How Francis Mercier went from Frat Parties to Selling Out Clubs Worldwide | EF EP 154

0:00 I reached out to some fraternities. I was like, hey guys, like do you need a DJ? People were like, OK, yeah, sure. We need a DJ. We have a budget, $300. I was like, this is a lot. That's so good. You know, coming from Haiti and looking back 20 years ago, $300 a lot. And I was like, OK, this is great, but I want to grow from this. I want to be able to potentially DJ in New York, potentially DJ in a club in Providence, not a frat party. So I went to New York and I was like, how am I going to play? You know, New York is city of dreams, city of opportunity, 100%, but it's a city that has everything. So there's many DJs, every club is busy, every place is so dark. It was very tough to like get access to a venue.

0:40 So what I did is I said, OK, you know what, I'm just, I'm just going to throw my own party. So I built a network really fast and I did my second party and it was a success. And slowly clubs started to like hear about me and I got access to a bigger club. I wonder how top DJs actually built their careers? I had to do 15 years of hard work to get any of the recognition that I wanted. Where I saw a turning point in my career is when I became true to myself. From marketing and mindset to networking and negotiation, I'm giving you the tools you need to build a lasting career in dance music. Give them bits of you and your everyday life. You have to change the way you view the word no. Like me, I'm encouraged by it. Join me, Olivia Mancuso and industry leaders as we reveal what it really takes to turn your passion into profit. This is elevated frequencies.

1:32 You are often referred to as like an ambassador of world music. What does it feel like to have that responsibility of that title on your name? It's, it's really humbling for me, you know, I think representing my country, representing so many different cultures, It's, it's a, it's a very humbling, it's something that I'm very proud of and it's something that I try to build on on a daily basis to remind me of my roots, to remind myself of my mission and the purpose of my music. So I think having this kind of accreditation it, it has a responsibility, but it's also a big pleasure to, it's a, it's a, it's a big honour to be referred to an artist that represents world, world music. I mean that that gives visibility to to culture as a whole.

2:30 Yeah. OK, so let's talk about your roots. So you grew up in a very multicultural environment. You grew up in Haiti, but you had friends from all different backgrounds. Talk to me about how your upbringing shaped how you experienced music. Just like before you were an artist, but just as a person. As a person, I think music was, was an escape. It was a moment where I could really kind of disconnect and, and find myself, you know, I think through music, I was able to travel mentally. I was able to disconnect from the reality, from the troubles that of of everyday in Haiti. I think music is, is a way for people to escape, right? You have like a lot of music holds a very, very big role in the culture.

3:29 There's Carnival, there's compound music, there's Haitian roots, there's a lot of music embedded within the the Haitian culture. And I think people use music as a way to disconnect, to kind of escape reality. And for me growing up, I remember, you know, music was a purpose for me to enjoy, to feel positive and also to connect and discover new people and discover new cultures and whatnot. So I was, I was really fond of different kinds of music. I was fond of, as I mentioned, Carnival music in Haiti.

4:13 I was also fond of European music because I had a lot of friends from from Europe, from France especially, and also from Africa back then since I went to international high school. And that gave me the capacity to kind of experiment different cultures in different ways. It helped me also learn English. It helped me learn Spanish. So I think through music, it was educational was an escape in only positive things to say growing up of. Course. So when, when did you move to the States? And did you move to New York straight from Haiti? No. When I left Haiti, I moved to Providence, OK. I went to university at Brown.

4:56 OK. I studied mathematics, but the summers prior to that I used to come to New York because I had some extended family that were living in New York. So I used to come as a tourist OK on like you know, 2-3 week during the the summer holidays. OK. So after graduating from high school, I really wanted to come study in the US that that's like a very common dream for most of the Haitian youth. It's to be able to travel and succeed abroad. Some people go to France, some people go to Spain, some people go to the USI was lucky enough to have the support of my parents, the guidance of my parents. So I, I applied to, to Braun, to a bunch of universities. A few accepted me, a few didn't, but I was lucky enough to get accepted by Braun.

5:46 I couldn't turn that down. So I, I proceeded in in going to Providence back in 2006. OK, so there's this other world where you could have existed as a mathematician. Yes. What? What did you want to do with that degree? Well, when I first came to the US to study, I, I wanted to do maybe something philanthropic, not necessarily mathematics. I wanted to do something to help my country. I really love mathematics. I wasn't sure what I wanted to do, but what I did know is that I had a high capacity and, and doing well in mathematics, right?

