On the back of finishing the Balance 016 mix (released March 16th), Agoria is off to the Miami Winter Music Conference to celebrate its release on March 26th with Will Saul, Joris Voorn, Chris Fortier and others TBA. He is also set to play at the infamous MadeEvent Sunday School For Degenerates 24 hour party, March 27-28th.

Before Agoria set off for the States, TheMST.com had a chance to talk about the exceptional album Balance 016, the Winter Music Conference, growing up in the harsh political climate of nineties France, and his dream of working on movie soundtracks. Enjoy.

Christian Pielow: Going back a while, your first full length release was blossom in 2004 leading to huge success, including being voted no.1 French DJ for 2004/5/6. How did it feel to receive such respect from your French listeners?

Agoria: Yup obviously after 2006 they stopped the award.

CP: Oh yeah of course.

Agoria: Joke (he laughs)

The awards are not that important to me, it is good to know, but when you are not releasing albums, the media no longer pays attention to you. I mean I wouldn’t say I am this amazing star…

CP: Similar to what Etienne De Crecy told me when I asked the same question, why are French DJ’s so modest?

Agoria: Modest?? (He laughs). Usually the French are known for being arrogant. But then I don’t like cheese, perhaps I am not proper French… Oh but I do like wine…I love wine!

If later in my career I have made some soundtracks for movies respected by my friends and family, I will be happy and proud. In fact I just made one soundtrack for Luc Besson’s ‘Go Fast’. It is a mainstream movie, so it is not my first choice but it was really a great experience. If I had the choice I would prefer an avant garde film, something more arty.

CP: Yes that would definitely fit in better with Balance. When I first listened to balance 016 it literally made my day. The first CD is beautiful and the disco was a nice surprise. What was the process of getting yourself into the correct frame of mind? What is your working style?

Agoria: Thanks! I like it when my music evokes emotion – I prefer people to say its shit rather than just say ‘it’s alright’.

I began working on Balance 016 last year and didn’t feel ready to work on a full techno album after finishing the ‘Go Fast’ soundtrack, so thought I would take a different approach. At first I thought, why would my mix be relevant, so I spent 5 months looking for new tracks and artists, and then the old things we have forgotten – everything is going too fast and it was good for me to stop, have a break and think about what I wanted to show.

So we organised a contest in clubs around Europe and on websites around the world to find new artists and I found 20 really good tracks from talented new artists. I also asked all my closest friends for records that I may have missed that I should know – I really trust their opinions.

For example, many of my friends mentioned Aphrodite’s Child and their album, 666 which I had never heard of but now features on Balance 016. It was made during the seventies but is still so fresh, if I had never taken a moment to stop, I would never had discovered them.

From the experience it really opened my eyes to how lucky DJs are nowadays with so much accessibility to music there is more opportunity to be completely open and diverse.

CP: Yeah I agree, most DJ sets I hear now never stick to just one style and audiences are so much more open to switching it up.

Agoria: Yeah I hope so. When I was a child you had to be the first one in the shop and if you weren’t with the UPS or FEDEX guy you couldn’t get it.

CP: Sounds like a hustle!! So how was Lyon for supporting electronic artists and what’s the scene like now?

Agoria: Well actually it was very hard for us. The politicians in the nineties were cracking down on electronic music because they thought it was a cause for many of society’s problems. And it seemed like they were trying to make an example of my town, Lyon, making it almost impossible to organize parties, with the majority getting shut-down or canceled.

We knew we couldn’t continue without the support of those in power so we decided to speak with the mayor of the Lyon, to show him what happens with electronic music in our town. So during the beginning of 2000 we brought him to some bars and clubs, and let him meet all the people making music in my town. He literally met everyone. By the end of the night he understood that electronic music was about bringing people together to have a good time, rather than the negative image, and said we really need to do something with you guys. At the time we knew that there was event sponsorship so we applied. In the end he chose us for the sponsorship and now it is the 8th edition of Nuits Sonores, the biggest electronic festival in France that started in 2002.

CP: 2006 saw the beginning of your record label InFiné, with such diverse signings, what was your idea behind its creation?

Agoria: I created InFiné with 3 friends – I didn’t want to release my own label and have the focus on me – I want the focus to be on the ones I sign. In fact, we limit the number of artists we sign to make sure we can build the career of everyone on the label. From Francesco Tristano (Luxembourgian pianist and composer) to Danton Eeprom (accomplished master of minimal Techno) we are a very open-minded label, and never sign the same type of artist. We just hope you will trust our taste and keep open-minded to new styles.

CP: So we are just seeing your Miami debut at the WMC 2010 – what excites you about coming stateside?

Agoria: Yes it is my first time in Miami – I am very excited to meet all the people from balance. We managed to pull the whole album together through emails and Skype, and now it will be so great to meet everyone and celebrate what we have accomplished.

And you know, I see the US as a virgin field, there is so much R n B and rock music it gives us a lot of chance to bring something new to the audiences. Like many DJs from Detroit are stars in Europe but no one knows them in the US.

CP: Yeah totally, I think electronic music is building in the US though, so hopefully a stronger platform for artists will emerge. So with your appearance at the Winter Music Conference and the creation of Balance 016 are you hoping to move further into the US scene?

Agoria: Yeah I actually have a proper North American tour during the last two weeks in May; I will be at the Detroit music festival, New York, San Francisco, possible Montreal and many other dates to be confirmed.

CP: Great news! So without ruining the idea of art as interpretation, what is your take on the cover art?

Agoria: Well it is something related to the theme of balance but I prefer everyone makes up their own minds.

CP: Agreed. Finally, have a great time in Miami and I will see you in Lyon for your performance at Nuit Sonores.

Agoria: Yes you have to come to Lyon, our festival has everything – from old factories and warehouses to normal dance clubs, and the only thing missing is the sea.

For more info on Agoria, WMC and Balance, see: