Some collaborations take a few DMs and a shared folder. Others take fifteen years. For Paris-born, Miami-via-Tulum producer and DJ Mekanism, “Doing The Disco” was the latter.
The track traces back to a Gary’s Gang disco sample that DJ Sneak once flipped in the ’90s. Claptone, a friend and label-mate from their Exploited roster days, later joined in and pushed it further. Grammy-winning percussionist Jorge Bezerra layered in roughly 25 individual percussion parts by hand. The result spent over a year as one of Claptone’s best-kept secret weapons on the club circuit — and it’s finally landed on Exploited.
Here, Mekanism talks us through the track’s origin, what it’s like handing a record to a longtime peer with total trust, why “Acid Love” became a defining moment on Seth Troxler’s Play It Say It, and how a move from Paris to the jungle outside Tulum has reshaped the way he writes.
Your new EP “Doing The Disco” with Claptone and Jorge Bezerra is out on Exploited. Walk us through how it came together. Was it built from scratch as a joint session, or did it start as something of yours that Claptone later jumped on?
It’s a track I made a few months ago featuring the legendary percussionist Jorge Bezerra. I re-sampled the disco track “Do It At The Disco” by Gary’s Gang, which DJ Sneak had already sampled back in the ’90s. I played the original record hundreds of times when I was learning to DJ on vinyl, so it’s a track that has always had a special place for me. I really wanted to revisit it and put my own spin on it, bringing it into my own world.
This track has reportedly been a secret weapon in Claptone’s sets for over a year before its official release. How important is playing the track out before its release? Have you received many questions about the song ID?
Claptone later joined the project and added his own touch, bringing his unique vision and style to the track, which really helped take it to another level for big scenes! He played the track a lot, and I know he’s a real lover of this kind of sound, especially tracks built around disco samples. I received a lot of great feedback on it, both from DJs and from people who connected with the track.
Jorge Bezerra brings serious percussive pedigree to this record. When you’re building a track around a collaborator’s live playing rather than programmed elements, how does that change your usual production instincts?
Jorge Bezerra is a Grammy Award-winning percussionist who has worked extensively with artists like St Germain. Beyond his incredible talent, he is also an amazing person, known for his kindness and generosity. He loved the idea I sent him from the very beginning. He processed the percussion from the start of the track all the way to the end, creating around 25 different percussion layers. He’s a true genius and brought a unique energy and soul to the record.
When you’re collaborating with someone as established as Claptone, how do you two divide creative control? Does it ever get territorial over ideas, or is it a genuinely easy back-and-forth?
Claptone and I have known each other and followed each other’s work for over 15 years. Back in the day, we used to play together as part of the Exploited label family, alongside artists like Adana Twins, Shir Khan, and Stefano Ritteri. So this collaboration really feels like a full circle moment. Knowing the incredible records and hits he has created over the years, I knew from the beginning that he would bring something special and elevate the track to another level. The whole process was incredibly smooth. He went straight to the point, knew exactly where to take the track, and I didn’t have to rework anything afterwards. Everything felt very natural and his contribution fit perfectly with the original idea.
You’ve been releasing music since around 2010, coming out of the Parisian house scene. Take us back to the very start… What was the moment you knew DJing and producing wasn’t just a hobby but a career you wanted to build?
I’m 40 today, and I bought my first decks when I was 14. I started playing in clubs in Paris when I was 16, so from that very early age I already knew that this was what I wanted to do with my life, and that music would never leave me. It was after my first release on Needwant, “Missing Love”, that I truly realised I was starting to make this dream come true: travelling the world, playing my music, and performing outside of France. That moment was a real turning point for me, because it showed me that this passion I had since I was a teenager could become a lifelong journey. It was after my first release on Needwant, “Missing Love”, that I truly realised I was starting to make this dream come true: Travelling the world, playing my music, and performing outside of France. That moment was a real turning point for me, because it showed me that this passion I had since I was a teenager could become a lifelong journey.
Your 2015 release “Acid Love” on Seth Troxler’s Play It Say It label is often pointed to as a real moment for you, and it seemed to pull you back toward raw Acid House. What was happening for you creatively around that release?
At the time, I was producing deep house and disco-influenced music, but I always loved playing more club-oriented sets. The problem was that I had been labelled as a disco house artist, so I wanted to create a track that truly represented me as a DJ and the energy I was bringing to the dancefloor. That’s how “Acid Love” was born. It’s crazy because I would sometimes hear that track three times in the same night, whether at Amnesia or Circoloco. It was played everywhere and had such an incredible journey. Experiencing that moment and seeing a track of mine connect with so many people on the dancefloor was an unforgettable feeling.
Across labels like Needwant, No Art, Robsoul, Wyld, and Do Not Sleep, your sound has touched a lot of different corners of electronic music. How would you describe your own evolution across those years and imprints?
I know it can sometimes seem a bit all over the place because I release everything from disco to acid house and even ghetto house, but I don’t want to limit myself to just one style. I really want to explore and experiment, even if everything isn’t always perfect, because that’s how I keep evolving as a producer. I’m still learning all the time, and that’s what makes it so exciting. I like moving between different styles and creating music depending on my mood and my surroundings, without worrying too much about what’s currently trendy or what sounds are popular at the moment.
Beyond other DJs and producers, are there non-musical things: art, film, places, everyday life, that feed into how you write music right now? What’s your greatest inspiration?
I’ve been living in the jungle of Tulum, Mexico for the past two years, and this environment has had a huge impact on my creativity. It gives me the peace and space to take my time with my productions, and I’ve really felt a difference in my music since I’ve been there. I spend a lot of time listening to playlists from artists like DJ Koze or Kalabrese, and I’m also a big fan of NTS Radio, which I highly recommend for discovering new sounds and getting inspired by different musical worlds. I think it’s important to stay curious and constantly feed your ears with new influences.
You’ve recently relocated to Miami and started a monthly residency at Do Not Sit on the Furniture, alongside becoming part of the Distrikt party brand. How is Miami compared to Paris and why did you choose it as your base?
I also spent a year living in Miami, which was an intense but very interesting experience. Do Not Sit welcomed me warmly for my monthly residency, where I had the chance to invite my own artists and bring a different energy to the local scene. I was also working alongside Monroe from the Distrikt family, who I played with at Burning Man, and I helped them develop their label alongside my own projects. Being a romantic person, I have to say Miami is not where I found the love of my life, haha! More seriously, when it comes to networking and the DJ scene, Miami is on another level. There are so many opportunities and connections there, but when it comes to quality of life and food, Paris will always remain Paris. Every city has its own strengths and weaknesses.
With “Doing The Disco” landing and your return to Europe and Paris, what else is on the table for 2026, anything you’d like to share with us?
I have a remix for Lee Curtis coming out soon on Tango Recordings, and I also have an EP on Definitive Recordings, a legendary label that I’ve always dreamed of signing on. It’s a label that was part of my learning process as a DJ and that influenced me a lot. I don’t have the exact release date yet, but it’s scheduled for sometime in 2026. I’ll also be touring quite a bit across South America and the USA this winter, so hopefully I’ll get the chance to meet some of you along the way.