E-Klozin’ is an artistic collective, founded in 2009, aiming to share its passion for electronic music, the arts and extreme sports through multidisciplinary human-size events. The crew is known for choosing unusual and unique locations in order to keep on surprising and moving the public at every event: skatepark, theater, art gallery, old factory, artistic residence, industrial wasteland, parks, ski slopes… Between Paris and Brussels, the team keeps going forward thanks to local partnerships despite certain reticence of venue owners and the fact that electronic music events are sometimes viewed with a critical look. The next E-KLOZIN’ event will take place on the 15th of March at Maniak Padoue, in a neo gothic church partly converted into an indoor climbing zone and will be marked by an immersive audiovisual performance highlighting the architecture of the place. Interview with Alan Aaron, the master of the ship.

Welcome, a glass of?

Smoothie, I am a big fan of fruits.

Where do you come from?

I come from the South of France, I was born in Montpellier in 1981. I grew up next to Marseille, in a small village named Le Rove. A childhood with a lot of sports: judo, football, inline skate, ski and video games. My passion for music came around my 10 years with disco, African music and pop music from the 80’s. Thanks to my mom’s vinyl collection.

Your main influences and references?

I was exposed to different styles of music such as pop music from the 80’s and deep house that I was listening to the radio; Dance music and hardcore that I discovered on TV; Punk Rock and Hip Hop were massively playlisted in action sports videos: skate, inline, snowboard, BMX... In my childhood, I was really impressed by famous artists who were able to produce universal big hits: Michael Jackson, Prince, James Brown, Madonna, George Michael. As a Dj, my references were Laurent Garnier, Anthony Rother, Carl Cox, Jeff Mills, Scan X, Kiko, Daft Punk, Ritchie Hawtin, Stephan Bodzin, Tomas Schumacher, Oliver Huntemann, Miss Kittin, The Hacker, Manu Le Malin, Chloe, Paco (Open House parties), Ellen Allien, James Holden, Magda, Danton Eeprom, Radio Slave, Pfirter and more.

Do you remember how you discovered electronic music?
Yes, of course; the original “sin” was Dance Music in the early 90’s. Dance Machine TV Show on M6, a French TV Channel. A lot of happy, groovy and energic sounds; a golden era of positivity and clothing trend experimentations. I remember dancing for hours on the following tracks:  “Rhythm Is A Dancer” by SNAP!, “Gonna Make You Sweat” by C & C music factory, “U Can't Touch This” by M.C. Hammer, “Vogue” by Madonna, “No Limit” by 2 Unlimited, “Mais vous êtes Fou”, Felix by Benny B, “Mr. Vain” by Culture Beat, “Hyper Hyper” by Scooter, or  “It's A Fine Day” by Opus III.

Your first approach to Djing? 

It came naturally around 1997 at birthday parties. I hated when a good song ended, I had to wait a few seconds before the atmosphere started again. One day, I decided to record “mix tapes” with all the tracks that I like; a kind of megamix with cut transitions. Thanks to that, no more blank or “energy drop” between two tracks and you could dance non-stop.

What about the start of E-Klozin’?

I finished my 5 years of studies in Marseille and I directly moved to Paris for my first job in 2006 as a Quality Engineer. After 3 years of clubbing, I met people as passionate as me; we shared common interests such as art in multiple forms and extreme sports such as skate, inline skating, BMX, wakeboard, surf, snowboard, freestyle skiing. We all had this desire to transmit our passions through events with the willingness to share good vibes. I designed a small collection of T-shirts to be instantly recognizable wherever we play; the E-Klozin’ launching party was on the 5th December 2009 at 4 Elements in Paris.

Could you define the values and the vision of E-Klozin’? 

E-Klozin’ is a collective focused on electronic music, arts and action sports. The goal of our human sized events/performances is to promote unknown talents in unusual venues. Each event is an opportunity to create artistic and human connections; and in parallel to share our values: respect, exchange, creativity, kindness, open-mindedness…To sum up: good vibes only! We are constantly thinking about how to progress all together with artists and partners.

 What are the differences between E-Klozin’ and E-Klozin' S P O T L I G H T?

E-Klozin’ is the collective; E-Klozin' S P O T L I G H T is our audio-visual project. It is a series of events in unusual places where a visual artist and a musical artist deliver a cross-performance; all is captured by videographers and published weeks after on our YouTube Channel. We keep the same philosophy: reveal unknown and talented artists in surprising places. We have already done it on an industrial rooftop, in a stadium, a skyscraper and new venues are already planned for this year in Brussels.

Why did you move from Paris to Brussels?

During the COVID in 2021 with my family we decided to look for a better quality of life; Montreal was our first choice but due to the delay to obtain a work visa, we decided to change our plan. Brussels was finally a better option; I already had friends in this city and it is not so far from Paris.

For you, what are the main bridges between Paris and Brussels?
The electronic scene is dynamic and eclectic. Techno, fast techno, hardgroove and trancy rave sounds are also very popular here, however house and minimal sounds are well represented by a new club named UMI.

What about your projects in Brussels?