6:29 Like I took the SA TS and I scored like I think it was 75750 out of 750. Oh my God, yeah. So both SAT one and SAT 2. So studying mathematics was kind of like a safe space for me because it was like a field that I think was easier for than compared to a degree that I guess relied heavily on English or, or languages. I wasn't a very big language guy. Like I hated reading books. I always love solving problems, doing equations and what not. But yeah, moving to the USI was like, OK, let let me study something that I know I'm going to finish my degree. So I did applied math.

7:12 Econ was a great experience after graduating. I could have worked at a bank. I could have on different ways, I could have gotten an MBA, I could have started a business, I could have did many things. But throughout my studies, I fell in love with electronic music and with DJing. So I I, I felt true. I haven't stopped. So electronic music was in Providence, RI in 2000? You said 2006. 2006 I mean, even beyond that, like going to New York, back in Haiti, back in Haiti. Sure, sure. Back in 2000, you know, that's when there was like this electronic music kind of brewing. 2002, I remember that's when, you know, Tiësto started having his In Search of Sunrise albums, his compilation, and the DJ became like a symbol, became more than just a guy playing behind the decks. That's when the DJ went from somebody curating a playlist and more so doing concerts focused around the artists. So I remember in 2005, if I'm not mistaken, Tiësto played the Olympics in Athens, and that really marked me. I was like, well, this is insane. Like the guys playing the Olympics before, typically it's always like, you know, singers, rock bands, rock bands and whatnot.

8:38 This time was a DJ with all the fireworks, all the production. So that really marked me. And I, I, I, I was a fan of Tiësto back then. I was a fan of the Postal Service of Paul Van Dyke, who were all these amazing electronic artists, including Azure Riggia. I had a very wide palette. But given my admiration for electronic music, I went to to see some concerts in in New York when I when I went during the summers and also when I went there came to the US in 2006. That summer. I wasn't 21, so I had some sort of fake ID, but I sneaked into Pasha. I remember Pasha, Pasha in Manhattan and I think it was in 40 6th St.

9:20 I saw ATB, I saw, I saw I went to many clubs. There was a club called Crowbar back then. There was a crowbar here too. Yeah, there was a club called Cielo that was like, Cielo was like probably the top of the top in terms of house music with underground electronic music. And it was very refined. It was in in meat Packing District. So all these clubs, I was just fascinated by the lights, by the club, by the energy, the doorman being able to get in, not being able to get in. That really intrigued me. So I said, OK, you know what, let me go see a DJ. So I went to see ATB in concert. Then I saw Tiësto in concert. Then I saw Porn Van Dyken concert and I saw this big production at Hammerstein Ballroom in Central Park. I remember there was a company called Made Events back then. I was promoting the events and I couldn't believe it. I saw him in Van Buren with a vocalist singing. DJI was like, you know what?

10:17 I want to try and be like these guys. So did the DJ ING come first or did you try producing first? DJ ING first. DJ ING first so I got myself a small controller I went back to Providence. I started playing for fun in my room, in my dorm room, and I reached out to some fraternities. I was like, hey, guys, like, do you need a DJ? People were like, OK, yeah, sure. We need a DJ. We have a budget, $300. I was like, this is a lot. That's so good. You know, coming from Haiti and looking back 20 years ago, $300 a lot, yeah, a lot of money if. If you calculate today's money, I don't even know you're the mathematician.

11:01 I don't know what the inflation. Is that that would be probably the equivalent of like $1000. For a college kid, that's insane. Now unfortunately you throw a stone in any direction in a frat and there's like 12 DJs in that frat, so it's like completely different. Now there were there were maybe on campus at Brown, there were maybe like 5 DJs at most. So that was like. Yeah, I was. I was. I was one of them. I was one of them. Yeah, the ads are in your favorite. So and I was like, OK, $300 vin, whatever you give me, man, you give me like a Coca-Cola. I take it I did you. I just wanted to play just experience, you know, to be able to play music for in front of people. So it was so cool. I played all my little mash ups.

11:42 I remember I was doing my thing and they went well and I played the second throw, third throw and I started to build a name for myself on campus and I was like, OK, this is great, but I want to like grow from this. I want to be able to potentially DJ in New York, potentially DJ in a club in Providence, not a frat party. So I went to New York and I was like, how am I going to play? What am I going to do? First of all, I felt embarrassed because I had like a small controller and in New York back then it was Cerrado and everybody, everyone DJ were playing on vinyl and on CGS. And I was like, how am I going to do this? So one day I tried to go to a club and I tried to talk to DJ was like, hey man, can you teach me?

