Laurent Garnier

Laurent Garnier announces a step back from touring alongside the release of new album ‘33 Tours Et Puis S’en Vont’

Arriving this May via COD3 QR, the French icon’s first solo album since 2015 is his most dancefloor-focused yet.

Pre-order: www.laurentgarnier.com

Laurent Garnier is one of electronic music’s best-known acts, a pioneering household name responsible for decades of clubland classics. From experiencing the acid-house movement first-hand as a DJ at The Haçienda through to timeless hits such as the breakout ‘Crispy Bacon’ and the enduring ‘The Man With The Red Face’, his tireless enthusiasm has permeated the dance music landscape via six celebrated albums, numerous singles and a relentless touring schedule.

On ‘33 Tours Et Puis S’en Vont’, Laurent Garnier’s first solo LP in 8 years and his most dancefloor-oriented yet, a total mastery of House, Techno, and beyond is on full display. Club-leaning cuts from ‘Liebe Grüße Aus Cucuron’ through to ‘Granulator Bordelum’ all distil his years of warehouse, club, and festival experience into thrilling expressions of musical tension and release.

Vocal-led tracks tastefully borrow from a range of genre influences; from the Hip Hop inflected ‘In Your Phase’ with 22Carbone, an incendiary number that will be firmly burnt into the memory of any attendee of Garnier’s recent DJ sets, to the Punk of ‘Saturn Drive Triplex’, which features vocals from the late Alan Vega, of influential duo Suicide notoriety. Elsewhere, sprinklings of broken rhythms appear in the leftfield downtempo cut ‘...et puis s’en Va!’ and Drum & Bass experiment ‘Sado Miso’, offering listeners a further view into his wide-ranging taste.

Across 2022, Garnier released five EPs, each containing a special hidden code referencing a fairground ride from his childhood, alluding to the album. Now presented through various mediums upon release, including a triple Vinyl LP, cassette, and CD alongside the digital copy, each version offers a thoughtfully tailored experience towards the listener's preferred format.

Alongside the album comes an announcement that he will discontinue regular touring. Read Laurent Garnier’s statement in full below.

“March 2020, the world came to a complete standstill.

For the first time in my 33-year career, my Saturday nights were reduced to playing DJ sets in the garden to entertain the neighbours, stuck at home like me. Overnight, the world switched to a dystopian era. For me, this primarily manifested itself in a visceral rejection of Techno! This music, which, in my eyes, had always embodied the sound of the future, no longer made any sense in these uncertain times. I then slipped into an oh-so-fun period of self-doubt and overthinking: would I be able to go back to DJ-ing when everything returned to normal? Would I still be relevant? At my age? What did I have left to say, to build, to stand for, to contribute? for whom? why? how?!

After months of questioning, I went cold turkey: missing loud noise, missing massive sound systems, missing sweaty night clubs, missing sharing my music with others, missing crowds of people, missing human contact, missing everyone! But as working nights with no sleep became a distant memory, the constant chatter in my brain gradually loosened its grip. I began to feel the need for Techno, and I was starting to get itchy feet. It was the right time for me to switch my machines back on.

This new album is the culmination of two years living in an era of doubt and uncertainty. But more than just an audit, it’s a return to my roots, a tribute to the dance floor and to techno music, in all its forms. Even though I like to tag my music #UncontemporaryTechno, I think this is probably the most dancefloor and most contemporary album I've ever made because it looks straight ahead, and it also looks back over my shoulder at my entire career, something that I've always been keen to avoid up until now. My documentary "Off The Record", which we finalised just before I began recording this album, probably also subconsciously influenced my state of mind.

I'm not a nostalgic person, and yet, I can't help but draw comparisons between this new album and my very first album, "Shot In The Dark", except that this time around, I have a much better idea of the direction I’m heading in. The global situation made me reassess what’s important and helped me face up to some truths: becoming a dusty, old jukebox has never been an option, and so as my “swinging” sixties draw nearer, the time has come for me to consider my life as a touring DJ differently. But that doesn’t mean abandoning the decks for good. And so, after the next few months, which I’m hoping will be full of excitement around the release of this album, the end of 2024 will mark an important turning point in my career where you won't see me playing the same weekend in three different cities anymore.

Although I might start visiting some countries, cities, and festivals for the very last time sometime soon, I would like to make things clear: I will remain a DJ for the rest of my life, because being a DJ is, above all, a visceral need for me to share the music I love, no matter what, in one way or another.” - Laurent Garnier

Laurent Garnier’s ‘33 Tours Et Puis S’en Von’ releases on 25th May 2023 via his COD3 QR imprint.

CD Tracklist:

01 - Tales from the real world [Feat. Alan Watts] (vocal version)
02 - Liebe grüße aus Cucuron
03 - In your phase [Feat. 22Carbone]
04 - Reviens la nuit (original mix)
05 - Saturn Drive Triplex [Feat. Alan Vega]
06 - Sado miso
07 - Au clair de ta lune
08 - Sake stars fever
09 - Multiple tributes (to multiple people, for multiple reasons)
10 - ...et puis s’en va!

Vinyl Tracklist:

A1 - Tales from the real world (version instrumentale)
A2 - Liebe grüße aus Cucuron
B1 - Reviens la nuit (DJ Edit)
B2 - On the REcorD (part 3)
C1 - Saturn drive duplex [Feat. Alan Vega]
C2 - Closer to you [Feat. Scan X]
D1 - Sake stars fever
D2 - Cinq o clock in le matin
E1 - In your phase [Feat. 22Carbone]
E2 - Give me some sulfites
F1 - Au clair de ta lune
F2 - Granulator Bordelum

Release formats:

- Box set (hand-numbered), which includes a special version of the gatefold triple pack with each vinyl a different colour, CD, 7" record (black vinyl), cassette of a mix Laurent has done of the album, which also includes his track "How'd ya like ya beef" and a remix of Crispy Bacon, poster, sticker sheet and a Cod3 QR label sticker.
- Triple pack gatefold album (black vinyl) + poster
- CD including poster
- Digital