- At a different time of year, I might have thought I'd walked into a company Christmas party hijacked by great DJs. The crowd was a curious mix of young and old, dressed up and down, French and international. The vast venue had the unmistakable feel of a converted conference room, with a view of the Eiffel Tower partially obstructed by cranes. Lasers shot from what looked like an upended tree, its glowing roots dominating the space, while three gigantic mirror balls dangled from the rafters. I wondered what the Innervisions crew, known for their ambitious Lost In A Moment parties, made of the newly opened Terminal 7, the venue for Saturday's party with local promoter HAïKU.
When I arrived, Âme's Kristian Beyer was playing fast and furious, the beats sounding magnificent through Terminal 7's new L-Acoustics speakers. It was an instant reminder that while a successful party usually requires a few key components, good music will trump all else. Beyer's high-octane tunes, which included a monster Mathias Schober remix of BOg, brought the room to a boil. Perel, performing a hybrid set, kept it lit with moody pieces from her day-old debut album, Hermetica, alongside '80s Europop hits like S'Express's "Theme From S'Express" and, later, Vitalic's "Poison Lips." An edit of Justice Vs Simian's "We Are Your Friends" further endeared her to the Parisian crowd, though it was her own "Alles," sung live in flawless German, that was the standout.
Henrik Schwarz's one-hour live set was the night's highlight. Bopping wildly behind the decks, he played a melodic, frenetic blend of Afrobeats and visceral techno, getting the crowd properly excited for Dixon. By this time, the venue's positive aspects were outweighing its initial irks. Though the drinks were average and expensive (€5 for a bottle of water), there was cold, drinkable water available in the restrooms. A pleasant outdoor smoking area served hot dogs for the hungry, and in spite of the large crowd, there was always space to dance.
Maybe Dixon is OK with all this, I thought to myself, as he pumped out a delicate balance of darker tracks and bright, bouncy house. Patrice Bäumel's "The Hatchet" was met with a thousand fists in the air, while newer tracks like Red Axes' remix of Dino Lenny's "I Feel Stereo" and Butch's beefy take on Basement Jaxx's "Good Luck" left no room for lulls.
Shortly before 5 AM, thunder and lightning struck. The Eiffel Tower was visible once more as the sky flashed light grey. Dixon was joined behind the decks by Trikk, who played earlier, and Beyer, who together formed a back-to-back trio. The setting might not have been quite as remarkable as, say, Innervisions' 24-hour event in Israel in January, but when the team works its magic, you can get lost in a moment just about anywhere.
Photo credit /
Aldo Paredes