Carefully crafted communication and programming: that is the ambition of “la Dame”, Bordeaux’s hugely popular new meeting place, which leaves nothing to chance. Opened at the start of the year, this venue offers a very innovative concept in an idyllic setting: the restaurant/club. Indeed, just like…
Carefully crafted communication and programming: that is the ambition of “la Dame”, Bordeaux’s hugely popular new meeting place, which leaves nothing to chance.
Opened at the start of the year, this venue offers a very innovative concept in an idyllic setting: the restaurant/club. Indeed, just like its delicate, refined cooking, “La Dame” also turns into a club, with a music programme that matches its dishes.
Tez Cadey, Claptone, Kungs: “La Dame” hosts line-ups that command respect. And if we are telling you about this club in particular, it is because it focuses its musical projects exclusively on house. A very fine choice which, naturally, can only win us over.
So we wanted to find out more: we met Hugo LAURENTIE, who is in charge of the programming.
Hi Hugo, how are you?
Very well, and you?
Very well too. We imagine your schedule must be pretty packed, so thanks for giving us a bit of your time. If “La Dame” is hosting artists like these today, it is largely down to your huge amount of work and your strong experience in the events world. Can you tell us a bit more about your background?
That’s very flattering, but I still have a long way to go, even though I’ve already promoted a good number of artists. It’s a collective effort, real teamwork that makes it possible to bring in big headliners. The whole La Dame team is pulling in the same direction, everyone works flat out to offer something new.
As for my background, I started putting on events at around 15, for my secondary school in a small hall. Then I went on to higher education and joined a student association straight away, becoming Vice-President of Events in my first year, then President the year after. After that, I set up a first music project with a friend where we promoted the label Roche Musique, and the same year we took over the Light Club for the week. Next came the creation of La Voilerie with two years of events, and now La Dame!
Was “La Voilerie” a real learning experience?
Hugely. Those were two extremely formative years, both in terms of experience and learning. You can never say it enough, but there is nothing more real than being out in the field, facing up to your responsibilities and handling everything from A to Z.
Musical projects aimed solely at a deep/tropical house scene: why that choice?
It’s a bit reductive to sum it up as just deep and tropical house, in the sense that we have promoted artists like Tchami and Nekfeu, for example. You shouldn’t generalise these musical styles, it’s much more subtle than that. That’s partly what I hold against the system in general: it tends to put everyone in a box, when musical creation has an identity specific to each artist. Originally, I just wanted to bring in artists who weren’t present on the Bordeaux music scene.
Even though you probably have a very good contact list by now, it still takes a lot of nerve to bring artists like these to a club as young as “La Dame”, doesn’t it?
You need courage and a lot of determination to book artists like Claptone, Kungs and plenty of others on the way, but it’s part of a genuine long-term strategy. Anthony, the owner of La Dame, is very ambitious, so you have to rise to the occasion and offer something coherent. The real nerve is telling yourself that at some point you are going to offer something new.
Kungs will be there on 25 November, just after releasing his debut album. That must be hugely satisfying for the venue, especially since his appearances in France are becoming increasingly rare?
Actually, the date was booked a very long time ago, and in my eyes it’s no surprise at all that he is where he is today. We’ve known each other for a while now. He’s a really hard worker, and so is the team around him, so it’s simply the reward for their work.
We noticed nearly 5,000 people on the Facebook event, the barge might sink…
Our aim is to offer a unique welcome on the barge, and with that in mind we don’t want to pack the club out, so we can put on a really high-quality show. La Dame’s sound system is one of the best, by the way. It’s shaping up to be spectacular.
Last we heard, Bordeaux was voted the most beautiful city in the world. It’s also a city with a lot going on at night, surely a strong argument for putting on events like this?
For now, we don’t feel the effects yet. The Bordeaux music scene is hard to get moving, even if it’s tending to improve, but it’s a growing city: a Zénith arena is on its way and the town hall is working to give us the means to match our ambitions. That said, the city has other priorities than culture. It will come with time!
What can we expect from “La Dame” in the coming months?
The club’s music programme promises to be varied, high quality and coherent, but there will also be other entertainment earlier in the evening. It’s a place that will get Bordeaux talking, no doubt about it!
Thank you, and see you on 25/11 for one of the biggest events in Bordeaux this month.
And even before that, with Claptone on the 11th and Watermat on the 19th! Thanks for the interview.
Try to win 3 x 2 tickets for the night of 25 November with Kungs
Prize draw among all entrants on 23/11
