Jane Music Agency announces the label’s second EP release: David Garcet and Marie Lenoir’s sultry house gem Another Line with sterling remixes from Haze-M, Thodoris Triantafillou and Just Her.

Belgian-born David Garcet DJ is an eclectic electronic music artist who stands out from the crowd through the sheer originality of his creations. An ambitious and determined originator, his skill and artistic direction has recently been channelled into the formation of a music agency and label based in Bangkok, Jane Music.

Successfully blending the melodious and the decadent, every one of David Garcet’s tracks plunges its listeners in his very personal and emotionally charged universe, including latest deep, progressive house cut Another Line. David Garcet and Marie Lenoir last collaborated on 2012’s celebrated MAO, so we’re incredibly pleased to finally be able to present the long-overdue return of this electrifying pairing.

The duo’s undeniable chemistry really shines through on Another Line, with heavy, resonate basslines and dark melodies juxtaposed with the subtle singing style of Marie Lenoir: unique layers that are seamlessly blended for a powerful electronic hymn that will captivate dancefloors worldwide.

The original is backed up with a trio of remixes, all of which tread their own unique path. Up first is Haze-M who takes it down a more progressive house route, before Thodoris Triantafillou heads into truly epic territory with soaring synths and intertwining arpeggiators. Completing the package, Just Her ends on an exultant note with hazy washes of synth and a soaring, progressive remix that builds to an exhilarating climax.

WWD: Hi David, thanks for speaking with us. Where in the world are you, and what’s the current situation like for you at the moment? 

Currently I am in Dubai, I arrived here about 3 months ago. I relocate to Dubai for a few months every year, amongst other cities. The situation here, much like everywhere else in the world, is taken very seriously. If anything, I feel it is being better supervised than in other countries. The rules of confinement are very strict, and I must say that they are respected faultlessly. We have access to good quality and affordable tests, not to mention that we don’t have any shortage of masks, disinfectant gel or other useful commodities that help prevent the spread of the virus.

WWD: For those who might not be familiar with you, please tell us about your background in music…

My passion for music was developed at a young age. I grew up with a father who was producing electronic music, his home studio was situated in the room adjacent to my bedroom in our family home. I must have only been about thirteen at the time. Every day I would see all sorts of odd characters walk past my room and go lock themselves up in my father’s music laboratory. They would spend hours in there, producing new bear and electro music. I therefore grew up with an ear for those sounds. I was young and I already loved what I heard and what would be played through the house. It was epic.

I quickly got to an age where I was old enough to go out which led me to discovering techno in the beginning of the 90s, and that was some heavy stuff. The underground electronic scene in Belgium back then was insane…I would go out Friday through to Sunday without any hesitation, those were the days!

Despite having my father’s studio located within arm’s distance, the actual desire to produce anything of my own didn’t come until much later, I would say at the start of the 2000s. I was buying a lot of records, including things like “Adult” ,”The hacker”, “David Caretta”, “DJs HELL”, and so many more. What really picked my brain in those was the electroclash movement. This sound motivated me, so much so that it jumped me into action and into buying an MPC400. A purchase that almost ruined me at the time, but I never looked back on. I had also managed to get my hands on a DX7 and a Prophet 600 which were still lingering in my father’s studio. These became a solid foundation on which I worked relentlessly on for a while.  

In 2004, I had a few finished tracks, so together with a few other friends that were also trying to kickstart their careers on the scene, we launched a small Electro label called Pinkslowmotel. It was on this label that I released my first track “Stay Yourself’. We had printed 300 copies and even found a distributor willing to work with us. It felt amazing, we were on top of the world. There was no greater feeling than holding a disk that we had produced in our own hands. All in all, there were 5 releases on this label, of which one really took the lead and enabled our label to stand out, it was called “Confidence Ghetto Mix”. This track was mixed into a compilation by Trentemoller “Harbour Boat Trips. This really boosted our confidence and our label’s credibility at the time.  Unfortunately, the label didn’t last, things kind of unravelled from there, none of us were prepared to take on this sort of project. But it definitely fuelled our drive to throw ourselves into more work and push ourselves in other ways.  From there the adventure has continued onto other labels.

