Sébastien Léger talks French Touch, where he’ll be in another 20 years and the future of Temple of Lions

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Sébastien Léger talks French Touch, where he’ll be in another 20 years and the future of Temple of Lions

They don’t come more decorated than France’s Sébastien Léger. He literally cut his teeth on the French Touch scene in the late 90’s and early 00’s alongside the heroes of that era like Daft Punk. Ever since then Léger has had a career that most of us can only dream of, constantly re-inventing his sound and moving forward to stay relevant. Last year he celebrated 20 years in the industry with a compilation featuring his favourite tracks from his 20 year career – and it showed just how much Léger has added to the overall scene. On the verge of another Australian visit, we caught up with one of France’s most popular dance music producers…




You started Temple of Lions at the beginning of last year, congratulations firstly. How has it been running the label? What is happening with the label in 2016?

At the moment I’m focusing on music for other labels, so there isn’t any new music planned anytime soon on Temple of Lions. The idea was to release once a month, then stop after 10 releases, like a one off project. I’m now at release #7, so hopefully before the European summer I’ll have something ready!


I really enjoyed your “20 Years” compilation and how it was a showcase of your own personal favourites rather than a ‘best of’ album in the traditional sense of ‘Best Of’s’. Your career has spanned over such a long period, but what is probably most impressive how you’ve remained relevant in a scene that is so fickle – what do you think is the secret to longstanding success?

I don’t want to sound cliché, but I guess the main key is to remain true to yourself. I’m not following any trend, though I’m a DJ first, so I always adjust my music to what sounds current and relevant for my sets. I don’t want to play some French Disco House from 18 years ago, you can find any kind of vibe and different sounds that are new without compromising your own taste. Being versatile and open is key too.


What have you got planned for your “40 Years” compilation, haha?

Wow, I’ll be 57 years old then! I’m honestly hoping I won’t be DJ-ing for kids at that age!! Let’s see the first 30 years first..


How is the Temple of Lions live act coming along?

I will give you a tip about Temple of Lion’s tracks: They are all the same BPM and Key, so u could play all of them and you’ll never have any off key problem. So the idea was to mix any channels of any tracks without struggling being off key etc. All for live improvisation. Stand by for more developments, but currently I’m too busy with other things at the moment!


You’ve been to Australia a few times now, are you looking forward to returning? What did you enjoy most the last time you were here?

It’s always nice to come down there while it is actually cold in Europe at the same time of the year. I have friends in Sydney so I enjoy hanging around with them.


It’s commonly known you began your career during the French Touch era in France. I personally first became enamored with dance music with French Touch so it’s very special to me. Do you think there will be a time when French Touch comes full circle and makes a return to the scene or do you think it belongs where it originally stood?

I kind of like the idea of this to stay where it is and never touch it or bring it back. It will never sounds as fun and fresh as it used to be at the time. The recycling thing is cool, but recycling the recycled stuff isn’t my cup of tea. I loved that period of time, but I personally would never get it back myself. Maybe a special set once in a while, but I’m not sure the generation of today would get it as back then it wasn’t about big breaks, drops, white noise and tight production as it is today.


What is one of your fondest memories from that time?

I feel that nowadays it’s more of a personal thing, while back then it was some sort of family thing with Daft Punk as parents and we were all the kids having fun. So the first early days of it was great, then people copied it, ruined it, and I got bored of it. My taste changed and my mind opened up to different sounds, so I stepped back and continued onto a different road. I might be one of the very last survivors from that scene if you look closely!


Have you seen the French movie, ‘Eden’ depicting the French Touch era? If so, what did you think?

I’ve not seen it no! So it is now on my list, thanx 🙂


The movie’s message (spoiler alert) was strange considering it represents a golden era in electronic music – it essentially preaches that djing just leads to drug abuse and ends with the protagonist selling vacuum cleaners to pay off the debt he accumulated trying to make it as a dj, but he never did. How do you feel, personally as a dj who’s been around for 20 years, when film, tv and other media just sums electronic music as a life of drugs and disappointment? Do you think this stigma will end?

As a person who has never taken any kind of drugs (I don’t even drink alcohol) I’m not even touched by that kind of message or idea. But it is fact that all type of music has its own drug. My drug is music, but most of people don’t really understand music fully and they don’t take it seriously. They need to get drunk or high. That is nothing new so it will remain like that until the next big things comes up. To be honest, I don’t care, as long as I have a good crowd in front of me! 🙂


Having already hit the 20 year mark in your career, what goals do you still have left to achieve – if any? And what do you have in store for 2016?

I have many new releases coming: An EP on Marc Romboy’s label ‘Systematic’, one EP on Solee’s label ‘Parquet’, and one EP on Amsterdam’s finest festival, Loveland, who recently created a label. I also having a remix for Jonas Saalbach on Einmusika; lots of German label’s actually. And eventually I will also make music for Temple of Lions or Mistakes Music. But my priority right now is really making music without struggling and having fun again in the studio and releasing it on labels I love – just like the good old days.



Sébastien Léger gears up for his Australian tour, kicking it off in Launceston this Friday.


Tour Dates


Friday 11th March: Hive @ Hotel New York, Launceston

Saturday 12th March: Maitreya Festival, VIC

Sunday 13th March: Darkbeat’s 13th Birthday @ Railway Hotel, Melbourne

Saturday, 19th March: Return To Rio, Sydney

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