Published in the November 2006 issue of DJ Times Magazine
Volume 19 - Number 11
By Emily Tan

     If you’ve been to a nightclub at all in the past eight months, you’d know that French DJ/producer, Bob Sinclar has struck gold with his fourth album, Western Dream (Tommy Boy). Loaded with irresistibly breezy dancefloor hits, Sinclar’s latest was recorded in Paris and new York, and features key vocal contributions from Steve Edwards (“World, Hold On”) and Gary “Nesta” Pine (“Love Generation”).
     Fitting a similar model, the tunes—both unabashedly cheerful with sing-songy melodies—broke from Winter Music Conference and Ibiza, then took global clubland by storm. We caught up with Sinclar, a club jock since 1987, to discuss DJing and his studio approach.

DJ Times: How did you record Western Dream?
Sinclar: I used Logic and Digital Performer and recorded in New York’s Basshit Studio and my home studio in Paris—the playback and the vocals. I go to New York when I’m searching for a new vibe. I did that for “Love Generation,” because I was looking for a different singer. Then, I found Gary Pine. I did the whistling and the guitar, but I didn’t know exactly what I wanted with this track. The playback was really catchy, but it was not the same as I did before. When Gary arrived, I asked him to write something, and it was like a lullaby for me. When he came into the vocal room and put his voice on the playback, it was magic!

DJ Times: What’s your current DJ set up?
Sinclar: Even though I own 25,000 records, I recently converted to CDs. Our music is really interactive with people and, when you feel people get bored in a track, you can change and transform the track with just a one-bar loop and come into another atmosphere. You can be more creative with CDs. I need three CDJ-1000s for all the effects on the third one. The Pioneer DJM-800 mixer is also fantastic—the sound’s better than the 600 and the EQ is amazing.

DJ Times: No laptop DJing for you?
Sinclar: No laptop for me! But the first time I played CDs, people said, “You’re not a DJ because you play CDs!” I prefer to use CDs, and there’s a lot of good software you can use, like Serato Scratch Live. It’s fantastic.

DJ Times: How would you describe your sets?
Sinclar: I have only myself behind the decks, and at the moment, that’s enough. I like to play and take care of the people. I work my set a lot. I don’t play the same sound for two or three hours. I’m very diverse, very disco. My style is a very happy sound, very eclectic. I just want to see smiles on people’s faces when I play. My style is good vibrations.

DJ Times: Who were some of your DJ influences?
Sinclar: I started with hip hop, so DJ Premier was my hero. I listened to A Tribe Called Quest and De La Soul. Now, it’s more of the producer’s time. It used to be you had parties in New York, like Kenny “Dope” [Gonzalez] and Todd Terry, who were producing hip hop and house at the same time.

DJ Times: What’s your philosophy on DJing?
Sinclar: Enjoy what you do. Sometimes people expect too much from a DJ. We’re appreciated because some are very good producers. I prefer to talk about myself as a DJ because I don’t have a classical musical education. I’m not an underground DJ, and I don’t believe a DJ is here especially to educate people. We’re here for entertainment.