12:25 Like can I compensate you? The guy brushed me off. It was tough. It was tough. Thankfully, there was an institution called Dubspot back in the day and you know, I took some seminars, I took some, some classes, some, and, and that helped me a lot to like become an actual DJ, to learn how to play with vinyl, to learn how to play with CDJS, to learn how to play with Serrado. And that, that that evolved me to becoming like a legitimate DJ. But now after learning the trade and being able to play, getting a gig in the club was like something impossible. That was like, you know, New York is city, city of dreams, city of opportunity, 100%.

13:09 But it's a city that has everything. So there's many DJs, every club is busy, every place is so dark. So it's very tough to like get access to a venue. So what I did is I said, OK, you know what, I'm just, I'm just going to throw my own party. That you're literally, I'm so happy you said that because that is what I tell at like, if there are nowhere, there's nowhere you can play, throw your own party. So I went to, yeah, I went to to. I remember it was like a dive bar or like a lounge that wasn't doing well. It was a Saturday night and there were like 3 guys drinking champagne. So I was like, hey guys, you know, can we try and do something and we're like, yeah, sure, you can have Saturday nights. You're the keys to the venue.

13:59 We do like a profit sharing and the liquor sales if you want to charge a cover. It was like, you know, I had to negotiate. So I became a promoter and it was the first party I did. It was really tough. You know, it was I partnered with a cousin of mine who was living in New York and we probably had like 50 people show up. Not bad. Yeah, but not really, not really profitable for the venue. Sure. So it was a bit tough, but you know, it was a good experience. I was able to play. I really enjoyed. It was a big thing for me. But then I realized I needed to build my network. So I said, you know what, I'm just going to become a promoter before I take on the responsibility of taking more venues because there was like a bar guarantee.

14:42 There were liabilities for doing my own show. And we missed the bar guarantee, of course, right, by quite a lot. And we got hit with the bill. Yeah. So I was like, OK, before we try to do a party, I need to build my network. I need to have like friends in New York. I need to have fans, people I can talk to. I need to have a network. And this was what, like 2008 ish? No, no. 2000, 2002 Thousand 2007. 2007 OK. Because I used to leave Providence every weekend to go to New York, OK? I used to drive, take a bus for three hours and a half. Wow. 4 hours every Friday after school.

15:24 I mean, it's worth it. It's New York. Yeah. But it was, it was, it was, it was. It took a tour after after a year of doing that. Well prepared you. Now you tour the world every single. But it took a tour my academics for during during New York, every weekend for a year took a tour my academics. But it was a learning experience. So became a promoter. I started from the very bottom as a sub promoter, then became a better promoter. Then people started to get to know me. Then we said, OK, we're going to do another party. What was your methods, by the way? Because there was Facebook, I remember everybody was promoting on Facebook back then. Was that what you were? Using that, that's what I was using, yeah. And that was the. Glory days. So not, not a lot of people were tech savvy.

16:05 I wouldn't even say that's really tech savvy. You know, not a lot of people. The typical promoter, the typical DJ that was like in their 30s forties back in 2006, they probably weren't on Facebook. They were probably in Myspace or like not even really paying attention to Facebook. Me, I was like the new kid in the block. So I was like, Facebook is the new future and I gave it so much attention. That helped me grow my network so fast. So within two months of being a promoter, I kind of like people just knew me as a party guy. This is the guy to hit up. If you want to go to a show, he will. Or if you want to go out on a Friday and Saturday, he will have something. So I built a network really fast and we did the second party. I did my second party.

16:53 It was a success. And slowly clubs started to like hear about me and I got access to a bigger club. I remember there was a club called Club Touch back in the day. I was a big deal in New York. So I played there and it just grew from there, you know, from word of mouth travelled. And as I mentioned, you know, Facebook was like infectious and it was like, I like, it's similar to how can I explain? Like today you have AI, right? And a lot of people, not everybody has accepted or has developed their capacity to use AI at the at the maximum, right?

17:38 Those who have are making strides, like people who know how to use AI, who really understand how to manoeuvre the the app can make Flyers, they can make, you can make a song with AI, you can do anything with AI. So it was kind of similar, you know, if you use Facebook at the right time, like when we just started out, it was the best way to network, right? So those who mastered Facebook, who like knew how to make Facebook groups, who know how to make and like what people, they were just killing it, you know? 100%. So at the time, yeah, I really gave a lot of attention to Facebook and it was perfect. So if you were to start today, let's say we take your story, but we put it in 2026, what do you think you would do to build your network to do all those things that you did back then?

