Ask him about his job, he will tell you about a passion.
An unconditional love of music, a taste for the new, an insatiable curiosity planted in a solid classical culture, these are some manufacturing flaws that naturally led Eddie Megraoui through the programming arcana.
The Baron in Paris and worldwide, La Dame Noire in Marseille, Le Boom Boom Boom in NYC, Behind the Green Door in Beirut, the Petit Palace are only some of the places that hollow out the silhouette of this discreet man who has become by force of circumstances, one of the organisers of our nights’ musical flow. Programmer of the Baron, Castel, Petit Palace, Eddie Megraoui also signs the musical lines of the Amour Hotels, the Café Henrie NYC, the Vaudou Cochon evenings …
Ask him about his obsessions, he will answer you, jumbled or completely: Beggars Banquet, Sgt Pepper, Freewheelin ‘Bob Dylan, Born To Run, Funeral – Arcade Fire, Nobody Knows You When You’re Down and Out by Bessie Smith, Wild In The Wind by Nina Simone, Harvest, Elvis Presley (her first record), King Of The Delta Blues Singers – Robert Johnson, They Call Me Muddy Waters, Otis Blue, the Velvet Underground (with the banana), Kind Of Blue – Miles Davis.
G.Wen: Who are you?
Eddie Megraoui: Big question. Who am I ? Well my name is Eddie I am almost 40 years old and when I am writing this lines I can say I spent the first part between Nice & Monaco and I moved to Paris almost 20 years ago to “work in music “
G.Wen: What is your musical inspiration?
E. M.: as a child I wanted to become a Rolling Stone. I also dreamed of walking in New York, a pair of boots on my feet and Suze Rottolo hanging on my arm. Then growing up I became interested in my idols’ origins of the sound. I discovered the delta blues. Later when I became a DJ, I first discovered Superpitcher, the 2 Many and became passionate about Andrew Weatherall, Manfredas, Red Axes, Simple Symmetry and many more
G.Wen: What are you looking for in sound?
E. M.: I’m looking for an emotion, a feeling, something that takes me to the guts and that never lets go of me.
G.Wen: How do you approach the Artistic direction?
E. M.: First of all, I don’t define myself as an artistic director. I was never the instigator of a place. Whether with Lionel at the Petit Palace, Mélinda at Castel or Emmanuel for the Hotel Amour in Nice. My job is to play to music they imagined for their places. Finding the right DJ, having the great gig, being able to cheat myself sometimes and making the right playlist when people are having dinner. This is my job. Without forgetting to put discs, wav or mp3 files because I am at the base a D.J.
G.Wen: What are you looking for for your artistic universe?
E.M.: It all depends on the venue… for Petit Palace we are looking to present a wide range of electronic music. We like to try experiences, mix totally different artists. Under the laser of Castel nightclub we are in a joyful universe, disco, house. The Consulat is a different place where we are looking for performances, very refined acoustic concerts with as little electricity as possible, all lit by candles. For the Hotel Amour in Nice, the idea is to have the best soundtrack in the world to be able to have a good time without forgetting the Lives that we had the chance to receive and our many D.J. friends who came to visit us.
G.Wen: What are your privileged places?
E.M.: Obviously the venues where I work: Petit Palace, Petit Prince, Castel, Consulat and the Amour Hotels in Paris. I am lucky to feel at home. Then I am always very happy to go to the various places run by friends.
G.Wen: Your ideal playlist?
E.M.: La Valse d’Augustine by Vladimir Cosma;The Rolling Stones – Out Of Time, The Beatles – 8 Days A Week; Bob Dylan – Jokerman; Primal Sceam – Loaded (Andrew Weatherall Remix); Kino Todo – Goa Kids; Sébastien Tellier – L’Amour et la Violence; La Fama – Rosalia & The Weeknd YOGA Wolfer & The Dove (Simple Symmetry Remix) Italoconnection – Get Together; Nina Simone – Mississippi Goddam
G.Wen: Is music associated with Fashion?
E.M.: I do not know why I have always made the link between these two arts via a song by Laurent Voulzy called Mary Quant. When I first listened to this song I immediately tried to imagine myself in the streets of London at the time when the Beatles were a young group which annoyed the hairdressing unions. There is obviously a lot of convergences… We can see today the multiple collaborations like Kanye with Yeezy. Virgil Abloh’s true musical streak, Hedi Slimane’s permanent obsession with rock bands.
G.Wen: Your Musical news?
E.M.: Well I’m coming back from Mexico where I had the chance to play a few evenings. In mid-December my partner Anja and I will play at the Petit Palace for our monthly Vaudou Cochon and I’m going to have to move around a bit to release a mix in January.
My new mix “Could There Be A Good God ? Damn” is online now
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