Since the start of confinement, Christophe Le Friant, alias Bob Sinclar, has brought disco and funk up to date in remix sessions published daily on YouTube. As he prepares for an unprecedented performance on the roof of the Arc de Triomphe on Monday, the globetrotter DJ looks back over the last 45 intense days.
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LE FIGARO - How do you feel before this unique performance on the roof of the Arc de triomphe?
Bob Sinclar - This is a first for me! Mixing in these conditions is complicated because there is no one to dance. Then watching a DJ alone is visually boring ...
Will this performance be in the vein of the funk and disco mixes that you have offered since the start of confinement?
No. It will be a very epic set. My music is dancing, so I'm not used to doing epic things. I'm still thinking about what I'm going to do. But I think this musical set will be very cinematic, visually interesting with the use of drones and lights. It will be above all a performance that will tell my musical story.
When I became Bob Sinclar, I sort of went on the dark side for some who considered my music too commercial. I am aware of these things and I am very critical of my career
Bob sinclarWhat does the Arc de Triomphe represent for you?
It is a beautiful symbol of deconfinement, interesting. The event itself is a very nice partnership with Médecins Sans Frontières. For me, this set sounds the last week of my musical adventure. People were able to discover my whole musical culture, where I come from as an artist. It is interesting that Cercle Music chose me for this event. Rather, they tend to select underground artists. When I started my label in 1994, I was part of the underground. I played acid jazz, trip hop ... We were praised by the press. When I became Bob Sinclar, I sort of went on the dark side for some who considered my music too commercial. I am aware of these things and I am very critical of my career.
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What is the most unusual place you've played in so far?
The ancient theater of Orange. It was one of the best experiences of my life. There were 9,000 people. Cercle Music had also organized an event with DJ Solomon there. There was a pretty awesome fellowship that day. In a monument filled with history like this one, there always emerges something intense.
It must be weird for a globetrotter artist like you to find yourself confined to your home…
Yes, but I admit it didn't bother me too much at first. I was able to ask myself, reflect and put my nose back in my nightclub. I've been doing a hundred dates a year for twenty years. I don't have time to breathe. I have the impression of being a moment of my life where I am in sharing and transmission. I retraced my musical life in 45 days through my confinement sessions. When I first entered a club, we were playing songs from James Brown, funk, disco. I wanted to bring that back to people. I receive nostalgic thank you messages. Music has the power to beautify life and to recall beautiful moments. Thanks to these funk sessions, people were able to discover artists like D. Train and discover their discography on streaming platforms. I'm bringing these titles up to date so that people are interested. There is a small educational role that I like.
Would you say it is a creative period?
Totally. I have always recycled sounds but these are original classics. You have to surprise people to play new things. This is the role of the DJ. DJing for me was born in Jamaica after the Second World War, they are the ones who invented the sound system. In the United States in the 1970s, block parties were organized by DJs. Then they played a role in the funk. I replay this role of DJ of the world sound system by playing all the sounds I like.
How do you spend your free time during confinement?
I don't really have free time. I work between twelve and fourteen hours a day. Every day, I have to find sixteen songs and scan them to play them afterwards. There I have a little time to speak with you, but I will get back into the playlist tomorrow as soon as I hang up the phone.
France will be unconfined on May 11, the day after your 51st birthday. What are you planning to celebrate this anniversary?
It might surprise you, but I will surely go back to confinement (laughs). I don't know if we're going to be able to go a little south, but I need a vacation. Playing tennis, playing a little sport - I don't have too much time right now. Then I plan to remix my catalog, until the clubs reopen.