18:30 Well, the the concept would be similar, right? You have to go to a venue or go to an establishment that needs help and you have to offer your service and you have to be able to bring something to the table, something original to the table. So I would definitely go to a venue that's in need. I would offer my services to perform. Today, Facebook is not as relevant, but social media is still relevant where you have Instagram, which is kind of big. So nowadays I think looking back, it's it's a bit of a different a metric meet because in 22,000 and six there weren't the DJ was just like a DJ. Some of them were producers, not all of them. Nowadays most are producers.

19:18 If you're not a producer, it's very tough to DJ, you know, even if you have but skill set as a DJ, even if you can go to a venue to like speak to an owner to start your own party, it's great. But you can't really rely on the fact that you're playing music and you're DJing that that's not strong enough nowadays to be able to attract people and to give some something different. So I think nowadays, if I were to start over, what I would do is I, I would use social media to create music, to network and to market myself to have a product. It's a bit different. And after you have a product, then you can go to venues and you can go to town to try the DJ.

20:00 But today what has happened is with all the tools that are available from AI, social media, access to content, you know, Splice, which is like a music like like music library platform where you can get samples, royalty free samples, a lot of stuff is available, you know, VSTS being. You can get pretty much any VST for free. If you want to crack VSTS, you can go ahead and crack anything you want. You know, like up until just a few years ago most of my VSTS were cracked, right? So it's very accessible to make music nowadays.

20:44 It is, I think, where most of my audience is frustrated. Is that the experience you just described? Seemed a lot more straightforward. It was kind of like, OK, Step 1, build your network. Step 2. Approach a venue. It's the same, is the same. I agree. I think where they get frustrated is like, OK, well how much does my social media matter? And like. I think, I think it's, it's, it works hand in hand. You know, you, you, you can't just use social media and just be absent from the world. No matter how big you're on social media, no matter how amazing your music is, if you're a peoples person and you, you're a social butterfly and you can connect to people doesn't give you an advantage over the other producer or artist who may be a genius in the studio. The fact that you can talk to someone, connect with someone, have a human, you know, interaction. That's that's the key.

21:44 It's true to this day, no matter how amazing of a producer I may think I am, no matter how many skills I, I may think I have for the experience that I have, I still feel that my capacity to connect to people is, is my biggest asset. And it's something that I rely on that I use on every day. You know, even today, like if I want to, there's still goals, no matter how small, big whatever, wherever you are, you still have to network. There's still a bigger promoter, there's still a bigger DJ, there's still a connection you want to make still. So your capacity to network is, is really I think your biggest threat.

22:28 I'm happy you said that. It's another big topic on the show. And also one thing that I always stress is the importance of like, taking your time building relationships and not trying to rush things. It takes so long to build trust. Like when I first started my podcast, I had to cold e-mail a bunch of artist teams asking if their artists wanted to be on the podcast because you got to start somewhere. And, and I had done like some interviews at EDC and stuff. So I had like a little buzz, but it was I still no. You're a very good interviewer. Oh, thank you. I appreciate that. Artist teams didn't know that back then, so they didn't answer me or told me no, not at this time. Now, I've been doing this for three years.

23:09 Those teams are now approaching me because I waited. I was like, it's OK, they don't know who I am yet. I'm going to prove myself, put in the work, and it is. I'll give you this to the anecdote. So back in 2014, 2010, Diplo was like the biggest DJ of all time at the time. It was like the legend, you know, it was like doing the biggest shows in the US, doing the biggest shows in Europe. Back then there was Jack Wu. This is like bigger than whatever anybody can think him and Skrillex. So they played one of my songs and I did this remix of My Boo from Ghost and D JS with a friend of mine and they played it.

23:58 I was so happy and I was so proud that, you know, it felt like how am I ever going to meet this guy? The guys playing like Coachella, playing every day somewhere around the world, you know, travelling as global touring DJ. And it was always a dream of mine to be able to connect with him just because I appreciated his project Major Lazer, his project Jack Hugh and his solo project as Diplo. So it took me a lot of time. I tried to message him, never succeeded. And this is in 2014. Fast forward 2020, it's even later, 2021 I had, I like, I changed musical style, I went through patterns, I change everything. But seven years later, finally, I remember I went to Xamna in Tulum because that was like the only party that was open during COVID.

