WMC has come and gone, our streets were flooded with ravers, edm fans and some of the biggest names in the industry. One of the DJs on my radar this week is Interscope Recording Artist, Norman Doray. He’s worked with some of the greatest in the scene including DJs such as Avicii, Tristan Garner, Albin Myers, David Tort, David Guetta, Dirty South, Laidback Luke, Tony Braxton and many more.
His passion for music is a great drive for him and has taken him around the globe. It’s been a great year for him in addition to his “Give It 2 U” remix, Norman announced that he’ll be launching his own record label under the moniker ‘Reecords’ as well as a Radio show under the same name.
I caught up with French born electro, progressive house DJ Norman Doray to ask him a few questions and get the inside scoop on his career and here is what he had to say.
Tell us your story; what gave you the initial push that made you want to get in to the music industry?
Actually when I was a teenager until the age of 15,16 I was really in to sports, I was kind of a surfer in France where I am from and I would spend my time surfing and playing sports. Then around 16, 17, I started thinking, I like being a surfer, but I won’t be the top 10 surfer in the world so I won’t make this my life. I started thinking, what is my other passion and what do I want to do for a living, and then I was like, oh let’s try the music industry. I have always been involved in music and playing instruments with my family. From there is started to DJ some places around my hometown and then everything went not fast but it progressed smoothly and shortly after I was touring the world.
How did you learn the craft, was this something you learned on your own and just picked up, or had you played around with DJ equipment before, or did you have someone teach you?
I actually picked up everything by myself, but then I joined a few friends when I moved to Paris back in the days and we started doing tracks and music that was more commercial and then we hit the radio with one major hit back in 2005 or 2006 I guess and we became number 1 in France for about two weeks and it put us on the spot fast and from that day we started to receive calls from people like David Guetta who were interested, we were young and new and they wanted to work with us. I have to say that actually David helped me a lot with my career.
Speaking of artists such as David Guetta, who are some other artists that you look up to before and now?
I have always been influenced by my musical roots in disco and funk music. I was always influenced and inspired by that and then later I was influenced by the French, Dutch movement in the beginning of 2001 through 2003, bands like Daft Punk were really huge and that influenced me a lot.
Who would you like to work with in the future?
There are plenty of people that I have never worked with. People like Coldplay, all these more disco bands like Shake all these people are people I really admire them and would love to work with them but it’s tough to do these kinds of collaborations right now. I need to work more and be more in the spotlight and then maybe one day I will have the chance to work with these people and it would be a dream to me.
When you are in the studio, what influences you?
Everything around me influences me. I just started writing music, listening to the radio in the morning, or watching the news, or even the weather outside. I try to get vibes off people and everything around me. I am trying to get inspiration from everything. Music is a reflection of your mood.
What is one of your most memorable events or moments in your career so far?
Good question, it’s tough to pick one of them, but I remember playing with David Guetta in a huge concert hall in Paris with about 50,000 people it was a really big event and I was opening for him and it was really great memory, because the vibe was really great and I was like WOW, my first big thing. That was a really good memory.
What is your most embarrassing moment when you have performed?
Ha, that is actually a good question, I don’t know. I think just getting on stage. I remember once getting on stage and really excited ready to rock it and I forgot my USB key with all my music on it. So when you are on stage about to rock it and you don’t have your music, yeah, it feels pretty weird.
Speaking of rocking it, when you get up to the decks, do you already have a set in mind, is it pre-planned?
I actually never really plan my set, I try to go earlier before the show like thirty minutes so I can get a vibe of the crowd, the DJ before me, I just want to check the crowd and see the mood they are in so I can start with maybe one or two tracks in the same direction the DJ before me is going and then switch it another direction. I am always trying to do these kinds of things.
What is a “Go-to” track that you always include that you just love?
There is one track that has always inspired me and that is why I am doing this right now, my career. It’s a track from I believe 1998, from Stardust “The Music Sounds Better With You” it was a huge hit in the past and still a lot of DJs and music play this and I really like it.
When you come to Miami, outside of the music scene, what do you like to do out of the club?
Miami is actually the first place in the US to play and to be a DJ so it is a very special place for me. I try to spend a few days outside of my show and stay on South Beach and take a trip to Ft. Lauderdale beach. I like to check out the architecture and the scene; I really like to take time to just relax.
WMC is here and there is so much happening this year, what can we expect to hear and see from you?
Right now I am focusing on music; I am finishing a ton new singles right now. Trying to work on different things, this year will be filled with collaborations, and hopefully plenty of tours, new singles and more music.
What advices do you give to up and coming DJS trying to break in to the industry?
I have been giving the same advice, I don’t know if it is working, but I always say to the new DJs, take your time is my only advice. Young guys are always being rushed trying to release ten tracks a month and the quality is not every time the best track, it’s just they are rushing to put out new tracks. Always remember its quality over quantity.
Any shout out’s to your fans?
Thank you so much for listening to my music and being so supportive and thank you for playing my music and coming to my shows which is the best thing for me. I hope to be in Miami again soon.
For more info visit:
http://www.normandoray.com/
https://www.facebook.com/normandoray
https://twitter.com/normandoray
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