Legendary French d.j. / producer Laurent Garnier played at Volar on Thursday night. For those who don’t know, he’s been a top name in electronic music for fifteen years, since the early days of raves and techno. The fact that he’s remained relevant for so long is no easy feat, especially considering the high turnover rate in dance music.
[photopress:Laurent_Garnier_DJ_Volar.jpg,full,pp_image]Starting off at one am, Volar was packed with his fans even before he manned the decks. The crowd was overwhelmingly foreigners who had paid a cover charge to get in. A good percentage of the French expat population of Hong Kong were seemingly in attendance.
[photopress:Laurent_Garnier_Model_danci.jpg,full,pp_image]Beginning with a smooth transition from the previous d.j., he quickly broke into his signature blend of classic melodic techno. It was refreshing to hear, and was exactly what the packed crowd was craving. The place went nuts as his techno set began, with models jumping onto the stage and the capacity dance floor convulsing.
[photopress:Laurent_Garnier_Volar_party.jpg,full,pp_image]Laurent Garnier’s somewhat clean techno is a big contrast to the dirty, discord-heavy sound of last week’s Justice / Busy P. It just goes to show that there’s room for many different flavors of party-rocking dance music!