24:56 So I went to Tulum and Diplo was playing that festival. I got friends with one of the DJ that was playing that festival as well. He gave me access to guest list and here I am. I get to meet Deflo 7 years later. Wow, I couldn't believe it. Did you tell him? Yeah, I told him. And I was trying to talk to him and, you know, just, we met like just very casually and I had like maybe one like 30 seconds to just talk to him because he was like going from stage from the green room to the stage. So maybe not even 30 seconds, 10 seconds. Yeah. Just to make my best impression. Yeah. So I spoke to her like, hey, man, what's up, man? What are you doing? How are you doing? Thank you for my support and my music.

25:37 I had no clue who I was. I tell him from Haiti. He liked that. He was like, OK, you're from Haiti. That's cool. I love Jamaican culture. Do you know the Haitian DJ? Do you know Michael Boeing? This and that? And I was like, yeah, that's. That's great. And that was the first interaction. There had to be a second, a third, a fourth, a 5th, 6th interaction just to like, say hi, just to see him. Feel comfortable that he'll recognize. You and for him to recognize. Yeah. And then after like the 7th interaction he was like, Oh yeah, this is Francis. This is the dude that shows up. Come, come through. Come hang out. Yeah, come, come backstage. OK. And from there, when I made other records that I was able to present to him, hey, here's my song.

26:23 And then he started catching on because I had some buzz with my other, with my music, with Puma Gao that was really trending. Then we had Camille and I sent it to him, but it took like a lot of time. Took seven years and maybe 6 meetings, 6 just slight encounters to just get something to click. And the key is you can't take that personal. Like, you can't be like, he's an asshole. He didn't say he didn't remember. Like it's really hard. I try. I try to put myself in in in in my shoes. Yeah. Now, you know, a lot of artists, they try to talk to me and I, I do my best to be as kind and as receptive as I I check all my DMS, people send me messages at all times of the day.

27:11 I try to respond to everyone. And when people try to talk to me, I try to be very understanding because it's frustrating. It's a little bit tough, but this shows you that you cannot rush relationships, no matter how good of a producer you are. AI, this, that or the other, you know, being able to get the attention of like an artist, a label owner. It takes time. It takes time. You have to make the effort, you know. You do. And I think the important thing is, is continue to put out good product your, your tracks like whatever that is.

27:51 And eventually like they will notice. Yeah. For 100%, it's everything at the same time, right? So I did, I took the I took the initiative to go meet the pro to like take the time to connect with him. But at the same time I was producing Bing a records. I was in the studio. Yeah, busting, working like crazy Mad Men. You know, I was touring as much as I could. I was trying to make noise and, you know, people naturally catch on. It's the guy that shows up, but he's also right buzzing. He has all these tracks. He's there's movement, all right? I see him growing, then OK, then finally he followed me back on Instagram. Right. You see what I'm saying? It took some time.

28:32 It's not like, hey, I'm here, here's my track. No people. No, Yeah, you have to earn your stripes and you have to work towards it. So the the bottom line is I think 20 years ago, Fast forward to now, it stands true. You have to earn your stripes, you have to put in the work and the networking is the basis and the key of everything. It is. It is because some of the most talented people in the world are like neurodivergent. They're not good at talking to people. But, and I feel bad saying this, but that you're not going to get as far if you can't develop people skills And as I'm introverted, which people are like, Oh, that's weird. You have a podcast.

29:16 This is different. This is like a one-on-one, whatever, But I've had to put myself out there in like, you know, Miami Music Week, right? It's all about putting yourself out there making intros to people. And I've gotten like denied. There was there was someone who I like thought remembered me and didn't like very recently and I was just like, whatever it is what it is, you know, like. You have. You have. You've met 500 people just these past three days. It's tough. It's. Tough and and it's OK like, but you have to like I have a thick skin. Yeah, you, you. You have to, to be, to survive in the music industry. You have to have a thick skin. You have to be ready for rejection. All the time.

29:59 You have to embrace rejection. It needs to be part of your DNA. Yeah, Because you know, it's bound to happen and it doesn't matter at any level. Even at the highest level, you could be, I don't know, you could be David Guetta, you could be Tiësto, you could be, you name it, Cardi B, You could be Drake. Rejection happens even at that level because if you put a song, the fans don't like it. They're the boss. You know, so your mindset has to be, you know, accepting rejection, accepting challenges and, and, and being able to, you know, not let yourself go down after taking a hip. 100%. After being told no after realizing that something didn't work out, got to be able to pivot to have like very good hip movement.

