Interview by: Juan izguerra

Juan Izguerra: Hello Laurent! how are you? How are things in Paris lately?

Laurent (DJ Sundae): Hey Juan! I’m fine, thanks. 

Paris is busy like never and on top of that we will have the Olympic Games later this year … Like many capital cities, it’s hard to find a place to live and everything is expensive but … I still like it. Lots of friends are (still) living here and the cultural offer is nothing comparable to any other french cities, unfortunately. Even if I don’t go to every exhibition or live show I would have loved to, I like to know that there’s always something happening around. 

JI: Can you tell us a bit about your routine when you’re not traveling around DJ’ing? 

DJS: I’m mostly doing some graphic design, watching movies at night, reading books etc … 

JI: In Los Angeles I believe we struggle with our “club” scene but we thrive with warehouse parties. Can you tell us how the club/party scene is like in Paris? 

DJS: For what I know, it looks like the Paris « club » scene is better than L.A. 'cause we got a few actual clubs with late night closing etc …  That said and from my own experience, I find it also complicated here for different reasons, mainly because it looks like everything is changing every year, promoters & places. It's pretty hard to build something in the long run and it’s difficult to totally understand why. 

Hopefully, there are places like la Station, la Machine du Moulin Rouge or Rex Club which are consistent, each one in their own path. There are also nice alternative venues like Les Instants Chavirés for live acts outside the center of Paris where you’ll also find most of the warehouse type of parties. Recently we also saw the arrival of some hand-made sound systems (in the Jamaican style) like Tweak Sound System, dedicated but not only to dub and reggae but to other music genres, something that was truly missing here. 
 
JI: I find record shopping to be a bit therapeutic, especially when I visit a store by myself with no restraint on time. 
How is it record shopping/looking for music in Paris? Have the good finds gotten slimmer since the time you originally put together the Sky Girl Compilation?

DJS: I think Paris is great for record shopping, there are too many stores actually and some nice ones just opened recently. Among the classic ones, Dizonord, Plus de Bruit and Geminicricket in the Clignancourt flea market are my favorites. 

I don’t think the good finds have gotten slimmer since a decade but the record market has changed for sure, some things that were easier and cheaper to find are not anymore for instance. Different times, different finds I guess - still music. 

JI: When we met for the first time In 2023 in LA, you gifted me a copy of Jonnine’s LP Maritz. To be honest, I was completely unaware of the release somehow but when I listened to record, I fell in love with it.. Can you tell us how you two got the chance to meet and how you got the album to be released under your label Idle Press? 

DJS: So glad you liked it. 

I’ve always been a fan of HTRK and Jonnine's voice. The track she did with Rowland S. Howard «  (I Know) A Girl Called Jonny » is one of my favorite songs ever. Actually I would have never imagined collaborating with her until she wrote to me - at the time they were releasing Rhinestones (with HTRK) - saying that she liked my radio show! As she already released stuff on some friend’s labels like Good Morning Tapes & Kashual Plastik, I finally allowed me to ask her if she would be up to do something on ldle Press. Fast forward, a few months later, she started sending me some demos and we picked together the final tracks of the release. Amir Shoat did a fantastic mixing and mastering job. The result was really beyond my expectations, she’s so talented and so nice to work with. 

JI: I believe I read somewhere that you didn’t have any plans to work on another compilation at this time. Is that still true? Do you feel like you get a better joy releasing new music rather than surfacing music from the past? Or do you see a place where you can still do both?

DJS: « Never says never » but right now I'm not into the idea of a second volume of Sky Girl or anything to do with reissue except maybe the mixtapes I did for TTT or Good Morning Tapes which can be also regarded as compilations, in a very low profile style! But right now I’m definitely more excited to release new music on Idle Press.

JI: What can you tell us about this mix? 

DJS: My recent trip in the US and particularly LA was very inspiring. This mix is a postcard from my memories. Some of the tracks in this evoke the sensations I had when I was walking or driving around in L.A. plus some current favs. I hope you’ll like it.