Hello Lo and welcome to our radio. We are excited to have you as our Artist of the Weekend! Where are you now?

Hi, I'm really happy to be nominated as an Artist of the Weekend, thanks for the invitation. I'm in my quiet hometown of Sangatte, France. I'm chilling in front of the sea, so I can hear the waves while I’m answering the questions. 

Tell us about your childhood and the best things about your country. Were you a musical kid?

My childhood was amazing. I have two wonderful parents, who make me totally confident and gave me all the love I needed. I went to school really close to my house, this allowed me to often be with them. I believed freedom would be better, but I now know that it was a great chance. I practiced a lot of sports: played football for 20 years, but I started to windsurf and that changed my life…

What music you were into when you were a teenager? How did you ‘ignite the fire’ of electronic music, who introduced you to this world?

I listened to a really varied music mix: pop, rock, house, from Michael Jackson to U2, and I bought my 1st house records like Technotronic, Pump Up The Jam or S Express, those kinds of things. Real house and techno came later with my first night in a club, in Belgium. I discovered this world and I liked it immediately. Two of my friends bought a bar close to my place, The Planet Circus in 1993, and they used to invite Djs every week. So every weekend, I listened to this kind of music and have been into it ever since. initially, I didn't dj, but when they decided to close, my wife told me I should buy turntables... She helped me make the decision to become a Dj.

How and when did you start Djing? How long did it take you to learn how to mix?

Well, I have always been someone who works hard for the things I like, so when I bought these turntables, I used to play every day, but it didn't take too long to beat match. Some friends of mine organized different parties and asked me to come and play. The first time was amazing, around 300 people, all my friends were there, but we had a problem with the mixer and had to change it during my set, I was so stressed out about it but everything went ok, great souvenir!!!

Can you give us an example of a good Dj? What qualities should they have?

Well the most important things for a Dj is to have are a very good feel of the music. You can have 50 tunes in your bag (or your usb now), but if you don't tell a good story, your set will be shit. For me and for a long time, my mentor Mr. C is one of the Djs I truly respect for exactly this, he takes you from somewhere and sends you somewhere else… He tells you a real story. Adultnapper is one of these Djs, too. There are not that many … Dutchie is one, too.

Do you dedicate a lot of your time to Djing and producing? Have you found the balance for not ‘falling to pieces’ as we all know how demanding and time consuming Djing could be?

Yes, I worked really hard to do my best. You know when someone like Richard (Mr. C) asks you to do a residency in your hometown, you're obliged to give the best of you. I don’t Dj that much at home, I know my music, I know what I want to do. I just choose the music that fits with my style. Production takes a lot of my time. I started four years ago and I’ve recorded and produced almost 80 tracks, which is a lot I think. I have a job, I have a family, my wife and 2 children, and it is really hard to balance. It takes a lot of my passion. Now I want to give my family more time and to be around them more.

What is the best place that you’ve had a chance to play music? And what made it special for you?

The best place I’ve played was at The End, London. When I started to play, I played music from labels like End Recording, Wiggle, Household, Pirate Radio, music that comes from UK. I started to go to London and The End often in the late 90's to listen to this music which I like so much. I loved the atmosphere of this club, it felt like home. The Djs and the sound system were amazing, so when Mr. C invited me to play for the first time at this club, it was like a dream, I couldn't believe it, I played with him and Superfreq in Calais on the Saturday and then played Superfreq, London on the Sunday, it was an amazing weekend, one I will never forget. The last Supefreq London in March was epic, too. I played in room 2 with the family, and I really enjoyed it. I’ve never seen so many friends in the same place.

How long does it take you to make a music selection when it comes to a mix?

I don’t make a selection before a set. I take the music I like, the music I want to play, my style. I need to see the crowd and then start to play. But it takes me a lot of time to buy music, because there is a lot of music everywhere, but I like only 1 or 2 % of the tracks I listen to.

Have you been through many styles during the years and how would you describe your style now? What story are you trying to tell?

Well, no, I don't think my style has changed that much. But there are variations in my music. I used to play more percussive tech house, but now I play harder, a little bit more techno. I don't know if I really have a name to describe my music, I say that I play tech house, but other djs say that they're playing tech house, but I feel like that my music is so far from their music… A very popular story of what tech house is.

What can we expect from you? Tell us about your future projects and gigs, please.

I have a lot of production that will be released in the next few months on labels such as Superfreq, Future Label Series (Alexi Delano's new label), Stark. Futures Recording, Sagol, Tenampa Records, but the most exciting project is I’m working on my very first album which is going to be released by Superfreq. I don't have a deadline because I want to take my time to do something special…Next gig for London will be on the 9th of July when I will play for Zombie Sound System…it's going to be a lots of fun! Others gigs are coming too…

It was a real pleasure to have you as a special guest! EILO wishes you all the best!

Thanks for everything and enjoy the mix 
Laurent