Laurent Garnier is a famous French DJ, composer, techno enthusiast, co-founder of the F Communications label. Electroshock is a techno biography written by one of its frontmen and main adepts. Garnier shares the details of his personal life, but only if they are directly or indirectly related to the music, which he literally obsessed with. The text is imbued with this sincere passion, the most common word in the book is emotion; the author’s emotionality, set on repeat, is somewhat tiring, but also captivating.
“I have lived many happy hours both as a DJ and as a dancer, I could die right on the dance floor, as we all wish, with the feeling of a perfect and powerful orgasm … I truly believe that the mood of a DJ is transmitted through the needle of a turntable and then through the speakers – the dance floor. It is like an invisible wire between the DJ and the audience, through which, in case of a successful connection, the exchange of energies takes place. “
It all starts in England, where in the late 80s Garnier worked as a footman at the French Embassy in London. The Acid House Revolution was beginning to flare up in Britain, with the Hacienda in Manchester being its main focus. Garnier, in love with a new sound, becomes a DJ, then he decides to return to his homeland, where no one knows anything about techno and house. Gradually, new music takes root in France (it has already smashed England to pieces), it can be heard on radio Nova and in clubs, spontaneous raves break out everywhere. At this moment, the British and French authorities actually declare war on techno, tightening legislation as much as possible and practically banning it – DJs, musicians and ravers go into resistance. Liberal regimes are no longer afraid of communism, they are scared to death by emoticons on the T-shirts of young clubbers.