Compared to his cohorts in the new wave of French
dance music,
Dimitri from Paris looks much farther afield for his influences. While both
Air and
Daft Punk make much of their affection for the music of the 1970s (prog and
disco, respectively),
Monsieur Dimitri's inspiration comes from the Continental jet-setting faux-
jazz of the 1950s and early '60s (exemplified by
Dick Hyman,
John Barry, and
Martin Denny), though the whole is updated by his long years of experience as a
house DJ.
Based in France though he was born in Turkey,
Dimitri entered the
dance music community during the mid-'80s by DJing at the French Radio 7. By 1990, his reputation had allowed him to record
soundtracks for fashion barons like Chanel, Lagerfeld, and Gaultier.
He released two solo EPs during 1993-1994, plus the mini-LP Esquisses, and contributed to the Yellow Productions compilation La Yellow 357. He also remixed hundreds of artists, including
Björk,
the Brand New Heavies,
New Order,
James Brown, and
Etienne Daho.
Dimitri's debut album,
Sacrebleu, appeared in late 1996, also on Yellow Productions. Named Album of the Year by MixMag, it sold several hundred thousand copies around the world and finally received an American release in early 1998. The 1997 mix album
Monsieur Dimitri's De-Luxe House of Funk, however, showed the Frenchman coming back to his
house roots. In lieu of a second production album, he mixed several more sets: ICU Session, Vol. 3,
A Night at the Playboy Mansion, the BBE box set
Disco Forever, and
Super Disco Friends. ~ John Bush, All Music Guide
