Laurent Garnier - Electrochoc

Laurent Garnier - Electrochoc

Laurent Garnier - Electrochoc

Laurent Garnier - Electrochoc

Laurent Garnier - Electrochoc

Jan 23, 2024

Laurent Garnier is an essential figure of the electronic dance scene. As a DJ and producer, he boasts a rich career spanning more than three decades. When I recently found out that he decided to materialize his experiences into a book, I didn't hesitate for a second to buy it.

In my personal musical development, Garnier played a pivotal role. I have several moments deeply engraved and fondly remember those times. For instance, when his Essential Mix from the year 2000 somehow reached us, but unfortunately, only the first hour of it. In times when music wasn't available at a click, we had to wait with bated breath to experience the end of the brilliantly started story. That time seemed endless...

I must also mention our trips to the Flex club in Vienna, where Garnier played his legendary all-night-long sets and I had the first opportunity to hear and experience someone playing truly any musical style during one party.

But let's get back to the book, which was first published in French and in 2015 received an English translation. It's actually a great probe into the history of the dance scene from the late '80s, describing the beginning of the rave movement in England. From his first resident night in the legendary Manchester club Hacienda to large illegal rave parties for thousands of people.

There's no need to describe Garnier's entire history here, but I'll mention at least one interesting fact. In the first half of the '90s, he decided to return to France and build the electronic scene in Paris. However, he didn't want to lose contact with the UK, so for several years every Friday morning after spending the whole night behind the DJ booth in one of the Paris clubs, he regularly set off by car (which he himself called 'ravemobile') to Manchester. Before the end of the set, he never forgot to announce this information into the microphone, so that others interested in the weekend trip could join.

The book, in addition to autobiographical elements, contains contributions from other legends, such as Jeff Mills, Mad Mike, François Kevorkian, James Murphy, and David Guetta.

If you like the dance scene and want to learn something about its history and development, this book is the clear choice. I would definitely recommend it to everyone. You can buy it here.

MR

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