WWD: How is the electronic scene in Thailand? It’s not something we hear a lot about over here in Europe, but there must be some real talent out there…

Like everywhere else in the world there are many excellent and talented local DJs. But contrarily to what we are used to in Europe, the Underground music scene in Thailand is very small. It began developing quite late in comparison to Western countries, and only a minority of music enthusiasts in the country actually listen to and are interested in that sort of music.

It’s actually quite risky to invest money as a promoter into an event and its guests. Laws change often and rapidly which can lead to costly mistakes or problems that impact the success of your event. It isn’t unusual that the morning of your event for which you’ve booked an expensive DJ, you are suddenly told that the club needs to close at 1AM rather than 5AM. You can imagine the situation, unfortunately it happens really often and without any explanation, you just have to adapt and hope for the best of the situation. In calmer times however, there are some really cool spots where it is possible to rage all night long, places like Mustache, which is the most notorious and reputable underground venue in Bangkok. For those who don’t like big cities, there’s always the option to head down to Koh Phangan, an island that boasts a truly explosive party scene and culture… There’s definitely never a dull moment living in Thailand!

WWD: What’s your studio set up like? Do you have any go-to bit of hardware or software at the moment?

I travel a lot nowadays which has resulted in a very lean and simple setup: laptop, mini controllers, plugins. When I’m moving around, I work essentially with headphones, I have a pair of Phonon SMB-02, they are incredible to work with, I definitely recommend them!

I still have my own studio in Brussels, that’s where I mix my own tracks when I get back from my travels, on a KRK Rockit G4 or on a Tannoy System 600. They are very old school models, but I really enjoy using them.

WWD: Tell us about Jane Music Agency… it’s a new label right? Why did you set it up, and what can we expect from it this year? 

At the start, Jane Music Agency was a booking agency, created by Mjane to facilitate booking local artists and organising events. For years, Mjane and I have been producing music together. Several of our tracks have been released in recent years on cool labels like Dantze, Manual Music, Tulipa Recordings, E&D, etc…

One evening, we had just put our finishing touches on a track when jokingly we said we should release the track ourselves. It seemed almost obvious and logical all of a sudden. The agency was already set up, all we needed to do was add an extra layer on top of that with the label. Excited by all these new prospects, it wasn’t long before we had everything in place. To really commemorate the change, we change our branding by modifying the logo, the website and even rethought the design. We had a few tracks of our own in mind, so the idea was to start with those and to involve other artists that we enjoy working with to put together a series of remixes.

The intent behind the label is to deliver an eclectic mix of underground music styles and sounds. We enjoy a wide array of genres and music varieties, we want our label to reflect this, avoiding being engulfed in something too repetitive. Having said all that, you can expect a lot of surprises along the way, sometimes taking a deeper dive into rhythms and styles that are far from what we know as club music. All I can say is that it’s going to be one hell of a journey, we’re excited to be able to share with music lovers from all over.

WWD: You’ve got an amazing package of remixes on the single – how did you go about selecting the artists for the mixes?

Each day we dedicate time to listening and discovering new artists through our research, we also get sent a whole bunch of demos. Our process is quite simple really. When we hear something we like we contact the artist or their agent, we then make them an offer. Sometimes they go for it, other times they don’t. The industry is so vast, we always have our hands full with new talent which is very exciting for us.

WWD: A quick word on the impact of coronavirus… is it making you more productive in the studio?

What is happening now is actually pretty mad if you think about it, I can’t say that being confined has made me any more productive or creative, I’ve always been motivated to work a lot, the situation has not really changed anything for me ultimately.

WWD: Do you think there are any positives that will come out of this, or lessons for the industry to learn?

Without meaning of sounding controversial, I don’t really see what we could take as a positive from this situation. It is clear that what we are living now will have complicated repercussions on our future and our economies around the globe. A return to how things were will take time and will be compromised for a while still. Dancing will be done through a Facebook live stream this summer that’s for sure!

WWD: What else do you have coming up this year?

You can expect a number of releases on Jane Music Agency, as well as some new amazing remixes. We’ll also be putting the spotlight on some new artists we’re working with. A lot of work still, and always with the objective of elevating this project as high as possible.

WWD: Finally, what’s been your favourite musical release of the year so far?

That’s a difficult question as there are plenty! But the first that comes to mind is “Too Far Gone” by Phil Kieran, this track has an irresistible attitude, I love it!

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