Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on March 2011

Recent Japan transplant, Cedric Sabras aka DJ Monsieur Cedric, was weaned on his parents’ Barry White and James Brown vinyls and the early French house scene. “Back in 1988, I would record a radio show every Saturday night called ‘NRJ club’ focused on imports and rare remixes,” the Cannes native tells Metropolis. “The DJ was a young guy named Dimitri… who later became Dimitri From Paris.”

Spinning his high school dance parties segued naturally into opening for big-name house DJs like Dimitri and Frankie Knuckles, and by his 20s Sabras was behind the decks at trendy clubs, fashion shows and private parties from Paris to the French Riviera.

But recent years left Sabras disappointed with the state of affairs in his native Europe. “As a DJ, I do my best to support the French electronic scene and try to play the music produced by my cousins,” he says, “but it’s not that easy—the French productions are more pop-and rock-oriented these days.”

Cedric’s response was to follow through on his longtime dream of moving to Japan. “I’d been thinking of moving to Tokyo for 10 years—I have always been convinced that Japan has the best club scene in the world,” he explains. “Dimitri From Paris, Derrick May and Nicola Mathar [owner of New York club Cielo] recently confirmed to me what I already knew: Japan has the best clubs, best sound systems, best crowds, and best taste in music. With MTV and Billboard totally dominating Europe and America, I thought it was time for me to pack and go.”

Cedric now uses Japan as the base for his career, which allows him to soak in Tokyo’s vibrant club scene when he’s not jetting off for gigs on different continents. “Worldwide clubbing has changed a lot recently,” he observes. “Cities that once used to influence the rest of the world don’t have many good clubs anymore. It’s now all about having champagne with models in the VIP room while listening to some mainstream music. Only a few clubs like Djoon in Paris, Cielo in NYC or Fabric in London are still dance-oriented and offer a decent sound-system. Fortunately, you can still play good music loud enough in places like Beirut, Sao Paolo, Johannesburg, and of course, Tokyo.”

While he’s partial to vinyl, Cedric’s itinerant lifestyle has led him to a software-based approach to his craft. “I love vinyls, and have thousands of them,” he says. “Unfortunately, Japan is the last place on earth where DJs still use them. As I am traveling a lot, I’m using Traktor on a laptop combined with vinyls or CDs. But I’m looking forward to the day I’ll have my own place here in Japan so I’ll be able ship my vinyls and play them again.”

www.monsieurcedric.com