Hong Kong 30 Under 30 2016

DJ; PR and business development manager, Cliché Records

Julie Mira’s journey has been one full of coincidences. “I studied Chinese and lived in Hangzhou for a year. In 2008, my family and I went on a trip to Hong Kong and we walked by The Mira Hong Kong,” remembers the Brittany native. “I thought it was kind of funny to see our family name on a building here.”

Two years later, while looking for an internship, she sent her résumé to the boutique hotel. “I said, my name is Julie Mira — I’m not joking — and I’m looking for an internship.”

She got a job at The Mira as a PR intern. During this time, she met fellow electronic music lover, DJ Ouissam Mokretar on a junk. At the end of her internship, the hotel was looking for a DJ to play at Vibes. “I recommended Ouissam and they loved him.”

Mokretar set the wheels in motion in opening a booking agency, events promoter and record label in Hong Kong, and a few months later, Cliché Records was born. “We started booking and bringing international artists to Hong Kong.”

Mira left for a time to work in the US. A year later, she met up with Mokretar in Paris while they were both in town. “He offered me plane tickets to come back to Hong Kong and start working for Cliché — as a thank you for the little kick a year before!”

Since its founding in 2012, Cliché has expanded massively. Aside from regular parties, it runs record label Fragrant Harbour and Savage, a nightclub in Hanoi. Next up is music festival Equation.

Mira takes to the decks, and runs the show alongside Mokretar and co-founders Samy Stouky and Jean-Francois Amadei.

“Seeing people dancing and smiling on the dance floor, getting together and sharing a moment, discovering a new artist — the energy and the happy vibe is a real accomplishment for me.”

Her very first job? Press relations officer at French company Rexel in the US.