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AGORIA'S AWESOME OTAKU STYLE!
“…With Sébastien Devaud, aka Agoria, who entered the world of electronic dance music at a peculiar moment in time.” (I had to rip straight from Heiko Hoffman’s words on Agoria’s French label InFiné; he just said it too perfectly.)
Growing up in rural France (Lyons environs) you may wonder how this young fellow got hold of the means to hear, consume, succumb to and eventually fabricate his own alluring deep house techno beats as a now well-sought-after world-renowned DJ and producer. Well, he started washing cars for the neighbors, that’s how. (Just for comparison, how many cars would you have to wash for a 3-day ticket to Fuji Rock nowadays? Depends on the cars, I guess.)
From those humble beginnings, listening to Kevin Saunderson on the radio back in 1988, Agoria has evolved his musically abilities to include mastering modern house and even foraying into the amorphous ambient realm (hear the soundtrack he crafted for the movie “Go Fast”).
While dousing dance floors with contagious techno for some time now, Séb Devaud (as his friends call him) has also become comfortable showcasing his uninhibited freeform style. But don’t take my word for it. Give his latest album drop “Impermanence” a thorough listen (preferably with some high-quality headphones, a glass of iced tea and just “allow yourself to drift.”) Its ebb and flow of style unencumbered by a particular vibe shows how versatile this young producer is. Let this sampler whet your palate:
Collaborators Agoria has sought out and attracted (Scalde, Carl Craig, Kid A, DJ Seth Troxler) blend seamlessly with his songwriting, too. This handy work allows the featured vocalist or guest instrumentalist to shine. Breeding and cultivating others talents is perhaps overlooked, but in great electronic music, as in enduring classical music, an intuitive and dedicated composer was and is an integral part.
Speaking on authenticity, Agoria not only makes great music to bring to the party; he makes the party to bring the great music to! For 10 years now, as-indie-as-it-gets, Agoria and a group of friends have been putting on Nuits Sonores, now one of France’s best electronic festivals, which takes over the city of Lyons each spring. This could be what propelled christening Séb with the moniker “Agoria” as well, stemming from the name of their party production crew after the ancient Greek word “agora” which means “meeting place.”
Playing as part of The Red Marquee Tent’s Tribal Circus lineup late-night on Saturday, Agoria is guaranteed to have the “meeting place” packed, and will definitely transform the concrete slab into one of the festival’s most happening international dance floors. Cue crazy laser technology.
It being a Fuji Rock appearance, and for solidarity’s sake, it helps that he looks a bit “otaku” and unassuming in many of his press photos, too. And, it seems that this video for Dust was in large part filmed right here in the Land of the Rising Sun.
A full schedule this summer spanning three continents and a whole slew of venues from a tree house to outer space to a beach party and the future… Fuji Rock is not his only rocking appearance, either. A month later he will be rocking in Paris for Rock en Seine. Rock on Agoria; we’re waiting for you!
