She’s setting the standard for tran(s)ce on the queer landscape, in Paris and beyond. Producer and DJ, Desire holds a special affinity for cheesy euphoric trance that tickles your emotions and sets dancefloors aflame .
First and foremost thank you so much for taking the time to put this mix together, can you tell us a little bit about the energy behind this mix, is there anything you would prescribe doing while listening?
First of all, thank you very much for inviting me to take part in this series of mixes. I've been following it for a few years now. It's a real honour for me to be included in this list of artists who inspire me so much!
So I took advantage of this opportunity to deliver one of my most club-oriented podcasts. Well, all my podcasts are club-oriented, but I wanted to get as close as possible to the energy I like to give off in the club by recording from home.
I always like to go through different emotions, whether it's via progressive house which, for me, lays the foundations for a set, hardhouse which I use almost every time, in the middle of the set for its energy, and those communicative voice samples, and trance which I leave to wait for the dose of melancholy. Of course, this order is never definitive, and depending on the audience, even if the trance is at the heart of my artistic approach, I like to create frustration, having people wait for it to arrive by leaving a few bits and pieces during the set!
In a podcast, unlike a live show, it's me who completely chooses the order, and I hope that people will understand this when they listen at home.
You're the Mumma of with us, a gorgeous night and platform for trans/non-binary artists. Can you tell us a little bit more about how it came to be?
Well, I guess I'll have to remove 'mum' from my IG bio because even though it was my idea initially, we're now seven people investing in the same way, haha!
With us is a queer collective that aims to create activist/communal spaces or stages where only trans/non-binary DJs are booked! It stems from two observations. Firstly, in Paris, we don't really have queer clubs per se. Our party spaces are not clubs; they tend to close earlier than others, we have less budget for events, and also inferior sound systems, haha! Of course, we have many activist spaces that organize support events with DJ sets, squats, but not everyone has the information, especially me when I arrived in Paris, not yet having a large queer network, or feeling intimidated to go to activist spaces! So the first idea was to create these spaces but in clubs! To book artists who wouldn't necessarily have the opportunity to play in these clubs (of course, we're careful, and we don't just choose any club). To reclaim clubs that historically stem from gender and racial minorities, to impose our rules, our conditions, as straights do in society!
The second observation is that non-cis DJs are often absent from lineups even in queer events. It's very rare to have several trans/NB DJs on the lineup. So our response to this is to create lineups exclusively composed of trans/NB DJs.
We are four resident DJs who try to rotate so we don't play at every event, and to always prioritize our slots at times when there is less traffic to give the best slots to guests, especially when they are not headliners! There are three non-DJ in the collective, but like us four resident DJs, they work every week on communications, finances, deals with venues, the safety aspect of our events. We are trained in conflict management, provide physio at our events, organize departure groups, have volunteers - all of this requires a lot of work, and luckily we are friends and motivated !
We all put everything in place to offer an uncomplicated, liberated evening; we invest ourselves fully every day, and all this wouldn't be possible if we weren't all equally invested in the project.
Congratulations on your five tracker banger release via Maricas at the end of last year, Dancefloor is Queer. Liberating and euphoric tran(s)ce to progressive house, it’s a masterpiece, can you tell us how you went about its production and what you were hoping to encapsulate through its sound?
Firstly, I have to thank ISAbella and the Maricas team who allowed me to release this EP. It was extremely important for me that it came out on a queer label, and what an honor to have queeeeeen Roza on the remix, I still can't believe it!
Thank you so much for your words. I wanted to have an EP that reflects me. I always wonder how to make it sound trance or prog because today's prog sound is really defined by production codes, and I'm not really interested in just copying, it would inevitably be less good, haha. So, for a while now, I've decided not to think, "I'll do this," but rather to let myself be influenced by what I'm currently listening to, and since I listen to a lot of trance, prog, and hard house, it naturally comes through in my sound!
I also love and I think it shows creating melancholic tracks, tracks that overwhelm the heart, intro or closing tracks. I struggle with making peak time tracks; in fact, often my tracks are played at the end of sets, haha. Before, I tried to fill that gap, so it gave birth to "Danse Libre," which was the track that worked the best, but it was more of an exercise for me. Whereas "Queer, Fresh Air, Fever, Flashlight" came out more easily!
“The second observation is that non-cis DJs are often absent from lineups even in queer events. It’s very rare to have several trans/NB DJs on the lineup. So our response to this is to create lineups exclusively composed of trans/NB DJs.”
Who are some people, spaces and/or collectives we should be checking out that have inspired your music and mixing to be where it is today?
This weekend already, I'm going to play for a party in Berlin that I'm very, very, very excited about - Sweat Rave Collective! I think it's definitely a collective to follow, I believe we have a lot of similarities between our collectives, so let's just say I'm really looking forward to it!
Next, when it comes to people to follow, it's always tricky trying to remember all the talented artists, hahaha! I invite you to follow the resident DJs of our collective With Us! Transterror, Marso10c, A-440. The best way for me not to forget anyone is to suggest you check out the followers of With Us! A true nest for trans folks!!!
What’s next for Desire?
I have quite a lot (a ton) of tracks coming out on various VA (various artists) releases. I try not to limit myself in production and always explore different genres! I also have a remix coming up with Body Language for 131bpm, and I'm working on a new EP. There are actually 2 hidden tracks in the set, hehehe.
We have many exciting parties and collaborations coming up with With Us, already more or less planned until August, so follow us! I have a busy spring ahead, which promises an even busier summer! With gigs all over Europe, I can't quite grasp what's coming, and I will never thank enough the people who work with me, my partners, my close ones, my friends, for always supporting me!
Oh, and I have breasts growing (thanks to estrogen).
Stay up to date with Desire here!