In May of 2009 UGroove were in attendance of one of Louche’s second season parties. The Louche brand was in a quick ascendance, with a string of innovative, well attended parties under it’s belt and a solid booking policy providing an innovative, engaging and enticing range of guests.

Dorian Paic, Raum musik boss was at the head of the bill and we were wondering what to expect from a man described by Sven Vath as “the most under-rated DJ on the planet” The answer was a technically tight, eclectic with a classic house vibe to it. We got the pleasure of interiewing Dorian afterwards and he was responsive and helpful in his answers providing a worthy viewpoint into current trends in the industry amongst other things. All round stand up guy was the overall impression. He seemed to really have enjoyed the city and the relationship that had started with the Louche guys. 

Spin forward to February ’10 and Louche are riding a crest of a well-deserved wave, Their hard work and attention to detail has been rewarded by a move to a Saturday night slot at Mint Club.

9 months later and Dorian Paic returns. The fact he is playing at Louche again is testament to the friendly approachable vibe exuded by everyone involved with Louche. We caught up with Dorian prior to his highly anticipated return to Leeds and fired a few questions at him…

Hello, how is today treating you, and where in the world are you? Where did you just play and how was that?

hello hello...I just got up at home in Frankfurt so there isn't much I can tell about today so far but I have a nice weekend coming up with a great party at Cocoon on friday and then Louche on saturday and I am really looking forward to this one. Recently I played in Italy twice, London and in Shanghai in China which was quite an experience of course.

If you had describe yourself as an artist to someone who had never heard of you what would you say?

That I am definately more a dj than a producer but I have been working on some stuff over the winter and in about two weeks my second solo single will be released on Raum. Also I have released a remix for the Italian label Objazz in the end of last year.

Do you still get as excited about music as you did when you first got into the scene?

It depends on the music I would say. These days there is not so much stuff that is really exciting me but every once in a while when I hear some new music that I like I get pretty excited. 

How do you think the scene is different now to when you started?

Apart from some eastern countries like Romania for example where the scene is still fresh and growing I would say that in most places people are just a bit tired and fed up because there is so much being offered. If you take a look at the city where I am living (Frankfurt) for example, then you will see that unless at least one or two really big names are playing no one will take notice and go out just for a party or for a certain club. In Berlin that might be a bit different though but even there you can find some parties with proper lineups and then you have not so much people showing up. Just because there are sooo many options to choose from.

Do you think your sets and productions are different now? What has influenced those changes?

Both is steadily increasing I would say because both has to do with experiences that you make. Experience and Influence are important for this process.

Do you have any recommendations for a party or a club from your travels that we should be attending this year?

Timewarp Festival on the 27th of March, Cocoon@Amnesia all over the summer, Berlin during summer, Rumania for the first of may, Love Family Park in Hanau in beginning of july, "Merkwürdiges Verhalten" in Frankfurt in the middle of august,...like I said there is sooo much being offered !

What single or album produced by someone else do you wish you had produced?

Grace Jones - Nightclubbing album

Sven Vath, claims you are the most underated Dj on the planet. What are your thoughts on that?

I was pretty stoked when I found out about this ! In general we know each other for quite some time now and he has seen me growing up and making my way and of course I am happy to get such great support from him all the time.  

How did the relationship with Raum start?

I started working for the label in 2001 which was two years after the label has been founded. Then after two more years I got the offer to become partners with the label owner Olaf Zern and so I took the chance and became co owner of the label.

What do you think of the state of producing? As so much music can be found for free now online – this is surely killing the industry, what are your thoughts on this?

That is a book filling topic I would say. In general there is too much music I would say and unfortunately most of it isn't really the best so the really good stuff is more hidden and harder to find. In general with the development of production devices and the internet it has become so easy to make music and start a label and so everybody wants a piece of the cake. For example almost every club in Germany starts a label now which I think is more business related as you are just trying to sell a brand that already has a name on the market.

What rules do you impose on DJing to make sure you fit everything in?

Just trust your taste of music and your feeling about the club and situation that your are playing in.

What are you most proud of in your career so far?

That I have managed to make my passion become my job and with this being able to go to places like Japan, China, Argentina and Brazil for example. It feels really good after all these years of constant work.

What were your impressions of Leeds last time you played at Louche?

What can I say ? Louche or Mint in general for sure is one of the best clubs in Europe in terms of the vibe. Crowd reaction was pretty outstanding and I also spoke with some friends and as it seems it is pretty much always like this. People are really giving all they got and some maybe even more and so this of course is great for every artist performing there. 

Can you recommend any Djs, producers or releases we should be looking out for?

As far as producers I would say Maayan Nidam, Sascha Dive, Damian Schwartz, Levon Vincent, DJ QU, Guillaume Coutu Dumont's upcoming album, Michael Melchner is doing some great stuff, Baaz, Knarf Skipson, Jordan Fields and the list goes on and on...