Martin Solveig bids goodbye to DJing at retirement gig

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PARIS — French DJ Martin Solveig, who hit worldwide success with smashes including “All Stars” and “Hello,” has hung up his decks, announcing his retirement onstage at a concert watched by 70,000 people.

“It’s a special moment. All my life, each time I came onstage I told myself: ‘Play like it’s your last concert’. Just until that moment arrives,” the artist told the crowd, which braved pounding rain at the Vielles Charrues festival in Carhaix, western France, to watch his final gig on Saturday, according to Le Telegramme daily.

From the early 2000s, Solveig, together with fellow Gallic luminaries David Guetta and Bob Sinclar, brought the “French touch” sound to the world’s dancefloors, while he also produced songs for stars including Madonna.

Now aged 48, Solveig — real name Martin Laurent Picande — released five albums throughout his more than two-decade-long career, and played at the closing ceremony of the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris along with 23 other DJs.

Jerome Trehorel, the director of the festival where Solveig announced his retirement, told AFP that “it was a surprise when he told us several weeks ago that the Vielles Charrues would be his only concert date this year, and that it would be his last”.

“It’s an immense honour,” he added.

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