Remixing biographies: Laurent Garnier

This is a rewrite of Laurent Garnier’s bio, based on an a conversation in theransomnote.com, a feature in Mixmag, and an interview in Decoded Magazine. An attempt at improving the basics — using the active voice, removing clichés, putting the emphasis on the right places, fixing punctuation and spelling, and generally shortening things — it is also a personal exercise in applying “The Elements of Style”.

Constantly moving forward, looking for new opportunities to express himself — a fitting description of Laurent Denis Garnier, a musician, author, and filmmaker, who is still at the forefront of global dance music 30 years into his career. A witness to the birth of contemporary dance music, Laurent Garnier became an influential participant in its history. A fact-checker over the minutia of dance music’s lineage, Laurent Garnier became an historian of the genre.

Born in France, the young Laurent moved to London in 1984 to work at the restaurant of the French Embassy. Spending the first Summer of Love further north, he discovered house music as played at Manchester’s Hacienda. One night, upon hearing a song, the frenchman rushed over to the DJ: pounding on the entrance to the booth almost to the point of breaking through the barrier, he identified the track as “Love Can’t Turn Around” by Farley Jackmaster Funk. A year later, he was the one inside the booth spinning records — his energy redirected towards the crowd.

Called back to France for compulsory service in the armed forces, Laurent missed the peak of acid house in the UK. Following his discharge, he went back to the Hacienda and resumed a residency for six months. It soon dawned on him that the musical wave that had swept over the UK had broken; he returned to France to catch the wave as it was about to reach the continent.

This spirit of adventure and opportunism is reflected in his approach to performing with live musicians: Laurent describes it as “a bit on the edge, a bit risky. I’m absolutely fascinated by the Doors for that: if one guy collapses then the rest will do their thing. It’s not going to sound the same, but it will still sound good.” He started these performances after his return to France; partly to prove that Techno could be played live, partly to reconnect with his love of Jazz and improvisation.

Having joined France’s cultural hall of fame — he became a knight of the Légion d’honneur in 2017 — Laurent remains restless: next to his core occupation as a musician and festival organizer, he wrote a memoir documenting the rise of Techno, and followed up with a documentary on the subject. When musing about the future, he wonders what will come next: running a restaurant where music plays a role, or composing film scores? Whatever he chooses, Laurent will stay true to the spirit he identifies with the music he loves: “The real essence of Jazz and Techno is freedom of expression. You always use machines, but you don’t stay where you are, you always move forward.”