The gentle playboy

>> Dimitri from Paris fights evil decadence

by PENNY G

Dimitri from Paris has a split personality. By day he's a jaunty descendent of Nino Ferrer, a kitsch-loving, Breakfast at Tiffany's-sampling, super-Frenchy lounge wizard (see Sacré Bleu). Then, after night falls, the disco-ballistic, international playboy DJ comes out to frolic, all greased up and jet-set to the gills (see last year's Live at the Playboy Mansion). But don't be fooled by this twilight veneer--Mr. Paris is far from superficial. He's just a respectful, feel-good, anti-decadence hedonist. Or so he told the Mirror just the other day, on the horn from the City of Lights.

Mirror: Do you consider yourself a playboy?

Dimitri from Paris: No, this type of thing doesn't attract me. The image attracts me, but not the lifestyle. I don't want to show off to impress others with status symbols. Wearing the most expensive clothing and showing up at the best soirées around the world--I find this lifestyle a bit empty. Playboy's philosophy is simply about men and women having fun together and it's against puritanism. It never had any big problems with the feminists. Of course, today it's not as activist and revolutionary as it once was. What always interested me about Playboy is the aesthetics, the images of eroticism that verge on kitsch.

M: And doesn't Playboy symbolize a certain decadence for you?

DfP: Live from the Playboy Mansion is not at all decadent. It's more hedonist, meaning to have pleasure communally with respect for others. Decadence is selfish--it means letting yourself go and not caring about others, not caring about tomorrow so you do whatever you want today. To me, hedonism and decadence are completely opposed. A lot of the club and rave scene is decadent and I really don't like this aspect. It's because of decadence that governments crack down on nightclubs and raves and it ends up coming back to the people who started the scene with different ideals, and that's a shame.

M: So what does the future hold?

DfP: There will be a follow-up to the Playboy adventure which is going to go in another direction, but I can't talk too much about it because I want it to be a surprise. Also, a follow-up to Sacré Bleu which of course is less dancefloor, less club DJ, something more intimate to listen to in the comfort of your own home.

With DJ Hurricane and Laflèche at Sona on Saturday, April 14, 11pm, $25