Raphaël Top-Secret is a Paris-based DJ known for his deep record collection and wide-ranging selections, moving between disco, house, funk and jazz. A dedicated digger, he’s spent years searching for records that feel right on a dancefloor, whether they’re well-loved classics or lesser-known finds.
On Friday March 27 he’ll close our party in Export, taking care of the final three hours of the night. Before that, we asked him a few questions about digging, records and what goes into a set.
Hey Raphael, what you been up to recently?
I was invited to play in Mexico for SundaySunday 10-year anniversary parties between Tijuana, CDMX & Guadalajara. I just came back few weeks ago – it was so great to be there ! I’m back in France now, doing some digging and organizing records at home.
You’re known for digging rare gems across genres like house, disco, funk and jazz; how do you decide what stays and what goes in a set?
I always pick a few recents finds and some new favourites. Whether rare or not, it has to be music that I’m excited to play. Over time, I’ve found that the rarest or most obscure records don’t always fit in a set. I play a lot of classics, they have shaped my taste since my early years, and I could never tire of playing them. Everyone has their own classics, you can always surprise yourself by revisiting them.
Over the years I have had to start ripping a lot of my records because, at most venues or festivals, the CDJs sound better than the turntables. It’s frustrating to hear acoustic feedback and see the people getting confused when you play records. I still take the risk of bringing records with me because I get bored playing with CDJs. Most of the time i travel with a bag of 40-50 records. Beforehand, I test the sound of each record at home and only bring the ones that I think will sound good. Mostly 12-inch pressings, rarely albums.
The music comes first, but the sound quality is crucial when it comes to DJing. Some tunes are amazing, but they might not sound good enough to be played in a club. For those, I would definitely make a rip and remaster it instead of bringing the record with me.
You’re a renowned digger; do you prefer stores with a tight selection or messy ones full of endless crates? Fave spot?
I like them both. The messy ones are fun to dig through, and it’s exciting when you start finding good records at bargain prices, but the condition can be disappointing. The selective ones are usually organised and updated. I like to check the new arrivals at my favorite record shops weekly. I often find something that I’m looking for and most of the time in great condition. My favourite spot is Marché Dauphine in Saint-Ouen (a northern Paris suburb). There is a nice community of record dealers there and you can find both messy and selective crates alongside all the antique & vintage stores. It’s a good place to dig if you’re in Paris.
Playing obscure records can feel powerful, but it can also alienate a crowd looking for something they recognize. How do you navigate that tension?
I feel that I maintain a decent balance between obscure and more familiar sounds. I try to keep it accessible to people who might not know much about underground dance music. I find not knowing the music is exciting, this is why I started looking for 2nd hand records and thinking about becoming a DJ. When you dig deeper you realise that there is so much amazing music, and that most people haven’t heard yet. Someone has to show that there’s more to music than the usual hits or the « bangers ». I wish that more people could be open to things they don’t recognise, and learn to appreciate – or at least respect – what they don’t know.
You’ve made some edits over the years. There are so many approaches to edits, from subtle touch-ups that feel like they could’ve been the original version, to raw, almost confrontational “ugly edits” like Theo Parrish’s that completely rewire a track. What’s your philosophy? When does a record actually need an edit?
In my opinion, doing an edit make sense when parts of the original sound useless or cheesy compared to other more interesting moments, which could be extended. While reshaping parts of the original into shorter, repetitive loops with effects could sound impressive and fun, not so many DJs can master it. Over the last 15 years, we’ve heard so many pointless edits. Personally, I prefer to focus on finding records that I can play the original version rather than making edits. However, I still like to play edits. My favorites are from Mark Grusane, Tom Noble, Loud-E, Dave Lee and Todd Terje.
You’ve been active for a long time, do today’s dancefloors ask for something different than they used to? Has that shifted your approach behind the decks?
Lately, I haven’t experienced situations where I felt that. People have really welcomed my selections. This only happened when I used to play every week. For me, it’s not related to trends, but rather to the lack of community around some events.
When i’m behind the decks, I think more and more about being in the moment rather than strictly playing what I had planned. Intuition and feeling is key to DJing. It’s always different, and you never know how people are going to react until you start.
You’ll be playing the last hours of our party in export. What can we expect? And could you share one track that will be in your bag?
I can certainly say that it will a deep and uplifting mixture of disco, house & balearic sounds. A recent favourite of mine that I’ve had in my bag since my trip to Mexico is this nu-disco/house track from 2000 by Cpenn, « Zuma’s Revenge » on San Francisco label Panhandle. It’s a Various Artists EP with four different tracks. I also love the track by Hanna « Kiss » on the other side, which is even better ! We were driving back from Tijuana Beach with Soos and Morelotion when we stopped by a small record shop that has been open since the late 90’s. We all found something cool. I had the chance to play both tracks at the SundaySunday party that night. It was so special to hear this record for the first time all together, everyone was in the moment… it was pure magic!
Thanks Raphael!