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Enter the house that Jack built

For some people stuck in suburbia or sleepy market towns, getting away from their place of birth is the driving force behind their ambitions. But not Jack de Marseille. He so loves Marseille - which possesses the old world charm that comes from being France's oldest city - that he adopted it as his DJ moniker.

Jack de Marseille - whose real name is Jacque Garotta - has racked up 15 years in the business, becoming one of Europe's best-known DJs. His sets combine house, techno and electro, and he'll be spinning in Hong Kong on Saturday when he headlines the party that closes the annual celebration of French culture, Le French May.

Music is often seen as a career for the young - DJ-ing particularly so. But 39-year-old de Marseille is still spinning around the world when plenty of others his age have hung up their earphones in favour of production or management closer to home. You need stamina for a job that takes you away for much of the year and, although de Marseilles admits that the relentless travelling tires him, he still gets as much pleasure from the job as he did when he started playing in small bars and clubs in his home town. 'It's really interesting for your mind and spirit and I just don't want to stop,' he says.

During his career, de Marseille played the beaches of the south of France when rave culture was an underground movement, yet to become the worldwide phenomenon that defined the culture of a generation. He spun at Paris' Techno Parade in the late 90s and the raucous Berlin Love Parade in 2000, which drew a crowd of 1.5 million.

Although de Marseilles has played in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, Le House will be his Hong Kong debut. Vincent Aze, a sales executive with a French software company by day and local DJ by night, is organising the event and is going to some lengths to ensure the night is special for the man who bowled him over when he first heard him play at the Amsterdam club More.

'He was one of the first DJs I danced to 12 years ago,' says Aze. 'He's amazing. There's no one else in the same league in France, except Laurent Garnier,' he says referring to the man widely regarded as France's top turntablist.

Le House will take over the second floor of the Sun Hung Kai Centre in Wan Chai, which Aze says will be converted into a chic club, courtesy of champagne-coloured spandex decor, a $15,000 sound system and $10,000 worth of lighting.

Compared with the huge crowds de Marseille has played to, the Hong Kong gig will be relatively small - and that suits him fine. 'The best are the small ones in a small club because you're really close to the audience. You feel their energy,' he says.

As one would expect of a DJ with de Marseille's track record, he's worked with a host of big names, including fellow countrymen and friends Daft Punk, with whom he toured to promote their 1997 seminal album, Homework. 'It was a really good experience,' says de Marseille. 'It was like being part of a small family. I want to recreate that experience in the future.'

As well as planning a follow- up to his 2002 album Free My Music, de Marseille is aiming to use Wicked Records (the label he set up the same year to rekindle the camaraderie that he found with Daft Punk) to promote up-and-coming DJs. It's also a bid to combat the loneliness of the long-distance DJ.

'You travel all the time and you're alone,' he says. 'Sometimes it's hard for your private life. You don't have much time to yourself. But it's a passion, a big force in my life.'

Le House, featuring DJ Jack de Marseille, Sat, 10pm, 2/F Sun Hung Kai Centre, 30 Harbour Rd, Wan Chai, $200 (advance, HMV), $250 (door). Inquiries: 9097 3400

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