As a preface I felt it was necessary to note that I did videotape this interview with Norman only to get home and find out that the video file had been corrupted (GUTTED). I have spent the better part of a week trying to get it working to no avail. As a result I was forced to go off of some spotty audio and transcribe it. Nevertheless, it was an honor and a pleasure sitting down with Norman and picking his brain about his new single ‘Kalifornia’ and his very first mix compilation ‘Strictly Ibiza to Amsterdam’ out on Oct. 10. He has to be one of the nicest and most down to earth DJs I have ever met and lets be serious he is a beast on the decks.
SBB: What made you decide to become a DJ?
Norman:I kept hearing all of these fantastic tracks while going out to the clubs that really blew my mind and and couldn’t believe what I was hearing, and so slowly I decided to give it a shot. So I started DJing and then realized that to really make a career out of this I needed to start producing so it was a long 2 year process of learning but I made it and here I am.
SBB:What were you doing for a profession before you started DJing?
Norman:I was a surfer, a professional surfer. But I was not good enough to make it on the top level so music fell into my lap at the right time and I made the transition.
SBB:How have other pioneering French DJs like Guetta, Daft Punk and Bob Sinclair influenced you as an artist?
Norman:Oh well I mean they are all fantastic and each were an inspiration to me as I was getting started, but Daft Punk mostly. They are incredible, I mean like on another plantet, so good.
SBB:You have had a very big and very busy summer playing massive events from Ibiza to Creamfields and Tomorrowland. What has been the highlight for you?
Norman:That is a hard question because they were all amazing. But if I had to choose I would say playing a club called Ushuaia in Ibiza. It is outdoors with like 6K people and you are playing at sunset and the vibe is really amazing. Everyone dancing with their hands in the air, it was great, really special.
SBB:You recently released the massive hit called ‘Kalifornia’ on Stricly Rhythm, what was your inspiration behind this track.
Norman:My main inspiration for this track came from disco. It is a sound that I have loved since before I became a DJ and I really wanted to incorporate it to provide an updated version/sound on this track.
SBB:What is your method or software of choice when producing?
Norman:I use fruity loops and sometimes work with logic, but I prefer Fruity Loops.
SBB:So you like to keep it simple?
Norman:Yeah I guess simple, but most of the time simple can be really good you know?
SBB:Tonight you played the massive remix by David Tort, what made you chose him for remix duties?
Norman:Oh well to be honest it was very easy. David is a good friend of mine and I really love his music and his sound so it worked out perfectly. I spoke to him and his ideas for the track fell right in line with what I was looking for so it was easy. I also recently remixed a track for him called ‘One Look’ so he owed me one and it was a kind of remix swap.
SBB:You are also releasing a compilation soon on Strictly Rhythm call “Strictly Ibiza to Amsterdam’, how did you go about choosing tracks for this album?
Norman:First off it was a real honor to be approached by such an established label like Strictly Rythm and I wanted to showcase both my love for really progressive and clubby tracks as well as highlight my early roots in funk and Disco. I mainly used a lot of the backlogged tracks on the label and split the two CDs into ‘Day’and ‘Night’. Day is kind of the chill funky disco side while night gets into the harder more progressive club track…so yeah that is how I went about choosing.
SBB:Obviously you are in the middle of your US tour, how do you like playing here vs. Europe?
Norman:I fu#$*ng love it! I mean the energy everywhere is fantastic and it really is a pleasure to come play here. I love it. 5 months ago when I was told I would be coming to the US and playing all of these places I was really really excited and have been looking forward to it ever since.
SBB:How did you like Beta tonight?
Norman:It was fantastic, what an amazing club. The energy from the crowd, the sound, and the dj booth layout was fantastic. Perfect setup for mixing.
SBB:Lastly what tracks have been getting the biggest response from the crowd in your recent sets?
Norman:Oh well Kalifornia has definitely been getting a big response for me, but also tracks from Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike, and Dario Nunez – Breathe has been getting a really great response as well.
SBB:Lastly, is there anything you would like to say to your fans out there before we go?
Norman:Yeah, I would like to say thank you to everyone out there for supporting me and my music. I love what I do and it feels really great to get such amazing support everywhere I go. So, thank you.
SBB:Thank you Norman for taking the time to sit down with myself and StopBreatheBump, you absolutely killed it tonight and we cannot wait to see you again in the future.
Norman: Thank you.
Again special thanks go out to Norman Doray and Tom J from Remote Press for taking the time out of their days to help set this up! Cheers!
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