There are many artists who shine under the glitter of the stage lights, but French house DJ/ Producer and record label owner of Mistakes Music, Sébastien Léger is one who dazzles from the shadows. While France has churned out such extravagant stars as Daft Punk, Etienne de Crecy and David Guetta, Sébastien prefers to simply stand to the side and allow his tracks, performances and turntable techniques to do all the talking.

While he remains unknown to many – certainly in terms of scale when comparing to fellow French artists like Daft Punk and David Guetta – for Sébastien, it is about quality, not quantity. Music is important, as is remaining consistent. For Sébastien, over-the-top visuals, ornate stages and gaudy exhibitions are not for him. Rather, simplicity, minimal textures, persistent melodies and undulating waves of beats and basslines are more his style.

Growing up in Evry, France with professional classical musicians for parents, Sébastien was born into music. He learnt drumkit, instilling an inherent sense of rhythm into his musical psyche while also getting his fill of classical music on piano. Fostered under the classical greats, from Beethoven to Mozart, with a good dash of the French distinguished such as Saint-Saens, Ravel and Debussy thrown in for good measure, Sébastien would absorb the techniques and rudiments of traditional music from an early age. While the classic nobles cannot be distinctly heard in his electronic productions, impressions of their musical techniques, nevertheless, remain; from the laissez-faire approach to the refined textures and sparse ornamentation of melodies and beats.

With such a firm foundation to work from, Sébastien merely had to fill in the colours. Growing up during the 1990s as dance began exploding all around him, he would then take his fondness for the techno of Derrick May and Juan Atkins and emerge with his own unique sound: one that remains subtle and insistent. He would naturally find himself in the studio, remixing and producing tracks that retain that inimitable edge. Releasing tracks ‘Binola’, ‘The White Island’ and ‘The Rhythm’, was well met with interest across the globe, with his remix of Daft Punk’s “Around The World” a tasty addition to his sets. Much like the aftertaste of a good Bordeaux wine, Sébastien’s influence continues to spread; slowly yet steadily.

Music has always been in his blood. For Sébastien, listening to, creating and performing music is as natural as breathing. For Sébastien, it simply is. In the leadup to Sébastien’s Mistakes Music tour showcasing his label, productions, remixes and tidy mixing skills, Sébastien is frank about his thoughts on music, his approach to creating it, and what we can expect to hear from him on Australian dancefloors.

Salut Sébastien! 
We are in a climate where you throw a stone and you hit a DJ, but quantity does not always mean quality. What do you think makes a great DJ?
A great DJ is someone who doesn’t looks at his laptop the whole set, but is following the crowd most of the time; and has really good music knowledge. A DJ should know some classics and lots of different things and be open to many things. You may only play one sort of style but you need to know about the music and where it comes from. It’s basic, but still really important.

You have quite an extensive background with classical music. Do you find yourself applying your classical skills to your music?
Both of my parents are professional classical musicians so I had no choice really to say no to music school – I had to play! When you are a kid, you don’t really like all these things. I gave up piano a long time ago and I can’t play it anymore. But my musical ear is still very educated. Technically speaking, no, I don’t use my classical skills as I don’t play anymore. But my ears have been trained in music since I was born, so I know what chords and harmonies work when I need to use them. And I played drums before too of course, which really helps, for knowing how, when and where to use the right beats. I can’t say how far it helps. For me, it’s natural.

When you are going through the process of writing tracks, where do you get your ideas from? What inspires you to create?
I go into it with absolutely nothing in mind - and just start making stuff. I might have a melody in mind, but it never sounds how it was in my head. I just go with the flow and see where it takes me.

What equipment do you work from in your studio?
Okay, I’m going to get geeky in detail. My main sequencer and mixer is Abelton Live 8 – from which I make everything, the beat, the music and the arrangements of the tracks. This does 95% of my job, the rest is kind of external: keyboards, old skool drum machines and then my computer. That’s how I work these days.

What inspires you to do what you do?
Life inspires me to do what I do! I do everything so naturally – I just do it. Nothing from outside like the music I hear or my mood interferes in the process of making music or what I do today. I just do it.

Let’s go to the DJMag Top 100 poll. I know you work really hard at what you do and you take your music very seriously. But something like DJMag Top 100 doesn’t mean as much to you as it does to others. What are your thoughts on Dave Guetta taking out the DJMag crown?
One good thing that he brings to dance music: there are many more people interested in dance music today than say, 3 years ago. And that’s a great thing. But now, the thing is, he is so cheesy, that the people who love this music, love the cheesy part of it. Maybe it will open the door for them to other music and lead them to other music. David Guetta is a very clever guy.

You worked alongside Chris Lake so many years ago: tell me about that time. How much does he influence you today?
We met in Amsterdam playing at the same party, and from there, we started a good friendship. We then decided to make tracks together. So, not so much today. We are totally different music-wise, but we are still very good friends.

How is Mistakes Music?
It’s my baby – and I can do whatever I want with it. The freedom or the chance to do whatever you want from the design, to the music to everything. I am pretty happy with what I am doing at the moment. I release the music I want, other people’s music, and expand my music family. Freedom is a really good thing. My hopes are that it will continue. It’s very simple: we are a small independent label so we don’t have too much stress with the way things works. We just go with the flow and see what happens. New ideas, new designs are in mind for next year: it’s quite exciting really.

As a French house DJ, what’s happening in France at the moment that excites you?
There is nothing in the French music that excites me really - I don’t live in France anymore. When I go to play in France, it’s always a bit difficult. They are so badly educated by the radio and the TV. It’s always a bit difficult for me as a producer. It’s nothing like it used to be 10 years ago.

Is Amsterdam inspiring your music then?
Amsterdam has so many artists in design or music. It is an inspiring city – but it’s also a very bad weather city. It’s a nice cozy and relaxed city, but it doesn’t inspire me that way. I could be in the Bahamas or Australia and go through the same kind of music process that I always do.

You have many DJs and fans that look up to you in Australia: do you feel as though you have achieved a great deal? What are you working towards?
My target is not to be as successful as, say, David Guetta. I prefer to do my thing. If people like my music, that’s great; then I have achieved something. Of course, you want to get more fans to know your music. I am not making hits so it’s a slower process for people to know my music and be aware of what I do. It’s funny how it works really. It’s slow, but constant. Staying constant is important.

You’ll be coming to Australia for your Mistakes Music Tour, what can we expect to hear from you on the dancefloor?
You can expect a blend of funky techno and groovy house. Not too banging and not too boring.

Will there be anything special you’ll be pulling out of your DJ bag?
I have been working on the label, and lots of new tracks and remixes – so there’s plenty of brand new stuff, to be released and unreleased. My set is full of lots of my good stuff. I don’t always play all of my music though

What are your thoughts on your Australian fans? How do they compare to elsewhere?
Australia is a different territory because of their history. It’s been more or less based on rock and beach and sunshine than electronic in general. The market is more electro-ish than what you can expect in Europe. But Australian’s are very open to plenty of music.

Any last words to your Australian fans?
Thank you for the support. Thanks for coming to my shows, for liking my music, for the tour and for having fun. Also, the sun would be a good thing! Being in Australia will be nice. So everyone, when you come along to my shows, just enjoy it.

CATCH SEBASTIEN LEGER TOURING NATIONALLY THIS MONTH