No one has had more influence on the European single charts in the last ten years than David Guetta. We met up with the enthusiastic House-DJ and music producer in Berlin, who didn’t let the divorce war from ex-wife Cathy slow down his continuous series of hits such as “Dangerous”, “Lovers Of The Sun” and the UEFA Euro 2016 hymn “This One’s For You”. On 19th October he’ll be appearing in the Zurich Hallenstadion.
The official UEFA Euro 2016 hymn “This One’s For You” and the spectacular performances at the foot of the Eiffel Tower and at the opening and closing ceremonies have still not satisfied David Guetta’s hunger for success in 2016. Now, just in time for his autumn tour, which will take him to Las Vegas, Ibiza and Zurich, he has given the Charles & Eddie soul classic “Would I Lie To You”from 1992 a modern sound guise. The electronic beats have – typical Guetta – not robbed the analogue soul from the song. That can also be attributed to his choice of singers – in this case Chris Willis, with whom he began his rise in 2002 from mere disc jockey to popstar DJ.
After him and Sia, he has discovered another talent on his current album “Listen” in Sam Martin. “Before we went into the studio together, I only knew the songs that he had written with Maroon 5, but not his voice”, according to the 48 year old Parisian. “When I heard it for the first time, I was totally shocked, because it is unbelievably good. I was blown away, especially by the high notes!”
When Guetta began to make his first vinyl mixes at the age of thirteen and then three years later started working as a DJ, House was still a subculture and it was inconceivable that someone could become famous through this music genre. “My parents said that my choice of profession wasn’t an actual job but an absolute catastrophe!”, he recalls with a laugh.
The rebellious son thought it was totally cool how Club-DJs at pirate radios played their funk albums and developed the new mainstream from the combination with electronic music and hip-hop, with which he, Avicii and Calvin Harris dominate today’s charts. Even if “Forbes” estimation of his annual income at 30 million dollars is only approximately correct, his parents must have stopped worrying about how their son is going to fare by this stage. The separation and divorce battle after 24 years of marriage has however been a painful reminder that money isn’t everything. “I experienced some of the saddest moments of my life. But I don’t want to complain, primarily because the years before consisted of partying in sexy surroundings.”
To distract himself Guetta made new songs and worked as a DJ again in classy clubs and gigantic arenas. “As soon as I am on the stage, I forget everything – even myself”, he explained and admitted that that could also be dangerous. “But I don’t take drugs, don’t drink and don’t smoke. The music and the energy of the fans intoxicate me and send me into a delirium. The feeling of sharing a unique moment with the crowd and being one with them, is something very special!”
Photos Copyrights: Warner Music
