Jimmy Edgar, electronic musician and dancefloor king, is living in a parallel reality to the everyday shlubs amongst us.

It’s not that he’s literally, as his press release claims, a “Prophet. Freak magnet. Time-traveller…wayward star-child streaking across the cosmic dancefloor,” but speaking with the Detroit-born Berlin resident, who’s currently in Moscow, about his upcoming Vivid show in Sydney, it’s abruptly obvious that Edgar doesn’t subscribe to the same day-to-day suburban grind as the rest of us.

We’re discussing his upcoming album, tentatively titled Hot Inside, which follows on from last year’s well-received Majenta. Edgar speaks in a slow-paced deep monotone, every word completely deliberate, coming across like one of the Ramones, and even when the hotel calls mid-conversation to check whether room service was adequate, he sounds as cool as fuck.

“For me, it’s an entire package with a visual concept – this magical occult inspired concept – and the music was just completely effortless. I actually made [the new album] on holiday while we were visiting Machu Picchu,” he says.

“Nothing about it had much outside influence. I’ve been studying meditation and hypnosis for years and kinda came to the conclusion that they’re both based in the occult in a lot of ways, so that was a big inspiration. I think that dance music is obviously very hypnotic but it’s interesting how people all around the world go to clubs and all dance to the same rhythm. You know this hasn’t changed for thousands of years, indigenous peoples all did the same thing, and I think we’re only just living and rediscovering these things about ourselves.”

For over 12 years, Edgar’s live shows have been putting party people all over the world in hypnotic states, and he’s bringing his latest – complete with intense light show – to Sydney next month. This won’t be the first time Edgar’s visited Australia, but he has mixed feelings about his past shows here.

“Last time I played a few warehouse parties and had a great time,” he reflects. “I feel like it’s been different each time I’ve played there. The first time I came out was supporting Egyptian Lover, and I felt like the crowd were maybe his fans more than my fans. This time from what I’ve seen they’ve got it just right, I’m looking forward to it.”

Edgar says that he’ll be interested to get a better read on the way Australians like to party. With his experience of playing clubs, warehouses and festivals on most continents, he’s been able to closely study different cultures and apply this knowledge to the way he plays each show.

“European culture likes to gradually increase the vibe of the party, over a period of eight or 12 hours,” he says. “In America, just the way the whole establishment is set up, you really don’t go out for eight to 10 hours at a time, so people are looking to get in all their good vibrations and peaking by 2am, because they’re probably only going to stay out to 4am at the latest.

“But there’s a whole deeper undertone to that which is that all humans react the same to certain sound stimulus and colour stimulus and it just really makes you realise that we are all the same species at the end of the day.”

It’s comforting to know that some truths are universal, no matter which reality you’re from.

BY SIMON TOPPER

Jimmy Edgar plays Terminal Projekt at Vivid Terminal Bar on Saturday June 8.

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