This week cheekyweasel met Tim Paris (Kill the DJ/Marketing Music) after his amazing set for MOOCH alongside Molly from Rex Club.  This all happened at Shoreditch’s CARGO last Saturday night (some amazing photos here).  Tim originally built up his DJ reputation in ¨parisian underground circles, doing parties with Jef K, Chloé, Alexkid and Ivan Smagghe, Tim Paris teamed up with Jef K to help him develop the now infamous Crack & Speed label.

Working the dancefloor but also developing his skills in the studio, Tim Paris had his first breakthrough with the remix of a rock tune called “Future Now” that had been picked up by Ralph Lawson’s 2020 Vision label and become one of the biggest underground tunes of 2004. From there Tim Paris didn’t stop but continued to release quality tracks and remixes.  Now based in London, Tim Paris started in 2005 his own label, again with Jef K, ‘Marketing Music’.

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Tell me – what was the first event you ever played at/put on?

It was 15 years ago for a NYE party, i remember being completely stressed out… I could hardly handle the arm of the turntable! That was good fun though.

And what was your first record you ever bought?

I cannot tell  that was too long ago!!  I’m afraid I don‘t have a pretty story to tell as most DJs do… Honestly I believe the first record most of us bought was a kid’s stupid cartoon song or some crap of this kind. But I can record the first decent ‘song’ I really got into was ‘Walking’ by Miles Davis

Is your real name Tim Paris or did this come from your times playing in the Paris club circuit?

It’s my real name… In a nutshell my great grandfather was an orphan and was given this ‘city’ name by some nuns who raised him.

What a great story.. So did the Djing, or production come first?

DJing came first but i was a musician before being a DJ so i had already written a few songs before coming across electronic music.

When you play is this pre planned set?

Never, that’s the worst i could imagine of doing… I strongly believe the magic of the set comes from the atmosphere of the night and this has to be improvised between you and the people, you can’t plan something like this

Out of all the tunes you have, which one ‘never fails?’

I wish I knew one tune like this! When you DJ it’s more about how you play a song than which one is it (…considering you only play good records of course !!! ). I mean a brilliant song can have no impact at all if played at the wrong moment or on a inappropriate sound system.

Which country is throwing the best parties at the moment?

Well i had awesome times in France and Germany recently. But it’s been a while since I’ve played in London so i’m looking forward to it!

When all the partying is over how do you like to chill out?

I normally go for a drink with a few friends, you get so much excited when performing that you cannot go to bed straight afterwards. Personally I need a couple of hours to calm down.

A recession has seemed to always famously bring a new era in music.  Do you think one is on the horizon this time?

Sure, I believe that people who came to music for fame and money are gradually going to fade away. Maybe it will also become less of a profession and more of a hobby since it gets more and more difficult to earn a living from it. The music will definitely benefit from these changes. It’s a quiet fascinating turn in the history of music we are currently witnessing.

What’s the funniest thing that has ever happened at an event?

The best ‘DJ’ story i know actually happened to a friend of mine when he was booked in Rio. They picked him up at the hotel and headed the club. He started his set and after 45 min he received a phone call asking where the hell was he ??? They were expecting him to play in another venue, he was playing in a wrong club for some other promoters !! No one realised…that’s sick !

That’s brilliant!  Hope he managed to drink all their rider before they found out!! ha ha! Thanks for talking to me Tim and hopefully see you soon.

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You can catch the next MOOCH in December – details below: