Driven by the desire to channel the emotive power of music into his productions, Notre Dame brings a fresh and heartfelt approach to electronic music. The Frenchman has had a rapid rise to prominence, but his dedication to production goes back over a decade. Buoyed by his first ever release, ‘Yumi’, which was signed to Solomun’s influential Diynamic label, Notre Dame has embraced his newfound notoriety, touring the globe and connecting with several other well-respected labels. With shows in Tokyo, London, Miami and Beirut, among many others, plus a series of releases on labels such as Innervisions, Cercle and Bedouin’s Human By Default, the young producer is full of creativity and passion for his craft…
Born and raised in Paris, Notre Dame is simply named after the school he attended as a youngster. In the French capital, his formative musical years revolved around the city’s heroes: Daft Punk, Justice, Breakbot, Ed Banger, and the rest of the community connected to the legendary French Touch era. As time passed, his tastes matured, and his musical touchpoints’ influence permeated his production output.
From Hans Zimmer’s cinematic compositions to various orchestras’ emotionally charged classical renditions, Notre Dame’s field of influence became broader and his music more nuanced. However, it wasn’t until he consciously decided to shift away from the chilled, deep house he was making that his music started to resonate with a bigger audience. Like many creatives, it took a big shake-up and direction change to awaken Notre Dame’s creativity and connect him with tastemakers like Solomun.
In 2021, he decided to take a leap of faith, quit his day job, and do the music thing full-time. A week after he left, ‘Yumi’ was released on Diynamic. Solomun’s support of the track was ubiquitous, using it to close his sets worldwide. With such a powerhouse selector and label supporting his track, Notre Dame’s profile was boosted massively. Radio 1 tastemaker Pete Tong made it his Essential New Tune, further amplifying his status, and the track was an instant hit. His release with Bedouin’s Human By Default, ‘Amuse,’ came soon after.
Notre Dame kept the momentum off the back of both releases, with his music finding a home with a remix of RY X’s ‘Lençóis (Love Me)’ for Cercle Records. He also produced a rework of ‘My City’s On Fire’ by Jimi Jules for Innervisions, channeling that funky French Touch vibe in his distinct way. More recently, he’s collaborated with AMÉMÉ on ‘Runaway’ for Armada Music and remixed fellow Frenchman BOg’s ‘Breathe’ (feat. Afanan Prince) on Atlant.
As a DJ Notre Dame intends to invigorate the dance floor with the same level of emotion as he does through his productions. Cultivating an uplifting, energized, “feelgood” atmosphere is at the core of his ethos. The kind of performances that create memories and moments that people can refer back to stimulate their happy hormones repeatedly. His touring schedule includes visits to the USA and a variety of influential club spaces and festivals: Womb (Tokyo), Sound (Los Angeles), Space (Miami), Koko (London), Kraftwerk (Zurich), Grand Factory (Beirut), Het Sieraad (Amsterdam), and Bar Americas (Guadalajara) among many more. With each appearance, he gives his all, channeling that same passion for music into emotionally- charged performances.
Where does he go from here? Plans are in the pipeline for an audio-visual show. Japanese anime will be at the heart of this next phase in his creative output. Notre Dame’s love for the art form will be intertwined with his heartrending productions to produce a show bound to wow audiences worldwide.
Beyond that, the vision is to write an album. With these two massive projects in his sights, Notre Dame is entirely focused and relishing the opportunity to make his dreams a reality.
With the support of some of the electronic music world’s most influential figures and a growing discography full of high-quality emotive dance floor-ready cuts, his upward trajectory shows no signs of slowing down.
Brimming with youthful energy and creativity, Notre Dame quickly established himself as a formidable artist whose on-stage performances match the emotional power of his studio productions. Driven and committed to exploring and expanding his sonic pallet, he is well on the way to achieving his visions, with an aura of positivity and love for the music central to his ongoing success…
