Having barely taken a breath since an extended stay in Miami for WMC, Norman Doray has been back on the road on one of his heaviest touring schedules of his burgeoning career so far.
Not only was the Frenchmen the support act for the whole of David Guetta’s UK tour but he has also stopped in for performances alongside Steve Angello for Size Matters in addition to headline slots at Ministry of Sound, The Warehouse Project and Coccon in Frankfurt. If that wasn’t enough, Norman has also been busy in the studio of late, with his new collaboration with Richard Grey, Champane available for free on his facebook page now.
www.facebook.com/normandoray
The last few weeks have been crazy for you with touring, can you tell us where you have been?
Yeah it’s been pretty hectic; even for me because I am used to touring but this time was crazy. I was doing every big city, all the big places like Glasgow, Belfast, Manchester, Birmingham, London, Leeds - everywhere, which was really good. It was a different crowd from what I’m used to playing for. It was less of a club crowd and more a pop crowd. So it was the people who like Beyonce and Rihanna for example that come to David Guetta shows. So it was really important for me to play in front of these people for them to discover me as an artist. I was playing just before that in Los Angeles and then Vancouver in Canada, then I was playing in Portugal too. I have been touring so much!
What have been the biggest challenges for you with such an extensive touring period?
It is a challenge to be in perfect shape every day. It’s hard for your body and your mind because you need to have a proper set every night, so that’s a challenge really.
But the hard work must feel worth it for when you’re behind the decks at clubs like Cocoon Frankfurt, The Warehouse Project in Manchester or Ministry of Sound for example?
Yeah, these are such big gigs around the world. Every DJ wants to play Cocoon, Ministry of Sound in London and every time I have a lot of pleasure to play in these kind of places. Every gig is a pleasure ya know!
Do you find yourself playing in a different style if your playing for an event such as The Warehouse Project as opposed to just playing in a club?
Yeah, for example in a David Guetta show, I’ll play more commercial, way more commercial for the style of the crowd who don’t know what’s in the club because they listen to the radio more in their everyday lives. For example in their job, in the car and home, they need tracks they know. Then in the clubs like Ministry and Warehouse I’ll play more underground because I love underground music.
Which would you say was the best club in the world and why?
Ah, well the best club in the world so far is the Green Valley club in Brazil! It’s my favourite because it’s a club in the middle of the jungle. So in Brazil you need to get into a car for like two hours and go get into the jungle and you have all these trees and you think you’re in the Amazon. Then suddenly you have a club with in-between 10-15 thousand people. Its outside so when you play you can see palm trees next to you when you’re playing. It’s such a posh place, every girl is a model and people are rich buying champagne and you’re in the middle of the jungle so it’s so weird.. It’s unique.. Really unique!
How did it feel to be asked to support David Guetta for his whole UK tour?
It was amazing because I was the only act to support David so for me it was a real shock for him to be showing me love. He was always trying to support me for four years now but this time was more then the others, it was like I believe in you, I love your drops so come and do this with me, share it with me.
What was the highlight of the tour for you?
I think for the profile, Brixton was really nice, there were people from the press, a lot people from the music scene but the one I had the most fun with was the one in Glasgow. They know how to party in Glasgow but they know how to throw bottles in your face as well.
When you get back to Barcelona after a hectic few weeks like you’ve had, does it make you appreciate home more then you realize?
More then everything, you can’t believe it. I was in the UK for 15days... I love the UK but when I come back to Barcelona just outside the airport, I see palm trees and everything I’m like ok.. I love the UK but I couldn’t live there (laughs out loud)
Please can you tell us a bit about your new track with Richard Grey?
I did Champagne because I wanted to do something a bit different. I’ve been used to doing really progressive, big room tracks and I just wanted to go back to my roots. I come from disco and funk music; I love this kind of music. I’m a bit fed up with tracks with the big chords and everything at the minute, so I wanted to change it and try to do something like this which has more of a disco vibe for the summer. Every time I have played it it’s worked so well because people are not so used to hearing tracks like this in clubs now. I’ve kinda gone back to the kind of music we heard from Junior Jack and Kid Crème over ten years ago.
(source: www.ihouseu.com)
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