Laurent Garnier

It's a kind of mini world tour, this documentary that for the first time explores and chronicles the private and artistic life of Laurent Garnier, the internationally renowned French DJ, producer and musician, one of the biggest figures on the electronic scene of the last thirty years. That world he has crossed in every direction, playing a decisive role in spreading techno music around the globe.

Directed by Gabin Rivoire and given its Italian premiere as part of the "Let The Music Play" section of the 62nd Festival dei Popoli in Florence, "Off The Record" will screen in a select number of Italian cinemas on 10, 11 and 12 January 2022. Alongside Garnier's own first-person account, the film draws on valuable and fascinating contributions from numerous other stars of the decks, including Carl Cox, Jeff Mills and Richie Hawtin, who help tell the story of club culture's growth over the last few decades.

Obsessed with music from the very start, as soon as he finished catering school Laurent moved to work as a waiter at the French Embassy in London. By day he served at the table for high-profile international figures, under strict discipline and rigid protocol; by night he immersed himself in London's most eccentric underground clubs.

In 1987 he moved for a short spell to Manchester, where he ended up spinning records at the Hacienda. Back in France for his military service, in 1988 Garnier gave up sleep altogether: by day he carried out his conscription duties, by night he DJed, sometimes as often as five times a week, at some of the trendiest clubs in the City of Light: the Rex, which would become something of a second home, the Palace, the Locomotive.

"Off The Record" dwells on two phenomena that defined the late Eighties and early Nineties: the spread of ecstasy and the birth of the rave scene. House music arrived from Chicago, and shortly after came the harder techno sound from Detroit: those on drugs couldn't stop dancing at two in the morning, so the music started spilling out of the clubs, moving away from city centres towards the outskirts, wherever there was a usable space, often unlicensed, to dance non-stop for hours, sometimes for days on end.

A new culture was born and evolved, and Laurent became one of its foremost champions, captivated by those sounds coming from the other side of the Atlantic. He cites two tracks as turning points: Phuture's "Acid Tracks" for house and Derrick May's "Strings Of Life" for techno. Garnier himself would go on to become a composer and producer of tracks (and albums) that helped the whole movement flourish.

Meanwhile the Berlin Wall had fallen, and techno was taking Eastern Europe by storm, becoming a symbol of freedom of expression. In France, by contrast, the techno scene faced serious opposition from public opinion and was clamped down on by the authorities. It was seen as a danger, yet it kept growing underground, only to burst into the open with the explosive success of Mr. Oizo's "Flat Beat".

The extraordinary rise of Daft Punk did the rest, alongside numerous French musicians and producers who defined a style that came to be known as "French Touch". France thus became the centre of the new electro scene's universe, and Garnier performed everywhere, from the biggest and most crowded festivals (Sonar in Barcelona, Atonal in Berlin) to the most exclusive and sought-after venues (such as the Salle Pleyel in Paris in 2010), achieving notable success even in the Far East (in Japan he is a regular headliner with acclaimed DJ sets).

The scene is now firmly established, techno no longer frightens anyone, and the artists who found success have helped make the phenomenon understandable. Paris hosted the first Techno Parade in 1998, and in 2017 Garnier was awarded the Légion d'Honneur, the highest honour bestowed by the French state, presented to him by former Culture Minister Jack Lang. From a modest family of fairground workers to a global ambassador for electronic music: a legendary figure who deserved this tribute.

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