After a discussion with Jessen, Dj and the founder of Vostock parties, I joined the team in spring 2022 as a volunteer to share my experience on event organisation and sometimes take a few pictures of parties.  Fun fact, I discovered 2 of my pictures in the local newspaper “Metro Brussels” after our first Tunnel Rave. I also played in the “Forest Rave” somewhere in Bois de la Cambre; it was just fantastic to see all this energy in the wood! I met Andre aka Dreooo, the founder of CoCo Collectif, on the dancefloor during one of a Vostock events. In 2023, he played during an “Open Mix” we organized at Zennebar in Brussels. He invited me to play in a “Roller Disco” transformed into a “Roller Techno” event. So much fun! I met Riusma in 2022, he is one of the resident Djs of Sub Lab, which is a combination of Music and Arts in atypical places. Riusma invited me to play for them and he came to share his groove for an E-Klozin’ Open Air last year. We are working on a potential event collaboration for 2025.

For you, video mapping is a powerful tool…
Video Mapping is for me a way to enhance the immersion of the audience. It brings an added value to the Dj sets or Live. We mainly work with a French artist: Tchen from HeavyM; however, we are open to collaborate with Belgian visual performers.

What are the main difficulties for organizing events? 

After all these years, the most difficult part is to reinvent ourselves and propose new experiences to the public. Besides that, from a pragmatic point of view, in Paris the main issue is the renting price of venues. In Brussels, there are more opportunities however you have to show a good track record to all venue owners.

Do you think that “word of mouth” still works for promoting an event today?

In my opinion, yes, however there are several conditions: human sized events (under 200 people); quality of the music and the organization; cool venues with scenography.

What do you like about Brussels and its electronic scene? 
“Brussels is a big village” according to the Belgians, it is easy to create connections with people; the electronic scene is eclectic and the Belgians know how to organize big festivals.

Any tips in Brussels? 

Waffles, take a beer at Zennebar, do a Pic Nic at Josaphat Parc, eat a burger at Rambo Washington and attend a Vostock, SubLab, Magma, AKU Soundsystem or Coco collectif event.

Your top venues in Brussels and Paris for organizing events?

To attend or organize events in Paris: Rex Club, L’Eclair by Soukmachines, La Bretelle, Mia Mao, Le 6B, Cabaret Sauvage, lLe Gore. In Brussels: Fuse, UMI, Zennebar, Planet Park (Skate Park), City Gate / La Fabriek, SILO Brussels, COOP, Parc des Etangs (XRDS Festival), Asiat Park (Horst Festival), Brasserie ILLEGAL, C12.

I know that you produce. Any releases soon?  

Not any release soon. Sometimes I play my unreleased tracks during my DJ sets. My next challenge is to release at least one track on a label for this year or in 2026.

Techno or House music?
Both, I can’t choose between the groove of the house music and the power of techno sounds.

Regarding your photography art, which camera do you use and what kind of pictures do you like to do?

I use a Hybrid camera: OM SYSTEM OM5. I like to capture an emotion, a funny moment and the energy of events. Here is an example of how I cover an event: click here

Any ritual before a gig?

Nothing except smiling.

Your top 5 new releases?

. Brooklyn Baby - For the Soul [Frappé]

. Azo - Aurora Space Station [Biologic Records]

. Hemka – Repeat [Float Records]
. Falling Echoes - Gravitational Field [Much More]

. OTON – Matrix [Alliance Club Records]

Your top 5 old releases?

. Miguel Migs - Take Me To Paradise (Trouble Men Vocal)
. Hardrive - Deep Inside

. Larry Heard Presents Mr. White - The Sun Can't Compare (Long Version)
. Anthony Rother - Space

. Laurent Garnier - Wake Up

What makes you proud today?

All the human and artistic connections we created since 2009. All the friends, the audience and partners who contributed to what are today. Of course, It is always good to see the evolution of artists who played for and with us from our and their debut. To name few of them: Hemka who played at Berghain in 2024 and now manages her own label, Lowris & S3A (Former Concrete Resident), Worakls and Lamache (International Djs), Uzuki who played at I Love Techno Europe and recently at Hör Berlin, Steve Pitocco (Famous Street Artist), Spun Off (Former resident of Champ Libre).

Your best memories?
So much great memories about E-KLOZIN’ events :  our first event at 4 Elements, La Gare aux Gorilles (Le Gore) where we built several long time friendships, E-KLOZIN’ Garden Session at le 6B, E-KLOZIN’ Skatepark Remixers, all our Open Air Sessions at Canal Saint-Martin for La Fête de la musique, all the Soukmachines events we played, Le Marathon Electronique 2016, the secret events at La Jarry (Vincennes), our Open Air at Le Wonder (Saint-Ouen), all our mix session at ski resort  from 2010 to 2017 (Tignes, Les 2 Alpes, Val Thorens), all our SPOTLIGHT performances.

As a visitor, to name a few of them : Alter Paname @Parc Asterix, We Love Splash @ Aquaboulevard 2009, Weather Festival 2014, Plastic Party @ White Hotel and Gesu Church (Brussels); Berghain with our dear Hemka.

Your projects for 2025? 

With E-KLOZIN’, we are working on 2 new performances in Brussels. For the first performance, it is planned for the 15th March at Maniak Padoue, a former church partially transformed into an indoor climbing club. The second one will be the 10^th of May; the venue will be announced soon. Stay tuned here @eklozin on Instagram. On a personal point of view, the goal is to produce new tracks and improve my DMX knowledge to manage light shows on our events and performances. In parallel, I will continue to support artists, technical partners and collectives who share our values.

If you could teleport yourself…

The future, in 2222, to see the technological evolutions, the music trends and of course my potential descendants.

Any message to convey? 
Focus your time and energy to find your life balance and reach your goals. Be respectful, open minded, altruist, resilient and curious to learn. Sooner or later you will see the positive results.  

Interviewed by Sabrina Bouzidi / Photo footer by Julie Montel.