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In 2015, we met during ADE. We hit it off right away! Four years later, the moment finally arrived: an interview with these two talented men about their FIRST GIG. This week in MY FIRST GIG: Cyril & Jérémy, a.k.a. the French duo Wlderz. “Suddenly, everything went silent. A huge rookie mistake!”
Jérémy: “The first time I had to handle the music for an entire evening was at a family party when I was eight or nine years old. During high school, I was often asked to DJ at various parties with my gear. But my first real gig was around the age of eighteen, on a boat called The Houseboat Alterna, docked at the Scène de Paris. The night was called BPM Evolution. Back then, I was mainly playing house and techno.”
Cyril: “My first gig for an audience was in 1998 at a so-called Free Party. It was a real rave, somewhere deep in the countryside of Nancy. It’s a memorable memory of a beautiful sunrise with everyone happily dancing! My first gig in a club was in 2000. It was in a small venue called Le Vinyle in Paris, which no longer exists. I was about twenty years old.”
Practiced a Hundred Times
Jérémy: “Was I nervous? Yes, absolutely. Especially because I was only playing vinyl at the time. I practiced my set at home at least a hundred times. The audience was a mix of Parisian hype-clubbers and seasoned partygoers. It was a funny blend. Fortunately, some friends were also there.”
Cyril: “I wasn’t too nervous. I was always a bit afraid that things wouldn’t go smoothly because I also played only vinyl back then. At my first party, there were mainly seasoned ravers because I was playing hardcore, DND, and hard techno. And I still do. I’m a passionate advocate of Free Parties, the true free raves. No acquaintances or friends were present at my first gig. I was quite a loner when it came to electronic music at the time. My friends all listened to different music genres.”
Life-Changing Club Night
Jérémy: “At that time, I didn’t have a specific mentor. I became interested in electronic music when I was very young. I started DJing beatfit hip-hop around the age of fourteen. Around eighteen, I began producing house and techno, after a club night that changed my life! It was at L’Enfer in Paris, during one of the last nights before this epic club closed its doors.”
Cyril: “I never had a mentor.”
Suddenly Everything Went Silent
Jérémy: “Looking back, I was very proud and satisfied with myself after that first gig. But I also remember accidentally pulling the needle off the record I was playing instead of removing the record I had just finished. Suddenly, everything went silent. A huge rookie mistake!”
Cyril: “I never thought much about how that first time went. My goal always has been and always will be to make the audience dance and enjoy themselves. As for a big blunder, you could say I was too busy talking to notice that the record was about to end. Suddenly, you heard the people who were talking to me scream loudly.” (laughs)
Fuzzy Memories
Jérémy: “Did I learn anything from that first time? Actually, the memories of that evening are rather vague.” (laughs) “I must have learned something, just as I still do from every gig.”
Cyril: “Like Jérémy, I don’t have many memories of this magical era. Everything kind of blends together, so I don’t really remember much…”
Wlderz
Jérémy: “Since then, Cyril and I started Wlderz together. We have played in clubs all over Europe and had several releases. For 2019, we have a few EP releases planned, both on Sam Paganini’s label, JAM, and Joton’s label, New Rhythmic. And of course, we continue the great adventure that we started on our friend Electric Rescue’s label (Skryptöm). We’ll soon be releasing not only our fourth EP but also our first album on February 22, 2019. We hope it will be well received, so we can continue making and playing music.”
Cyril: “And of course, I will continue in the future to be an advocate, co-organizer, employee, and participant in many free parties together with my wife Alice. This dance movement is a new form of musical expression without boundaries and full of freedom, where I feel completely at home!”
Black & white photo’s by Alice Janin.
This interview with Wlderz was originally published in January 2019 on This Is Our House.
Who are Wlderz?
Wlderz is a techno project created in by Cyril and Jérémy, two Parisian DJs and producers since the late 90s. Wlderz are resident DJs for the French collective Newtrack but also for the After O’Clock party at Glazart Paris.
Inspired by many artists of all kinds, in their production as well as on stage, Wlderz like to tell a journey and make their listeners travel between industrial sounds, efficient beats and hypnotic melodies. Considered for their DJ sets and live acts that reach heights of energy, the Wlderz feel as comfortable behind the decks as behind the machines. A beautiful blend of techno and electronica, full of feeling, energy and authentic feelings, which translates into EPs released between 2017 and 2022 with the French label Skryptöm, and their wonderful album “Swimming in a Plastic Ocean”.
Wlderz have also released regular EPs and remixes on international labels such as Jam, Materia, New Rhythmics and Noir Music.
More Wlderz?
More First Gigs? Check them all here!
