Dan Ghenacia

Dan Ghenacia is the undisputed kingpin of the Paris techno scene, one of France’s hottest DJ exports and runs the critically and popularly adored Freak n’ Chic label. Not bad going for a man who admits he once refused to listen to “anything other than 120bpm deep house” and was told as a teenager that he wasn’t “cool enough” to go raving.

How times change! Dan’s love affair with music ignited when he spent a year in California, soaking up early West Coast house and psychedelia. Dan parleyed this passion into a record selling business on his return to Paris, but as a true fan of the music he didn’t just want to peddle vinyl – he wanted to play it. The next few years of Dan’s career flashed past in a whirl of light, sound and notoriety as he helmed a notorious after-party at Batofar. It made his name in Paris and started to generate a buzz around Europe, where he was increasingly travelling. But – at the height of its success – Dan pulled the plug. “People were really unhappy,” he recalls, but he had new challenges to meet.

Quitting a successful night can break an average DJ – but it can make a great one, and Dan used his new-found freedom to accelerate his career, stamping his distinctive intelligent-techno-meets-deep-house sound on influential clubs like Fabric and The End in London, Tenax in Italy, and Space and DC10 in Ibiza.

Always averse to peer pressure, Dan avoided Ibiza for years – until DC10 won him over – and he quickly scored a coveted residency there. “I was afraid Ibiza was going to be cheesy,” he grins. This caution about chasing “the next big thing” is apparent in Dan’s work – and it’s the trait that has enabled him to effortlessly ascend to the dance music A-list without ever compromising his style. Both as a DJ and producer, and as head of Freak n’ Chic label, Dan unfailingly stands for quality over quantity, substance over style, and, well, freakiness over mere chic. His Freak n’Chic label has been running for seven years and through his long-standing residency at Circoloco in DC10 and years of subsequent touring, the Ghenacia gospel has spread far and wide. Discovering artists such as Dyed Soundorom, Djebali, Anthony Collins and even releasing the debut Jamie Jones EP, Dan knows good music and continues to deliver it. This year brings a compilation on the label as well as new material from the Freak n’Chic repertoire of artists.

Now, with a new Paris studio to help give vent to his creativity Dan is looking forward to doing more production work; ‘Who stole the freaks’ is the first EP Dan engineered by himself and only his second solo release on the label and shows him to be an accomplished master of his skill. Indeed ‘Globe’ EP will follow shortly on Crosstown Rebels... And with the bookings pouring in, Freak n’ Chic’s Pulp Freaktion series @ Rex club, a summer Residency @ Underground Batofar, and a new home for winter season’s Sunday nights at Social Club in Paris expect even greater things from Dan as he continues to pursue his unique musical vision.

Insight tagged with Dan Ghenacia

• » RA: Top DJs of 2011 - Big congratulations to all the artists we work with who made it in the top 100
• » Dan Ghenacia interview on Soundwall
• » Dan Ghenacia interview with venue magazine
• » Beatportal feature: DJs play classic tracks

Projects

Events

• » Kick off Their Autumn Season with Jamie Jones at In:Motion (2012-09-29)
• » Space, Announce Full Line-Ups for 2012 (2012-06-10)
• » Circo Loco bring Dan Ghenacia, Cassy, Tania Vulcano, Andrew Grant, Garagem & Gauthier DM to their stage (2011-07-01)
• » Festival Croatia Putting Croatia on the electronic music map (2011-07-01)
• » Festival 2011 Round UP (2011-07-01)
• » Space Ibiza 2011 "The Greatest Show On Earth" (2011-06-12)
• » Space, If walls could talk: The Club In Words Plus full summer programme (2011-06-12)
• » Crosstown Rebels present Get Lost, 6th Session (2011-03-26)