30:52 You know, yeah. Go from one side to another. So true. These are all like the soft skills, like the resilience, the, you know, like those are the things that make or break careers. Absolutely. And I think that's something true to me, you know, being from Port-au-Prince, Haiti, you know, that's as a Haitian, I think this is you have to be extremely resilient to to survive, you know, to survive Haiti. And naturally I think, you know, Haitians are very resilient. So my upbringing, the kind of environment that I grew up in and the history of my country make me a very resilient person.

31:33 And that's, that's, that's another asset that I would say contributes to where I am today. 100% but then you also move to like the East Coast where you're, I was telling you before we started the podcast, like I want to move to New York because and I love Chicago. Like I love being from here. So just being there last weekend, seeing everybody compete at the highest level for everything. Like I was on Orchard St. shopping. What was the name of this place? It was a really dope clothing shop, men's clothing, had a record shop upstairs. And I was talking to the guy. He's from Jersey who owns the place and he just like hustled his way into getting a store on Orchard St. He was a fashion like designer and now he's doing like collabs with Nike all within five years.

32:24 And I'm like listening to his story. My eyes are popping out of my head. I'm like, that's so cool that. New York is. Like it's the best of the best. No, I, I really love New York. I mean, you know, growing up like, OK, I went to university in Providence, but after that I've been in New York for a long time and I've adopted New York as my home. New York has adopted me as as one of theirs. And I think it's this kind of city that, like you mentioned, you know, the competition is at is at its highest level. Everybody wants to be their best version. So inspiring. And the city is moving at a pace that I haven't seen any other city like that.

33:06 And personally, you know, New York is home. So anytime I go home, I work the hardest. Yeah. So like when I'm on tour, it's like I'm on vacation when I come to New York. Right pressure. I'm supposed to be relaxing, but that's, you know, the minute I land, the minute I get to the city, the minute I get to my studio, everybody's moving. The city is bustling, you know, people, things are happening. That's when I sit down and I have all my creativity at the Max. 100% like you. You can't not be inspired because no one else around you is taking it easy. And I've, you know, a lot of like the people who listen to the show have talked about what you talked about, like in the beginning, starting your own night, doing your own thing, which I think you can and should do no matter where you live.

33:50 But I also think, you know, for the most part, the people who listen to the show are like younger single DJ producers. You have the flexibility to go live somewhere, try it out for a year, like do it go to, you know, Miami, New York, LA and just get inspired and and then decide. But everything is about timing, so I wouldn't recommend for someone to move to New York unless you have a product. If you don't have a product, stay somewhere inexpensive. Yeah. You don't have a product, don't go to Miami. Definitely not Miami. I do think there's something to be said about being scrappy though and like figuring it out like in.

34:32 Yes. In my 20s, there is, there is. But I think you need to have either a product or a know how. Sure. So before you step foot to New York, you got to know how to do something. If you know how to make beats, good. If you know how to DJ, good. If you know how to network, good. If you know how to be a hustler, whatever you know, just come. Don't come to New York empty handed because the city will eat your life. That's true. That's something I can see loud and clear. That's that's very true. So I think, you know, everything is about timing. After you feel like you have good experience as a producer, you know how to produce really well, you know you have something to offer, go to New York, you'll find gigs.

35:12 But if you show up there thinking you're going to come learn and you don't have anything to offer, it's very costly. You know, it's tough to survive there. Yeah, no, it's good advice. It's very practical advice, so you're obviously not spending a lot of time there ever. You're you're touring all over, you have your residency. Has it started yet in Ibiza? Yes, my residency will be starting on June 1st. OK, so right around the corner. And. That's the Soleil experience, right? That's. The Soleil experience. OK, so give me the background of how that came to be do. You know, to be honest with you, I'm not for words to be able to say that I have a residency at high visa Is is it's a big, it's a big, it's a, I'm very proud of this moment.

36:00 I think I've worked really hard to get here and I'm really excited. I think it's the perfect venue to showcase the brand, to be able to connect with people. The we're, we're doing like a layout that's going to be quite unique. There's a very high proximity to all the guest. It's for me it's, you know, it's a big blessing to be able to perform in Ibiza. I think it's the capital of, of, of dance music to be honest with you think all the DJs are performing. Everybody dreams to come to Ibiza, to perform in Ibiza. So it's a very transient crowd. Bit of everything goes goes on there. Every kind of music I think gets displayed there and it's a very competitive, very competitive market. So I think it's going to bring the best out of all the artists. It's it's the place that brings the best out of all the artists. Sure.

