Think teen bedroom producers are a product of Ableton and the blogosphere? Think again. Joachim Garraud was doing it before you were born. Here, the French super producer talks to inthemix about how he got his start, his groundbreaking Space Invaders community and the explosive new live show that will debut in Australia in June.

You’re a classically trained musician, so how did you get involved in making electronic music?
When I was little I was always asking my parents to buy me a computer. I really wanted to have my own computer at home. When I got one as a teenager, I was completely in love with making music with it and the only music that you can make with a computer is electronic music.

How did you go from bedroom producer to club DJ?
I was playing at 14 years old in the basement of my parents’ home for 10 people. They come for free and I spent all of my money on records. I was doing a party every weekend at my place and one day a friend came to me and said, “Hey Joachim can you come and do the same thing in my house?” I agreed and then the next weekend two guys came to me and asked me to do a party at their places. Then my friend told me that he could give me some money to play at his party.

You know, I never did this job for the money. It came slowly like this and now I am so lucky because I have never worked in my life. I have always had pleasure to make and play music. I started to play in clubs because one of my friends, a famous DJ in France, was sick and asked me to replace him for a club show. I played in that club for 10 years.

It’s like you just fell into an awesome career.
The best thing is to be able to do what you love every day and never care about the money. This is the best chance in life. I have the chance to not care about money and just have fun every day. I am so lucky for that.

What job would you have if you weren’t a DJ and producer?
[Laughs] I would like to be a chef because I make lots of great French food at my home in France. I love to be in the kitchen. You know, being in the kitchen and being a DJ, you have to do the same thing. You have to do a good mix!

Ha! Nice analogy. Speaking of mixing, you’ve done a lot of great remixes for very high profile artists over the years. Which one has been your favourite?
To be very honest with you, if you ask a mother to pick a favourite child, do you think that the mother is able to give you an answer?

Playing coy…
This is impossible though. Working with Kylie Minogue is something crazy and I love that, but at the same time doing a remix for David Bowie – nothing compares because I am such a fan. And at the same time, doing four albums with David Guetta is so exciting and some of those albums were number one in the world! Picking my favourite remix or collaboration is just too hard. I am proud of every one.

Very diplomatic! Are you ever intimidated by tracks that you come to remix? As in, you don’t know if you can improve it or be productive in some way?
When I agree to do a remix, I first listen to the track and make sure that I can do something better to the track in the way that the artist wants me to do it. When I say ‘Okay’, I’m pretty sure I can do it. I’m never afraid to do the job.

When you released your own artist album, you did something very innovative in that you allowed people to make their own CD. Can you explain the thoughts behind this?
I am very proud to be the first artist trying to do something new in the music industry. I was the first in France to have my own free podcast every week and I was the first to give people an opportunity to make their own version of my album by choosing the tracks and the mixes, the artwork and the packaging of the CD. I am always excited to find a new way to make or release music, like I was the first to have my own iPhone application. People call me ‘The Geek’.

Last time I came to Australia – which is something crazy, like a 20-hour flight – I landed and went straight to the venue and saw that the first row had shirts with my Space Invader logo on it. It felt crazy. You are able to have a strong community by giving something different to the people. Nobody has seen a show like the one that I am bringing to Australia.

The idea of a Space Invaders community developed through free podcasts and personal CDs is very important to you…
Yes! What’s important to me in the end is not me, it’s the music! It could be me or it could be another DJ, the number one thing is the music. That’s why the Space Invaders community is so important, because people come to just enjoy the party. I am so proud of them because they are all trying together to make the best party possible.

I read on my forum something crazy: there are two Japanese guys that are going to fly to Australia to follow my tour, so they were asking other Space Invaders to let them stay at their place. They have already found some people to do it.

Couch surfing for Space Invaders?
Yes, exactly. I love it. It is people helping each other to share music love.

Can you explain the Space Invader theme?
The kind of music that I play comes from the future. A lot of the tracks that I play in the podcasts are exclusive tracks and that is the first time that people hear them. For me, this is very linked to the future. A lot of people say to me, “Hey, your music comes from the future.”

The other thing is that when I chose to use that logo from the ‘80s video game Space Invaders, I chose it because it has no race or religion or sex or age. It is a universal symbol and is perfect to show what I want to achieve with my parties.

How do you keep on the edge of the future?
I have a special ball in my room that tells me what to do. No, this is a good question. To be on the road and to play in a different club every weekend for different people – like on Friday I am playing in Dubai, on Saturday I’m playing in Tokyo and on Tuesday I’m playing in Montreal – I see a lot of different people and they all love the same thing: music and parties. It gives me a good worldwide feeling about music and a lot of inspiration with regards to what is going to be the next thing. I am trying to be focused on the future, not on the past.

A party devoid of prejudice that comes from the future, what can we expect of such a thing?
My Aussie tour will be amazing because it is the first time that I am doing this new show with audio linked with video and with live vocals and me playing live. It is something you need to see. I am doing my own visuals and I am bringing two singers with me. It will be a very exciting party!

Joachim Garraud brings his Space Invaders live show to Australia in June for Winter Sound System and We Love Sounds.