Over the years, France has produced some of the best and brightest of electronic music, including greats such as Laurent Garnier and Daft Punk. However, at the heart of the Parisian underground lies similarly talented DJ and producer D'Julz. A product of the Parisian rave scene and NYC's burgeoning clubland of the early 1990s, D'Julz's music embodies the "Paris sound" by mixing deeper tribal and dub elements into funky minmal tech and house. In addition to hosting a wildly successful night at Paris' legendary Rex Club, D'Julz created a radio show, produces regularly and, as we found out, is even planning to launch his own label. We caught up with D'Julz before his Beijing gig tomorrow night (Jan. 9) at Tango.

What initially drew you to electronic music?

Dancing! I started to go clubbing as the house music scene was starting in Paris. I discovered these new sounds from the dance floor. Slowly, I would find my way to the DJ booth where I would write down the name those crazy records ... until the day I had enough names to start mixing them.

I’m coming from a black music background -- funk hip hop, disco, dub -- so for me, house made sense right away. It was like a new development of the music i always liked but with a more energetic and hypnotic feeling to it.

In the early 1990s, your early career blossomed in two rather different scenes: New York and Paris. How do you feel both of these locales influenced the development of your sound?

Paris was great for the rave scene at that time. You could hear all the subgenres of techno. The crowd and the music were very eclectic and open, but the club scene was pretty weak.

On the other hand, the New York club scene was at its best then, and I learned a lot from the resident DJs who could play 10 hours. Going to Sound Factory every Sunday morning was like going to church or, if you prefer, to morning school. It was the best DJ school you could think of.

Your nights at Paris' famed Rex club really established you as at the forefront of French house music. How did hosting a night that welcomed diverse international talent affect your own musical selection?

It is just an amazing chance to be able to invite and meet artists I’m fond of. Most of the time, I was the one that introduced them to the French crowd, and we shared the music we love in a great club with a great crowd. For me personally, its my lab, and I can test things. I can play more eclectic selections than I would normally do when I play only prime time as a guest. So it's also a good opportunity to push my own DJing further.

How do you describe the "Paris sound"?

There are several Paris sounds and that' s a good thing. But the Paris sound i like is deep and funky, sexy and sometimes druggy, and has roots in the Chicago, Detroit and West Coast sounds.

How did you make the move into producing? Do you find producing or DJing more interesting and/or engaging?

I slowly started producing around 1999, but it has become more and more important in my life. DJing has always been my first love and main occupation, but nowadays I can say it's 50/ 50 with producing. I need both to be happy. They're very complementary.

What has been in the works recently?

I've been doing a lot of remixes lately -- coming this year -- for labels like Tsuba, Mobilee, Rekids, 100% Pure, Soma... I’m also working on a new EP for Ovum and I'm starting my own label.

Best of luck! We'll be watching out for it. For the meantime, we're excited to have you here for a second time. How are you feeling about your Beijing gig?

It's my second time at Tango. Last year was amazing, so I can't wait to play in Beijing again.

D'Julz performs tomorrow, Friday, January 9th, at Tango.

For more information and to hear some tracks visit http://www.djulz.com/ or http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=65542071