You won’t find CloZee on the Las Vegas club circuit. France’s global bass phenom, producer and DJ reaches for the more immersive venues, like the time she performed in a subterranean cave.
These days, perfecting the live show experience has become a priority, and with her third headlining tour being her largest to date, CloZee’s dead set on giving fans the gig of a lifetime when she returns to Area15 on November 25.
“This is the biggest production that we can bring on tour. We now have a semitruck to carry everything,” says the 31-year-old CloZee. “When I was on my first headlining tour, we were in a very old and small RV, driving ourselves. It’s really cool to see how it evolves.
“It’s also easier to apply my vision when you have bigger toys to play with in terms of lights, in terms of video, in terms of lasers. My vision can be more complete.”
CloZee’s catalog is an adventure map of styles, journeying from trap music to speaker-rattling glitch-hop to tribalistic drum sessions in the span of a song. Worldly, textured production defines hits like 2015’s “Koto,” while the nuanced, meditative melodies of 2020’s Neon Jungle demonstrate CloZee’s ability to dial the tempo down, accentuating blissful bass notes and strings.
“Area15 I think is a great place for my style of music,” she says. “I’d played Meow Wolf in Santa Fe, so I knew that people going there were just up for new experiences. There’s a big Burner vibe when I go there. I love playing Las Vegas.”
On her third album, Microworlds, CloZee goes harder than ever before, producing an explorative set of symphonies that more than merit the grand live performance.
“I went very deep into some of my older memories from childhood,” she says. “The past albums were very much from recent adventures and experiences, but for Microworlds, because of the whole COVID times and not being able to travel and not having as many new experiences, I had to go deeper. Microworlds, for me, are almost micro-moments in my mind that I tapped into to write those tunes.”
The DJ’s international presence is indisputable but the U.S. is where she says her music has received the most love. Mega fests like Electric Zoo, Coachella and Ultra have welcomed CloZee with open arms, and that embrace is something she’s proud to see happen for more female DJs.
“We always still have some work to do, but it’s definitely getting better compared to when I started. I think more women are inspired and know that they can do this,” she says. “When I started, people would assume that if you’re a girl, you were ghost-produced or something by a man. I’m very hopeful for the future for women in EDM and music in general, too.”
The 31-year-old recently laid down roots in Denver with her partner and is blazing a trail with her record label, Odyzey Music, not to mention her new Voyage festival, which could make its way to Vegas sometime soon. “A Voyage to Vegas would be amazing. We’ve talked about it,” she says.
Touring is where CloZee says an album’s life cycle comes to completion. And though production takes precedence, she’s also partnered with Good Night Out, an initiative advocating for safe and inclusive nightlife experiences, to ensure her sets remain safe and enjoyable for all.
“Obviously it doesn’t prevent us from having assholes that don’t take into account what’s on the posters or the general vibe we want, but it helps to know that people are here to listen to you,” she says. “If you feel uncomfortable, or if you feel frightened, we have these little cards you can give to someone, and then they can assist you. It incites people to be on their best behavior.”
CLOZEE November 25, 9 p.m., $35, the A-Lot at Area15, area15.com.
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