it is more than a decade since jack de marseille delivered his first mixes. getting recognition quite early for the brilliance of his flaming, percussive sets, jack has travelled the world around, all in all carrying tons of records along with him just for the pleasure of dancers. all those express trips, those tightly scheduled night shows, those hours spent behind the decks in clubs, at festivals and at mega-events in south africa, mexico, china brazil russia and even in the united states, have given him peace of mind. “i used to shut myself in my mix. today, i can look at the audience, associate sound with images, and store looks, smiles and memories deep inside my mind”, jack says. “i’ve discovered exchange and confrontation.” in that intimate relationship “at times physical, at other times sensual” when he’s facing the audience, jack de marseille goes ahead with confidence, as a lover unaware of doubt and afraid of nothing. “i love to make people dance!” he asserts. this deep-rooted pleasure which today is boundless opened his eyes on the world.

from the phocaean village to the world village
a marseilles dj proud of his city, jack learnt how to get out of it. always a traveller keenly aware of his environment, globe-trotting dj jack de marseille manages to make the specificities of each of his destinations his own. “you have no time to lose. even if you’re aware of what’s being played in various parts of the world by listening to the productions of local artists, you must catch the feeling of the venue and the clubbers for who you’re going to play. it’s different each time. you have to get the expectations of the audience in a glance and react instantly in order to map out your performance clear-sightedly”, as jack puts it in a nutshell. quite reactive, probably because he’s a very sensitive man as well, jack delivers his vision of the tricks of the trade : “the duration of the set inevitably influences the mix you’re going to deliver. when several djs are on the bill, you don’t always have time enough to express your deeper feelings. besides, when you’re far from home, the audience expects you to play the music that you’re supposed to embody, the sound that you represent, the sound from europe.
that’s why i like long-running sets, because then i can go far out, and i can do it my own way without letting myself be enclosed into a mould. i can give more relief to my mix,” jack explains. “when i’m in brazil, there’s no way i’ll try to impress them with my percussive style. i mean, batucada is their daily bread...” remarks this tall man with a tender look and iguana-crest-like hair. “of course, today i get a lot more media coverage, i play before larger audiences, but i still have the stress of the sportsman before a great match, only now i know how to handle it” says jack, a former top-level tennis player. “i don’t think i have really changed deep down inside. i simply reflect something else. in 14 years, i have digested a lot of music. i feel more free!” asserts the man whose house contains a 40.000 record collection, which of course nurtures his inspiration. when invited to mix for the fashion parades of jean-charles castelbajac, jean-paul gaultier, linda carles and the likes, jack reacts from instinct. “it’s like skiing, you’ve got to face the ski run and take risks. my parents have always trusted me, they used to let me go wherever i wanted. so i’m not afraid.”

a founder of wax records, one of the very first techno vinyl-record-shops in marseilles, jack decided to give up this activity in the course of summer 2003. “this adventure has lasted 8 years, it was not possible to handle it any longer” he says, referring to his bookings as a dj which compelled him to leave his hometown each week-end. “it requires time to hold a record store. you’ve got to go over the numerous mails from labels, choose the platters you will order and manage the whole administrative part of the job” explains jack. “i preferred to devote myself to my art and my label.”
“an lp is something you want, something you desire”
quite naturally, the first platter released on wicked music in november 2001, our lord of the decks’ own label, featured his tracks got to believe and bump. the following year, another platter (party time and sweet sensation) drove the point home and heralded free my music, jack’s first lp. signed under license to the electronic section of the wagram label, this album, available on vinyl all over the world and on cd in france, benelux, spain and canada, has sold 15.000 copies over little more than a year.

“it’s been a whole new experience for me” jack confides. “an album is something you want, something you desire. i could not cheat with myself. i put myself at it with humility. i only knew that i wanted the sound of this album to be ample, i wanted it to reflect what i am.” satisfied by the result, even if he’d like to go farther on a few tracks, he’s been imagining many directions to pursue his work: exploring a theme, a more consistent sound palette, dressing up images with sound, amplifying a choreographic emotion, going towards an even more musical universe. “i don’t want to let myself be trapped into the jack de marseille image” he says. “there’s nothing compulsory about making people dance; it’s not the only thing that turns me on.” those perspectives are not to the liking of everyone, but jack doesn’t care. just as french actor michel serrault, whom he quotes on this occasion, jack considers that an artist knows deep inside whether he’s given the best of himself, whether he’s remained true to his original impulse.

completely rid of the daily hassles of the store and of the management of his career as well as his label – he asked peggy destailleur to take care of these for him jack, as soon as his schedule allows him to do so, shuts himself in his studio in the countryside. “there, i’ve got nothing else to think about. i can focus entirely on my music!” he confides. such a refocusing is productive. the year started with jack’s brand new ep (digital dancer/michigan) where the producer mingles his musical writing with the detroit sound. in february, the label greets the newly-signed 2 rare people from spain with an ep and an oncoming (end of march, early april) double compilation, 2 jack 4 u, mixed by jack himself. “the first cd is downtempo” he explains, “the tracks on it are nothing but the ones i listen to at home. the second cd is much more physical. today, my life reflects what i am, and my music reflects my life!” when he was a kid, jack listened to ac/dc, rose tatoo, van halen... today, he’s quite impressed by coldplay, placebo, and björk.... “even if production evidently influences my judgment, it’s the emotion of the voice or of the track which matters most to me. machines are but instruments of the emotion. but you must never forget that an album is first and foremost something that you want, something you desire” he keeps repeating.