we sent out our “Coronavirus Questionnaire” to DJ/producers from all musical genres to find out.
During the crisis, DJ Times is presenting the questionnaire responses from talented music-makers from all over the world. Here’s our latest entry, this time from the Paris area, French house-music maker, Agoria (aka Sébastien Davaud).
What’s it like where you are? I moved four months ago to the countryside, close to Paris. I actually spend lot of time feeding my soul, reading, writing, creating like a child. But I guess all artists are actually isolated most of their time. That’s even more true for electronic producers. Most of us, we are making music on our own during hours, days, weeks and months. So I didn’t feel it was that challenging, to be honest. And now that the lockdown is over, I remain in lockdown! That’s just my will!
What income-producing work have you lost? Yes, I lost almost a year of touring, but I’m unsure the word “loss” is appropriate. I guess the pandemic has taught us that we are not controlling anything and you need to take the best of every situation. If I certainly lost gigs, I earned time to create.
Are you doing anything now that can or will produce music-related income? Time will say if what I produced during these past weeks will help me to re-balance the sources of income! I feel it’s very difficult for young artists, debuting. That’s why I organized for my label, Sapiens, a “re:generation day.” I wanted to release music from newcomers highlighting their work in such a challenging time for them. Please check the releases of Parallells, Mooglie, Mozaik and Henri Bergmann.
What are you doing now that’s ultimately constructive to your music life/career? I worked hard with the director Hernan Corera on finding an idea for a video during the lockdown – it’s for my new single, “3 Letters” [feat. Blasé], that I just released. We decided to film the Argentinian gauchos locked down in a room. They are a symbol of freedom in South America. I thought that would be a great symbol to film – such an iconic character shut in in a room, closed, dancing like in a loop, where they can’t escape. Questioning past, present and future.
What’s the most surprising thing you’ve realized during this period of social distancing? I had a lot of talks with a shepherd – we became friends. And I decided I shall start shooting photos of his… sheep! I drove the whole herd to a skate park and I let the herd get acclimated, having fun, doing their own jumps in the skate park! Total freedom! The images are amazing and I might exhibit them soon.
Have you done anything online recently? Have you seen any DJ video streams that impressed you? The Dixon submarine mix was the best I saw. I personally did one for Beatport and one for DGTL Festival to share love with my fans. But, in the end, I felt I shall dedicate most of my time to create music instead of repetitively doing mixes online.
Any theme tunes recommended for the moment? I actually did a track named “Police” for the soundtrack of a Belgium movie named “Lucky” – you might check it out!
Any advice on staying sane & relatively positive through this situation? By definition, bad times are announcing better ones…. hopefully.
To check out more Life in Lockdown interviews, click here.
