Nemo Vachez, a young producer based in Paris, only found electronic music a decade ago but he’s already making his mark. After accumulating thousands of records, “little by little I found the music that touched me the most,” he told XLR8R, and this naturally fed into his own experiments with production. Initially, he was inspired by UK breakbeat and French minimal wave—Trisomie 21, Elli et Jacno—but that was before house music gripped him.

In 2018, after quitting his job as a graphic designer, he began making his own music because he didn’t have enough money to buy the records that he liked. Instead of sending it to labels and distributors, he teamed up with friends Idris Bena and Nadir Sanchez to form Forest ill Records, a platform to allow them to be “completely free to offer music that was a bit different than the other stuff we were hearing.” After his breakout Terraformation EP in early 2019, he’s put out three more EPs, most recently Cyclostomes—which has now sold out. Across four tracks, the release summed up the inimitable Vachez style: swinging house and intergalactic rhythms crafted with just enough euphoria for the dancefloor. “Electronic music gives me immense emotions,” Vachez says, “and I’m seeking to share those feelings through my productions.”

Last month, Vachez released “E-Sea,” a previously unreleased track, as part of our XLR8R+034 package alongside STL, Enrica Falqui, and Dawn Razor. In support of the release, he’s put together an XLR8R podcast compiled almost exclusively of edits of his favorite tracks from the ’90s and noughties, plus some unreleased jams from his friends. So there is no tracklisting, but press play for just some woozy, otherworldly house that’ll send you to outer space for just over an hour.

01. What have you been up to recently?

Trying to come back to a more normal life after the end of restrictions in France. It was going well but with this new variant, the future is not looking bright. Otherwise, I’m spending most of my time digging and focussing on Forest ill Records. I’ve also started to work on my first album.

02. What have you been listening to during lockdown?

Less dance music and more ’70s and ’80s stuff. I was lucky to spend lockdown with seven friends who are DJs so I still had my daily dose of electronic music.

03. What have you been listening to recently?

I started digging for electronic music again in September. In particular ’90s house, of course, but also weird forgotten techno from the noughties and some progressive trance stuff.

04. Tell us about your route into electronic music: how did you find your way?

My first contact with electronic music was through video games. Then when I was around 10 I became a big fan of synth-pop. I had my first clubbing experiences in 2011, with the Concrete and Katapult parties. It was completely new for me and I became addicted to this music, so I began to collect records and I’ve continued until today. I started to make my own music in 2018 because I didn’t have enough money to buy the records that I liked, and I felt the need to make music that was at the crossroad of my tastes and influence.

05. What was your childhood like?

I grew up in Paris.

06. How did your first releases and DJ bookings come about?

My first release came on Forest ill Records, which I started with two of my best friends, Nadir Sanchez and Idris Bena. We wanted to be completely free to make our own music, and the easiest way was to start our own output. My first release, Terraformation, came out in 2019 and received a great welcome, so my friends invited me to join Rakya, their booking agency, and from there I started touring.

07. What drives you to make electronic music?

I make electronic music because it’s the only thing that I can do every day to be happy. When I produce I don’t even need to drink or eat. Just after my first release, I quit my job as a graphic designer to focus on music production. It was one of the happiest times of my life. It stopped because of the pandemic because I had to take a job to pay my bills. I hope I can start touring again soon, and that the pandemic will not continue next year.

08. When and where did you record this mix?

I recorded this mix at a friend’s place this week.

09. How did you go about choosing the tracks you’ve included?

I picked tracks that I deeply love, and I tried to blend weird tracks from each era sharing an interstellar feeling, while always keeping club energy. Most of them are edits that I’ve made, plus some unreleased stuff by myself and friends.

10. What can the listener expect?

I hope that the listener can expect something new and different. At least, that’s what I’ve aimed for!

11. What’s on your horizon for 2022?

I hope that the pandemic will end, so I could fully focus on the music again.

XLR8R has now joined Mixcloud Select, meaning that to hear the podcast offline you will need to subscribe to our Select channel to listen offline, or subscribe to XLR8R+ to download the file. The move to Mixcloud Select will ensure that all the producers with music featured in our mixes get paid. You can read more about it here.

Full XLR8R+ Members can download the podcast below. If you’re not an XLR8R+ member, you can read more about it and subscribe here.