Laurent Garnier Signals The Final Turn on The Dancefloor
Techno icon Laurent Garnier reveals he will cut touring to ten intimate shows a year, questioning his relevance at 60.
Last Updated: May 3, 2025 (03.05.2025)
For three decades, Laurent Garnier has been the rhythmic heartbeat of European techno, able to ignite a sweaty basement at 4 A.M. as effortlessly as he could mesmerise a festival main stage. Yet even titans feel the weight of perpetual motion. In a candid France Inter interview on 10 April, the French trailblazer revealed that the endless carousel of flights, hotel rooms, and encore-stretched nights is approaching its final spin.
“I’m going to stop touring like I always have.”
He confessed, hinting that the days of weekly globetrotting marathons are numbered.
Garnier’s new roadmap is intentionally modest; no more than ten hand-picked gigs a year, all in intimate venues where he still “has something to say”. Mega-festivals are already off the table — he abandoned those this season — because, as he bluntly put it, he refuses to become “a dusty jukebox”. At 60, he openly questions whether commanding vast crowds remains relevant in a culture fuelled by restless reinvention and youthful energy. The legendary DJ has long asked friends and colleagues to warn him when the needle drifts into self-parody; apparently, that moment arrived.
The farewell lap, however, is not yet done. Fans in Porto and the French-Alpine resort of Tignes will dance with him in the coming weeks, after which he jets to Japan for a tightly curated club run before sprinkling a few boutique European festival dates across the summer. Each slot now feels like a collector’s item — a chance to watch a master write his own epilogue rather than let the industry script it for him.
Garnier’s decision highlights a broader generational reckoning inside electronic music; longevity must balance artistic relevance and personal well-being. By choosing curation over ubiquity, the techno icon offers a graceful blueprint, one that lets the music breathe without trapping its creator in a perpetual loop. Promoters, take note; sometimes the bravest move is knowing exactly when to let the last record fade.
Story From: RA / Words: Michael Lawson