36:52 Well and what what you're doing with the Soleil that's also very experiential, right. I mean, there's, there's other elements to absolutely. Basically, basically my residency at High is going to be, it's going to be, I think big cultural movement where we're going to be showcasing artists from all four corners of the world. We're gonna be focusing different music, different styles of music, different ethnicities, right. We have for the opening night, for example, we have an artist from South Africa, an artist from Greece, an artist from New York, which is where I'm where I'm basically where I'm from. And also an artist from Haiti, which is where I'm from too, because we have Naika who's gonna be doing a live PA live performance and we have two artists from Morocco.

37:42 So it's a very multicultural lineup. Musically. We're not going to be sticking to just Afro house all night. We're going to be doing Afro house. We're going to be doing classic house. Louis Vega and Annie Vega, they're going to play like very discoish. Yeah, I'm going to play a bit of Afro, but I'm also going to play a bit of tech, a little bit of minimal. You know, we're going to go, we're going to go with the flow. Also have an artist from Tunisia and an artist from Italy performing. So cool. The opening night in itself. We're covering like 8 different countries. That's amazing. Musical palette and you. Know that your audience is going to reflect that too, which is the coolest part, like, because there's going to be something for everybody that's going to, you know? So I mean, my audience, it's this is what we get, you know, that's, that's something that's really cool. You know, at my shows, there's so many different flags people come with like Brazilian flags, you have Moroccan flag, you have Lebanese flag, you have a bit of everything. You know, that's cool.

38:41 So from the line up to the music being played to the crowd to the experience is going to be very diverse and and culturally rich night. I think, well, that's true of tonight. My Lebanese friend is opening for you. Yeah. Rami. Yeah, yeah. So that's amazing. And and and for the residency is going to be happening every Monday for a total of 19 weeks. Wow. 1919 Oh my God. Between between the theatre and the club room and the wild corner we have about I have we booked about 150 artists. It's.

39:27 A big undertaking. Yeah, I mean, for me, you know, it's it's it's a big pleasure. I mean, I've worked towards this all my life and. I mean, you're, you're now like the conductor of the whole experience versus just playing like it puts you in so many other roles. Yeah, I'm wearing different hats, you know, as as a talent buyer, as a curator, of course, you know, a big shout out to the team at High. They've supported me along the way to to build a lineup and we have more surprises as well. Cool that we're working on. I'm so happy. Really big surprises. But I think for me, I think it's the it's, it's, it's the most complete. Residency in terms of diversity and lineup in terms of diversity and musical style, in terms of quality.

40:14 And I, I think, you know, the, the layout is going to be quite epic. You know, we've, we've put together one-of-a-kind of production. We're going to have a very unique Soleil. The visuals are going to be like really epic. And, you know, High Ibiza has an amazing sound system. I think we have all the odds. And on top of it, the best part for me is we're going to be having a weekly soccer game before every show. Oh. That's awesome. Yeah. So we're going to have, I love that the DJs fans are going to be able to to play with us. So it's going to be. Really. Yeah. So who do you want on your team? Like, who's the best? I mean, you're you're good at soccer, I'm assuming.

40:55 Yeah. OK. Who Who else is good at soccer? There are a few people that are good at soccer. I think Avo, who's performing the residency is good. Also, our remix is good. He's those two artists are assigned to my league with Deeper Records. OK, Other artists that are really good at soccer, right? I know Andrea Oliva. Yeah, he's a big soccer fan. I know. Yeah, many, many people. Vanco is very fun. Capriati good at soccer? Maybe. I know Calvin is very good at soccer. He's Italian and he's like. I spoke, I spoke. I spoke to John Summit. He's gonna join, really. He also has his residency on Mondays at Universe when I'm at high, but he said he's going to join.

41:38 So he told me up front he's a very bad player, but he said that he's a he's a hustler, so meaning he's going to run twice as hard. Yeah, he's athletic at least. Yeah. Oh my God, He. Said he's going to hustle his way on the field. That's amazing. Are you record? Like are these going to be recorded somewhere? We're going to have pictures. I need to see clips. They're going to be clips. You will have evidence. OK, I want to see the evidence. Yeah, but but we're going to be inviting, you know, not just DJs who perform at the Soleil shows where we're going to be inviting every, every, every artist that play at Pasha, that play at Circle Loco, that play everywhere, you know? Amazing. So and also fans, most importantly, cool.

