The Dj Q & A: David Guetta

Andy Everett

HERE was a time when not a lot was known about the dance music scene in France, in fact a lot of clubbers, promoters and DJs in the UK were completely ignorant to it.

It was during this spell that David Guetta started up his F*** Me I'm Famous brand, a tongue-in-cheek ironic dig at celebrity DJ culture and at all those who were unaware of his huge success in his native country.

Move on to 2008 however and Guetta has established himself as a global headline name, selling millions of records, hosting Pacha's most popular night in Ibiza and getting a nomination for a Grammy.

Suddenly F*** Me I'm Famous couldn't be more apt, and as the Frenchman releases his new compilation album this month, he tells us how he put it together.

Q Tell us about your new FMIF album.

A The next edition of the FMIF International album is released this month on Ministry of Sound, which is the first for two years. I've done a double CD, one reflects the kind of style I play in Pacha and the other lets me explore a little deeper, which reflects how I play as a DJ. I'd get bored playing the same music to the same people all the time.

Q What are the stand-out tracks on it for you?

A My next single with Chris Willis, Tomorrow CanWait, has been one of my biggest tracks this summer, so that's pretty special for me. Pjanoo has been a huge record but I also love some of the tracks from up and coming producers, like Arias withTQ and Toys Are Nuts by Gregor Salto and Chuckie. Both Arias and Chuckie played in Ibiza for the first time for FMIF this summer. I was helped a lot by other producers and DJs when I started and it's great to be able to do it back now.

Q How's FMIF been going at Pacha this summer?

A Unbelievable, way beyond my or anyone else's expectations.

We're road blocked every week and there's such a great party atmosphere.

Q I believe it was quite difficult for you when you first went to the island in the early Nineties?

A Yes, it was, which is why we came up with such a provocative name. It was meant to be a joke, a parody of celebrity culture, but that's kind of ironic now I've had some success. No one knew me outside of France and the Brits ran all the parties. I wanted to have an eye-catching name and F*** Me I'm Famous certainly was that.

Q Have you been surprised with the huge success you had with your album Pop Life, and especially in the USA?

A I make music for pleasure and I love to create, although of course it makes me very happy when it touches other people.

We've sold over a million albums and two million singles from Pop Life, but it's more about people listening and dancing than record sales.What's been crazy is the US. Love Is Gone was on pop radio there and No.1 on iTunes for three months, which is very rare for a dance record.

Q Any plans to play in Scotland in the near future?

A I hope so. I love the vibe in Scotland, the people are crazy but in the nicest way.The Arches is a great venue and the festival at Loch Lomond was brilliant fun last year. I've been touring so much recently and the world is such a small place for a DJ now, it's so hard to be everywhere.