42:18 We're going to have like a mini screening process where we're going to give priority to fans that look a bit athletic. Sure. I mean, yeah, you don't want them to get hurt and. Then so. You're on the you know, we're. Going to have a screening process where people, you know, we're going to give priority to people who already know how to play soccer, who express and who can play, who have some experience playing. And the the format is going to be really interesting. We're going to have about 30 players. It's going to be 3 teams of 10 players and we're going to have like a rotation. So the every game is going to, you know, the team that scores, that leads by two goals stays in field. The team that's losing by two goals gets replaced. Wow.

43:04 And we do that for a total of two hours. That's cool. Pretty. Good. Wow. I mean, we did. We did it in Miami for Music Week. Oh yeah, I did it recently in Dubai as a fundraiser for Lebanon. Oh yeah, I saw that. Yeah, I saw you were holding a big check. Yeah, so we're, we're going to be doing 1 as a fundraiser tomorrow in in Miami for Haitian Flag Day. Amazing. We're donating to a big Haitian charity who's also going to be leading a lot of the funds towards the Towards Soccer initiative back home. We're going to be doing a big one also a fundraiser basis in Jordan and and in Amman and when I go there in May and the one in Ibiza.

43:52 For now, there hasn't been a fundraiser tied into it, but potentially maybe the closing game or one of the games will dedicate dedicated to to philanthropic purpose. That's amazing. But mainly, you know, I, I love to be able to connect with, with DJs in the personal level. You know, I think it's great we see each other in the club in the DJ booth when we exchange decks. But being able to play a soccer game, it creates A deeper connection one. 100% that's what we were talking. About and a little bit of competition. Yeah, right. Yeah, Good memories. Well, I would never. I'm so bad at sports. It's like. You would join. You would join if you come TV's you join. I would there's no, you wouldn't want that.

44:33 I would not pass your screening process. I did play when I was younger and my dad was my coach and he told me what is it called when you just hang out by the goal like you're goaltending you're just waiting on? The side. Yeah, I was just waiting for the ball to get there so I could, like, try to, you know, because I didn't like running. Yeah. So no, it's crazy. I can dance like 12 hours no problem but I will not run for 5 minutes. Yeah, so Soleil is going to be an Ibiza. Every Monday we're going to have soccer game and the DJ show. On top of that, we're going to have a residency as well in Mykonos. I have 5 dates in Mykonos at Santana throughout December. So it's in.

45:17 We also have like a Soleil showcase in in New York and in Montreal. Also one coming up in LA. Amazing what you're having one in Montreal when? Montreal is going to be July 25th, so that but it should be really epic. I'm going to be there in a. Couple weeks, OK. Yeah. Well, it's really cool to see everything that you've done with your career. Like you're a testament to just showing, like, what you can do being a DJ beyond making music. I mean, you're building brand experiences, you're doing philanthropic endeavours, you're connecting other artists. Like it's a really beautiful thing. Yeah. And also we didn't get to speak about that, but I also have a record label, which has been a big part of my success. I think, you know, launching my own imprint and kind of creating my own crew has helped me a lot, you know, because we're able to help each other and grow together. So I currently work with amazing list of artists including MO Black Knight, Freak, Karimi, Alpha Adasia, Jawara, PT. So this really helps really create a movement. I think you're, you're seeing something similar in the UK where you have like Charge, Baker, Prosper, Max Dean, all these guys kind of like playing with each other, you know, sharing lineups, doing back to backs. This helps you know this.

46:46 This kind of association is really key for growth for all. It's a really, it's a really great point. So I've, I've always tried, you know, to, to instill this kind of strategy. Yeah, for my artist career and for the career of the artist that I work with. Yeah, that's amazing because there's a lot of record labels that don't, and this is, no, nothing against them. They don't really do anything for the artist because they don't have the resources. So it's like you sign the track, it comes out and then that's it. Yeah, we, we have like a record label and an artist management at the same time. And I think, you know, trying to create collaboration is, is really a key. It's a really key element for growth. A lot of the records, the biggest records that I've seen in in the past five years, I think, you know, stem from collaboration.

47:43 Yeah, that's a great point. Well, thank you for taking the time to do this. Coming here from the airport, it's our pleasure. I know your time is limited. Thank you. You're. Welcome.